Help with choosing a coffee machine

[mwana]

Hi, I'm new here and found this site while attempting to research which coffee machine to buy for our internet cafe in France.

I have never used a coffee machine and have been looking at Franke, schaerer, Jura and La Cimbali automatics, just because they look easier for a novice, is this the case? We will have seating for 40 and I would hope to get around 200 people in the door for coffee sit in and take away a day on a good day, that doesn't sound like many people does it!

I saw a suggestion that you should get a back-up machine too in case one breaks down and here in france there is definately not as much choice as you seem to have in the states. So what would you suggest? Also the french do like their espresso, but the english tourists and expat community are more like to go for cappuchino or latte.

Thanks for any suggestions

mwana

 

[morrisn]

Look at the Nuova Simonelli Aurelia www.nuovasimonelli.it/espressocoffeemac ... nk&Id=2299
It has everything you could ask for

 

[Coffee Guy]

Wow! There are a lot of good machines out there. However, I would caution you to look before you leap :shock: Although fully automatic machines are nice, they tend to be quite spendy and if you are not trained on how to keep up the maintenance. Sure they can make great looking shots and all, but it really boils down to the proper maintenance. Whereas traditional espresso machines are easier to train employees on and the maintenance is easier, and the cost is less than the fully automatics. I don't mean to sound like I'm slamming the fully automatics, but I'm just alerting you to some of the possible pit falls. I've seen too many purchase one of these machines and were very unhappy because they didn't want to keep them properly serviced. So play with a few or even go to some places that use either type of machine and get their take on things before you go out and buy one. :wink:

 

[Alun_evans]

I would assume most of the European manufacturers should have pretty decent service departments in France- as it is close to home for most ot them. C.G is correct, there are some +/- for the superauto's that you need to weigh up before taking the plunge. Have a surf around this site. Some of the proffessional barista guys like Andrew have commented in length on other postings about semi vs auto. Good luck :grin:

 

[Alun_evans]

I would assume most of the European manufacturers should have pretty decent service departments in France- as it is close to home for most ot them. C.G is correct, there are some +/- for the superauto's that you need to weigh up before taking the plunge. There is a very exclusive hotel I know of here that has a couple of very expensive supers sitting in their dinning area. The average time they take to make a shot is 3-5 seconds :shock: ...so I am saying having a super that is not set up properly, maintained properly or installed with training on the why's, hows etc will result is a big investment of money producing generally cruddy quality espresso. On the otherhand, in Europe you should certainly have the support in training and setup from the suppliers...

Anyway, have a surf around this site. Some of the proffessional barista guys like Andrew have commented in length in other postings about semi vs auto.

Good luck :grin: