What's the best commercial espresso machine for this scenario?

[bpayne123]

Here's my dream scenario..... I'd like to start a mobile cafe (or as a friend from NYC described it a "coffee truck"). I would retrofit a Sprinter-type vehicle with everything I need (grinder, sinks, water tanks, etc.) which will use a generator of some type for power. I envision (though I really have no idea!) doing 30-50 drinks an hour (I'll know more when I'm done with my research).

I am a total newb when it comes to espresso. I am signed up to take barista lessons in two weeks and plan to continue training through the summer while I work on my business plan. I'm not purchasing anything (no big capital investments) until the business plan is done and I've verified this is a feasible and smart idea.

Knowing all of my assumptions above, what would you recommend for me to use? Make, model, etc.

Thanks all! I appreciate your input!

 

[sidg]

There are several things to consider. How much energy will it use as a percentage of your power available? Who is available to service the machine if / when necessary? Will the machine be visible to your customers? Once you know those things then buy the best machine you possibly can afford.
I've had a coffee truck for not quite 3 years on a sprinter frame.
You won't have room for more than 2 baristas working at a time and 50 drinks an hour is optimistic. You will want a machine that can recover quickly as there will be times when you want to kick out a lot of drinks in a short time frame.
Your dream is doable but there are major hurdles to make it a business that will support you.

 

[bpayne123]

Thanks for the reply. I would plan on getting a generator that would provide enough power, based on the needs of the mobile setup. So, I was thinking 1) pick equipment; 2) pick quiet generator with sufficient power. Will the machine be visible to customers? I'm not sure. I saw a setup on pinterest where their machine was front and center it man did it look nice!

In terms of employees- it would be just me for the first year, most likely (so I am guessing 50 drinks an hour is probably very optimistic if it's just me, right? I'll learn more when I take my barista classes. Currently I have no idea how long an average drink takes. Like I said, I'm at the beginning planning stages with lots to learn!).


What are the other hurdles do you see to being successful at making a living at this? Hit me with them, as they’re likely nothing I’ve thought of! My initial thoughts are that I need to keep the capital investments as low as possible so that my break even point comes quickly. Of course I will need a reliable vehicle and an espresso machine that recovers quickly so I can make drinks as fast as possible. I also want to turn out a good product; not just another junky latte.



Again, thanks for your thoughts!

 

[sidg]

One of the primary issues for a Food Truck is where you are going to set up. The Food Trucks I work with do primarily one of the following things.
Set up in the same location every day.
Rotate between locations each day but same place same time.
Have a different location each day of the week.
Focus on special events and catering opportunities.
Of course there are other ways to do it as well but you get the idea. This can be limited by your local codes and you should know that before you go any further as it might limit what you can and can't do.

 

[bpayne123]

Thanks for your reply and sorry for the delay in mine. I’ve put some thought into this. I live in a city of 500,000 people. It’s fairly spread out. The downtown has a starbucks every 2 blocks, but apparently there is a café/coffee culture that exists. I don’t think downtown is my target market. I got the idea for doing this when I was sitting at my desk angry about everything at work. “I want a latte! Why doesn’t anyone deliver lattes?!” And at that moment I decided I want to be that person. Well, since then I’ve come to realize that actually delivering lattes probably isn’t going to happen. But stopping at a handful of businesses for an hour at a time every day seems like it may work.

In order to do so, I will have to get the business’ permission to park in their parking lot and operate. I think I could sell the idea to them (Happy workers = better product, etc.). I have also worked in nonprofits my entire adult life and thought it might be neat to target nonprofits. I could even throw in a… “You let me sell here, I’ll donate x% of my profit during the time I’m here to your annual fund” or something along those lines.

Then perhaps I look into doing farmers markets, etc. I know the deadline for applying to sell at markets is done for the year already, so this would be next year at the earliest. I plan on doing some market research (‘scuse the pun!) and head to some farmers’ markets to see if it’s even a doable idea.

So there you have my basic ideas right now. I’d love to hear what you specifically do. (do you still do mobile?). What did you find to work best in your scenario?

 

[techspace411]

bpayne123, this isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it might give you some useful info for your mobile idea:

I can't post a link yet but it's on Fast Company and titled Article: This Coffee Cart-On-A-Bike Franchise Cleans The Air As It Brews.

 

[techspace411]

bpayne123, this isn't exactly what you're looking for, but it might give you some useful info for your mobile idea:

I can't post a link yet but it's on Fast Company and titled Article: This Coffee Cart-On-A-Bike Franchise Cleans The Air As It Brews.

That was on Fast Company Co-Exist: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3057851/this-coffee-cart-on-a-bike-franchise-cleans-the-air-as-it-brews

 

[katy2]

Here's my dream scenario..... I'd like to start a mobile cafe (or as a friend from NYC described it a "coffee truck"). I would retrofit a Sprinter-type vehicle with everything I need (grinder, sinks, water tanks, etc.) which will use a generator of some type for power. I envision (though I really have no idea!) doing 30-50 drinks an hour (I'll know more when I'm done with my research).

I am a total newb when it comes to espresso. I am signed up to take barista lessons in two weeks and plan to continue training through the summer while I work on my business plan. I'm not purchasing anything (no big capital investments) until the business plan is done and I've verified this is a feasible and smart idea.

Knowing all of my assumptions above, what would you recommend for me to use? Make, model, etc.

Thanks all! I appreciate your input!

Hi, i appriciate your idea about fulfilment of your dream of a mobile cafe,it so cool when you start smth new for yourself, hope everything will be successfully. 10 Best Home Espresso Machine Reviews ? TOP Choice what about checking this link in order to chose the right cofee machine? i m sure it will help you, cause there you can find all the necessary info inckuding prices, pluses and minuses of different coffee machines.

 

[TheGreenJoe]

Hey I just wanted to chip in my advice on this one. I run a coffee truck in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Green Joe Coffee Truck, Albuquerque New Mexico) and have written a book on how to build coffee trucks. Here's what I've learned:
1. Once you become the coffee guy, you are now the coffee guy. People will approach you with awesome gigs, such as weddings, corporate events. You can charge a fairly good amount for these. My going rate is $100/hr with a 3 hr min. However, if you have a huge 220v commercial machine, there is no way you are going to be able to power this at wedding. I took the advice of getting an Astoria Divina. Great machine. 220v. 5000 watts. Super powerful. Its a faster machine than I am barista. However, I cannot use this for indoor catering. So, I had to buy another machine: ECM Barista. Great machine for catering and so far, I've found it can hold it's own in a long line. If I were to do this whole damn thing again, I would get a Barista to begin because 1. It's cheaper and 2. It's more flexible. Once the truck showed to be a success, then I would reinvest into another ECM Barista, thus giving me 2 machines (which would allow me to double book events and make double money!).
2. 50 cups an hour and your a badass! I'm open for 6 hours at a community college where I have 4k people walking by every day. I sell 100 cups a day. To do 50 cups a hour solo, you will have to ring up a client in less than 15 seconds, Pour Drink/Steam milk in 30 sec. Real tough to do. I think a more realistic goal would be 20 cups an hour. Average of $5/cup and you'll be sitting near $100 an hour. Not bad for making coffee.
3. Having a route vs one place vs drive thru model. This is an on-going argument in the coffee truck arena. I have a contract at a community college, so I've lucked out. We do deliveries to the staff. I also have a cart that I use to get deeper into the college campus during busy times. I employ myself and one employee at 30 hrs a week. The reason I like this model is because of consistency. I personally believe that coffee is a consumption of habit. Once a habit is built, it will continue to remain. So I like to set up in the same place, same time. We memorize names and drinks so that all a person has to do is swipe their card. I want to alleviate any reason to not get coffee from me. I personally believe that if you can find yourself some good foot traffic that is there early in the morning, you will find some business.
If you do decide to do the route model, might I suggest sending a group text when you are on your way so that you can let people know you're coming and even possibly collect orders. And I would again reinforce the need to remain consistent. It will have to be your route every day. I hear about some trucks doing a monday at the car lot, tuesday at the flea market, wednesday at downtown. It may work for them, but I can't see how that would generate large numbers of income. Sure, on the weekend that sounds good. I don't mind be undependable on the weekends, so I can take some time off if I want. But during the weekdays, if you want Green Joe Coffee, you know where to find me.
4. People put alot of emphasis on fast recovery times and while I agree your machine needs to pump out commerical needs, there is also something to be said about having a decent line. A line of customers as far as I'm concerned is one of the best forms of marketing you can have. In fact, if I'm working an event and I get a customer to walk up, I'll kind of nurse the transaction and talk to him a bit, just to start that line. So, I'm not exactly sold that drinks need to be put out as fast as possible. In my humble opinion, I think sometimes it's okay to have a line started...

Anyhow, I hope this helps. I wish all the best. It's been pretty awesome leaving my corporate job and heading this project. Wouldn't trade it for the world.