Help With Deciding On A Coffee Machine For A Cafe

Do you need help with deciding on a coffee machine for a cafe? Call us on 01324 617618 and have a read of our guide to purchasing a coffee machine here. When considering acquiring a commercial coffee machine for your office or cafe one can easily conclude: ‘I could buy a car for the price of these things!’ With the bewildering variety of machines available and not insignificant cost, it’s very important to have a detailed understanding of the types, performance and workings of modern speciality coffee machines.

Caffia Coffee Group offer the full range of equipment from a filter coffee brewer to a heavy-duty bean-to-cup machine and we’d be pleased to work with you. Call us on 01324 617618 to discuss any aspect.

Filter Coffee Brewers

These machines work by percolating hot water over ground coffee of the correct mixture of grinds (finer than cafetiere, coarser than espresso grind) which normally passes through a filter paper into either a glass jug or a thermos flask.

The resulting brew is pleasant and thin on ‘body’ (‘thickness’ if you will) due to the fine pores of the filter paper; aromatic and very drinkable, filter coffee is useful for office meetings, breakfast coffee and conferencing. Filter coffee, prepared in batches, is the fastest form of coffee for service – simply pour it and enjoy; great for universities, hospitals and farm shops alike!

     

Commercial filter coffee machines start at the rugged Caffia CX-2 filter coffee machine with 2 glass jugs and go up to the monster Bravilor B40 Bulk Brewers with twin 40 litre urns; the sheer speed of brew in a bulk brewer means achieving a delicate and tasty brew can be quite challenging, however the most recent machines like the Bravilor Aurora series and the Marco Jet Brewer have adjustable brewing parameters and this gives great quality bulk drip coffee.

Cafetiere Coffee Dispenser

Cafetiere coffees belong under coffee machines in some ways because having a machine to dispense a carefully measured dose offers an easy and consistent way to make great coffee. You remember the point about a filter coffee machine’s filter paper taking body out of the coffee?

With a cafetiere this is not the case and a very enjoyable cup (which still does not have the extraction or punch of espresso or it’s diluted form as an americano) can be enjoyed (or maybe 2 cups).

The Bravilor KMD unit is one such doser in service with many hundreds of outlets filling cafetieres quickly and easily. You can also browse our range of coffees for cafetieres here.

Traditional Espresso Coffee Machines & Grinders

There is one key element across over 150 manufacturers of espresso machines that are out there, and that is pressure.

The concept of an espresso machine originated in Italy and the key point is high-pressure extraction of intensely flavoured and concentrated coffee in short measure. This strong brew has spread from Italy to the entire world as a favourite coffee fix – with the Caffia range of beans it comes in a variety of taste styles but should always have a good ‘crema’ – the emulsion of coffee oils that floats on top of the drink (it’s a good idea to stir your espresso to blend this in).

As you probably already know, the coffee beans are ground to a fine consistency and ‘tamped’ (pressed firmly) into a strong handle which is known as a group handle. Once secured in the group head of the espresso machine by means of a quarter of a turn the machine’s pump is triggered to force water through the ground coffee at around 140psi (but low flow rate) and the result is this intense extraction. These machines come with between 1 and 4 groups and we offer a range of prime coffee grinders as well.

Milk heating, foaming and texturing are undertaken with the machine’s steam arms – this is a skill that takes practice but don’t worry – we train you on all of this. The strong points of espresso machines are smart looks, good cup warming storage, good ‘theatre’ as customers can see the drink being crafted for them, good prices and robust performance.

Also consider that these coffee machines do take time to make a drink in your cafe as well as skill acquired by practice. With a human operator there can sadly be a degree of inconsistency in the end product. Caffia Coffee Group offers a range of low cost workhorse and luxury espresso coffee machines with barista training which you can see by clicking to our website here.

If you run a high-pressure outlet where coffee is not the main focus, have high staff turnover or are in a self-service situation (eg: an office kitchen) you might be better off with an automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine.

Bean-To-Cup Coffee Machines

This type of cafe coffee machines are basically automatic robots. With a bean-to-cup you have either fresh or powdered milk integrated into the machine as well as fresh coffee beans. From this these machines will produce a full range of drinks at the touch of a button like espresso, americano (a diluted espresso), caffe latte, cappuccino and in some cases flat white, mocha (includes chocolate as well as coffee and milk) and espresso macchiato. The automation in bean-to-cup machines is extremely useful in offering a consistent drink and with zero skill on behalf of your staff or in an office or self-service situation.

A bean-to-cup coffee machine using fresh milk does produce a better quality drink and the latest generation like the Jura Giga series and Franke A600 are also easier to clean than previously.

There are situations where a bean to cup with powder milk and often with hot chocolate powder as well offers a neat ‘vending’ type option that is ideal for offices or showrooms – like the Necta Koro Max Prime for example.

It should be noted that in recent years on the one hand, powder milk for touch button bean to cup machines has hugely improved, it is often 100% pure skimmed milk in agglomerated form and on the other hand, the myth that powder milk bean to cups are a lot easier to clean than fresh milk bean to cups is not really credible.

The purchase prices on our range of bean-to-cup machines goes from £1250.00 to £15,000+ – there is a wide range and something for every site situation, volume and quality requirement. Have a look on our website or call us to discuss on 01324 617618 or 0203 096 7233.

Instant Coffee Machines

Our range of instant coffee machines use soluble (instant) ingredients like freeze-dried instant coffee, cappuccino topping powder (around 70% milk) and powder hot chocolate.

One of these machines – often called ‘dispensers’ – offers a compact and low-cost machine which is generally plumbed to the mains water supply – the principle benefit is very high speed dispense or a very hot beverage (all powder, no fresh milk to cool the drink, or to go off either), low cost machines and low cost drinks in high volumes.

In a factory or office with a short coffee break these machines can be a real queue buster without breaking the bank but the fact is that generally people are more and more seeking better quality coffee such as a bean-to-cup machine would give. With instant coffee machines, the machine cost is generally lower than espresso machines or bean to cup in some ways with less to go wrong as well.

Coffee Machine Rental & Leasing

It can be useful to rent your coffee machine without having to pay out a large sum outright, we offer a simple 3 year lease rental deal with a finance company which is billed by direct debit quarterly and spreads out the payments and, as these rental payments are 100% tax deductible it is a help in over finances of your cafe.

I hope this short article on coffee machines has been helpful with deciding on a coffee machine a cafe. We are a friendly family run company and would be glad to discuss your needs further. We have 2 showrooms – one at our Falkirk head office in central Scotland and one in central London; these are very useful for viewing equipment and trying coffees.

Caffia Coffee Group
Lomond House
Russel Street
Falkirk
FK2 7HS

Tel: 01324 617618 | Email: sales@caffia.com

Caffia Coffee Group
Design Hub Clerkenwell
47 Gee Street
London
EC1V 3RS

Tel: 0203 096 7233 | Email: sales@caffia.com

This article – Help With Deciding On A Coffee Machine For A Cafe – is provided to try and give come context and advice with the myriad options available in cafe coffee machines and hot chocolate machines; please call us on 01324 617618 to discuss your needs further.