Get to know the aspects you need to think of while choosing the right espresso machine for your business.
Who doesn’t love coffee?
It is said to be the second most sought item in the world. It has an industry worth billions of dollars.
Over two billion cups of coffee are consumed every day.
This makes the economic status of coffee very clear; you can make money from coffee too.
Because it has such a huge industry, making a living out of coffee is not very hard.
There are three ways you can make money out of it; they are growing, dealing, or serving coffee.
Among them, serving coffee is the most common coffee-related business.
If you are thinking of it, this article is just for you.
If you wish to serve or sell coffee or espresso-based drinks, it is obvious that you would need an espresso machine.
There are a lot of options available.
If you are not sure about which one to get, this article outlines the things you need to keep in mind while selecting a coffee machine for your business.
Focus on The Purpose
Choosing the best espresso machine for you truly depends on the purpose you plan to use it for.
For instance, if you are planning to open a coffee shop, one group machine won’t be appropriate for you whereas if you are planning to serve coffee in a restaurant or bar, you don’t need anything more than one group machine.
So, “the best espresso machine” isn’t a one size fits all kind of thing. You need to select one according to your needs.
The type of espresso machine you require according to your plan is listed below.
Cafe
It is a must to install an espresso machine at a coffee shop or cafe. If you are planning to open a cafe, coffee needs to be your primary focus.
You can serve some pastries and light snacks, but your main product should always be coffee.
If you name it a “coffee” shop, most of the customers you would get would be looking for some good coffee.
So, because they are there for coffee, you can automatically tell that they are coffee lovers, and a coffee lover will instantly recognize good coffee.
So you can’t afford to disappoint a coffee lover with an average coffee if you are aiming to run a coffee shop.
The foolproof way to serve good coffee is to get a good quality espresso machine.
Another thing to keep in mind is that a coffee shop generally attracts a lot of people, and most of them come and go at a specific time.
For instance, you should expect a large influx of customers in the early morning or evening.
So, you will need to serve a lot of people at once.
Moreover, you can’t be the cause your customer is late at work, which means you’ll need to brew coffee fast.
An average coffee shop serves about a hundred espresso drinks a day.
As you grow, expect the number to reach about three hundred a day.
That’s a lot of coffee! And because you need to roll as fast as possible, the machine you get should be industrial grade and should be able to brew a lot at a time.
Another thing to keep in mind is it is impossible for one person to do all this alone.
So you must think about getting staff. Now, not everyone will be as efficient as others.
Though you will teach them the methods, manual machines are not the best to use when you are in a rush.
So, an automatic machine will be the best bet. It would make things easier for the barista.
Using an automatic machine will also make sure everything is consistent. Consistent quality is essential for building your business.
So, spending some extra money to get a good quality automated machine will give you huge benefits in the long run.
Bakery
If you are planning on setting up a bakery, some espresso beverages will complete your menu.
A good quality coffee drink will make your sweet treats stand out even more as coffee is the best accompaniment to desserts.
However, because coffee isn’t the main hero in your business, you don’t need to spend as much on a coffee machine.
You can easily get espresso machines under $200 to fit your needs.
When you run a bakery, you can expect to serve about twenty espresso-based drinks a day if you are located in a small town.
If you are located in a large city, about fifty espresso-based beverages might be sold with your sweet treats.
This is not a lot of coffee if compared to the coffee shops. So you won’t be needing something as heavy duty.
Moreover, your crowd won’t be as time-oriented as the coffee shops. It would be distributed throughout the day. So you are most likely to get a bit more time to serve.
However, you would still want to make very high quality and consistent drinks.
Though coffee is not your main product, it is still very important in bakeries.
To maintain quality ][[[[[[[and consistency, fully manual machines are not the best.
On the other hand, automated machines might seem a bit too expensive.
So the best thing to do is to go for the middle option, which is a semi-automatic machine.
Restaurant
If you are planning to add coffee to your restaurant menu, you are going in the right direction.
Coffee is always a great idea as they say.
As coffee is not your main product, you don’t need to use anything crazy advanced.
People will only order coffee after meals. Some might even skip it.
Because the production will be in such low quantity, you can easily get away with a smaller machine.
Another thing to bear in mind is you might not want to hire a pro barista just to serve 5-10 drinks a day, so getting a super-automated machine will make it easier for your staff to maintain quality.
To Sum Up
The points discussed above should make it a piece of cake to select the best espresso machine that best fits your needs.