A shot of espresso or a fancy soy caramel macchiato is what most people need to kick start their day and function properly. Americans drink around 146 billion cups of coffee per year, so there is no surprise that a professional coffee machine is a real golden egg in the restaurant industry.
Investing in an excellent quality semi-automatic commercial coffee machine lets your business acquire a competitive edge and come to the level of professional coffee shops. While all your competitors can offer their clients a sub-standard cup of instant coffee, you will be able to step up the game with a wide selection of coffee beverages, like cold brew, macchiato, or Spanish Café Bombón.
If you choose a commercial coffee machine to stock up your restaurant supply, there are a few things to have in mind: your business volume, ease of use, maintenance, and if you want to go for bean-to-cup automatic brewing equipment.
The quality of the coffee machine you choose (together with personalized accessories may directly impact your business's success, so make sure you check out all available options to serve hot coffee beverages of the highest quality to your clients.
Bean To Cup or Traditional Coffee Makers?
Traditional coffee machines are usually semi-automatic. This means that you have manual control over grinding, dosing, and tamping the coffee. You can also set the water pressure and extraction time to your preferences, along with foaming the milk by hand. Some of the commercial machines have automated extraction processes, but your employers will have to grind the coffee beans and tamp manually.
Bean-to-cup- coffee machines, on the other hand, are a fully automatic option. They are a more pricey solution, but all the processes, from grinding the coffee beans and tamping to extracting, brewing, foaming the milk, and serving it to the cups, are automated. It is a perfect option for better time management and performance. The time your employees would spend on brewing the coffee, can be spent serving the clients or taking a short break.
Quality And Size
When choosing a coffee machine for a restaurant, instead of going for the cheapest option available, look for quality equipment perfectly tailored to the kitchen space in your company.
The traditional coffee machines used to be superior in terms of the quality of the coffee extract. Today with many advances in bean-to-cup commercial coffee makers, the difference is nearly non-existent.
One of the most significant advantages of commercial bean-to-cup machines is the ease of use. Thanks to a fully automated coffee-making process, your employees will be able to serve a wide selection of delicious and hot coffee brews. In fact, many bean-to-cup commercial coffee machine companies send, together with your equipment, a team of professionals to explain to your staff how to take care of and clean the machine properly.
Another aspect, in which bean-to-cup espresso machines win over traditional coffee makers is space-saving. With standard semi-automatic equipment, you need much more space to accommodate the coffee grinders and commercial milk frothers. If your space is cramped or limited, you might consider going for a fully automatic espresso machine.
Why Not Both?
The general rule goes: small and specialized concept coffee shops choose a traditional coffee brewer, while bean-to-cup automatic espresso makers are the best choice for garden centers, restaurants, and bars. Also, do not forget the concrete outdoor trash receptacle to keep things organized and clean.
However, a bean-to-cup machine will never be as spectacular and high-quality looking as a traditional one (even if the brew's quality and the types of coffee it can make are the same).
Happily, the market is dynamically adjusting to its customer needs, and you can find a wide selection of commercial hybrid coffee brewers that remain looking traditional and old-school.
They give you full control over the temperature and other parameters while automating the whole process. Most of them will also have two milk foaming options: a variable and automatic steam wand, so your barista can use whatever suits them best.
The prices for hybrid commercial fresh coffee makers are not low, but they can serve the needs of both skilled and unexperienced employees. Plus, you keep the traditional look, that will be ultimately appealing for the customers with a highly specialized coffee shop feeling.
Best Commercial Coffee Machine for a Restaurant
If efficiency and coffee quality is what you are striving for in your restaurant, you should consider investing in a fully-automated commercial espresso machine, or a hybrid solution. It will be pleasing for the eye but won't require expensive staff training.
Avoid buzzing capsule machines - they may be easy to clean and affordable, but brew a low-quality coffee extract and don't let you control the temperature and limit your choice when it comes to coffee types.
You can also find more high-end options on the professional coffee brew market, like an Aeropress or a dripper. Their costs are relatively low (usually around $20), but the amount of coffee you can brew at once is minimal.
For that reason, you should treat those alternative coffee brewers as an excellent enhancement and a way to appeal to a more demanding customer, rather than your primary commercial espresso machines.
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