Hello all,

I am trying to start a student-run coffee/tea bar at my high school. In order for my plans to work, I'm going to need a machine and grinder of course...(as well as other little accessories). Right now I'm trying to pick out an espresso machine. So far my only limitations are:

-needs to be portable to be easily moved away and set up (pour over tank)
-needs to be powered by a standard outlet (not commercial)
-one group (one person operated)
-relatively shorter warm up time, but this is on the bottom of my list of worries
-the customers are mostly high school kids so a lot of milk drinks, mochas, lattes, etc. Need good steaming power.

I have a relatively generous investor as far as costs. (Not GS3 cost though guys! )

If I have other limitations I'll update the topic as necessary. So far any suggestions?

allon wrote:Are there any shop teachers willing to take on a fixer upper ad a class project? Plus they can build a counter and plumbing and all that.

Thats a good idea, but we don't have shop class (school size is about 800-900).
Also, I don't want to take away the time of these classes and I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible when proposing the plan to the president/dean/etc.

I would search for a compact 2nd hand 2 group. One person can fill up a 2 group and 2 groups are cheaper 2nd hand. 2 groups can be run on a single outlet. I wouldnt go with a single group as they have small boilers and run out of steam real fast. Moving a 2 group would be hard, but a bar on wheels should take care of that, combined with a flojet. Lifting machines every day is also not something they are designed for. A bar on wheels would also save you tons of time.

Besides a grinder, machine, knockbox et al, you also need a nearby fridge for the milk. And something for payment.

Also, if you want to do tea, get a three group and a 380v connection. The hot water tap sucks heat from your machine like nothing else.

Yep we were thinking along the lines of a bar on wheels. Thanks for the info, didn't think about the Tea's effects.

Commercial single group machines do not necessarily or even usually have small boilers. In fact some on the large size like Brasilia Portofino with 6L boiler. The only advantage of a double group in setting suggested usage would be a quad shot beverage. And then only small advantage over solid single group if you have a second portafilter basket which could be being built while first shot pulling, quick group flush after first shot done and pop basket in PF lock in ready now PF and pull and start steaming. And even without the 2nd basket not that much of a biggy with good barista skills. Have cranked out hundreds of double shots in a day on our single group Portofino just using one PF.

Astoria, Simonelli, Brasilia all have single group 110v work horses I'd look at.

The one gotcha on your list of wants is fast warm up combined with 110v and good size boiler. Can't happen, figure around a half hour heat up depending on machine's boiler size and heater wattage and then speed technique group warm up. But you can be up and running in about a half hour with good shot temps.

I would do whatever possible not to go tank fed machine. Total PIA in production running out of water mid shot because you will. Cart on wheels with tank, pump and accumulator system mucho better. Bad enough keeping a five gallon or whatever size pump tank or bottle filled! AND you will want your drip tray drained!

One thing you may not have thought of is getting a pitcher rinser. Do it, money well spent. Feed from the same pump/water as espresso machine.

Hotwater for tea and Americanos is best NOT to be from espresso machine for multiple reasons. Mainly if HX machine water from boiler is too hot for either unless utilizes water mixing from boiler and cold, which would only be on higher end machines. And doesn't sound like budget is going for a double boiler commercial machine, and then some still tap steam boiler for hotwater. Get a water tower pourover or plumbed (also can be plumbed from same feed pump) or even 5L Zoji can handle a lot.

Just a few thoughts based on my espresso event and catering experience.

A VBM domobar super would handle pretty constant use but would take 45 minutes to heat but most machines large enough to fit you need will be the same. The Bezzera BZ7 would also work well and has a very good price point. I would go for a something like a Mazzer super jolly from eBay or Craig's list for the grinder. You simply cannot break them unless you drop it down a stairwell or grind rocks.

Putting together what Mike and Dave said, you can see that this is not a simple issue, nor an inexpensive one. Dealing with water, waste water, and waste issues, safe electrical supply and cord placement, cart storage for safety and security, safe placement of the machine during use (hot steam wand, etc.) and general safety issues, hygiene, clean up, and all the while dealing with handling money and such can be a lot to deal with just in the proposal. The quality of the water is also important. Hard water will scale up a boiler in short order in a semi-commercial setting like you propose, so the use of treated (softened) water may need to be included. Have you looked into health department issues and local code regulations dealing with such an installation. There may be a need for special training and certification for liability purposes if nothing else. Be sure to include maintenance costs (gaskets, cleaning supplies and tools, and the time for descaling and such).

..and friends ask me why I don't open a coffee shop.. HA! I enjoy coffee too much to make it a business and squeeze all the fun out of it.

cannonfodder wrote:A VBM domobar super would handle pretty constant use but would take 45 minutes to heat but most machines large enough to fit you need will be the same. The Bezzera BZ7 would also work well and has a very good price point.

Agree these are fine home machines, disagree for commercial use. Steaming too slow when you have a line of people. No machine with smallish 1.5-2L can keep up with commercial demands. Fine for home, not fine having to wait to finishing steaming many seconds after the shot time after time with a long lines. I've done gigs with 1.5L steam boiler machine with 1900w heater (Bric), you do not want to if you can avoid it. That's why I bought the (used) Brasilia Portofino. Keeping up with shots isn't the issue, it's the steaming that needs to be taken into consideration, and here boiler size matters big time.

An oft recommended machine for catering/cart is the NS Appia One Group, but it would have to be fed off a bottle (which you'll probably want to do anyway when push comes to shove). Pour over just does not sound like a good idea in that environment.

Edit: As previously mentioned you're not going to have quick warm up times with a machine that can handle quick turnover.