Yeah just noticed that, the steel burrs are for brewing not espresso, you need the ceramic burr set.

jfrescki wrote:One quick thing I noticed, is the steel burrs. With the Vario, you'll need to get the ceramic burrs. I think some have been able to pull shots with the Forte from the steel burrs, but the Vario's burr carrier is not up to the task. I tried and got gushers.

That was my Vario experience as well.

Otherwise, back to OP:
- get 200v for sure.
- I know a lot of people are talking levers, and I love levers, but, unless the lever "look" is a selling point, there are other options to consider.
- If I was serving 20-30 milk-based drinks in a couple hours *every* weekend, then I would want a volumetric machine with a big boiler - at least a Junior Casa, or perhaps an Appia, or an Elektra Sixties. I also would not want a pour-over, I would want to run the machine off of a flojet and a large carboy and not have to worry about running low on water. I am not saying that the other solutions are bad, but when serving, speed is important - the time from when a person wants a coffee to the time that person gets it; whether one person shows up, or five at once, or there are ten people in line. You'd need a two-group lever to keep up with a one-group volumetric.
- Mind you, I would probably run a couple good drip brewers for the church situation before investing in an espresso machine.

Before I forget - have a look at the reviews on this site (main page). Mr. HB often takes the review machines to a catering event, so these reviews can be a great help to you. When he does an event, the coffee is free, so people are comfortable waiting - and he has this great idea of having people write orders on cups placed on top of his review machine, so people can see their status at a glance. (Knowing status is one of the keys to happy waiting clients.)

Good to hear that you have the church cafe setup going well already. At my old church, at the end of the service, the sencha had better be on every table, and at just the right temperature, or there would be complaints. If people are willing to wait for a Chemex, then I don't think that you will have the same issue!

So yes, the machines that I mentioned are all commercial machines that have no reservoir. There are also switchable machines (see HB reviews), and one of these machines may work out better for you. I am just a big fan of having the least number of things to worry about, and not having to refill reservoirs is one less thing to worry about. That is also why I mentioned a volumetric machine (as opposed to a semi-auto). You start the shot, then pour and start steaming your milk, and you can concentrate on steaming milk, steam wand cleaning, etc., without having to keep an eye on the shot and stopping the pump at the right moment - once the programmed volume has been delivered, the machine stops.

The key point I was trying to make is that it is not so much how much coffees you are making, but when. "20-30 coffees in two-three hours" is 10 cups an hour, or one every six minutes. Let's assume everybody wants a latté. If one person shows up every six minutes, then you could meet that pace with a Rancilio Silvia (I wouldn't recommend it, I would go insane trying, but it could be done). On the other hand, if five people show up at once, a 1 every 6 minute pace means that the fifth person is going to be waiting a half-hour for their latté - while being entertained by my flushing madness. If you run a one group lever machine like a Londinium, then 1 every 3 minutes is a comfortable pace, so the last person is waiting 15 minutes (but gets to watch the lever go up and down). With a one-group volumetric, 1 in 1.5 minutes is a comfortable pace, so the last person is waiting 7.5 minutes (and only sees you pour latté art).

ETA: I am talking about commercial machines above - with the key difference being steam power, i.e., one can pour milk, give the steam wand a blast, steam the milk, wipe wand, and give the wand another blast - all while the shot is pouring. This more-or-less corresponds to ten seconds of steaming. Most commercial machines can do that; but many prosumer machines have difficulty, or are deliberately throttled back so that steaming takes 20-30 seconds - or longer.

I just kind of imagined a machine where I could grab the thing off my counter and stick it in the back of my van, run it to church and set it up in 20 minutes or so. Feel free to shoot me down here if I am not being realistic - that's where my lack of experience comes in.

Just thinking about this - all of these machines, including Londinium, any E61, etc., need about 40 minutes to an hour to get all warmed up. They're also all pretty heavy and can be awkward to carry. So from the complete opposite perspective - perhaps start with a Breville Double Boiler. You're going to be able to offer top-notch coffee, it warms up in 20 minutes, it is lighter and much, much easier to move about, and it gives you plenty of warning when you need to refill the reservoir (or empty the drip tray). If the coffee proves to be a hit at the church and all you are doing is cranking out latté's, then get a machine like the ones I mentioned and leave it at church most of the time - and keep the Breville at home. Just a thought ...