Dear all,

I spent quite some time with google and within this forum but still feel a bit lost so I hope you can help me with my query. While I do know how to run barista machines, I am far from being a pro, so apologies if any of the below statements do not make any sense.

I am an active member of the burning man community, attending the big one in Nevada, but also a lot of regionals throughout Europe. For a smaller one in Germany me and my friend are planning to open the Starfucks, a nice little cafe under a weather-proof tent construction with cosy places to sit, a little open stage and of course first class coffee. We plan to be open 3 days in a row with only 2 hours a day but within these 2 hours we want to putout as many coffees as possible.

I talked to a professional barista and understood these should be our requirements:

- Professional machine with constant output that can keep up the pressure to output coffee 2 hours in a row without any breaks (understood cheaper home machines cannot keep up the pressure)

- Refillable water tank since we cannot expect to have direct (and stable) water supply outside

- One group since only one person will run the machine and we understood we are not gaining any output improvement with a second group

- Pre-definable water output so we get constant results and the person running the machine can walk away and prepare the next charge while one coffee is running

- A plus for us non-professionals would be easy handling and maintenance



The barista I talked to recommended the La Marzocco GS3 but after some research I understand this is the ferrari of coffee machines and we hope there are cheaper machines that would still match our requirements. We are not running a daily business, we only want good performance for a few days during an outdoor event.

Can you recommend any other machines that would fit?



Thank you so much in advance!

What setups have you observed at Burning man in Nevada?

Surely a two group lever has been put in service there. It's heavy, but it's what I would want.

I did not observe any setups there. The one group advice was coming from the barista I talked too.
The event we are aiming for is approx 1000 attendants so we think that we can serve enough people within 2 hours with one group.
Also we are no pros, so without the experience we doubt a second group would make us faster.

I've seen Burning man referenced on these pages.

Examples : A lever, not sure if ever went to Burning Man - see first post

But I think this one has been there: Playa

Surely a lever would do great. With repeatable shots,
Yes some can run on LPG. But less common to find.
Check out Astoria I believe they have a single group lever that can be set up for LPG.

Is it me or serving hundreds of espressi in 2 hours with a lever single group sounds like a really bad idea?

Chert wrote:Surely a two group lever has been put in service there. It's heavy, but it's what I would want.

Me too. It's dated, but see Ideal espresso machine for a mobile coffee cart from 2012 for discussion.

I think you need to look at the decent espresso machine. It can be a complicated machine or a plug and play machine , what ever you pick.

If you pair it with a dedicated milk frother or buy the high end decent then you could easily match a GS3.

And best of all, it comes with a suitcase!

Now the question is - what grinder !

You might consider a Rancilio Classe 5 ST. Single group. It is a commercial machine with tank (there is a plumbed version as well). It is a heat exchanger but has relatively good temp stability. I had it's predecessor, the Epoca ST and found it to be a very reliable machine.