How to choose the equipment for coffee shops? Specifications and reviews

Today on the streets of Russian cities, more and more large and small coffee houses. And sometimes the language does not turn to be called a small, cozy, attracting a delicious smell institution of public catering. A coffee house is an attractive and profitable business that does not require a large initial cost, unless, of course, you swing from the start to an extensive network of points or an expensive respectable cafe in the city center.

Definition of concept

What kind of coffee equipment to buy depends on the concept of the establishment and on the financial possibilities of the future owner of the business.

The minimum of financial investments requires a simple posting of hot drinks in crowded places where there is no possibility of installing fixed points.

The popularity of mobile coffee shops around the world has led to the emergence of such a business in Russia. This can be caravans that are installed for a long time in one place, or coffee machines, mounted in the trunk of a car that comes and leaves when necessary.

Such a business requires a minimum of permits and costs. Do not need any equipped room, no fixed power system, or highly professional staff.

If you still want to create a stationary coffee shop, then in this case you need to select its format.

It can be a French or American type institution. The French small cafe presupposes the presence of tablecloths, beautiful dishes, the smell of freshly ground coffee and hot baked goods, waiters in long aprons, the public is not in a hurry.

In the American type coffee shop, the service is very fast, the baking is not hot, the coffee is served in plastic or paper cups. You can drink this drink while standing at a high table or on the move. From the type of institution depends on the choice of the place for it, and the necessary equipment.

Coffee makers

Whatever the format of the coffee house is chosen, the main equipment for coffee production is a coffee machine.

Coffee makers are divided into three types. The household appliance is suitable for home use. His power is enough only for the smallest zavedenitsa. Semi-professional devices are more powerful, but if a large influx of visitors is expected, they will not cope with the preparation of a large quantity of the drink. Professional coffee makers are machines that are most suitable for coffee shops, and they are called coffee machines.

By the type of preparation of the drink and the design, several types of apparatus are used. In most coffee houses you can find an espresso coffee machine, much less often a drip, geyser or french press.

French press and geyser devices

In the plunger coffee pot, a piston moves inside the casing with a screen filter , it squeezes out the precipitate, a clean drink is poured into the cup. But at low cost and, most importantly, without connection to the power grid, the fren-press has significant drawbacks - it is controlled only by hand, it is necessary to use a kettle for heating the water, and it takes at least 5 minutes to prepare one cup of the drink.

Disadvantages of a geyser coffee maker are considered by domestic specialists to be the absence of flavor, since the principle of its operation is based on the filtration of hot water through ground coffee and the need for a full load, otherwise the machine will not work. In addition, for Russian fans to drink coffee from large cups, the labeling of a geyser coffee machine is not true.

Espresso

The equipment for coffee houses of any format is an espresso coffee machine. In it, water heated almost to boiling comes to the dispensing group under pressure, where it passes through the ground and pressed coffee. The process takes only half a minute, after which you get a portion of a fragrant drink with foam.

In coffee houses, economical pumping coffee machines are installed in which the working pressure is created by a pump (pump). They can be carob, combined and automatic.

In a carob coffee machine well pressed (this greatly affects the taste of the prepared drink), the powder is poured into a metal or plastic horn. Apparatus with metal horns are more expensive, but coffee in them, as the drink is warming up better, it turns out with a rich taste and lush foam.

Combined design allows you to simultaneously prepare drinks in droplet or under pressure from coffee of different grind.

In automatic devices, not only espresso is prepared, but also cappuccino, latte and several other options for the drink.

Controlled by one button, the machine itself dares the grain, if a coffee grinder is built into it, lets water through the powder, drops spent coffee into a special container and at the end of the day cleans itself. In automatic devices, the volume of water and the strength of the drink can be adjusted to one portion. You can use for the preparation of coffee as grains and ground powder, and compressed tablets (pods) and capsules (plastic, paper or metal small containers, in which freshly ground coffee is sealed).

Coffee maker for oriental coffee

Such a drink, according to the estimates of coffee makers, is the most "coffee" of all possible. It is prepared in Jezve, which is located in the hot sand. The productivity of such a coffee maker is very low, so this equipment is intended for coffee shops on several tables for fans of a leisurely conversation over a cup (small!) Of coffee with oriental sweets.

Modern coffee makers for coffee in the east are a stainless steel tray, which is heated by an electric spiral supplied to it. Sand is poured into the drip tray or a tray is installed with it. Jezvy with coffee in the sand heated evenly. The drink turns out to be rich, fragrant and thick.

Modern equipment is equipped with temperature and water volume sensors, which do not allow the foam to rise over the edge of the dzhezva.

Coffee machines

Professional coffee equipment is divided into semi-automatic carob, automatic and super-automatic coffee machines.

Semi-automatic devices require competent service, but they can be used to prepare drinks according to different recipes and to make it more diverse when filing.

For example, not so long ago a special technology appeared that allows using creams to create beautiful drawings in a cup on the surface of the drink. This direction is called "latte-art" and is highly valued in coffee houses of the French type.

Super automatic coffee machine does not require human intervention. She not only grinds herself and brews coffee, warms up the cups, and does it all very quickly, on the flow, which is very convenient for American-style coffee shops. The smart device also exposes the degree of grinding, measures and compresses the powder, allows you to keep a record of both raw materials and ready-made beverages. Such equipment is very expensive, about 20 thousand euros, it can be profitable only in large establishments, where the production of beverages is put on stream.

Specifications of coffee machines

When choosing a professional coffee machine, you need to pay attention to whether it has a coffee grinder and what type of water supply there is.

If the machine is connected to a central water supply, it is necessary to provide a water purification system, the quality of which directly affects the quality of the drink and the service life of the equipment.

If the machine is of a filling type, then an important characteristic is the volume of the boiler.

But the main characteristic, on which the quantity of coffee and coffee equipment depend, is the number of cups of the drink per hour or day that is prepared or will be prepared in a coffee shop of a certain type.

In a small institution, depending on the number of seats a day, up to 400 cups of beverage can be prepared and 3 kg of grains consumed.

In American-type institutions, a large quantity of beverage is intended for take-away, so that up to 600 cups of 4 kg of coffee beans can be cooked on the day.

Apparatuses differ in the number of groups, that is, simultaneously filled cups. The price depends on this indicator.

Not the last argument when choosing a particular coffee machine is its manufacturer. It is best to choose one that not only produces, but also provides service and repair of coffee equipment. To keep in stock in case of a breakdown, spare equipment is rather expensive, as, indeed, and wait until there is a specialist and spare parts for repair of a single unit, without which the work of the institution stops.

Coffee grinders

A variety of and different equipment for coffee shops, like coffee grinders. They are rotary with knives and millstones.

The productivity of rotary devices is low, so they are installed in small cafes, where coffee is prepared in dzhezvah. They do not have dispensers, you can not adjust the grind level, the grains and ground coffee are in the same container, but (which is important when making Turkish coffee), you can get dusty powder on the output.

Experts recommend even in a small cafe to have several devices for different varieties of coffee with different flavors.

Powerful industrial units with millstones can be with or without feeders, but with a special clamp for the package. They provide a uniform, uniform grinding, which is important for the preparation of cappuccino, mocha or espresso.

In an American type coffee shop, you can choose industrial equipment with several degrees of grind, different volumes of the bunker and millstone diameters and many additional functions.

Related equipment

Apparatus for making coffee is not all equipment for coffee houses. Even for a small establishment, except for a coffee machine and a few coffee grinders, you also need: a water softener, equipment for baking, thin cutting and preparing cocktails and desserts: mixer, slicer, oven, table for cutting. According to restaurateurs, the diversity of the menu contributes to the development of business. Cheese or meat sliced, sandwiches, pancakes with and without filling, mousses, soufflés are perfectly combined with coffee and are in demand in coffee houses of any format.

It is difficult to do without a refrigerator, because at least some cream should be stored somewhere. You may need to store a dessert showcase-refrigerator, and for reheating pies and cooking hot sandwiches - a microwave oven. However, according to experts, baking is better to buy on the side, since sanitary norms provide for tough conditions for its preparation.

Naturally, items of furniture and interior, bar equipment, various kitchen utensils, including beautiful cups, a sink with connection to a waterpipe are necessary.

Mobile Coffee Equipment

A coffee house based on a caravan is an autonomous mobile point selling a popular drink. It can work on exit events or - with a minimum of permits - in any convenient parking place with intensive pedestrian traffic.

Equipment for the coffee shop on wheels is a gas coffee machine (gas is delivered in cylinders), a tank for purified water, a coffee grinder manual or battery-powered, which is also included in the kit, disposable tableware and a variety of accessories for quick customer service. This is the minimum for a mobile coffee shop.

There are also trailers with the ability to connect to a stationary power grid. In such coffee shops are installed and refrigerators, and microwave ovens, and therefore, therefore, is much wider range of goods.

And the trailer with a counter and easy stools looks very comfortable for those who can afford to drink a glass of drink not on the run.

Auto-café

Auto with coffee equipment is increasingly found on the streets of cities. They can be located in crowded places and, in contrast to stationary institutions, at any time of the day. Especially this advantage is felt in the early morning, when the cafe is still closed, and on the way to work you can drink a glass of hot aromatic coffee on the way.

Another significant advantage of this kind of coffee house from the point of view of the future owner is today it is possible to purchase a fully equipped car, with service and personnel training programs. The cost of such almost ready business depends on the car brand, the degree of alteration of the body and installed equipment.

Equipment for mini-coffee houses can include a professional automatic coffee maker and coffee grinder, a battery with a converter from 12 V to 220 V, or a built-in generator, such as the Honda EM 5500CXS for 5.5 kilowatts.

Gas coffee machines work on balloon gas for cars, resistant to vibrations.

There are craftsmen who convert their own cars on their own, using inexpensive, second-hand equipment to begin with. However, those who have already passed the initial stages of development of such business, are advised to save on anything, but not on coffee equipment. Success and further development determine the quality of the drink and the speed of its preparation.

Alternative options

Gas equipment or a battery with a converter is also installed in bike stores, where a reinforced bicycle with a two-wheeled cart is fitted with a box in which all the accessories are housed.

Even more miniature mobile coffee shops have appeared in New Zealand. There, equipment for mini-coffee shops - an autonomous professional coffee machine - was placed in a backpack, and workers wear it on their backs.

On the domestic expanses of such a version of the spread is not found, maybe for now.

But the thermal shaker, which can hold from 9 to 17 liters with the placement of advertising on the front (it's the back) for mobile hot spills on beaches, stadiums and in parks is already encountered.

Purchase of equipment

Today, there are a lot of sellers of coffee making technology on the market. But only a few manufacturers are sold. The most reliable and productive coffee machines - Italian, famous firms La Cimbali (in the line of equipment there are very cheap devices), Faema, Franke, Rancilio, Jura. Behind them go the less common German apparatus Bartscher. New such equipment is expensive, for beginners it is sometimes too expensive. Even with a minimum of equipment of five thousand dollars can not keep up. Therefore, it is very convenient option to rent coffee equipment. The rental price usually includes installation of equipment, training of personnel, dishes with company logo, and sometimes a discount for coffee beans.

Companies that deal with the sale of coffee, too, usually offer technology and their own varieties of coffee in the quantities agreed in advance. Attractive at first glance, the proposal, according to reviews, often leads to problems and lack of choice, and hence, a decrease in the profitability of such a business.

There is another development option. At the beginning of a difficult journey, an inexpensive used or not so powerful as planned, and therefore cheaper equipment, is purchased. Then, using the system Trade-In, which is offered by some companies that sell coffee equipment and lease it, you can change the old equipment to a new machine even for other manufacturers with a surcharge.

Coffee houses of any format - business is interesting, profitable and, very important, with the possibility of gradual development. Very much in it depends on the equipment. At least, the coffee maker - the most important element of the equipment - must be of high quality and reliable. Offers on the market set, most importantly, to make the right choice.