Small Coffee Shop
What is the Best Espresso Machine For A Small Coffee Shop?
In order for a small coffee shop to make it, it is usually necessary to make over 120 drinks per day to cover costs and to have some sort of profit. Most coffee shops do over 200 drinks per day, and larger ones do over 500 drinks per day. That being said, it is necessary to get a machine that can brew that many drinks per day without drink quality suffering and without customers having extended wait times. For this reason, we almost always recommend getting at least a 2 group machine with features including direct water line connection, direct drain connection, 2 steam wands, 220 volt connection, large boiler(s) and good temperature stability. We do not recommend getting single group machines with 110 volt connections. There are websites out there that have lists of the “Best Commercial Machines for Small Coffee Shops” and those lists include small 110-volt machines with one group heads. Websites that promote this kind of thing are doing a disservice to small coffee shop start ups. If your budget forces you to get a lower cost machine, don’t go with one of these, instead find a good used full size commercial machine. Getting a single group, 110 volt machine will almost always be a waste of money and will set your business up for failure as you’ll very likely lose customers due to poor drink quality and long wait times. There is no single group 110 volt machine that we recommend for a coffee shop where espresso based drinks are the primary source of income.