5 factors to consider when purchasing a Coffee Machine
OK so your here because you've made the decision to take a leap of faith and open your cafe and your researching what Coffee Machine to go for. Or you've been in the Industry for several years and your current machine is causing trouble or not performing in the capacity you want it to do, so you want to upgrade or change your coffee machine. Below are some factors to consider before deciding:
Money Talk The best way to relate this is to buying a car. If we all had unlimited cash, most likely we would all be driving around in Ferrari's. Alas we can all keep dreaming, so price is most definitely an extremely important factor to consider when purchasing a coffee machine. The cheapest is not always the best option, as you may compromise on the other factors below:
Design features Is the machine designed for YOUR needs? Although there are literally several hundred different types of makes and models available on the market, coffee machines, believe it or not are designed for different purposes. For example on a traditional manual coffee machine, some are not designed to fit a take away cup or tall reusable cup underneath the coffee portafilter handle. This would create a major inconvenience if your location was big on doing take away coffees. Ensuring the machine is designed for what you need it to do will save you hassle.
Service/Support So you've bought a new machine and everything is working away great and then one Saturday morning before your busiest time, something about your machine doesn't seem quite right. Having the support network in place to ensure a speedy response is critical. As I said before, opting for the cheapest option initially may have seemed like the correct decision, however now your broken down and without correct support in place, potentially you could lose all Saturday and Sundays's Coffee Sales, not to mention, disgruntled customers. Have you ever had to deal with customers who hadn't had their coffee?
Accessories Apart from a Coffee Machine, you may need a Coffee Grinder if your purchasing a traditional manual coffee machine. You will also need, milk pitcher jugs for steaming milk, a coffee tamper, a knock box for holding used coffee grounds etc. A very important factor is also your water quality and more so the correct treatment of your water to ensure your coffee tastes good and your machine doesn't get harmed by your water with elements such as limescale.
Rent or Buy The Million Dollar question, well not really, but an important one all the same. In truth both have their advantages and disadvantages and it really all depends on your current situation, for example your budget or length of the lease you have on your location etc. I will go into this in more detail again, but my advice is, if possible, buy you own machine, however make sure its from a reputable source and the machine is reliable and your business be far better off.
Hopefully there has been some useful points worth considering above, to give you some clarity about your next Coffee Machine.
If you have any questions about purchasing a coffee machine or any of the information above, feel free to contact us.
Matt
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
