coffee shop or café (modern style)

Having already decided that the style of your coffee shop probably requires a Super-Automatic (Beans-to-Cup) machine, the following are a few pointers to run through to check that this type of equipment is suitable:

• The Overriding Rule
  
  

• Build Quality (Cups required per day)
  
  

• Output (Cups required during busiest trading period)
  
  

• Benefits of Super-Automatic (beans-to-cup) systems
  
  

• Complexity of Drink Menu
  
  

• Hot Water Output
  
  

• Maintenance
  
  

• Styling

 

 

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• The Overriding Rule

The Super-Automatic espresso machine market is awash with scores of models from dozens of manufacturers. Some of this equipment is reliable and well supported with proper field based technicians. The rest is neither reliable nor properly supported. Sorting the wheat from the chaff can sometimes be very difficult. After all, every salesman tells you what you want to hear. Very few will tell you what you need to know. So here goes...

With Super-Automatic equipment, it is vital that you select the right machine from a professional supplier who will support you with proper servicing. We suggest that you start by asking the following question:

"Ok Mr. Salesman, so you say that this beans-to-cup system is reliable. So tell me how many service calls can I expect in the first year?" 
If he answers "none" then he’s being exceedingly economical with the truth. 
Here’s why.

Super-Automatic espresso systems are amongst the most complex catering equipment in the market. In addition to single and dual boiler and hydraulic systems, every machine has built-in grinders and motors, automatic milk frothing systems that need to be cleaned religiously, motorised group mechanisms and gears. The PCB’s (printed circuit boards) are more complex than those on traditional machines because of the numerous functions that they need to control. All of this gadgetry has to be programmed to work with an infinite number of variables including coffee type, blend, roast, fineness of grind, drink size, drink temperature, infusion times and complexity of drink menu.

Inevitably, with such complexity comes an increased servicing requirement. In fact, we estimate that each professionally operated beans-to-cup machine will require attention two or three times in the first year. At least one of these calls could be avoided if more attention was paid to cleaning regimes, but it does not alter the fact that you will require good engineering support. This is precisely why you should only buy a beans-to-cup machine from a supplier with a proper service infrastructure.

"Is cleaning this machine going to be a pain?" 
If he answers that the machine is self-cleaning and all you need to do is run some cleaning chemicals through it every other day, then alarm bells should ring.

Truth is that Super-Automatic systems require more cleaning than traditional equipment. Once again this is not a problem provided you are shown how to do it and settle into a daily routine. In fact, lack of cleaning (particularly of integral milk systems) probably accounts for 70% of all failures on Super-Automatics, so this is a ‘housekeeping’ area that you will need to focus on until staff are familiar with the machine.

"Do you have your own field based, salaried engineers, and if so, how many?"
This question is a cracker and guaranteed to put the salesman on the spot.

Sadly, there are scores of suppliers in the market who rely on sub-contracted service. This is fine if you are prepared to wait days for a service visit but it is not fine if you need an urgent response because your inoperable machine prevents you from making money. Our best advice is to be 100% certain that what you are told is the truth.

"Will the machine require preventative maintenance?" 
There is only one correct answer to this question and it is "yes". For a whole raft of obvious reasons it is better if this is carried out at your premises.

To summarise on this vitally important point, at some stage you will need rapid response after sales support, and the only suppliers that can guarantee this is are those with salaried service technicians.

• Build Quality (Cups required per day)

Correctly assessing the required output of a machine is an important factor in your buying decision. If you need hundreds of cups per day you will require a machine that is robust and able to withstand the punishment that it will be expected to soak up.

The rule "you get what you pay for" holds true in this case. If you are happy to replace your espresso machine every 18 months because it has fallen to pieces then go ahead and buy on price. If, however, you want a life expectancy exceeding 3 years then you will need to spend a little more.

It is important that you remember that most manufacturers specify the potential drink output of equipment. Few specify the recommended daily throughput. This can be misleading because if a manufacturer says the machine can produce 150 coffees per hour, this does not necessarily mean that the build quality is sufficient to withstand 150 cups per hour for 8 hours per day, 7 days per week! At Nuova Simonelli UK we will make certain you know what our recommended daily throughput is.

In any retail coffee operation your espresso machine is THE key piece of equipment and you will expect it to produce hundreds of thousands of pounds profit over its life. Our recommendation is to buy quality. You will experience fewer technical failures and will not be forced to change your machine as often as you will if you buy cheap equipment.

• Benefits of Super-Automatic (beans-to-cup) systems

Super-Automatics offer a number of advantages over traditional machines in environments where output is not the prime consideration. These are as listed below:

• Minimal staff training required
• No requirement for dedicated and costly barista staff
• Consistent drink quality
• Minimal ingredient wastage
• Generally takes up less counter space than traditional machine and grinder
• Useful for a wider variety of catering applications

The most significant points are the first and second. To see how this affects the overall costs look at the following charts. If you compare the costs shown in both these charts you will see that buying and maintaining a Super-Automatic machine is far more expensive than buying and maintaining a traditional machine.

But that’s only half of the picture….

Don’t forget that a trained Barista will take a minimum 35 seconds to make a 12oz latte coffee and so the labour costs are high when using a traditional machine. Whilst grinding, dosing the coffee into the filter, putting the filter into the machine, selecting the cup, frothing the milk and decanting milk from a jug into the cup the Barista can do no other work.

Conversely, making a 12oz latte on a Super-Automatic takes less than 5 seconds of the operators time. All they have to do is put a cup under the spout and press a button. Whilst the machine is making the drink the same member of staff can be collecting payment, preparing a food item or serving other customers.

In summary: Super-Automatic equipment might cost you more but you will save money in staff and labour time.

• Complexity of Drink Menu

The variety of different beverages you can programme into Super-Automatic systems varies widely between manufacturers. The thing to remember is that you have a finite number of options which are determined by the number of selection buttons. Some systems have dozens of selection and pre-selection buttons, grinder selection options etc. But remember the more buttons you have the more confused staff become. Our recommendation is to keep the selections to a minimum. Decide what drinks you need as core products and then possibly add a few fancy options.

With the basic drinks we recommend that you set the machine to produce at least one size of espresso. Not only will this button be used to serve espresso but it can also be used (in conjunction with the steam lance) if you decide to run special promotions on one of the more exotic coffee beverages. In fact using the steam lance and an integral milk frother gives you the same flexibility as using a traditional machine whilst also providing single button options for your most commonly requested drinks.

The key drinks you need will be Latte, Cappuccino, Café Au Lait, Black Coffee and Espresso. You may then wish to add decaffeinated alternatives for all of these if your machine has this feature and you will also probably want to dispense in different sized cups. We would suggest that you use no more than three cup sizes. Preferably only two.

Clearly the programmable parameters on a Super-Automatic machine would need to be endless to cover every possible drink combination and size. So the best advice is to check out how many options the machine gives you and then work out how many you really need to program.

• Hot Water Output

In the Anglo-American markets hot water for tea is always a consideration. Many operators try to find espresso machines that act as beverage centres, providing both coffee and hot water. The hot water requirement against machine suitability is an issue that you must tackle.

Please remember that on some Super-Automatic systems you have no proper boilers on board. These are replaced with thermal block heaters. A thermal block is generally two plates of aluminium with a very small corresponding channel (like a maze) cut into each half. The two halves are then glued together. The block is heated by a dry element and as water is pumped through the small channel the heat in the block warms the water. This kind of system is alright for very light usage but is absolutely hopeless for commercial operations and hot water production. The first thing to check therefore is that the machine has proper boilers.

These range in configuration from a single boiler (with heat exchangers for the production of coffee) or two independent boilers. One for hot water and steam and the other for coffee production.

Sizes of boilers vary but the rule is: "the bigger the boiler capacity, the higher the hot water output".

Despite most machines’ ability to produce hot water you need to bear in mind that an espresso machine is predominantly an espresso machine. If you are going to need oceans of hot water our recommendation is to buy an additional ambient pressure hot water boiling unit.

• Maintenance

Next to quality of the equipment purchased, the most important thing to consider is the maintenance. This will be made up of two components.

• Reactive Maintenance
• Proactive Maintenance

Doing more of the second will mean you have to do less of the first. Indeed, planning your maintenance is always preferable to waiting until your machine breaks down and you are unable to make coffee until an engineer arrives.

Curiously, caterers and food retailers in the UK seem to put far less emphasis on routine maintenance of their equipment than their counterparts in many other European markets. This situation has come about by equipment suppliers failing to tell customers everything about operating Super-Automatics. Including maintenance. Whilst it would be wrong for coffee and equipment suppliers to tell you how to run your business, it is right that you are told about all aspects of your equipment in detail and the cost implications of these. Our best advice on this issue is to look very hard at the maintenance requirement of your preferred system and ensure that you only buy from a company that you are 100% satisfied will give you the back-up you will need.