Industrial coffee machines are a group of coffee machines that are typically involved in a commercial setting. The word industrial is a term used to describe a piece of machinery used within industry or commerce. One of the main industrial coffee machine categories are Traditional Espresso Machines.
Coffee machines in this category are often referred to as professional coffee machines. They are characterised by handles protruding from the main body of the machine and typically a steam arm at the far right and left of the machine. They will be accompanied by a commercial coffee grinder positioned to the left or the right of the coffee machine.
The second category of industrial coffee machines deals with those typically termed commercial bean to cup coffee machines, or alternatively, touch button coffee machines. These machines are used in a commercial setting where there is a high demand for good quality coffee but there are no staff trained to make coffees, or there is a high turnover of staff.
The commercial bean to cup coffee machine essentially mechanically duplicates the tasks and processes that a barista performs on a traditional espresso machine. They come in two forms – real milk and powdered milk. Note however that powdered milk bean to cup machines are becoming less and less popular as technologies for holding and processing milk continually improve.
Traditional Espresso Machines are characterised by having handles (group handles) protruding from the main body of the machine and typically a steam arm at the far right and/or left of the machine. They will be accompanied by a commercial coffee grinder positioned to the left or the right of the coffee machine.
An industrial setup would have two handles or more. This would be termed a two group coffee machine. One with three handles would be classified as a three group and so on.
Each group can deliver one or two espresso’s at one time. As an espresso is the base ingredient for every coffee this would enable you two make any two coffees from each group simultaneously. Although one group coffee machines exist, they are more suited towards a domestic setting.
A traditional coffee machine needs a skilled person to operate the machine and it is fair to say that the quality of coffee that can be made on the machine is linked directly to the skill of the person making the coffee. Due to this, professional coffee makers, or Barisatas, as they are called, typically are better paid than standard catering staff. This is because a good or great barista can provide all of your customers with a great coffee experience.
The commercial bean to cup coffee machines are designed to mechanically replicate the tasks and processes that a barista performs on a traditional espresso machine. Bean to cup machines come in two forms – real milk and powdered milk. As technologies at holding and processing milk improve the powdered milk machines are becoming less and less popular.
To be called a bean to cup coffee machine, the machine only needs to grind coffee beans and then produce an espresso or black coffee – Franke coffee machines do this brilliantly. With many machines there is no milk system at all. Bean to cup machines have traditionally been used in hotels, fast food outlets and self service canteens. More recently however, the large growing industries that are using these types of coffee machines are the retail industry and also any industries that wish to provide a high quality coffee to their office staff. The corona virus in 2020 has undoubtedly accelerated the move to bean to cup coffee machines in society as a whole.
Only a few years ago, it was impossible to get a high quality coffee on-the-go with the only places providing this service were petrol stations or at a retail outlet. The widespread use of commercial bean to cup coffee machines in many retail outlets has helped to remove the stigma that push button machines provide a lower quality of coffee than a traditional espresso machine
The advances in features on many bean to cup coffee machines have helped bridge the gap that exists between traditional espresso machines and bean to cup coffee machines. We are now in a position where high end bean to cup machines like the Crew CM70 or the Franke A800 FoamMaster can produce a coffee that would beat 60-70% of barista’s.
Now the coffee consumption is such a large part of culture many businesses now look to put these high end commercial bean to cup coffee machines in their offices as an incentive and to further motivate their staff. Office coffee machines are now a common place they reduce break times, improve morale and also save employees money. Given that most people in offices buy one or two coffees per day from their favourite coffee chain at around £3 per cup, this habit could be costing individuals up to £1,410 per year. Its easy to see why having a top of the range coffee machine in the office is viewed by most as a big perk!
Whatever industry you operate in Beanmachines will have an industrial coffee machine to suit you. Call our helpful team and they can give you some options taking into consideration all of the important factors listed below and provide a comprehensive quote to enable you to browse through all of your available options.
- Electrical cost per day
- Cost of machine and options
- Coffee cost per day
- Financial options
- Lifespan of machine
- Total cost of ownership etc
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