Advice for a slightly different scenario…

Mr_H

Hi everyone - hoping I can get a bit of advice on a slight different scenario.

long story short, I create smaller scale automotive events and also run a club. I’m looking to setup a coffee outlet within my own events, and stuck on machine - because it’ll be used one or 2 mornings a month. Maybe 3.

It also needs to be mobile and all kit fit in a car. Needs to be tank fed, and not weigh loads and loads. Full commercial isn’t an option right now so I think a ‘prosumer’ option will be best.

the best I can see on price vs meaty enough to deal with a mornings use is a Gaggia Classic/Classic pro. I’d get 2 of them.

would anyone have any other options around the £500 a machine mark? Would be most grateful to any suggestions. I’ve done a couple of test events (as I was let down last minute which is why this whole concept exists) using a Moccamaster for filter coffee and then a Delonghi Dinamica Evo which worked very well for a morning serving 30-40 in quick succession

Many thanks, Mark

Dusk

I don’t think a Gaggia classic would be up to the task, I don’t think it would break but the time for them to warm up and cool down if you’re steaming milk plus the tiny boiler capacity would mean a lot of wasted time. You could get an older dual boiler machine for under £1k that would do better than 2 Gaggia’s

Mr_H

Dusk hi, thanks for the reply. Yes that’s one of my concerns - would you have any guidance as to possible machines as you mention with dual boilers so I can start looking at some options?

Many thanks. Mark

DavecUK

Mr_H This machine would do everything you need. At an exhibition in Italy I pulled 100s of shots on one over 5 or 6 days. Minimal maintenance due to solenoid group, very large boilers, not too heavy and great performance. Way way better than to GC pros.

https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/2380-acs-minima-black-october-2022-ps950

Mr_H

DavecUK That’s interesting, thank you. Lovely looking machines from a quick google as well. You reckon just one of those should be good if doing 30-40 in an hour, without it taking too much time between?

HarveyMushman

Mr_H You reckon just one of those should be good if doing 30-40 in an hour, without it taking too much time between?

40 coffees an hour on a single group?! I’m not sure it’s the machine that will be the limitation…

Not to derail the whole thread but a mobile setup for that kind of quantity I’d be very tempted to go batch brew unless your customers are all coffee enthusiasts.

You’d need a very fast grinder also.

Not to spoil the party but without grind by weight and volumetric brewing, 30-40 coffees an hour is fairly ambitious on a single group machine, especially if any significant portion of them would be milk-based.

I’m not hugely familiar with the machines but an option might be something like what Bunn make where you can batch brew a couple of big lever action flasks and just serve filter coffee on-demand. Not as tasty but an enormous amount less stressful than the above. You could even brew the flasks at home and then just take them to the events.

Cuprajake

Yeah, will pi$$ it. Massive boilers, great steamer.

Mr_H

Cuprajake great to know, thank you.

Mr_H

Just wanted to dip into this and see if there were any more recommendations on machines? The ACS has sold but looked great, however not many others about it seems.

just keen to see if any other recommended ones

thanks again

Mark

Norvin

I wonder whether a Fracino Cherub or Heavenly would fit the bill? They are not as sexy as some other makes but are solidly built workhorses and are often seen in semi commercial setups. I had a Heavenly once and it seemed capable and easily maintained. After all, Fracino make Londiniums.

Mr_H

Strangely enough eBay was ‘suggesting’ stuff to me and it presented the Fracino Bambino.

Just need to research whether the hard plumbed feed could run off of a water ‘keg’ (I.e if it has a pump I guess) as that may be a sticking point as unlikely to have hard plumbing everywhere I take it

DavecUK

I had a Fracino Heavenly back in the day and you want to check if a few things have changed before even considering it.

The drip tray was very very shallow and held almost nothing, you would spend a lot of your time emptying it
To remove and clean the water tank, the entire case had to be removed

It’s a very basic machine and the heating element gasket does do have a tendency to leak after a few years. My suspicion is the 2.8kW heating element is so powerful, it causes this.

Mr_H

Very useful to know, thank you!

Norvin

My Cherub/ Heavenly had a plastic sweet jar for a water tank, at least that’s what it very much looked like. It was an original fitment too. Can’t remember if it had needed a little bit of dismantling to remove.

Tal

I have a 2012+ cherub that I bought in December, first proper machine and cost not a lot. So far I think it’s been brilliant, ok it’s a simple machine, but it means it should be easy to keep going.

Can confirm my heating element gasket needs replacing, so glad to know it’s common.

The drip tray seems ok to me. But if it’s running all morning making coffee you would need to empty it regularly I’d say.

Mine has a rectangular profile water tank and it’s easily removable without removing any panels etc, just remove the plastic lid, pull it upwards and it comes out.

It has a load of steam power, 2.7L boiler certainly helps, I don’t know the group head temp as it doesn’t have provision to fit a gauge. I usually do a flush though after I remove the portafilter and start grinding my coffee.

Verion

@Mr_H another ACS Minima has appeared in the classifieds. Needs some fixing but with the initial cost of £150 plus approx £150 in parts, puts you well under your budget for an incredibly capable machine.

DavecUK

Verion but with the initial cost of £150 plus approx £150 in parts, puts you well under your budget for an incredibly capable machine.

Might only cost as little as £30 to fix up

Mr_H

Verion Just to say thanks for this heads up, I secured the machine! Has really helped with the setup and hoping it’s on the simple side to fix!

Mr_H

DavecUK Hi Dave, I’ve popped you an email just on this as have been emailing the chap selling to secure it. And I’m a novice 🤣

Verion

@DavecUK quite right too… fingers crossed it’s £30. This is going to be an absolute steal for someone here.

Mr_H

HarveyMushman Yea I’ve done the filter coffee route and it doesn’t cut it with the audience. These are car guys and like their coffee. These are private events so a small wait is no issue normally - unlike a full car show where it would most definitely be an issue 🤣

I’ve done one before simply with a delonghi dinamica and whilst a bit slower it worked well as a test.

Yes ideally 2 group will be the way to go but as it stands right now, budget and setup don’t permit that but certainly one to aim for.

Twotone2

My Elektra T1 would do 40 coffees an hour no problem and steam milk but you’d definitely need a two group-head machine Elektra does one but they’re expensive new, £3,500 I think, the T1 is £3,200 new.

Amazing machines though, might struggle in a mobile environment with water supply & etc issues though plus they’re heavy machines.

I bought my T1 second hand for £550 back in 2019, best espresso machine I’ve had and a total bargain at that price.