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

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

@"Dusk"#p60669 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

@"Mr_H"#p60670 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

@"DavecUK"#p60673 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?

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

@"Cuprajake"#p60676 great to know, thank you.

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

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.

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

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.

Advice for a slightly different scenario…

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.

HarveyMushman

Mr_H

Fair enough. Which grinder will you be using?

Mr_H

HarveyMushman That’s challenge 2 once I have a machine 🤣 And again, all ears for advice on that

HarveyMushman

Mr_H

Given the need for speed here I’d look for an ex-commercial large flat burr grinder, something with a timer ideally so you can at least get close to a required dose each time without having to weigh out every dose. Anything with less than 64mm burrs is probably going to be too slow.

A Mazzer Super Jolly Electronic will probably do a 17-19g dose in about 10 seconds and I’m guessing but probably £200-400 used.

You might be able to find a 83mm like a Ceado E37 or Mythos One for around £500 if you’re lucky which will rip through a dose in about 5-7 seconds.

There’s also the Mazzer Major as another option.

If you’re really limited on budget then a Mazzer Mini E but it’ll be slower.

All of the above are commercial grinders and very reliable/robust.

Mr_H

HarveyMushman Excellent thank you! Really useful advice. I was kinda thrown into the whole concept when a coffee guy pulled out last minute on my event, and the first one we did was using 2 x Moccamaster and a KitchenAid digital grinder - this one

https://www.kitchenaid.co.uk/coffee-machines/859711594830/coffee-grinder-artisan-5kcg8433-matte-black

And whilst not commercial did is proud in saving the day!

I’ll sell this one and that’ll go towards a commercial one for sure

Mr_H

Well I’ve just learned that the KitchenAid grinder has a hidden portafilter holder and a portafiler setting which takes 10.1 seconds and is adjustable 🤣🤣 Never knew that!

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!

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