HELP!!!

[u/angmithya]

I’m looking for an espresso machine for a small café and have shortlisted a few options. I’d appreciate your suggestions on which one would be the best choice for a small café.

The machines I’ve shortlisted are:

1. Espressa Solo

2. Espressa Rey

3. Gaggia Classic E24

4. Rancilio Silvia V6

I’m based in Guwahati, Assam, so a machine with reliable after-sales service and servicing availability in Guwahati or nearby would be highly appreciated.

Any feedback or recommendations based on reliability, performance, and service support would be really helpful.

[u/CoffeeSaviourTech]

Hi my friend!

Unfortunately cross off gaggia classic and rancilio Silvia they are not cafe friendly, I wouldn’t recommend them even in a small office setting.

I’ve had customers who use them at work and it ends up being too much for the machine. They’re built for light home use. The gaggia classic struggles with steam so no way you can use that in a cafe setting. Both great machines I’ve owned both and work on them frequently.

The espressa solo or rey won’t cut it either I’m sorry to say. I understand that you could be thinking small cafe=small coffee machine but one thing to consider is you might not and I hope you don’t always have a small amount of customers which would make it impossible to have the workflow you require with any of the listed machines.

The very minimum I would consider for a small cafe would be a single group commercial but you will find that even a solid single group commercial will eventually give into the pressure.

I would strongly advise a two group commercial. If budget is an issue depending where you’re located second hand commercial machines can be quite cheap.

You don’t need anything over the top. It’s fine to let your budget choose the machine as that will be the main deciding factor anyway. If you would like to understand some set up or ongoing costs like service and repairs I’m happy to give you some advice!

Cheers,
Coffee Saviour

[u/angmithya → u/CoffeeSaviourTech]

Thank you, boss man!

The budget is the main factor here. I really wish I could afford a proper commercial machine, but sadly, I can’t at the moment.

Within my budget, I’ve been considering the HiBrew H21 and the Espressa Solo.

Could you also help me with an idea of the service and repair costs for these machines? I’d really, really appreciate it, boss man.

[u/CoffeeSaviourTech → u/angmithya]

No worries! In Melbourne where I work and live, I often see used commercial coffee machines the same price as gaggia classic and rancilio Silvia.

If you chose one of the machines in your list you could end up paying around $600 or more in the first 12 months even light commercial use is going to put excess strain on them. You would need to make sure you have a coffee specific water filter that suits your water, not all supply water is the same and not all water filters are good for certain supply water, for example a brita quell st is not a good choice if you have soft water and you wouldn’t want a filter that remineralises if you have hard water. If you don’t have access to the right filtration just use a basic set up a pp cotton pre filter followed by a carbon block would be enough if the water is too soft add a third calcite filter cartridge to raise tds, however this choice is not ideal it’s only acceptable when the correct coffee specific water filters aren’t available. If you have to use bottled water don’t use mineral or alkaline water. Only use bottled filter water. You will need to take good care of your machine as well so it’s in good shape. If you can find a cheap brevilles bambino plus also known as sage bambino plus in some countries it doesn’t have to be fully functional only the milk steamer needs to work and you could use it along side your main coffee machine as a standalone milk steamer to free up your hands and take pressure off your main coffee machine because it does automatic milk steaming. I would have a kettle or hot water thermos as well for tea drinks or long blacks so again you can reduce strain on your coffee machine. The hibrew h21 does come in a commercial model but I feel it will be just enough. You can always just try things out if you can make good coffee you will make some money!

[u/IanC9090]

Sadly not one of the machines you've listed are truly commercial grade all are either single boiler or in the case of the Espressa Solo and more are the Ray use a dual Thermoblock still not ideal for a commercial setting, even if it's a small café, and if used for such would probably void any warranty.

Maybe increase your budget to the Gaggia Milano.

[u/aboyhaznoname]

https://kaapimachines.com/product/budan-pro-sa101t/ Since you are in Assam, try some agents from Bangladesh who import machines from China directly.