

Ask HN: Opening a bakery next month, need coffee machine advice. - lardvark

I know this is a very specific request but thought maybe someone knows about these things here. We want to serve espresso, lattes, and cappuccinos. I know next to nothing about finding a good machine. Any advice?<p>Thanks!
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dblock
The standard is LaMarzocco, <http://www.lamarzocco.com/>. Find a service
provider that will come clean it for you regularly and do other maintenance
included in the price. Ask the same question on <http://coffeegeek.com/>.

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noonespecial
Better coffee machines are more like pianos than appliances. Finding a good
one is only half the equation (and maybe not even the important half). You're
going to need to find someone who can play it. Its not a deep dark art like
some coffee mystics will try to convince you, but it is something that takes a
little experience, a little taste, and some good practice.

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anigbrowl
Illy. Ebay. Hire someone who knows more about it than you do.

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lardvark
I thought I might find someone here actually.

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anigbrowl
I hate to break this to you, but all those development platforms referencing
coffee are just a front. Most developers know nothing about good coffee, but
it's hard to pitch things named after herbal tea or beer.

Seriously, one place to look is a restaurant supply store/website, and a lot
of them trade in used gear. you may even find some on Craigslist. But lots of
people think running a coffee shop is super simple and then go out of business
within the first 6 months. Food service of any kind is a tough business with
pretty unforgiving economics. It's going to cost you anywhere from $2-600 just
to open your door to the street each day, so the additional cost of hiring
someone who knows what they're at might actually work out cheaper than
learning the hard way.

Illy was the brand they had in the diner where I used to cook years ago, but I
couldn't tell you about a specific model. It's good enough that customers will
see it as a mark of quality and that's because the design hasn't changed much
over the last few decades. In return it takes longer to clean and you're more
likely to get a steam burn if you don't maintain it properly. If you've got
free or absurdly cheap rent, then just read up for a while and then wing it,
but if you're trying to start a small business then I'd say hire someone or
else get a job somewhere for 6 weeks so you can learn the basics. Best of
luck.

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egiva
Yeah, this is great advice - the first person you hire is much more important
than the coffee machine you buy.

About the machine: there's a ton of second-hand equipment in the market right
now, so definitely contact two sources: restaurant supply companies if you
want to do most of the word yourself, or a coffee
distributer/servicer/supplier if you want an all-in-one solution - i.e. a
company that brings you the coffee, cleans the machine, etc. AVOID CRAIGSLIST
FOR THIS ONE.

The reason why there's a lot of second-hand machines out there is because, as
said above, there are a LOT of food service companies that don't make it. Make
sure you hire an excellent first employee, and have at least 8 months of
operating expenses saved to cover your variable costs - that's after all the
equipment has been purchased, improvements to your shop, etc.

