What size Espresso Machine do I need?

A one-group machine will work if you are planning on serving espresso drinks as a secondary offering. A single group can make two drinks at a time, but only if they are one-shot drinks. In today's double-shot coffee climate, this won't work in a serious coffee shop. However, a good commercial unit with at least a 5 liter boiler will work for a location selling 50-200 drinks per day. Be sure the machine has a real impeller style pump and not a vibrator type pump which is commonly used on household units.

A two-group machine is the basic workhorse of today's coffee shop. There are lots of machines on the market, and many are "apples and oranges" in comparison. You should look for a machine with a large boiler capacity, at least 9 liters, as you need this to steam pitcher after pitcher of milk. The clearance beneath the brew head should be sufficient to allow a large 20 ounce to-go cup to be placed underneath. This will allow the Barista to brew the shot or shots directly into the cup which will increase speed of service. It should also have two steam wands to allow two Baristas to operate it simultaneously.

Three and Four-Group machines are available for those busy locations where customers frequently order double or triple shots in their espresso drinks. As with every quality two-group machine, there should be two oversized steam wands to allow the Barista to steam enough milk for multiple drinks at one time.

Super-Automatic machines are designed for the operator who wants to offer espresso drinks, but doesn't want to bother with dosing and tamping the coffee. True, there are machines that will suck the milk out of a container and froth it too, but there are none that do it very well. They best machines on the market today are two-step units. Press a button to grind, dose, tamp and brew the shot or shots into the cup. And steam the milk the traditional way with a steam wand. Many of these have automatic temperature shut-offs, which stop the steam when the milk reaches a preset temperature, usually around 170 deg. F.