Which commercial coffee maker is the best choice?

[Kate]

My partner and I need to make a decision about which commercial coffee maker to buy. We'll be opening a used book store/internet cafe, selling coffee, tea, and a small selection of baked goods to start out. Can people give me advice based on their experience? (The more I learn, the more confused I am!! )

I was assuming we'd buy an airpot brewer, probably second-hand, probably one that is plumbed in, i.e. NOT a pourover model. (Bunn, Curtis, Grindmaster, Cecilware, ???)
Yesterday, I spoke to a reputable dealer who also does repairs, and he said that the really simple coffee makers with the glass carafes are the most durable and reliable in the long run. He also said that the Grindmaster airpot brewer produces a better supply of hot water than the Bunn airpot maker, if we need a boiling water for tea.

I live in the NYC area, so there are lots of choices. Any words of wisdom??

 

[CCafe]

Ah I would tend to disagree with that statement. Grindmaster makes some great grinders, but they should have stayed out of the liquid side of it. I haven't found a good coffee or espresso machine yet made by Grindmaster.

Bunn's lower end coffee brewers, such as the plumbed and or pour over that brew in to glass decanters can get the water as high as 195F. Their BrewWise system gets up around 203 to 205F. This is actually do to the design of the system and the spray heads. They needed to up the temp to keep water around 195 +-5 degrees when it is sprayed over the grounds. Plus it has a Pulse Brewing system.

I sell a lot of Fetco products. If you looking for a airpot brewer have a look at the CBS 2032. Its all digital and has pulse brewing just like the Bunn BrewWise system. The one thing I have noticed is that Fetco is switching to all digital electronics. The new thermostat allows you to up the tank temp by 3 more degrees. This pushes the tank temp to 208F. Plenty hot to make tea! It also makes you pay a lot more attention to it as well.

I have never used a Cecilware coffee brewer, but I do like the design of the tea brewers. From personal experience with Curtis, I wouldn't touch that with a 10' pole. I have heard a lot of complaints about Newco, but at the same time I have heard just as much praise.

I would go with either a Bunn or a Fetco. I would suggest a Bunn ICB DV, Or a Fetco CBS 2032.

 

[Kate]

Hello Ccafe- thanks for your input- it's much appreciated!

 

[Kate]

Ccafe, upon re-reading your message, I realized I had some more questions!

What is the optimal temp for coffee brewing? And what is Pulse Brewing?

 

[CCafe]

Brewing temp should around 200 degrees. The tank temp is always kept hotter due to heat loss as the water makes its way to the spray head.

Pulse brewing is method of turning on and off the spray head. This helps in better extraction but can increase brew times by a little bit.

Fetco's Pulse Brewing (PB) is predefined for the machine. You can set the intervals for which it turns off and on but that is it.

Bunn's PB can be defined per coffee blend. Bunn has a system that allows you to make a recipe. This recipe contains the amount of pulses and how far apart you want them. (Pulse Width) It also allows you to adjust a lot of other variables as well. This way if you don't like PB you can specify how you would rather have it made.

Sorry for my crash course on PB.

 

[ElPugDiablo]

Wrong forum, but, since you mentioned boiling water for tea....
If you are going to serve loose leaf teas, some do not need boiling water. For white and green teas, they should be steeped at about 160 to 170 degrees. For Oolong, depends on the level of fermentation, you will need water from 200 to 212 degrees. For black teas, herbals and Pu-erhs, you will need boiling water (212 degrees). You can get away with using coffee brewer's hot water for most teas, but be careful with green and white teas. If you steep white or green teas with 200 degrees water, you will be serving bitter tea.

 

[CoffeeAngel71]

Thank you for the tea brewing information

Wrong forum, but, since you mentioned boiling water for tea....
If you are going to serve loose leaf teas, some do not need boiling water. For white and green teas, they should be steeped at about 160 to 170 degrees. For Oolong, depends on the level of fermentation, you will need water from 200 to 212 degrees. For black teas, herbals and Pu-erhs, you will need boiling water (212 degrees). You can get away with using coffee brewer's hot water for most teas, but be careful with green and white teas. If you steep white or green teas with 200 degrees water, you will be serving bitter tea.

Thank you - I have been in the espresso/coffee industry for approx 19 years, and still, there is so much to learn. Teas have always played a part in my business, but admittedly a small part. I am happy to have learned something new!

 

[CoffeeJunky]

This is pretty old thread but yes there are many ways to prepare the tea and you can also prepare tea with hot water from the coffee brewer. I disagree with about Greentea brewing too hot. I always brew green tea in around 190 not at 160 or 170. If you brew it that low, you will serve warm tea not hot tea.

 

[Flori]

you have come to the right place to ask for advise. i am sure we have business owners who can give you advice for your start up. goodluck.

flori
blogger, coffeeloversofworld.com

 

[PinkRose]

Are you referring to tea brewed from tea leaves or tea brewed from tea bags?

In the cafe where I work, we offer a variety of regular, green, white, and flavored teas, but they are individually wrapped tea bags. We just use the hot water from the coffee brewer spout, and then the customer decides how long to keep the tea bag in the water. It's amazing how fast many people dunk the tea bag a few times and toss it out. They don't let it "brew" in the cup for a couple of minutes. I guess by the time the water is poured into the cup, and they pay for it, it's ready enough for them.

Rose