November 12, 2009
- Traditional Espresso Or Bean To Hot Chocolate Machines For Your Business
Domestic coffee use has evolved from packets of instant coffee or hot chocolate in the kitchen cupboard, to stylish and sophisticated pod and capsule machines. As a result, our expectations of good coffee have been raised, and as a business it is our duty to produce high quality drinks for customers which meet these expectations. So which way do we turn?
Traditional Espresso Machines And Hot Chocolate Machines
Available in various shapes and sizes i.e. 1, 2, 3 and 4 group machines (a group is where water is dispensed from, which passes through the coffee that sits in the group handle. A group handle can be a single or double group, which enables you to dispense either one or two shots of coffee or hot chocolate dependent on the amount of coffee or hot chocolate you place into the handle i.e. usually around 7 or 14 grams) and semi and fully automatic (semi-automatic is where you control the dose of coffee and turn it off when you have enough, fully automatic means that the buttons have a pre-set dose and the machine will stop by its self). These hot chocolate machines usually feature either one or two steam arms for frothing/steaming milk, and one or two hot water outlets.
When you purchase a traditional machine package, they should consist of the following basic items:
• A grinder to grind the coffee
• Knock-out drawer which can sit either underneath the machine or under the grinder, enabling you to “knock-out” the used coffee
• Barista kit which can include such basic items such as a frothing jug, thermometer, pallet knife, chocolate shaker and an espresso shot glass
• Water filter which is connected to a mains cold water feed to prevent build up of lime scale inside the boiler and on the element,
Ideally, you will also need to provide a mains waste connection. The size of machine depends on the size of establishment or how busy you think you will be. The most common one by far is a 2 group fully automatic machine, but some smaller sites will have 1 and larger establishments may have 3 or 4.
These machines are very much about theatre and indeed they are for show as making coffee is very much an art and good barista training is extremely important and becoming skilled at understanding and making good coffee takes time and practice as it is very easy to make a bad coffee. Prices can vary from around £800 to £6000, but remember, you get what you pay for, so make sure that the machine you choose is new and fully warranted, including full barista training and a good support service. The great thing about traditional machines is that there are no major moving parts so less to go wrong.
In more recent years traditional espresso machines have become more advanced, incorporating things such as boiler or group head temperature control facilities which enable you to tailor the temperature of the espresso water to suit the varying brewing temperatures of coffee. Other innovations include automatic steam wands, also known as hyper wands or turbo wands, enabling you to automatically froth or steam your milk perfectly without any human intervention.
Bean to Cup Machines
A bean to cup machine does exactly what it says! The fresh coffee beans are placed inside the machine and on the press of a button the machine automatically grinds the beans and pours both coffee and milk into your cup.
Bean to cup machines, such as Jura coffee machines, are quick and easy, and make quality fresh coffee at the touch of a button. What you need to remember with this type of system is that there are a lot of moving parts so more to potentially go wrong and there is need for daily cleaning which has to be adhered to otherwise your great coffee won’t be so great the following day!
This type of system is ideal for a pub restaurant where staff training can sometimes be a problem; it is also great for convenience stores or petrol stations where a take away coffee station may be required. Some smaller machines require very little installation or training and can be tank fed, so no need for plumbing. These machines will also usually feature some form of de-scale cycle instead of a water filter to prevent scale build-up. It usually takes between 30 and 50 seconds from pressing the button to filling the cup, depending on the cup size and type of drink selection. Some of the higher volume machines can produce two milk based drinks at once, while most will make two black coffees at once, an essential feature for some very busy sites.
As time has passed, even the bean to cup machine has developed, and can now be found to use various combinations which feature fresh beans, fresh milk or an instant/granulated milk, instant hot chocolate and instant coffee.
These various machines are designed to produce anything from 50 cups per day to over 500 per day. The cost of these can vary from under £1000 to well over £10000, so it is important you make the correct choice.
Summary - Traditional Espresso versus Bean to Cup
The traditional machines without doubt are for those who want the theatricality of coffee making. The advantage is that they make great coffee, so long as those making it are fully trained. A combination of machine and thorough training can produce the true Italian coffee experience.
Bean to cup machines are quick, easy and require very little staff training. The machines will roughly produce the same coffee each and every time the buttons are pressed, whether it be 16 or 60 times, but remember, they have to be looked after and cleaned on a daily basis or problems will arise very quickly.
More on Traditional Espresso Or Bean To Hot Chocolate Machines For Your Business.
November 10, 2009
- Hot Drinks Dispensers In Action
If you intend to serve hot beverages to your staff and customers you will need consider the best and most effective way of doing this.
There are three choices open to you. These are to make the drinks by hand in the cup, use a drinks machine in the kitchen and bring it out to the customer or have a self serve system so that the customer can select and dispense the hot drink themselves.
For the busy caterer a traditional espresso machine is probably out of the question due to the time needed to prepare the drink and the training needed to operate the machine successfully. A fully automatic bean to cup machine with milk frothing is an option for some establishments, but here we will take a look at the instant drinks dispenser.
The instant drinks dispenser does have some advantages over the bean to cup system in as much as the initial cost of the machine is usually less and the running and servicing costs are lower too.
Typically an instant drinks dispenser contains three or four canisters inside the machine which are filled with instant soluble ingredients which are mixed and sometimes whipped into a variety of delicious hot drinks.
All the caterer needs to do is make the selection and ensure a suitably sized cup is in place to receive the drink. Many machines have the option of dispensing a large or small drink.
Delicious hot drinks such as cappuccino, coffee au lait, mocha, hot chocolate, latte as well as white and black coffee can all be made at the touch of a single button.
Some machines have a hot water button so that tea and other alternative drinks can be made from tea bags. It should be noted however that most hot drink dispensers are not geared up to produce large amounts of hot water, so it you intend to sell lots of tea then you would be better advised to purchase a dedicated hot water boiler to work along-side the hot drinks dispenser.
Most hot beverages can be made from just three instant ingredients. By keeping the canisters in the machine topped up with instant coffee, chocolate mix and cappuccino topping a wide variety of hot beverages can be served all day long with the minimum of fuss.
The cost of hot drink dispensers vary mainly according to how hard they are expected to work. The more expensive machines can cope with serving up to 1000 drink an hour at peak times, have full audit facilities and self cleaning cycles. Smaller machines are readily available for less demanding catering situations and this is generally reflected in the price you are expected to pay.
As with all types of drinks machines, it always pays to choose top quality ingredients for use in the machine, so don't go for the cheapest coffee, whitener and chocolate. In the long run the prospect of repeat business by serving the best quality drinks usually pays dividends.
More on Hot Drinks Dispensers In Action.
November 8, 2009
- Guide To Coffee Vending Machine
When on the run, many of us do not have time to stop and get a real cup of coffee. When we are in those time crunches we often have no choice but to get a coffee from the infamous coffee vending machine. For as long as we can remember vending machines have been all over. The first vending machine was said to have been invented in 215BC. A Greek mathematician named Hero invented this astonishing item where if you put a coin into it would dispense holy water. I am sure coffee lovers today really think of Hero as a coffee Hero as he helped pave the way for us to have our caffeine anytime and anywhere in our beloved coffee vending machine. Vending machines were not introduced to the United States until some time in 1888.
It All Began In The Big Apple
New York city was the first to have them and they proudly displayed them in the subways dispensing gumballs. Today, you can find most anything in a vending machine but the most popular is still the coffee vending machine. They offer a full range of beverages including coffee, espresso, mocha chino, hot chocolate, tea and broths. Unlike the vending machines from way back when, a coffee vending machine today offers a cup of freshly ground coffee served with whatever condiments you like such as milk, skim milk, half and half or the ever popular sugar and artificial sweeteners.
A coffee vending machine usually offers a choice of cup sizes and will even dispense such items as stir sticks. Your choice of condiments is dispensed right into the cup along with the coffee. These types of vending machines can be customer ordered to meet any size facilities need. A coffee vending machine can dish out from five cups to one thousand cups per day. So no matter the size and demand or your coffee crowd, there is a coffee vending machine that is right one for your needs.
You still see them mainly in facilities near break rooms or the ever-famous spot of the hospital waiting rooms. Coffee is a necessity when in a waiting room of a hospital as one might need that extra dose of energy to get them through a long night. Whether your waiting in the waiting room for that bouncing baby to arrive or your awaiting the subway to get you to work, you can count on the coffee vending machine to get you through the day.
- Drinks Machines – Flavor, Quality And ‘Good Taste’
What’s simple, easy to use and above all extremely satisfying? Well hopefully the answer is your office coffee machine. If this wasn’t the first thing you thought of you may want to look into investing a new and improved machine.
Drinks machines nowadays should offer a fantastic selection of the finest teas, coffees and chocolate drinks that will keep even the most conscientious beverage connoisseur happy.
No matter what your favorite tipple is, most modern drinks machines will stock it, although I wouldn’t count on seeing vodka tonics in your office machine any time soon.Bursting with character, flavor and above all ‘good taste’ I stumbled upon the <a href="http://www.flaviastore.co.uk/">Flavia drinks machine</a> that guarantees to deliver a fresh tasting drink every-time.
Consumers expect more in today’s society and manufacturers aim to deliver. Office coffee machines are being designed to keep up with today’s ever changing society and have developed both in appearance and in technological advancement.
In this ‘less is more’ world you can even invest in office coffee machines that manage to fit snugly next to your’ in-tray. This means that whenever you need that boost of energy that only an espresso can provide, you can relax in the knowledge that a fresh tasting drink in within arms reach.
Each drinks machine is completely customizable, so if coffee isn’t your drink of choice why not fill your machine of choice with some health conscious herbal teas, or for all those chocoholics out there customize your machine to serve only the finest hot chocolate.
Rest assured that whatever drink you choose, most drinks machine manufacturers are committed to producing products that can be re-used, recycled and are energy efficient unlike a lot of other companies out there.
Ensure that as a consumer you are purchasing drinks machines that will provide you with quality coffee, rich tasting beans grown only by the finest master growers and are energy efficient.
In today’s world every little helps, and if you can enjoy good tasting coffee whilst, being energy efficient and still give back to the environment that surely that’s got to count for something! More on Drinks Machines – Flavor, Quality And ‘Good Taste’.
November 7, 2009
- Popular Single Serve Coffee Pod Machine
A coffee pod machine is used in brewing instant coffee. Single serving coffee pod machines are now being developed to make brewing more convenient and simpler.
A coffee pod maker takes lesser time to brew and is easy to clean. There is small room for mistakes with this machine.
Coffee pod machines are basically made of sealable plastic rods with small paper filters inside. Pods are placed in the machine and locked in place. Switch it on the water heats.
Some of the companies that offer coffee pod machines are: Melitta, Briel, Bunn, Keurig, Juan Valdez and Senseo. Colors include: green, yellow, black, orange, chrome, red and stainless steel. The price of a pod machine starts at $50.
Four of the most popular single-serving pod-based machines on the market today are as follows:
1. Braun - TASSIMO Machine
The Braun TASSIMO is a revolutionary coffee machine that uses the T-Disc system. It can make ready-to-drink hot beverages in just 60 seconds. Braun Tassimo is very easy to use and handy. It can be manually adjusted, providing different strengths and cup sizes. Tassimo is an ideal coffee machine for dinner parties. It has a large water tank that can be filled up with one liter of water.The T-disc system of Braun Tassimo can read a barcode on the disc and start working on it. The pod uses a small-brewing chamber which can feature a unique inverse flow. The drink is then poured from disc into the cup.
Leading brands of T-Discs are Twinings, Kenco and Suchard. All of these can be used to make a cup of coffee, tea, espresso, decaffeinated coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate and caffe crema.2. Philips SENSEO Coffee Machine
Philips Senseo coffee makers come with a layer of froth that helps retain the taste and warmth of coffee. It can produce one or two cups. The machine comes in three colors of white, black and blue. Senseo coffee maker will take only a minute to brew a coffee. The setting can be tweaked depending on how much coffee you want to make.Philips Senseo, on the other hand, combines a patented brewing system. It automatically combines the right balance of water and coffee. The brewing system was developed in conjunction with Douwe Egberts which exclusively uses Senseo coffee pods. Pods come in mild, medium, dark roast and decaffeinated blends.
3. The Black & Decker Home Café System GT300
Black and Decker GT300 is a much improved quality of the Black and Decker Home Café System. This GT300 can brew different kinds of pod brands. It features:
Removable drip-tray
Fits a larger-size mugs
One touch cleaning
34 oz reservoir and a 14 oz can for brewing
Specialty 3 sets pod holder
Works with 7 to 11 gram pod in the single pod holder
Can use two 7 gram pods in the double pod holder4. Keurig B60 Special Edition Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System
Keurig B60 is a 1500-watt single cup brewing system that uses patented K-cups. It has a programmable backlit LCD display with an on/off timer and a digital clock. It also features a removable drip tray and temperature controls.In the past years, many coffee companies and manufacturers continue to make single serving coffee pod machines. Popular brands offer innovative features at your fingertips. Single-serve coffee pod machines provide a convenient way of enjoying coffee at its best. More on Popular Single Serve Coffee Pod Machine.