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Permalink Reply by John P on August 29, 2011 at 4:03pm

Unless you are doing some massive parties, or you have a load of money to burn, no need for a double group machine.

 

First thing would be to decide your budget. Grinder first, unless you already have one, and then go from there. 

 

It depends if you are pulling shots primarily or you are doing a lot of milk drinks. If you are thinking capp and smaller, then single boiler is probably ok. If you do many drinks, or larger milk drinks, you may look into a double boiler machine. It would depend on the number of drinks you do the size boiler you would need. There are many machines, and it pays to do your research. The range on good home machines is about $1200 for a decent prosumer model to $6K and up for a LM GS3, a Synesso single group, or a Speedster. 

 

I would get a Baratza Vario grinder if you have limited counter space, or a Compak K8 Fresh, WBC K10, or K10 fresh if space is not an issue. Then buy the best machine you can with the remainder of your budget.  But grinder first.

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Godsey on August 31, 2011 at 8:47am

John,

Thanks for you response!

 

I am looking for a double group because I want to be able to eventually run a coffee cart side business. At least, it would be worth having the ability. Though, I'm still considering a single. I just haven't made up my mind. 

 

With the info you shared, are there any other models than the ones you mentioned that you would consider worthy of research? 

 

Best, 

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Permalink Reply by Brady on August 31, 2011 at 1:33pm

For "eventual use on a cart" means you'll probably want to stick to 110v, which is a pretty significant limitation if you're talking 2 group machines. I believe there are more good 110v options in 1 group machines.

 

Look around here for discussions about small machines for portable gigs. I believe there have been several recently.

 

Plus what John said about a grinder...

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