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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on September 23, 2011 at 5:46pm

Let's talk brass tacks here.  You're going on the road.  In a catering environment.  How serious are you about the standards you'll be using over speed and efficiency?

 

For the most part, the Hario V60 is probably your best bet.  It's the darling of baristas around the world because it allows you to cheat on the brewing.  

 

The large orifice at the bottom of the V60 allows a heavy-handed person to brew the coffee in 2:30 or less.  I've seen many "great" coffee places "run and gun" with the V60 and the customer still thinks their cup is the best thing since sliced bread because it was made for them.

 

So, go with the V60.  It can aid you in handling volume while maintaining the impression of high quality to the catered - and just about anyone can brew with it with a minimum of training.

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Permalink Reply by Patrick Burns on September 23, 2011 at 5:57pm

Those are some good brass tacks. I am going on the road but starting off I'll only take caters of less then 100 people that way I can still handle the volume. 

Even though it is a cater environment our brand we are creating is based on well made hand-crafted beverages. With that in mind, speed is not the most important thing; a quality cup is. It might be idealistic of me before I get out there but I feel that focusing on the coffee is best.

I've heard good things about the V60 however and what you say does make a lot of sense. I've also been hearing and seeing a lot about the clever dripper. Have you ever used one? Also, Chemex has been king for a while but in off site caters, if one breaks, you're kinda out of luck.

Any suggestions on a good electric kettle? It needs to have a way to adjust temp.

 

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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on September 23, 2011 at 9:18pm

For the dripper, I would go with something like this instead of the V60, for obvious reasons (similar design principle, plastic, cheaper).  

 

For the kettle, there doesn't seem to be a single rock-solid temp adjustable kettle, but the Pino kettle seems to be the best option right now.  

 

What are you guys sporting for a grinder?

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Permalink Reply by Brady on September 24, 2011 at 11:17am

Consider the acrylic version of the V60 (seen here at Visions espresso)... the same geometry as the ceramic, but cheaper (6 bucks) and less apt to break.

 

That's another benefit of the Clever too - that plastic won't shatter as easily.

 

I also happen to like the good old plastic Melitta truncated cone dripper.

 

With good method and training, any of these will do fine.

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on September 24, 2011 at 2:22pm

Patrick-

 

Back to the tacks...  While we may give a lot of lip service to amazing quality, in your case, the chances are that a modicum of quality will be more than enough to set you apart.  The key is purchasing nice quality coffee.  Once you've overcome that hurdle, it's that much easier.

 

And let's face it, I've seen more than one "quality focused cafe" using the v60 where the baristas have been running and gunning - all to the applause of their clientele thinking that they've got something stellar when it's really just better than everyone else.

 

As far as breakage, it's going to happen and if you go into the field without a backup unit, that's to your own peril.

 

When it comes to kettles, don't over think it.  Why would you need a dial-in temp?  Bring the water to a boil, let it cool slightly and start pouring.  Better yet, take your kettle, bring it to a boil, pull it off, add thermometer and start timing.  See how long it takes for the temp to fall to 200F and then use that as your guide.  You really don't need anything fancy.

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Permalink Reply by Patrick Burns on September 24, 2011 at 4:59pm

Jason, the pino looks great! As always you have some great recommendations on equipment. Is that the kettle that you had when I visited?

Brady, the link to Visions espresso is great. Thanks for the tip. I think I'll order in one of a couple types of drippers to see who I like them and to see the kind of cup they produce.

Jay, while it's true that our here in the Texas Panhandle, impressing folks with little effort is possible. I'd like to go above little effort. I appreciate your comment about good quality coffee. I feel that we have done that with AJ Coffee and are producing high quality drinks in our shop.

Good point about the adjustable kettle. I will keep that in mind when i purchase one. 

Is Chemex an option anymore. I've also thought about getting a 10 cup with the new kone metal filter to cut down on waste.

 

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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on September 24, 2011 at 7:57pm

Patrick, no, it was not the Pino kettle (but I would still suggest the Pino over the one we worked with).  

 

The Chemex IS still an option, but in a mobile cart, breakage becomes a concern, especially coupled with the cost of a 10-cup Chemex in the case that one were to break.  Pared with a Kone, it gives the barista a lot of control over the process, which is both a good and bad thing (much like the V60, with similar problems as Jay described earlier).  

 

This isn't to say that I think your staff isn't up for it.  On the contrary, I think they would be more than up for the challenge.  The issue instead becomes ease of use.  Paying just a little more attention to more detail for one brewing can become quite taxing when multiplied during a several hour shift, which can compromise the intended consistency with the product quality.  That's not to say that it can't be done, but it's something to consider.  

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Permalink Reply by Mathew on September 28, 2011 at 11:55am

Just a thought about hot water... 

Bunn make a 120v hot water machine the HW2, it'll take up a whole 20 amp circuit on it's own but with a little pour over kettle you will be able to do back to back pour over with out having to wait on the kettle to reheat you'll also need a Flow Jet to run this but I think it would be worth the investment, as i would hate to try and serve 100 people with a kettle no matter how nice it is. plus this system will last for years so long as you use good water.  

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