Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ben Cordova on August 8, 2011 at 4:29pm

I mean we are now adding espresso

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brady on August 8, 2011 at 5:13pm

You ought to be able to find someone to do a Appia 2 group for $6500 or less, installed, with filter. Add a Compak K-10 for $1500 or less, which will help speed in times of high demand. There's your 8 grand.

 

The comparable Rancilio is the Classe 6 at about the same price. Very similar to the 8, but without the display and some of the electronic features.

 

Comparing to the Aurelia, the Appia group is lighter than the Aurelia so thermal stability is not as good. I believe the heater element has lower wattage as well, so its capacity is somewhat lower. It won't produce the same caliber of espresso as the Aurelia on a busy bar... however it is quite adequate. I service several Appias in my market, and they are good reliable machines. These machines also carry 2 year warranties (though you won't need it).

 

Hope that helps.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Cordova on August 8, 2011 at 5:22pm

thanks much.  I may spend a little more and get the aurelia 3 group.  I am anticipating long lines between services and need stability with no slow down.  We also do large outside services with bbq's and mucho people. 

Brady said:

You ought to be able to find someone to do a Appia 2 group for $6500 or less, installed, with filter. Add a Compak K-10 for $1500 or less, which will help speed in times of high demand. There's your 8 grand.

 

The comparable Rancilio is the Classe 6 at about the same price. Very similar to the 8, but without the display and some of the electronic features.

 

Comparing to the Aurelia, the Appia group is lighter than the Aurelia so thermal stability is not as good. I believe the heater element has lower wattage as well, so its capacity is somewhat lower. It won't produce the same caliber of espresso as the Aurelia on a busy bar... however it is quite adequate. I service several Appias in my market, and they are good reliable machines. These machines also carry 2 year warranties (though you won't need it).

 

Hope that helps.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Cordova on August 8, 2011 at 5:24pm

do you think a 2 group will keep us same as 3 group or is the boiler to small?

Brady said:

You ought to be able to find someone to do a Appia 2 group for $6500 or less, installed, with filter. Add a Compak K-10 for $1500 or less, which will help speed in times of high demand. There's your 8 grand.

 

The comparable Rancilio is the Classe 6 at about the same price. Very similar to the 8, but without the display and some of the electronic features.

 

Comparing to the Aurelia, the Appia group is lighter than the Aurelia so thermal stability is not as good. I believe the heater element has lower wattage as well, so its capacity is somewhat lower. It won't produce the same caliber of espresso as the Aurelia on a busy bar... however it is quite adequate. I service several Appias in my market, and they are good reliable machines. These machines also carry 2 year warranties (though you won't need it).

 

Hope that helps.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brady on August 8, 2011 at 5:43pm

What volume do you anticipate, in terms of peak drinks per hour? What sort of volume do you currently see with your current drip-only service?

 

I was mistaken - the 3 group Aurelia and Appia are both 5000 watt machines. The price I gave was for a 2 group though, so add a little to get to 3 group.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Marci Elliott on August 9, 2011 at 3:58pm

Hey Ben,

 

I oversee the cafes in our church - one in our main campus which seats 4000 adults and one in an extension campus which seats approx 800. Sounds like our extension campus is about the same size as your church, but we have 5 services (2 Saturday and 3 Sunday) at that location. We've had that one open almost 4 years and I'll verify that you can expect long lines between services. Although it's a bit more than what you've said you want to spend, we love our La Marzocco GB/5 - a semi-automatic. I think you should be able to get one for about $10,000. We also have a Swift grinder, which cuts down on the grinding and tamping time. You'll find that small time savers can make a big difference in the church market. There are a lot of discussions about whether you sacrifice quality by using a semi-automatic and allow a machine to do your tamping, but we've found that most people aren't able to detect any difference in what we do. It allows us to increase the speed of getting drinks out with some manner of consistency.

 

At our larger campus, we have 2 Astoria Jada AK2 machines - superautomatics. I personally prefer the La Marzocco, but again, because speed is critical, it's what works best for us in that situation.

 

Blessings to you!

Marci Elliott

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ben Cordova on August 9, 2011 at 5:14pm

Thank you so much for you input Marci.  It is very helpful.   What Church do you go to if you dont mind me asking.  

Marci Elliott said:

Hey Ben,

 

I oversee the cafes in our church - one in our main campus which seats 4000 adults and one in an extension campus which seats approx 800. Sounds like our extension campus is about the same size as your church, but we have 5 services (2 Saturday and 3 Sunday) at that location. We've had that one open almost 4 years and I'll verify that you can expect long lines between services. Although it's a bit more than what you've said you want to spend, we love our La Marzocco GB/5 - a semi-automatic. I think you should be able to get one for about $10,000. We also have a Swift grinder, which cuts down on the grinding and tamping time. You'll find that small time savers can make a big difference in the church market. There are a lot of discussions about whether you sacrifice quality by using a semi-automatic and allow a machine to do your tamping, but we've found that most people aren't able to detect any difference in what we do. It allows us to increase the speed of getting drinks out with some manner of consistency.

 

At our larger campus, we have 2 Astoria Jada AK2 machines - superautomatics. I personally prefer the La Marzocco, but again, because speed is critical, it's what works best for us in that situation.

 

Blessings to you!

Marci Elliott

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Marci Elliott on August 10, 2011 at 9:02am

I'm at Gateway Church in Southlake, TX. Feel free to direct message me if I can help in any other way.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Scott on August 15, 2011 at 9:49am

If you need more production from a small (or any) machine, install a small water heater as a preheater in-line to the machine.  I've used one of these - http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Water-Heaters/Ariston/h_d1/N-5yc1...

 

It's a very easy solution assuming you have an extra outlet to plug into.  

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion