5 Must-Have Pieces of Equipment When Starting a Coffee Business

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You have your perfect coffee shop all planned out. The location is set. You’ve got the shop décor designed in your head, the menu all written out, and the ideal name thought of and ready to go.

Now the time has come to actually buy your coffee equipment and accessories to get your shop up and running. You may be wondering what pieces of equipment you should invest in since they will be the biggest investment in your shop aside from the building itself. Well then, you’ve come to the right article!

Today we’re going to go over the five pieces of equipment that you absolutely must have for your new coffee venture.

Espresso Machine

This one should be the most prominent piece of equipment to have for your coffee shop…it will also likely be the most expensive item on this list. Your espresso beverages are meant to be the main component of your shop, so investing in a high-quality espresso machine is a must.

You should look for ones that are built for multiple portafilters so you can make multiple drinks at once. You can choose from several different types; we’ll list them from least to most looked-for: manual (this one is meant for advanced baristas only as it is more complicated), semi-automatic (the most found in coffee shops), automatic, and super-automatic (comes with a ton of extra bells and whistles).

If you can, find one that has steam wands to froth and warm up your milk for all of your latte-style drinks.

POS system & website:

Your POS system will be a big part of your store, so investing in one that will do more than just ring in orders would be a smart way to go. You can get a POS system that will help you ring in orders, keep track of your inventory, help manage your employees, and take orders and payments across various platforms (such as phones, online, and in-person)!

You want a system that will keep your business streamlined and steaming ahead. You should also see if you can find one that allows you to add people to your store’s mailing list so that you can build up your company’s digital standing from the POS.

Drip coffee maker:

Black coffee will likely be something you sell a lot of in your store, so invest in a great automatic drip coffee maker. Look for one that is the high capacity to keep up with the high demand as well as have plenty on hand throughout the day.

Since you plan on having it throughout the day, you should also splurge for insulated coffee tanks to keep it nice and toasty. Having an automatic drip coffee maker will make the brewing process much faster.

If you want to keep more than one type of brew on hand, like many coffee shops, you can have 3-4 of these drip coffee makers.

Fridges and freezers:

No matter the size of your coffee shop, you will 100% need a fridge and a freezer. You’ll need a space to keep your dairy and dairy alternatives chilled, along with any food items, and a freezer for ice, ice cream, and other frozen items…basically a wide variety of items will require staying cool.

You can do an industrial fridge and freezer or small under-the-counter ones if you need to save on space and funds. If you plan on keeping your fridge somewhere visible to the customers, opt for one that is aesthetically pleasing to keep the image of the shop maintained.

An industrial coffee bean grinder:

Note that we emphasize “industrial” in this piece of equipment, as there is a huge difference between an industrial and a standard coffee bean grinder. The industrial grinder will give the perfect grounds each time, be insulated against the heat from the brewing process, and hold between 1.5 to 5 pounds of coffee beans.

If you want to separate your bean types, you can have one for your brewed coffee and one for your espresso. That way, you can keep the settings the same and not have to worry about changing it up between uses, though you may need to recalibrate from time to time to maintain that perfect grind.

Keep in mind that starting up a coffee shop is absolutely a big investment. It can range anywhere from $80,000 to $300,000 depending on the type of shop you’re opening, and most of that cost will be your equipment.

Now that you have an idea of what you should look for to make sure your coffee shop is absolutely perfect, we hope you are ready to go out and make some quality purchases. Come back to see us with any other coffee-related questions, and best of luck in your new adventure!