Beverage Systems

Marco Qwikbrew Twin

Coffee – it’s the world’s second most traded commodity (after oil), and the worlds favourite drink. It’s hard to imagine a caterer not serving it – not just cafes and restaurants, but even tea shops, vodka bars and ale houses.

The days are gone when simple instant coffee would be enough; now customers are more discerning and expect it a dozen different ways. One way to serve good coffee is through training. The finest coffee machines need expertise to operate and companies can spend a lot of money sending their staff to barista school.

Luckily, automatic coffee systems are getting better as they get simpler, and untrained staff (and even customers, self service) can get a high quality cup at the press of a button.

More advanced coffee machines will grind the beans, brew and dispense the coffee, and even froth up the milk. Other systems, such as bulk brewing or soluble (instant) remain popular and have the benefit of comparative simplicity, and the new pod systems are growing in popularity.

Coffee is extremely profitable, of course, and just a few pence of ingredients can convert into £1.50 – £2 for a cup, or even more with a little imagination and effort. Drop for drop, weight for weight, it’s more profitable than any alcoholic beverage!

A top of the range machine can be a major investment, so if you are on a tight budget or unsure of your needs, it’s worth considering a loan machine – although this will tie you in to a specific coffee provider.

The coffee pays for the machine, so inevitably the cost per cup to you will be more. Check that you are happy with any load agreement, and that you can back out of it or upgrade at no penalty if your needs change.

Tea Time

Tea is even harder to make than coffee. You only need an urn or a kettle, and a bumper pack of caterers tea bags, don’t you? Well, that used to be case. But don’t upstarts like chai and tisanes (fruit teas) have started to confuse the issue.

Old fashioned boilers still remain popular for delivering hot water drinks, although their design has advanced in recent years, with energy-saving features such a better insulation, heat-on-demand and flat elements to reduce the limescale problems that plague old generation boilers. You might need a plumbed-in model or a manually filled version, and the speed of heating can have a major effect on your service during busy periods.

One for all

The more advanced beverage systems will deliver a multitude of hot drinks, including hot chocolate and a variety of teas, in some cases even soup and plain hot water. These are extremely simple to use, compact and time-saving. However, they might not be as adaptable for your purposes as separate machines.

Water Coolers

The simplest of beverage machines, water coolers are normally seen in self service situations, either plumbed-in or via the large 19-litre bottles. Models are available in ambient and chilled versions, although some are available with hot water outputs, suitable for making hot drinks.

Fizzy Busy

While chilled bottles remain popular for fresh juices and other perishable drinks, a draught machine for carbonated (fizzy) drinks is a practical solution for most caterers. There is less handling needed, less waste (no bins required for bottles), less energy used, and service can be much faster. Furthermore, they can save a huge amount of space.

However, they will need cleaning and maintenance to a greater degree than a simple shelf or bottle refrigerator. They are available in postmix syrup and premix versions, with the premix version taking up more space but offering greater reliability.

Energy Bar

Almost all of the energy in a hot beverage machine is going to go on heating water and any machine heating water has to contend with limescale. Limescale build-up means a lot less energy efficiency, so you’ll need to pay attention to your local water quality. But it’s not as simple as with cleaning equipment like, say dishwashers. A beverage machine uses drinking water, and this is, effectively, a food so there are extra-strict rules – for both the type of water input and cleaning/hygiene regulations.

If your local water is hard, you’ll want to treat it for limescale, but not necessarily in the way that the dishwasher will be treated. Many machines will include automatic or planned descaling functions, and of course you should follow your manufacturer’s guidelines for cleaning and maintenance. However, the best option is a third-party PMP (preventative maintenance program). That way, the supplier’s service engineer will take responsibility to ensure the machine remains in optimum working condition, something that is critical for what is a kind of food-dispensing equipment.

The above is exraction from the CESA equipment buying guide 2009. See the December issue of Eat Out magazine for more details.