Caffeinating your Barbershop

Sean Edwards

Ihave two strings to my bow!

Not only do I have an interest in Barbering, I am also at the forefront of media for the Café Industry and travel the globe with our coffee consulting business. Many Barbers have asked me what the best coffee systems are for their shop, that can be run efficiently without too much labour input. Previously, this would have been a hard question to answer as manual espresso systems were always the best in quality coffee

Times have changed as automation in coffee has improved and has become more affordable milk-based espresso drinks, such as flat whites, lattes or cappuccinos. So, replicating those drinks well without a skilled barista can be a challenge, until now, with some help from smart technology.

If I was to design a coffee system for a barbershop, I would be looking into a fully automatic espresso machine that also had quality milk steaming capability. Most manual systems require a large footprint of around a square metre, if you combine a machine and a grinder. In half this space you can put in a fully automatic system that will replicate the manual version, achieving a presentable coffee for your customer.

About five years ago I had the pleasure of working with the Swiss company Eversys who developed a fully automatic machine which had a very good adjustable grinder that slowed down the extraction process and delivered an excellent espresso shot. Since then, many other machine manufacturers have taken note and have improved their designs creating long espresso brew parameters. Manual machines operate at a time value of 30 seconds for a 30ml espresso shot. Most fully automatics extract coffee in 10 seconds which does not give enough brew time to deliver the correct taste profile of espresso. An automatic espresso

In Australia and New Zealand we don’t expect to receive a bad coffee anymore and so if you want to impress your customer when you give them a free coffee, it needs to be bloody great. The best way to see if a system works for you is to look at the following scenarios.

SPACE

If you have plenty of space and you love your coffee and have the time to dedicate to this passion, go for a manual system of a standalone machine and grinder. These systems can have a starting cost of around $5,000 for a decent boiler machine and a small commercial grinder. There are many small semi-commercial/domestic machines on the market that will work for you. If you shop smart and check out online reviews, you can get going pretty quickly. You will, however, need some training if you have not used manual equipment before.

TIME

If you have no time to stop and make a customer a coffee, I would be leading towards a fully automatic machine, which is often called a Bean to Cup system. As explained in my introduction this system has now become affordable and the quality is much higher.

BUDGET

Systems can range from $3,000 to $10,000. Companies like Jura, Gaggia and DeLonghi are leading the way in high end domestic Bean to Cup coffee systems. With a Super Automatic you get what you pay for, like buying a car, so you need to work out what your needs are and what your coffee usage is likely to be.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Another consideration is whether the machine needs to be plumbed in with a water supply. Jura has a larger super automatic that can be plumbed, and this will save time having to fill internal water tanks. Most domestic fully automatics run on 10amp power so if you switch up to a commercial machine you may need a 15-amp power supply.

QUALITY

The secret to all good coffee systems is fresh roasted beans that suit the brewing method. I am a part owner of Peak Coffee and we have designed a blend called “Pulse”, specifically for super auto machines with a darker roast profile and 10% Robusta bean to work with a quicker extraction methodology, which most automatic machines operate on. There are over 1000 coffee roasters in Australia who sell fresh roasted coffee, so please steer clear of supermarket coffee without roast dates. Coffee only lasts six weeks from roasting if you keep the bag well sealed when opened.

MAINTENANCE

All coffee systems need to be cleaned and maintained with regular servicing. Milk systems on auto machines need to be cleaned daily so bacteria’s do not build up in internal pipe work and milk tanks. Most new equipment has auto clean functions that you need to follow, which only takes a few minutes at the end of each day.

To summarise on how to choose a coffee system to suit your business - try and taste the coffee first through the machine before you purchase it. Many of the major retailers have working machines in store that you can use. There are also lots of independent machine reviews on YouTube channels. I hope you enjoy this journey and find the quality system that suits your caffeine needs.

Sean