Café Startup: A Checklist Of Essential Equipment

Starting a café isn’t as easy as it sounds. Not only do you need a good location and a unique design, but you also need essential equipment to make your work efficient and place presentable. In addition, getting the equipment might be the most expensive part of setting up a coffee shop, along with renting a space.5

Hence, you must first figure out the most important items that you need to invest in before starting your café startup. You can get other necessary tools later on when your business grows. For now, here is a checklist of essential equipment you can refer to.

1. Coffee Shop Refrigerator And Freezer

You need a refrigeration system in your coffee shop, whether your business is a new venture or an existing one. A refrigeration system would help preserve food and beverages at an ideal temperature. Some consumables like milk may spoil or lose their freshness when kept at room temperature.

You’ll need a cake fridge for your café as well. This is especially crucial if you’re going to serve light foods or snacks, like muffins and pies. You could even get a walk-in cooler system if you have enough budget for it.

2. Automatic Drip Coffee Makers

What’s a café without a coffee maker? Everyone loves the taste and smell of a standard black coffee. Thus, coffee makers are a gold mine for your store. Ensure that you invest in quality ones to provide delicious coffee and generate profits.

Good coffee makers help you meet the high demand for tasty coffee daily. So, you need to purchase durable ones that can last long and match the workload. Since you’ll be serving coffee all day long, you should get automatic drip coffee makers that can produce sizable batches of coffee. If you want to make different blends of coffee, stick with three or four blends first.

3. Coffee Bean Grinder

Brewing is a vital step in making coffee. Besides, there’s no brewing without grinding the coffee beans. This is why you’ll need a coffee bean grinder for the grinding process.

You could opt for a blade grinder or a burr grinder. A blade grinder crushes the beans into small particles with a sharp blade. On the other hand, a burr grinder uses abrasive surfaces. It grinds uniformly but can only grind a few beans at a time.

However, you’ll need a separate grinder to grind your espresso beans into fine powder. To maintain the quality and flavor of the coffee, it’s important not to skimp on a coffee bean grinder.

4. Coffee Mugs

Coffee mugs are simple items your café can’t do without. But you have to make sure that you pick coffee mugs that best reflect your coffee shop and leave an impression on your customers. Invest in durable ones to avoid replacements that could have been avoided.

When shopping for mugs for your coffee shop, consider the size. For instance, some people prefer large mugs since they tend to consume more coffee whereas others are fine with small mugs, which hold enough coffee for them to start their day.

Aside from the size of coffee mugs, take account of the materials. Stainless steel, plastic, and porcelain mugs are easy to wash and are popular among coffee drinkers because of how they can retain the smell and sometimes the taste of a beverage that’s been served there. In contrast, glass and ceramic mugs can keep your coffee warm longer than other mugs made of different materials.

5. Coffee Brewer

Consider investing in automated coffee brewers, especially if you plan to expand your customer base in the future. Automated coffee brewers allow you to make multiple cups of coffee at the same time. You can also get a manual pour-over brewer, which will help you meet the needs of customers who may make special requests.

6. Coffee Equipment Cleaners And Cleaning Supplies

One of the things that would drive away customers is poor hygiene. See to it that your business place is well kept and that your equipment is maintained and cleaned regularly. Buy cleaning supplies, including a scale remover, sanitizers, and line cleaners. Get a compartment sink for washing cutlery, cookware, and bakeware.

7. Water Filtration System

Include an effective water filtration system too. After all, safe water is necessary for making quality coffee.

You could go for a system that uses reverse osmosis techniques for water filtration. This kind of system helps remove all impurities and remineralize the water, making it healthier for your customers. However, you should test your water first to figure out the most suitable filtration system.

Conclusion

Gathering the right equipment for your café is a good start. With the necessary tools, you’ll serve delicious coffee and dishes customers will love and come back for.