CafesCafes

Coffee Bar Equipment

Chefs' Toys has served the needs of cafés and coffee shops since our inception in 1988. From coffee brewers to coffee serving equipment, beverage mixers, dispensers, specialty beverage equipment, blenders, and mini baking ovens, let us help you with your café supply and equipment needs.

What Equipment Do You Need for a Coffee Bar?

Coffee shop equipment includes a wide range of small but essential items. Brewing and serving coffee seems simple, but the full range of commercial coffee house equipment becomes apparent when you plan the process step-by-step. A coffee shop needs:

Example collection
Coffee Dispensers
Coffee Dispensers
Coffee Grinders
Coffee Grinders
Commercial Coffee Makers and Brewers
Coffee Makers
Commercial Coffee Urns
Coffee Urns
Coffee Warmers
Coffee Warmers
Commercial Refrigerators & Freezers
Refrigerators
Mugs, Cups, and Saucers
Mugs, Cups, and Saucers

In addition to basic coffee shop supplies, a café also needs back-of-the-house equipment to prepare and store food and drinks. Panini grills, toasters, and waffle makers are popular choices for food prep. Commercial blenders and ice makers are necessary for making specialty iced coffees, while beverage dispensers for cold drinks add another possible revenue stream to a coffee bar.

How Much Does Machinery Cost For a Coffee Shop?

The cost of café equipment varies depending on the make and model of the equipment. Here’s a quick overview of the price range for coffee house equipment, with examples of both budget-friendly and high-end machines:

Coffee Makers

Coffee makers range in price from $315 to over $850. Budget-friendly machines include the Grindmaster CPO-2P-15A Portable Coffee Brewer and the Waring WCM50 Café Deco Pourover Coffee Brewer. High-end models such as the Bunn CWTF15 12950.0211 Coffee Brewer offer instant access to hot water, while the BUNN 12950.0212 CWTF15-3 Coffee Brewer includes three coffee warmers and produces 62 cups of coffee an hour.

Coffee Grinders

A simple coffee grinder like the Hamilton Beach 80350R Coffee Spice Grinder is fine for low-production environments and usually costs less than $30. For a busy coffee shop, high-capacity grinders like the Bunn G3HD 22100.0001 Red Bulk Coffee Grinder require an investment of $940 or more.

Commercial Blenders

Your choice of blender depends heavily on your menu. cafés with minimal frozen or blended menu items may only need a basic blender such as the Waring BB180X NuBlend Bar Blender, in which case you can expect to pay between $80 to $100. Coffee shops with high demand for blended items are better served with powerful blenders in the $1,000 to $2,000 price range, such as the Vita-Mix 5201 XL Variable Speed Countertop Blender.

Which Is The Best Coffee Brewing Equipment?

The best coffee bar equipment meets the needs of your café or coffee bar. Using equipment that can’t meet your busiest production times is, of course, undesirable. At the other end of the scale, buying café equipment that exceeds your needs results in money spent on unnecessary capacity. You also need to consider how quickly your business will grow: the right coffee maker for today may not meet your production capacity in a year or two.

Finding the right commercial coffee shop equipment for your establishment can be tricky, so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

What Coffee Shop Supplies Does a Barista Use?

Baristas work most effectively with access to the right tools and coffee shop supplies. A coffee shop barista needs the following equipment:

  • A coffee scale measures the exact amount of water and coffee during brewing. Note coffee scales and commercial kitchen scales are not equivalents.
  • A frothing thermometer ensures hot milk is at precisely the right temperature.
  • A knock box stores spent coffee grounds for later disposal. 
  • A steaming pitcher contains milk for steam frothing.
  • A tamper packs coffee grounds into espresso machine filters. 
  • Shot glasses such as the one-ounce Libbey 5031 Tall Whiskey Shot Glass or the two-ounce Libbey 48 Shot Glass help measure espresso shots.

Launching a new café? Need help with design, construction, consulting, interior design, or furniture for your coffee shop? Need help sourcing hard-to-find coffee bar equipment? Let one of our food service professionals assist you. We are happy to help.