Equipment—it is a huge and fascinating topic. It is about money, and it is about you personally. Equipment is the tool that defines what you want to do, how you want to do it, and how you plan to earn money. Let me try to explain.
Back in the day, before I even had “Kaffee von Sascha,” a friend of mine and I were discussing a potential partnership. He suggested buying “some machine, preferably used, for about one or two thousand euros,” plus an oven for baking. His words: “We’ll start like that, and once we take off, you can buy whatever you want.” His plan was for each of us to invest €10,000, so a total of €20,000. For context: the very first machine I eventually bought for Fenster alone cost €23,000.
Now, that logic works for some people. It might even be right for them. But here’s the big “but” (hello, Michael!): can you really earn the €23,000 you need for a world-class machine if you start with a used one that cost €1,000? If you can—great, you got lucky. But in reality—no. Because the people you create your place for are the ones who will show up. It really is that simple.
My formula for spending on café equipment is straightforward and well known: better less, but the best. I decided to buy very little equipment, but what I did buy would be the absolute best. And usually the most expensive. Why? Because I was building a café for myself, first and foremost, and for anyone searching for exquisite, truly delicious coffee. On a €1,000 machine, that is nearly impossible.
Of course, besides pure quality, I had other requirements for the equipment:
Reliability. The machine has to produce thousands of drinks a day without failing. A take-away café like Fenster depends entirely on its machine. It has to deliver water exactly how I program it, endlessly and consistently.
Workflow efficiency. In simple terms: the machine has to be easy to use, requiring the minimum number of simple, smooth movements.
Attractiveness. This I realized later—an attractive machine attracts customers, especially those who aren’t coffee professionals. Even if someone knows nothing about coffee, the look of the machine should scream: “I am the best in the world. Which means the coffee I make is also the best in the world.”
Reputation. This is for the professionals. If you have a machine from a famous, premium manufacturer, people in the coffee industry will stop by purely out of professional curiosity.
That is why, after analyzing all the factors, I chose the Sanremo Opera as the main actor after the barista.
It was a three-group version, maxed out with every possible feature, including integrated scales. At the time, there was no machine in existence that scored higher in every one of those categories. So the Opera it was.
Alongside it, I got two Compak F10 grinders—at that time, the best conical burr grinders available. To this day, I think espresso from them tastes unmatched. They are insanely fast: 3–4 seconds for a double shot. The grind is always cool and visually uniform.
I also had one very cheap, used Mazzer Super Jolly grinder, which I bought years earlier from CoffeePirates. Honestly, I used it for filter coffee. Embarrassing, I know. Later I replaced it with a Mahlkönig EK43, but more on that later.
There was also a basic ice maker for summer, the cheapest I could find—about €600. And of course, the most expensive, top-of-the-line water filters from BWT Water and More. Essential. Beyond that, it was all the small stuff: baskets, shower screens, gaskets, tampers—made by companies that produce these things hundreds of times better than the standard parts that come with machines. Oh, and precision scales for weighing coffee. Jewelry-grade.
That was it.
The moral of this chapter is simple: with equipment, you will only ever get exactly what it is capable of giving. If you plan to offer the best coffee in the world, then the espresso machine, the grinder, and all the “small” accessories also have to be the best in the world.
If you do not have the money for the best, then go find the money—not cheaper equipment. Or do not even start. Yes, entrepreneurship has plenty of stories about success with cheap equipment, or failure despite expensive gear. But that is another topic, not one about equipment.
And speaking of money—this naturally leads to the topic of budgets. Which I will explain in detail in the next chapter.
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