Coffee machine for hair salon
Discussion
My girlfriend is hoping to put a coffee machine in her salon for when she opens again, but neither of us really know what will work best.
She could just use instant and a kettle, but she'd like to offer something a little better and more 'special'.
We did look into renting from Riju but that would be around £180 per month (at her cost) so isn't realistic.
Ideally she'd be after something with a water capacity on the larger side, quick time for making one and the option to buy pods from Amazon or Lidl etc.
Although that said, it could work out well doing the subscription service for a free machine with Nespresso.
She estimates about 15-20 cups a day.
No strict budget, but ~£250 is easier on the wallet than £500.
She could just use instant and a kettle, but she'd like to offer something a little better and more 'special'.
We did look into renting from Riju but that would be around £180 per month (at her cost) so isn't realistic.
Ideally she'd be after something with a water capacity on the larger side, quick time for making one and the option to buy pods from Amazon or Lidl etc.
Although that said, it could work out well doing the subscription service for a free machine with Nespresso.
She estimates about 15-20 cups a day.
No strict budget, but ~£250 is easier on the wallet than £500.
We use instant cappuccino in our salon, the powdered mix from Maxwell House is the best and we mix it using a cheap as chips one cup instant kettle thing.
Now let's get one thing straight, as an occasional coffee drinker (not an expert or coffee nazi) it is utter, utter s
te. In my humble opinion.
However, compared to the week as pish Nescafe Gold Blend other salons throw out the punters absolutely love it. I cannot tell you the amount of positive comments it gets and bizarrely even gets flagged up in positive reviews. I think it's simply the chance of getting something better than expected for free. It costs us probably £20 a month and we give out the individually wrapped biscuits with each one, all bought from the local Bookers cash and carry. They also have the chance of a tea (Yorkshire) or one of about 5 herbal teas.
I would point out however that since Lockdown 1 we do not provide any refreshments in the business due to the risk of Covid transfer, this will continue post April 12th.
Now let's get one thing straight, as an occasional coffee drinker (not an expert or coffee nazi) it is utter, utter s
te. In my humble opinion.However, compared to the week as pish Nescafe Gold Blend other salons throw out the punters absolutely love it. I cannot tell you the amount of positive comments it gets and bizarrely even gets flagged up in positive reviews. I think it's simply the chance of getting something better than expected for free. It costs us probably £20 a month and we give out the individually wrapped biscuits with each one, all bought from the local Bookers cash and carry. They also have the chance of a tea (Yorkshire) or one of about 5 herbal teas.
I would point out however that since Lockdown 1 we do not provide any refreshments in the business due to the risk of Covid transfer, this will continue post April 12th.
What sort of drink are you looking to provide? I'd have thought not an espresso which is what the pods machines are skewed towards. Do you really want to be messing around with steamers & wands?
How about a filter coffee maker like the Sage Precision Brewer?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sage-SDC450BSS-Precision-...
It's got an insulated flask which keeps the coffee warm/hot & won't break if you drop it - you can make 1.8l at a time so you don't have to make every cup individually. It's good enough for James Hoffman so it makes good coffee & looks simple enough for the trainee to operate with a bit of instruction.
How about a filter coffee maker like the Sage Precision Brewer?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sage-SDC450BSS-Precision-...
It's got an insulated flask which keeps the coffee warm/hot & won't break if you drop it - you can make 1.8l at a time so you don't have to make every cup individually. It's good enough for James Hoffman so it makes good coffee & looks simple enough for the trainee to operate with a bit of instruction.
Edited by Mr Pointy on Sunday 14th March 10:49
LaurasOtherHalf said:
We use instant cappuccino in our salon, the powdered mix from Maxwell House is the best and we mix it using a cheap as chips one cup instant kettle thing.
I would point out however that since Lockdown 1 we do not provide any refreshments in the business due to the risk of Covid transfer, this will continue post April 12th.
Thanks. I think she has been enjoying Maxwell House caramel latte sachets herself so could be an option. I would point out however that since Lockdown 1 we do not provide any refreshments in the business due to the risk of Covid transfer, this will continue post April 12th.
Good point regarding covid regs. It might be just bottled water for a while longer.
Mr Pointy said:
What sort of drink are you looking to provide? I'd have thought not an espresso which is what the pods machines are skewed towards. Do you really want to be messing around with steamers & wands?
How about a filter coffee maker like the Sage Precision Brewer?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sage-SDC450BSS-Precision-...
It's got an insulated flask which keeps the coffee warm/hot & won't break if you drop it - you can make 1.8l at a time so you don't have to make every cup individually. It's good enough for James Hoffman so it makes good coffee & looks simple enough for the trainee to operate with a bit of instruction.
A filter coffee is a good and practical shout, however she'd want to be offering more options. For herself as much as her clients. Will definitely look into it though. How about a filter coffee maker like the Sage Precision Brewer?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sage-SDC450BSS-Precision-...
It's got an insulated flask which keeps the coffee warm/hot & won't break if you drop it - you can make 1.8l at a time so you don't have to make every cup individually. It's good enough for James Hoffman so it makes good coffee & looks simple enough for the trainee to operate with a bit of instruction.
Edited by Mr Pointy on Sunday 14th March 10:49
Wouldn't be bothered about wands etc. I kind of assumed you just picked the pod you wanted and added milk if you wanted it. With or without the frother.
It might be that a selection of sachets are the best option but I don't drink coffee myself to know what's what.
I'd probably go for a Nespresso Vertuo.
If gives mug fulls of frothy-ish coffee relatively cheaply and very quickly.
Coffee is very much speed/convenience vs taste. A manual espresso machine isn't practical in a salon.
A bean to cup would be better, but you're not going to get exceptional results from one, and Nespresso isn't far behind.
Salon customers should be happy enough with Nespresso.
If gives mug fulls of frothy-ish coffee relatively cheaply and very quickly.
Coffee is very much speed/convenience vs taste. A manual espresso machine isn't practical in a salon.
A bean to cup would be better, but you're not going to get exceptional results from one, and Nespresso isn't far behind.
Salon customers should be happy enough with Nespresso.
RobbieTheTruth said:
I'd probably go for a Nespresso Vertuo.
At 50p + per unit in addition to milk costs we'd need to put our prices up to supply those and we aren't the cheapest in town by a long way! The fine margins in hairdressing really don't allow for that sought of budget outside of the very high end salons or the sole trader working out of their "garden room" with little overheads.LaurasOtherHalf said:
RobbieTheTruth said:
I'd probably go for a Nespresso Vertuo.
At 50p + per unit in addition to milk costs we'd need to put our prices up to supply those and we aren't the cheapest in town by a long way! The fine margins in hairdressing really don't allow for that sought of budget outside of the very high end salons or the sole trader working out of their "garden room" with little overheads.I know nothing about the economics of hairdressing but I know my gf pays £70-£80 a time and actually shopped around for this price. I occasionally get mine cut at a place for £21 and that includes a bottle of beer and coffee.
I would have thought a 50p capsule could be absorbed here?
It would definitely be a Nespresso machine for me - the ease of use and quality of coffee is a good mixture. Without looking too hard you can get 80 Starbucks capsules for £24 (30p a pop). As said above - I pay £20 for my hair and they offer a good coffee or beer in the price. Well I guess it’s good coffee - I’ve never had one 
Just be mindful of using domestic coffee machines for commercial use. They will soon wear out with constant use.
We use a commercial coffee company name escapes me, with filter coffee in Airpots. We currently have 12 knackered ones i need to bin. Granted we have 4 salons and a high usage but worth considering.
We use a commercial coffee company name escapes me, with filter coffee in Airpots. We currently have 12 knackered ones i need to bin. Granted we have 4 salons and a high usage but worth considering.
We have Nespresso Creatista Plus' in our shops. Fairly certain I paid about £300 each as they're always on offer somewhere.
We use the Lidl / Aldi capsules at 13.5p each and can offer Lungo, Capucino, Latte, Flat White or Machiatto all at the press of a button. Bought some nice cups and saucers from Dunelm and stick a wee lotus biscoff on the side (think these were about £9 for 300). I'd go as far to say that our offering on hot drinks is better than many of the cafe's next to us and it's phone shops we have lol.
I never bought these with the intention of offering customers coffee, they were for the teams in the shops but it's a nice touch and a point of difference for us which is nice as we're franchise and our competitors are main estate.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nespresso-Creatista-Brush...
We use the Lidl / Aldi capsules at 13.5p each and can offer Lungo, Capucino, Latte, Flat White or Machiatto all at the press of a button. Bought some nice cups and saucers from Dunelm and stick a wee lotus biscoff on the side (think these were about £9 for 300). I'd go as far to say that our offering on hot drinks is better than many of the cafe's next to us and it's phone shops we have lol.
I never bought these with the intention of offering customers coffee, they were for the teams in the shops but it's a nice touch and a point of difference for us which is nice as we're franchise and our competitors are main estate.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nespresso-Creatista-Brush...
Edited by Sy1441 on Monday 15th March 10:36
Thanks for all the replies, really helpful!
I had seen the Creatista and 13.5p per cup certainly sounds more enticing.
She loves the idea of being able to offer prosecco, maybe just on a Friday, but cost aside, it would require licensing and other factors to consider (drink driving etc).
Good point regarding wearing out the machine. I guess short of buying a professional system we'll just have to hope a normal one will do the job for a few years.
I had seen the Creatista and 13.5p per cup certainly sounds more enticing.
She loves the idea of being able to offer prosecco, maybe just on a Friday, but cost aside, it would require licensing and other factors to consider (drink driving etc).
Good point regarding wearing out the machine. I guess short of buying a professional system we'll just have to hope a normal one will do the job for a few years.
Turns out the salon she is at currently uses a De'Longhi Prima Donna XS deluxe, which is a fully automatic bean to cup machine. She says she is pretty happy with that and how easy it is so we're now looking at the De'Longhi Eletta machine.
Bit more than we wanted to spend but ongoing costs should be reasonable and they appear to be highly recommended in other threads.
Bit more than we wanted to spend but ongoing costs should be reasonable and they appear to be highly recommended in other threads.
iacabu said:
She loves the idea of being able to offer prosecco, maybe just on a Friday, but cost aside, it would require licensing and other factors to consider (drink driving etc).
No licence required if you're giving alcohol away as part of a non-licensed business.But if you're quibbling over a 30p coffee capsule...
V8mate said:
iacabu said:
She loves the idea of being able to offer prosecco, maybe just on a Friday, but cost aside, it would require licensing and other factors to consider (drink driving etc).
No licence required if you're giving alcohol away as part of a non-licensed business.But if you're quibbling over a 30p coffee capsule...
Not quibbling over a 30p capsule, but 300-400 of them each month.
A bit of reading suggests b2c machines will work out at around £30-45 per month, depending on the bean. Much cheaper than Nespresso and will pay for the machine within a year
iacabu said:
Went with this in the end. Thanks for everyone's input.
Just need to find the right beans now...
I've got that machine. Because my wife and I drink our coffee in the same way.Just need to find the right beans now...
Hope you haven't bought yourself a world of pain as your customers ask for every variant of black, white, decaff etc. That's why pods are so useful - they make everyone happy.
V8mate said:
I've got that machine. Because my wife and I drink our coffee in the same way.
Hope you haven't bought yourself a world of pain as your customers ask for every variant of black, white, decaff etc. That's why pods are so useful - they make everyone happy.
That's originally why we were looking at pod machines but the salon she has been at for the last couple of years uses a b2c machine with no issuesHope you haven't bought yourself a world of pain as your customers ask for every variant of black, white, decaff etc. That's why pods are so useful - they make everyone happy.
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