onocoffee Senior Member Joined: 5 Sep 2002 Posts: 730 Location: Towson, Maryland Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: La Marzocco Linea 2AV, 3AV &... Grinder: 4 Mazzer Major Autos, Compak... Vac Pot: That crazy Bodum eSantos Drip: Bunn CWT Twin, Bunn Water... Roaster: Petroncini The Crumb
Posted Thu Sep 5, 2002, 6:53am Subject: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
Hello everyone, I'm new to the list and wanted to inquire if anyone had any thoughts on a good commercial brewer?
When it comes to commercial brewers, the list seems long: Bunn, Curtis, Bloomfield, Newco, Fetco, etc. I'm looking for a good quality machine that makes great drip coffee.
MarkPrince Moderator Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 5,138 Location: Vancouver Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Frankenstein'ed LM Linea Grinder: Anfim Super Caimano Vac Pot: 1922 Silex Drip: Krups Moka Brew Roaster: Hottop
Posted Thu Sep 5, 2002, 3:03pm Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
onocoffee Said:
Hello everyone, I'm new to the list and wanted to inquire if anyone had any thoughts on a good commercial brewer?
When it comes to commercial brewers, the list seems long: Bunn, Curtis, Bloomfield, Newco, Fetco, etc. I'm looking for a good quality machine that makes great drip coffee.
www.morala.com is the N. American importer. A machine is supposedly on its way to me to evaluate. Far too many of the major commercial brands today sacrifice quality brew for speed or ease of use. The Animo, according to Morala, balances both quality with efficiency.
onocoffee Senior Member Joined: 5 Sep 2002 Posts: 730 Location: Towson, Maryland Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: La Marzocco Linea 2AV, 3AV &... Grinder: 4 Mazzer Major Autos, Compak... Vac Pot: That crazy Bodum eSantos Drip: Bunn CWT Twin, Bunn Water... Roaster: Petroncini The Crumb
Posted Thu Sep 5, 2002, 8:42pm Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
Thanks Mark for the response!
I am very interested in finding a great commercial brewer that is going to give the proper respect to the coffee I am brewing. I want a machine that is going to make a fantastic pot of coffee, at the right temperature with the proper brew time.
Please let me know how your testing of the Animo goes.
Posted Sat Sep 7, 2002, 10:45pm Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
I'm soooo glad somebody else posted this question too!
Some coffee-loving neighbours and myself have bought a local general store in rural BC, and figure that in addition to groceries, feed, and hardware, the locals need to be exposed to something other than Nabob.
We already have a source of great beans (been ingesting them at home for several years now) but the question of how to brew for the masses is my current research topic.
I'm going to check out Animo, and eagerly await the reviews, but are there any other thoughts about brew quality vs. price for the major manufacturers? We're in the market (probably) for a pour-through (store plumbing sucks) type, preferably right into an airpot. Not high volume, but we'd like to make sure it still tastes good...
On the same topic, any recommendations for a small volume, durable grinder to be applied to the same endeavor?
onocoffee Senior Member Joined: 5 Sep 2002 Posts: 730 Location: Towson, Maryland Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: La Marzocco Linea 2AV, 3AV &... Grinder: 4 Mazzer Major Autos, Compak... Vac Pot: That crazy Bodum eSantos Drip: Bunn CWT Twin, Bunn Water... Roaster: Petroncini The Crumb
Posted Mon Sep 9, 2002, 5:24am Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
Lelani-
Glad to see there's more than just myself interested in commercial equipment. I'm hope for some positive reviews of the Animo and I'm hoping that it's NSF approved (probably couldn't use it if it isn't).
I wrote to the distributor about the Animo unit and he wrote back with some information. Seems like they have a unit that can accomodate airpots that has variable rates - I'm taking this to mean that the unit can brew one cup to a large airpot on demand. I sent him some more questions and am looking forward to his response.
One thought about the airpot though, if your volume isn't very high, perhaps it's better to just go with a pot brewer. Lower volume means faster turnover during busy periods but that also ensures top-quality for the customer.
koffeekev Senior Member Joined: 21 Jul 2002 Posts: 693 Location: Connecticut Expertise: Professional
Posted Tue Sep 10, 2002, 2:00pm Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
Hi everybody. I've been off-line for a couple of days and it would figure that now is when a question about commercial brewers comes in. From the list given in the first post I would choose Bunn and Fetco for brewing coffee as true to form as possible. The folks at Fetco really take the time to educate themselves about delicious coffee and it shows in the quality of products they offer. Bunn is the leader in the business with very reliable units at affordable prices. I would use an air pot system rather than a bottle brewer because even a few minutes can really change the properties of coffee when left on a burner. A bottle brewer is set for 64 ounces and a 2.2 liter airpot is 74 ounces. It can easily be adjusted for 64 ounces so the volume problem is a non-issue. Use glass lined air pots, (Technibrew being about the sturdiest and Peacocks being fine) and make sure to preheat them with hot water before the initial daily brew. If you are using a 110v system always make sure the ready to brew light is on before starting. The recovery is a little slower than a 220v unit so if you don't wait in between brews you are liable to have a brew temp of 160 or less. Always order equipment with stainless steel brew baskets rather than the stock plastic ones for obvious reasons and never pay full retail. If you have a coffee company that you can order through it would save you close to 50%. I could probably help to hook you up with a supplier. If you have questions about larger batches I reserve the right to re-formulate my answer.
koffeekev Senior Member Joined: 21 Jul 2002 Posts: 693 Location: Connecticut Expertise: Professional
Posted Tue Sep 10, 2002, 2:14pm Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
I forgot to address the grinder question. If you are looking for a portion grinder, one that grinds the correct, preset amount for each brew, I would recommend the Bunn LPG series. They are compact and rugged and last a long time. These are available in single and dual hopper sizes. Repairs are infrequent as well as easy with parts being readily available. If you are planning to grind more than one or two different coffees I would recommend either The Bunn G-1 or the Grindmaster retail style grinder. The Ditting grinder is one of the best in the business but I think it is quite expensive and I don't see very many on the street which could lead to problems getting parts. (I may be wrong about that nationally but I just don't see them around very often in the Northeast).
koffeekev Senior Member Joined: 21 Jul 2002 Posts: 693 Location: Connecticut Expertise: Professional
Posted Tue Sep 10, 2002, 2:28pm Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
I checked out the Animo site and have to truthfully say that I have never even heard of this particular system so I have no advice on brewing, service or parts availability. I would love to open one up though. As far as being able to brew different batches, be careful. The coffee bed depth changes with each brew size and that will most certainly change the character of each level. This can be compensated with different types of brew baskets or water by-pass but it could take forever to develop the correct range. Anyone with experience using the Curtis Gemini 612ILD brewer that has 1/2 gal, 1 Gal, and 1 1/2 gal batches knows what I'm talking about. Kevin
onocoffee Senior Member Joined: 5 Sep 2002 Posts: 730 Location: Towson, Maryland Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: La Marzocco Linea 2AV, 3AV &... Grinder: 4 Mazzer Major Autos, Compak... Vac Pot: That crazy Bodum eSantos Drip: Bunn CWT Twin, Bunn Water... Roaster: Petroncini The Crumb
Posted Tue Sep 10, 2002, 3:11pm Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
Thanks Kevin for taking the time to share your thoughts. Any thoughts on a Bunn F-20, 120V brewer? I just won one on EBay that comes with the S/S basket and wondered if you have any additional tips regarding this unit.
koffeekev Senior Member Joined: 21 Jul 2002 Posts: 693 Location: Connecticut Expertise: Professional
Posted Tue Sep 10, 2002, 4:25pm Subject: Re: Any Thoughts on Commercial Brewers?
The F-20 is a little bit older than most. They were the work horses of the industry prior to the STF models. The beauty of Bunn machines is that all parts are interchangeble regardless of age. This unit could date back to 1980 or so but if it doesn't have too many hours on it, you can expect it to be very reliable. One shortcoming is that it needs to be hooked to a water line seeing that it has no opening for pour through. Does this one have a hot water tap?
I don't know if you are mechanically inclined but if you are I would recommend opening it up for inspection. Look for burned wires on the warmer plates, carefully remove all the nuts and fittings holding the tank top on and check to see how everything looks inside. Before you plug it in make sure the flow valve/strainer assembly is on the back of the unit (two brass gizmos with copper couplers). Turn the thermostat dial completely counter clockwise to shut off, hook up water line and let run for 2 full cycles before turning the thermostat on again. I'm not sure if you mentioned what type of location you plan on using this in but the F-20 is going to require quite a bit of electricity. The "20" means it has a 20 amp rating with an 1800 watt heater so it will probably blow most household circuits. Buying a machine on e-bay is sometimes a crap shoot. I have found some terrific bargains there but have had them offset by a couple of duds. If it's a good machine you will know soon enough and if it's not, well, cut your losses and dump it. Let me know if I can assist you further. kevin
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