Do you need a two-lever coffee machine or can you get by with a single-lever?

You're choosing a lever coffee machine for a café. How many levers should it have?

The size of your coffee machine, and therefore the number of levers, depends on how many coffees you want to make in a day. The more levers you have on your coffee machine, or heads or brewing groups , the morecoffees you can brew inless time. Which is very useful in busier operations.

Think not only about the average daily traffic in a coffee shop, but also about the busiest hours of the day. Evenat peak times, however short, you want to serve great performance. That is,perfectly brewed coffee in a relatively short time.

Rather, having a two-lever coffee machine, i.e. one with two brew groups - the heads - may seem preferable. Typical saying, "have a second lever just in case". However,these advantages can also mean a few extrahassles with the coffee machine.

Coffee machine heads, levers and portafilters

Let's get the terminology straight first. Typically, the name lever coffee maker then leads to a distinction of its type or size based on the number of levers. Thus, a single-lever coffee machine or a two-lever coffee machine, etc.However,the levers themselves, or in other words portafilters, can be purchased in varying quantities for your coffee maker.

The place where the lever sits in the coffee maker is called the head of thecoffee maker, the group head (brew group) or "group head". And so the number of these heads is what defines a coffee maker's ability to hold a given number of portafilters - levers.

What is a coffee machine head

Thecoffee maker houses the pump, the boiler and many other necessary components. But the magic of coffee extraction happens in the head of the coffee maker. That is,the portafilter housed in it. In case you are deciding on the performance of the coffee maker, how many coffees it will be able to make at once, you are therefore thinking about the number of heads of the coffee maker.

From an operational point of view, of the components that make up the head of the coffee maker, you should know primarily theshower and the seals. The shower, that strainer in the head of the coffee maker from which the water flows to the coffee in the portafilter. The gasket is then found around the shower. You shouldn't forget about these two parts of the coffee maker during regular maintenance.

Will you need a two-lever coffee machine?

For starters , theaverage number of coffees per daycan help you decide . This will give you an idea of how many levers will be more suitable for you. To give you an idea, calculate as follows: up to 50 coffees per day = single-lever machine, up to 100 coffees per day = two-lever machine. If you plan to have more than 100 coffees per day then you can also use a three or more lever machine.

In addition to this expected daily number of coffees, think about the times of day when your café will be busiest. At peak times, when your coffee shop will be absolutely packed and you'll still be making coffee for customers who have stopped in for a latte to go in a cup.

During the day, when customers are coming in continuously, maybe a single-serve coffee machine will do the trick. In a busy hour, a coffee maker with a second head could help you be more efficient. Havingthe ability to make coffee on both levers at the same time could mean your barista will work 30% faster than with a single-lever machine. Faster order processing means higher customer satisfaction.