Café equipment guide: espresso machines, grinders and more

Equipment is where a café budget most often goes wrong in both directions: buying a $25,000 machine for a site that will sell 80 coffees a day, or buying a tired second-hand machine that fails on a Saturday in your first month. This guide walks through each piece in the order it matters, with realistic Australian prices and the trade-offs between buying, leasing and getting equipment through your coffee roaster.

Prices in this guide are listed or published prices from Australian suppliers and buying guides at the time of writing. Some are listed including GST and some excluding it, and they change often. Use them for budgeting and get current quotes before you buy.

#Start with your volume and your menu

Two questions decide almost everything else.

How many coffees will you make at your busiest hour? Not per day: per peak hour. A café that sells 250 coffees a day, 90 of them between 7:30 and 8:30am, needs a setup that can keep up with that hour. Your business plan forecast is the place to start.

What food will you serve? A coffee bar with pastries delivered each morning needs a display cabinet and a sandwich press. A café cooking breakfast and lunch needs a commercial kitchen with an exhaust canopy, a grease trap, more refrigeration and a proper dishwasher. The menu decides your kitchen, not the other way around.

#Espresso machines

Group count and volume

The "groups" are the heads where the portafilter locks in. More groups lets more shots run at once, but group count is not a measure of output on its own. Output depends on the barista, the grinders, milk workflow and how your bar is laid out.

Two groups suit most independent cafés. One barista can comfortably work two groups, and one Australian buying guide suggests a two-group machine suits up to about 200 cups a day, though a fast, well-organised team can do more.

Three groups make sense when two baristas will work the machine side by side at peak, or when volume is consistently high. A third group you rarely use costs money, bench space and power.

One group or a compact machine suits a kiosk, a cart or a café where coffee is a side line.

Boiler types, in plain words

Inside the machine, water has to be heated to two different temperatures: just over 90°C for brewing espresso, and much hotter (as pressurised steam) for texturing milk. Machines solve this in different ways.

Heat exchanger. One large boiler makes steam. Fresh brew water passes through a pipe running inside that boiler and is heated on the way to the group. It is simpler and cheaper, with plenty of steam power, but brew temperature is less precise, especially when the machine is idle for a while or flat out.

Multi-boiler. A separate steam boiler, plus a separate brew boiler (sometimes one per group), each with its own temperature control. Brew temperature is more stable and adjustable, which helps with consistency and with lighter roasts. They cost more to buy and have more parts to service.

Many premium machines use multi-boilers. Plenty of busy cafés make excellent coffee on heat exchanger machines. Ask your roaster which suits their coffee.

Volumetric or semi-automatic. On a volumetric machine, each button stops the shot after a set volume of water, which helps consistency across staff. On a semi-automatic, the barista starts and stops each shot. Either way, many baristas weigh their shots with scales to keep them consistent.

Power and plumbing requirements

These need to be in place before installation day. The figures below are from one Australian installer's published requirements. Always follow the machine's own specifications and have a licensed electrician and plumber do the work.

Power. The machine should have its own dedicated circuit, with no other appliances on it, and the outlet within about 600mm of the machine. Grinders and the POS need their own power points. The circuit size depends on the machine's wattage:

Check whether your tenancy's switchboard can handle this alongside your fridges, oven and dishwasher. A power upgrade is one of the more common and expensive fit-out surprises.

Water. A dedicated cold water supply, typically a half-inch pipe, with a quarter-turn ball valve within a metre of the machine, and a pressure limiting valve fitted after it.

Drainage. A 40 to 50mm drain with a trap directly under the counter, with enough fall for the machine's drain hose.

Bench. A solid bench of around 850 to 1,050mm high that can take the machine's weight, with a hole for the hoses and cables. Stone and stainless steel benches need the hole cut before installation.

Installation itself is usually a modest cost: one installer lists $300 for a standard install of a heat exchanger machine, and another lists a $501.50 (plus GST) package including a pressure limiting valve and water filter. Extra site work costs more.

What espresso machines cost

As a cross-check, one Australian distributor's August 2026 snapshot of 35 traditional espresso machine listings ranged from $4,708 to $24,649 excluding GST, with a median of about $8,414. Lead times for imported machines can be 8 to 16 weeks, so order as soon as your lease and layout are settled.

#Grinders

You will probably spend more time thinking about the espresso machine, but the grinder affects the coffee in the cup just as much.

On-demand, not doser. Modern café grinders grind a set dose straight into the portafilter for each coffee, so the coffee is always freshly ground. Older doser grinders pre-grind into a chamber, where it goes stale. Older dosers can be converted or bought cheaply, but an on-demand grinder is the standard for a reason.

How many. Most cafés run at least two: one for the house espresso blend and one for decaf or a single origin. A busy café may run two grinders on the house blend so two baristas are not waiting on each other. Some keep an older grinder as a backup in case one fails mid-service. Batch brew and filter coffee need their own grinder too.

Flat or conical burrs. Both are used in good commercial grinders. Larger burrs generally grind faster, which matters at peak. The quality of the grinder, the condition of the burrs and how well it holds its setting matter more than the shape.

What grinders cost. A used workhorse grinder such as a Mazzer Super Jolly sells for about $800 to $1,100 from dealers. New entry-level commercial on-demand models, such as the Super Jolly V Up and V Pro electronic, list at around $1,500 to $2,300. A high-volume on-demand grinder such as the Victoria Arduino Mythos One lists at around $3,700 new, or about $2,000 used.

Burrs wear out. Ask your roaster or technician how often your grinder's burrs need replacing at your volume, and budget for it.

#Water filtration

Australian water varies a lot from town to town, and minerals in it build up as scale inside boilers, pipes and valves. Scale is one of the most common causes of expensive machine repairs.

Fit a filter. A water filter sized for your volume and local water protects the machine and improves the coffee. At least one Australian installer says its warranty is void if its recommended filtration is not installed.

Get your water tested. Your roaster or technician can test your water and recommend a filter type.

Change cartridges on schedule. Cartridges are rated for a volume of water, so how often you replace them depends on how busy you are. Put the date on the cartridge when it goes in.

#Refrigeration, dishwashing and cleaning

Milk and refrigeration

An under-bench fridge at the machine keeps milk within arm's reach of the barista. Size it for your busiest hour, including plant milks, so nobody is walking to the cool room at 8am.

Milk and other potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5°C or colder (or 60°C or hotter for hot food) under the national food safety standards. You need a probe thermometer accurate to plus or minus 1°C to check it, and records of fridge temperatures are part of the food safety records most cafés must keep.

Display cabinets for cakes and sandwiches must also hold cold food at 5°C or colder. Refrigerated display cabinets cost more than they look, so get quotes early.

Storage refrigeration. Upright fridges, freezers or a cool room, depending on your menu and how often you get deliveries. One Australian buying guide puts refrigeration (under-bench fridges and display cabinets) at about $3,000 to $15,000 for a café.

A jug rinser and a knock box at the machine save time at peak.

Dishwasher and cleaning

Commercial dishwashers clean a load in minutes rather than an hour. An undercounter glasswasher style suits a small café; a pass-through (hood) dishwasher suits a busier café with a kitchen. One buying guide puts commercial dishwashers at about $4,000 to $12,000.

Hand basins are required in food preparation areas under the food premises standard, separate from the sinks you use for dishes and food. Your council's environmental health officer will check this.

Cleaning gear and chemicals: espresso machine cleaning tablets, grinder cleaner, food-safe sanitiser, and a cleaning schedule that staff sign off.

#Kitchen equipment depends on your menu

Buy for the menu you will run, not the one you might run one day.

• Pastries and toasties only: a sandwich press or panini grill, a small convection oven for warming, a refrigerated display cabinet.
• Light breakfast and lunch: add a commercial oven, cooktop or induction hobs, a salamander or grill, more prep bench and refrigeration, and probably an exhaust canopy.
• Full cooked breakfast and lunch: add a flat grill or griddle, fryers if your menu needs them, a cool room, a full exhaust canopy with make-up air, and a grease trap.

One buying guide puts commercial ovens and cooktops at about $5,000 to $20,000 for a café. The exhaust and grease trap are often the expensive part. Grease traps are usually required by your water utility before you can discharge kitchen wastewater to the sewer, so check with them and your landlord before you design the kitchen.

#POS hardware and smallwares

POS hardware can be as simple as a tablet, stand and card terminal for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on how many registers, printers and kitchen screens you need. The bigger cost over time is usually the merchant fee on card payments. Our POS buyer's guide goes through the real numbers.

Smallwares add up faster than people expect. Budget for:

• Coffee tools: spare portafilters and baskets, tampers, scales, milk jugs in several sizes, thermometers, cleaning brushes.
• Serviceware: cups and saucers, glasses, plates, cutlery, trays, keep cups for sale if you offer them.
• Takeaway packaging: cups, lids, sleeves, bags, napkins.
• Kitchen smallwares: knives, chopping boards (colour-coded), containers with lids, labels, probe thermometers.

#New, used, leased or supplied by your roaster

There are four main ways to get your coffee equipment. Each suits a different situation.

Buy new. Highest upfront cost, a full warranty (commonly 12 months or more), your choice of brand and model, and the equipment is yours to keep or sell. From 1 July 2026, small businesses with turnover under $10 million can immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000 each under the instant asset write-off, which is now permanent. Ask your accountant how this applies to your purchases.

Buy used. Much cheaper, especially for grinders and older machines. The risks are hidden wear, scale damage and short warranties. Buy from a dealer who has serviced the machine, ask for its service history, and have your own technician inspect it. Buying from a business gives you more protection than a private sale: the ACCC says most consumer guarantees do not apply to one-off private sales.

Lease or finance. Spreads the cost over time, often with the option to upgrade or own the equipment at the end. Common options include operating leases, chattel mortgages, hire purchase and rent-to-own arrangements. Compare the total of all repayments with the purchase price, and check what happens if you close or sell the café before the term ends.

Supplied by your coffee roaster. Many Australian roasters lend or supply a machine and grinders to cafés that buy their coffee. This is common and can work well, but it is worth understanding how it is paid for.

How roaster equipment deals usually work

You commit to buying their coffee. Usually exclusively, and usually with a minimum volume each week. One supplier advertising free machine loans asks for at least 6 kilos a week. Equipment financier SilverChef, which funds these arrangements for roasters, describes different models depending on volume: at around 30 kilos a week or more, the roaster rents the machine and lends it to the café; at 15 to 25 kilos, the café rents the machine directly and the roaster can charge less for coffee; at 10 kilos or less, the café buys coffee at the normal price and rents its own machine.

The equipment cost is built into the coffee price. Seven Miles, a roaster, estimates most Australian cafés pay around $32 to $38 a kilo for wholesale coffee, from about $22 for basic coffee with no support to $42 or more for high-quality coffee with equipment and support. SilverChef's guide to roasters says plainly that the roaster builds the cost of the equipment rental into the bean price.

The roaster usually owns the equipment. If you leave the agreement, the machine goes with it. If you sell the café, the equipment is not yours to sell (see our guide to buying an existing café).

Servicing is often included, along with barista training and help dialling in. Confirm this in writing.

Weighing it up with real numbers

Say a roaster offers a machine and two grinders on loan, and their coffee costs $4 a kilo more than a comparable roaster without equipment. At 15 kilos a week, that is $60 a week, or $3,120 a year. Over three years, it adds up to $9,360. If the equivalent equipment would cost you $14,000 new, the loan deal is cheaper over three years, frees up cash on day one and includes servicing. If you stay five years, it costs $15,600, and you still do not own anything. The answer depends on the gap in price per kilo, your volume and how long you stay.

Questions to ask before you sign a supply agreement

Taste the coffee before any of this. A great deal on mediocre coffee is not a great deal.

#Servicing and maintenance

Daily and weekly cleaning is your team's job: backflushing the groups, cleaning baskets and portafilters, wiping and purging steam wands, cleaning the grinder hopper. Write it into your closing checklist.

Preventive servicing is a technician's job: replacing group seals and shower screens, checking pressures and temperatures, descaling where needed, and inspecting valves and pumps. How often depends on your volume and water. Ask your supplier or technician for a schedule.

Budget for it. One Australian buying guide puts an annual certified service for an espresso machine at around $300 to $1,000 or more, with routine maintenance and filters on top. A small seal or gasket is cheap. A boiler or pump damaged by scale or neglect is not.

Have a plan for breakdowns. Know who you will call, how fast they respond, and whether they lend a machine while yours is being repaired. A café with no coffee is a café with no customers.