The Best Commercial Coffee Machines in Australia: A Café Buyer’s Guide

There is no single best commercial coffee machine. There is the best machine for your trade: how many coffees you pour at the peak, how much milk you steam, what your power supply can carry, whether your cups are ceramic or takeaway, and how much bench you can give it.

This guide works through the six decisions that narrow the field, then shortlists machines for each type of venue from the range Commercial Kitchen Company stocks: Sanremo, Wega, Bezzera and Astoria.

1. Group heads: size for your peak, not your average

The number of group heads sets how many shots you can pull at once, and how many baristas can work the machine together.

• One group suits low-volume coffee: a restaurant bar, a hotel breakfast station or a second machine in a larger venue.
• Two groups is the standard café machine, and where most of the range sits.
• Three groups is for high-volume sites where two baristas work the machine side by side through the morning rush.

Size for your busiest half hour. A machine that copes with your average day will still queue customers out the door at 7:45 am.

2. Boiler size and type

The steam boiler feeds your steam wands and hot water, so its capacity sets how much milk you can steam back to back before pressure drops. Across the range we stock, steam boilers run from 7 L on the compact two group Sanremo Zoe Compact, through 10 to 11 L on full-size two group machines, to 17 L on three group machines such as the Wega Pegaso EVD 3 group and Bezzera Moda DE 3 group.

The other choice is boiler type:

• Heat exchange machines run one steam boiler and pass brew water through a heat exchanger inside it, so coffee is made with fresh water rather than water that has sat in the boiler. Many traditional café machines work this way, including the Bezzera Moda DE.
• Multi-boiler machines give the coffee its own temperature-controlled boilers. The Bezzera Victoria, for example, uses independent boilers with PID temperature control, which suits venues dialling in single origins at different brew temperatures.

3. Power supply: check it before you choose

This is the one that catches people out. A full-size commercial espresso machine draws far more than a standard 10 A power point supplies:

Before you buy, have your electrician confirm the circuit at the coffee station. In an older shopfront, choosing a machine that suits a 15 A circuit may avoid a costly switchboard upgrade.

4. Water: plumbed in or tank fed

Most café machines are plumbed: they need a mains water connection for automatic boiler refill, plus a drain. The Wega Pegaso EVD 2 group, for example, needs a mains water connection for its automatic refill. Plan water treatment for your site’s water hardness in line with the manufacturer’s installation requirements, because scale is hard on boilers and heating elements.

Mobile operators have options too. The Bezzera Otto Compact 2 group has a built-in pump and can run from a water tank, which suits coffee vans, food trucks, pop-ups and events. The Bezzera BZ10 semi-professional machine needs no connection to a water supply at all.

5. Cup clearance: ceramic or takeaway

If most of your trade goes out in takeaway cups, cup clearance matters every single shot.

• The Sanremo Zoe Competition standard height has 85 mm clearance, which suits ceramic cups; the Zoe Competition Tall raises it to 140 mm so takeaway cups and tall glasses fit under the group.
• Wega’s Polaris EVD is available with standard 88 mm or raised 122 mm group heights, and the Pegaso EVD 3 group has 122 mm raised groups.
• The Bezzera Moda DE takes cups up to 13 cm high.
• The Astoria AB200 and Wega Polar have an adjustable drip tray that can be set at 80 mm or 125 mm.

6. Workflow and cleaning features

The features that matter most are the ones that keep shots consistent when different staff are on the machine:

• Volumetric dosing, with four programmable doses per group, is standard on most of the Wega, Astoria and Bezzera machines we stock.
• Shot timers help baristas keep extraction time on target (Sanremo Zoe Competition, Wega Polar, Wega Rover, Astoria AB200), and pre-infusion is standard on the Sanremo Zoe machines.
• Cool-touch steam wands stay cooler to the touch, so milk is less likely to bake on (Sanremo Zoe Competition, Wega Rover).
• Automatic group cleaning cycles make the nightly clean quicker and harder to skip (Sanremo Zoe Compact, Wega Rover, Wega Polar, Astoria AB200).

Our shortlist by venue type

Best for a small café with a tight bench: Sanremo Zoe Compact

The Sanremo Zoe Compact 2 group is just 528 mm wide with a 7 L steam boiler, and runs on 2.7 kW from a 15 A single-phase supply. Electronic auto-level, activated pre-infusion and an automatic group cleaning cycle come standard. If you need more steam for heavier milk volumes, the Sanremo Zoe Competition 2 group steps up to a 10 L boiler and adds a shot timer and cool-touch wands. See the full Sanremo range.

Best for takeaway-heavy cafés: Sanremo Zoe Competition Tall

The Zoe Competition Tall 2 group has 140 mm of cup clearance against 85 mm on the standard machine, with a 10 L steam boiler, shot timer, pre-infusion and AISI 316L cool-touch steam wands. Wega’s Polaris EVD 2 group is the alternative, available with raised 122 mm group heads.

Best for high-volume service: Wega Pegaso EVD 3 group or Bezzera Moda DE 3 group

When two baristas share the machine at the peak, you want three groups and a big steam boiler. The Wega Pegaso EVD 3 group pairs a 17 L boiler with a 5,000 W element and raised 122 mm groups. The Bezzera Moda DE 3 group also runs a 17 L boiler, in an AISI 304 stainless body with thermostatic group control. Busy sites that don’t need a third group should look at the Wega Pegaso EVD 2 group, with its 10.5 L boiler. Browse the Wega range.

Best for specialty coffee: Bezzera Victoria

The Bezzera Victoria is a multi-boiler machine with independent boilers, PID thermostats, colour touch displays and Bezzera’s pressure profiling. It is built for cafés that change brew temperature between blends and single origins. For PID temperature control on each group of a three group volumetric machine, compare the Bezzera Ellisse 3 group.

Best for consistency across staff: Astoria AB200, Wega Polar and Wega Rover

The Astoria AB200 and Wega Polar share a barista-focused feature set: shot timers, four programmable volumetric buttons per group, steam levers with a purge function, LED barista lights and an automatic self-cleaning function. The AB200 also comes in one, two (standard and compact) and three group sizes across the Astoria range. The Wega Rover 2 group adds cool-touch steam wands and an automated cleaning cycle, on a single-phase 20 A plug.

Best for coffee vans and pop-ups: Bezzera Otto Compact

The Bezzera Otto Compact 2 group has a built-in pump and can be connected to a water tank, so it suits food trucks, coffee vans, pop-ups and trade shows. If you need a machine with no water connection at all, there is the Bezzera BZ10 semi-professional machine.

Best statement machine: Bezzera Eagle

If the machine is part of the fit-out’s look, the Bezzera Eagle Gold Classic 2 group is a replica of a Belle Epoque espresso machine with a polished brass body, while still working as a volumetric two group machine. See the full Bezzera range.

Don’t forget the grinder

A great machine can’t fix an inconsistent grind. Budget for the grinder at the same time as the machine, and if you run a decaf or a single origin alongside your house blend, plan bench space for a second one. Our commercial coffee grinders include the Mazzer range.

Buying, financing and looking after it

A commercial coffee machine is a significant purchase, and many venues spread the cost. We offer SilverChef finance on equipment purchases, and our guide to buying vs leasing commercial kitchen equipment sets out the trade-offs.

Looking after your machine

Coffee oils build up on the group heads, shower screens and baskets through the day, and left there they taint the next shot. A typical café routine:

• After every milk drink: wipe the steam wand and purge it, so milk doesn’t dry on the tip.
• At close: backflush each group with a blind basket, using a coffee machine cleaning detergent where your manufacturer specifies one, then clean the group seals and shower screens and rinse the portafilters and baskets. An automatic group cleaning cycle, standard on several of the machines above, makes this step quicker.
• Weekly: soak portafilters and baskets in a cleaning solution made for coffee equipment.
• Water: hard water leaves scale in boilers and on heating elements, so fit the water treatment your manufacturer specifies and change filters on schedule.
• Servicing: have a technician service the machine on the manufacturer’s schedule, including seals, valves and descaling.

Add the coffee machine to your equipment maintenance checklist so these jobs have an owner on every shift.

Frequently asked questions

How many group heads does a café need?
Most cafés run a two group machine. Choose three groups if two baristas will work the machine at the same time during your peak, and one group for low-volume service such as a restaurant bar or breakfast station.

Can I plug a commercial coffee machine into a normal power point?
Usually not. Full-size commercial machines typically need a 15 A or 20 A circuit, and some run on three phase. Check the machine’s electrical specification and have your electrician confirm the circuit before you order.

What is the difference between a heat exchange and a multi-boiler machine?
A heat exchange machine uses one steam boiler and heats brew water as it passes through a heat exchanger. A multi-boiler machine gives the coffee its own temperature-controlled boilers, so brew temperature can be set independently of steam.

Do I need a tall-cup machine?
If a large share of your trade is takeaway, yes. Standard group heights suit ceramic cups; raised groups or an adjustable drip tray let takeaway cups sit under the spouts.

Find the right machine for your café

Browse our full range of commercial coffee machines, or talk to our team about your volumes, bench space and power supply. Visit us in Brisbane (1/1 Carol Avenue, Springwood) or on the Gold Coast (88 Upton Street, Bundall), call 1300 CKC 000, or get in touch.

Commercial Kitchen Company is the go-to source for high-quality hospitality supplies and equipment in Australia. As a proud, Australian-owned business, we cater to a diverse range of hospitality needs, including restaurants, cafes, catering services, and hotels in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Our extensive selection in our showrooms highlights everything from advanced commercial kitchen equipment to essential front-of-house products, all aimed at enhancing the efficiency and appeal of your business.