Open a coffee shop
The espresso machine is the one purchase you research for months. Everything around it — tampers, pitchers, scales, grinder brushes, cups, the card reader — is here, along with the cleaning gear that keeps the machine alive.
Instant-read digital thermometer
Waterproof, two-second read, and calibratable. You'll temp every protein and the inspector will ask to see it.
Buy on AmazonContactless card reader
Tap, chip and phone wallets, paired to a phone or tablet. Pick the reader made for the processor you'll actually use.
Buy on Amazon58 mm calibrated tamper
A calibrated tamper takes the guesswork out of training a new barista. Check your basket size before ordering — 58 mm is the commercial standard.
Buy on AmazonCoffee scale with timer
Dose and time every pour-over and shot. Consistency is what a regular is actually paying for.
Buy on AmazonDigital kitchen scale
Portion by weight and your food cost stops drifting. Also the only honest way to write a recipe someone else can cook.
Buy on AmazonEspresso knock box
Spent pucks go here, not in the trash under the bar. Steel, with a bar that survives being hit ten thousand times.
Buy on AmazonStainless milk frothing pitchers
A 12-ounce and a 20-ounce. Two pitchers per bar station keeps the line moving through a rush.
Buy on AmazonCoffee airpots
Brew ahead, keep it hot, and pour without a burner. Three airpots run a self-serve counter or a catered breakfast.
Buy on AmazonInsulated beverage dispenser
Five gallons of coffee, tea or lemonade, hot or cold, for hours. The stand-and-serve piece of every event and market.
Buy on AmazonRefrigerator and freezer thermometers
One per cold unit, hung where you can read it without opening the door. A missing thermometer is a citation in most states.
Buy on AmazonClear cold cups with lids, case
Sixteen-ounce with flat and dome lids. Iced drinks are half a coffee bar's sales in summer, and they need their own cup.
Buy on AmazonDeli containers with lids
Eight, sixteen and thirty-two ounce, one lid fits all. Sides, sauces, prep, and the walk-in — the most reused container in food service.
Buy on AmazonHot cups with lids, case
Twelve-ounce double-wall means no sleeves and no burned hands. Match lids to cups from the same maker or they won't seat.
Buy on AmazonKraft paper bags with handles
Takeout walks out in these. Plain kraft looks better than a logo bag until you can afford a logo bag.
Buy on AmazonNitrile food-service gloves
Powder-free nitrile, by the case, in two sizes. Every inspection checks for glove use at the handling step.
Buy on AmazonAnti-fatigue floor mats
Rubber, drainable, behind every station where someone stands for a shift. Your staff's knees will notice before you do.
Buy on AmazonBar mop towels, 60-pack
Cheap, absorbent, and in a bucket of sanitizer at every station. You will go through them faster than anything else on this list.
Buy on AmazonEspresso machine cleaner and backflush disc
Backflush nightly and the machine lasts a decade; skip it and it lasts two years. Cleaning powder, a blind basket and a group brush.
Buy on AmazonHand sanitizer stand
At the order window or the market table. Customers expect it, and it keeps the cash-handling side clean.
Buy on AmazonOSHA-compliant first aid kit
Wall-mounted, restocked, and where everyone knows it is. Required once you have employees, sensible before.
Buy on AmazonSanitizer test strips
Chlorine and quat strips prove your sanitizer bucket is at the right strength. The inspector will ask; have them by the sink.
Buy on AmazonCash drawer
Sixteen-inch, five bill and five coin slots, with a key. Even a card-first counter needs one for the customer who has cash.
Buy on AmazonCounter tablet stand
Turns a tablet into a register. A swivel one lets the customer tip and sign without you handing the tablet over.
Buy on AmazonThermal receipt printer
Bluetooth or USB, 80 mm. Kitchen tickets and customer receipts; check it's on your POS app's supported list before buying.
Buy on AmazonA-frame sidewalk sign
The sign that turns foot traffic into customers. Chalkboard or slide-in — either way, change it every week.
Buy on AmazonBusiness card holder and acrylic sign holder
The counter needs a card and a small sign with your QR code on it. Acrylic, so it looks intentional.
Buy on Amazon
Partner links pay Bizer a commission at no cost to you. That never changes what's listed or the order it's listed in.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS IN THIS APPLICATION COMES FROM AMAZON. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
