What sort of things should you know about a commercial espresso machine? What type of information is applicable to both a new or a used one? These questions are important because when searching for an espresso maker, new or used, you need to make sure that you get the features that are important and you need to make sure you are not over or, more importantly, under buying for your needs.

This is not really a piece of equipment that you can afford to cut any corners on because if you are going to be using it in your busy coffee shop or resturant, it is going to get a lot of use. It's of the utmost importance that you pick right espresso machine for your own particular needs. It is one of the few items that you may buy for your business that will actually pay for itself, not just once, but very often, many times over during its lifetime. This is especially true if you are saving a bunch by purchasing used.

Most smaller businesses end up deciding on purchasing a two group machine because it's going to be a rare occurrence that you will need to be brewing more than two cups at a time. And should the time come when you do need to brew more than two cups that's the time to invest in great, used, multi-group machine!

Basically there are three main varieties of machine to choose from and those are the super automatic, the automatic and the semi automatic. And, based on those particular types, here are some things that you should pay close attention to when looking at any one of them with a view to making a purchase.

Your basic machine is the semi-automatic unit. This type of coffee maker requires a lot of user attention and, quite honestly, is only suitable for shops and resturants which, only sell the occasional espresso. If you are anticipating a busy store, this wouldn't be the ideal choice because it is also quite difficult to get consistently good espresso due to the fact that you have to manually shut off the steam.

The automatic espresso machine is great for moderate use. The quality is consistent because they have built-in timers that cut the steam off just at the right moment. So you get a great espresso every time.

The super automatic does everything for you from grinding to brewing to discarding the beans. They are also the most expensive, even when you buy them second-hand, and as they get older they can potentially have the most problems with component failure, especially if they are not regularly maintained.

That being said, once you make the decision as to which type of unit will best serve your needs and you find some used ones that could fit the bill, you can give them a thorough visual inspection. This wil give you a good idea as to how it has been treated and then take the ultimate test, brew a cup of espresso and try it out to make sure it will give you a great cup before you buy.

So, if you do a little research to discover which type of unit will best serve your needs and what features are most important to you. You can then take the time to find out as much as you can about the place where you are purchasing the used espresso machine from. There is no reason that you can’t save a pile of money and get a nearly new espresso machine that will have the same life-expectancy of a new, "out-of-the-box", unit costing many hundreds, or even thousands of dollars more.

As a business owner, the choice is clearly yours but the smart money is going to be on purchasing a pristine used unit that has been well looked after and regularly maintained. You can then you spend the money you saved on making the rest of your coffee shop look pretty.