Are you a coffee maniac?
Perhaps you’re an enthusiastic barista who wants to open a coffee shop. Do you want your coffee drinks to be out of this world? Do you have an option to invest in high-quality coffee makers for your small business?
Maybe you’re a coffee enthusiast, so you need this for your home- all the machines mentioned in this article are also suitable for home use. Or perhaps you need a coffee maker for your small business. Whatever the case, you have to know where you put your money. This is especially the case if you’re ready to spend 5 thousand on a single piece of machinery.
In this text, I wanted to focus on slightly more expensive products. If you’re searching for something more affordable, check our espresso makers under 2k article. If you want to save even more money, here’s the under 1k coffee makers article.

After all, what’s going to matter the most at the end of the day, the place where you sell your coffee or the product itself? When you have a legendary product, everything else becomes less important. And vice versa, when you have a bad product, you start to pay more attention to the cosmetics and non-essentials.
This is why it’s important to invest in a high-quality coffee machine, especially if you’re planning to open a small business that sells coffee.
There are many options when it comes to business coffee machines. That’s why we wanted to make everything easier for you, so you know what you have to do and to have detailed information about the equipment you’re buying.
We’ve arranged this list to include our top high-end espresso makers, but we still tried to find the ones that would be affordable for a small-business owner.
So without further ado, here is the list of our top picks that are 100% viable and will fulfill all of your needs:
![]() | Our Top Pick! Nuova Simonelli Appia II Semiautomatic Espresso Machine |
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![]() | Second Best Pick La Pavoni Bar 3L-R Lever Espresso Machine |
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![]() | Best Budget Option La Spaziale S1 Dream T |
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![]() | Nuova Simonelli Oscar II Espresso Machine |
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This was just the overall view of our picks, more detailed information will be mentioned below.
4 Best Espresso Machines for a Small Café:
1. La Spaziale S1 Dream T Espresso Machine
Let us start with the cheaper options. Just because it is the cheaper option, doesn’t mean that it won’t deliver the desired results. This magical little machine is very consistent at pumping out drinks the same way as the last one.
This means that every time your guest, friend, or your customer wants a cup of coffee, he will get it the same perfect way as the last one.
This is possible due to the Heat Exchanger technology, that will ensure that the temperature that you’re brewing your coffee at is the same as every other, delivering tasty and fragrant shots all day.
Other specifications that will make your cup of Joe taste great is the steam pressure on the machine. Since milk is a part of almost every coffee drink, this means that you can make your milk how you want it, combining it with hot and fresh coffee you’ve just pumped out. It also features a professional portafilter, and not one, but two.
The stainless steel finish looks very elegant and extravagant, sure to fit in with modern style coffee shops. Easy display to figure out on the front, and cup dryer and warmer at the top, so you can pump out those shots and have clean and hot cups to go with it.
It is surely one of the best espresso machines for small businesses since it is a bit smaller scale product compared to others we will mention.
We reckon it could serve as a home machine because it is relatively easy to fit on most kitchen counters, but they are the most suitable for smaller coffee shops.
- It doesn’t take too much space
- Very consistent
- Great-looking and functioning design
- It may be too small for slightly larger businesses
2. Nuova Simonelli Oscar II Espresso Machine
This espresso machine is the cheapest option on our list. This doesn’t mean it’s bad, quite the contrary.
This espresso machine is for small businesses mainly, since it simply doesn’t have the capacity to handle large quantities of customers. And we all know how busy things can get in a coffee shop!
Still, it will always make a great tasting drink for you and your customers. You have the power saving option, which is always great, and the technology designed for its shot pumping is so precise that you’ll always have the same quantity brewed at the same temperature, and that is consistency at its finest. It will do the most while taking the least.
The pump is vibratory with 9 bar pressure, but you can always choose to adjust the brewing pressure.
One thing stands out is that a lot of happy buyers said that if you take care of it, it can last you a long time, which is economically great in the long run. I just love this type of products- it’s like the famous Golf 2 model. Yeah, it’s kind of cheap, but it won’t betray you!
This really may be one of the best espresso machines for small businesses, since it does cover everything. It has all of the controls and settings you would need, it looks nice, and the main part, the coffee tastes delicious!
Well, after all, is this the espresso machine for your business? It depends, if you planned a smaller coffee shop with no intention of expanding it, this machine will be your best friend!
- Great-quality and super-sturdy material
- It can fit almost anywhere
- A machine that is easy to use!
- Not enough capacity for larger coffee shops
3. Nuova Simonelli Appia II Semiautomatic Espresso Machine
This machine is surely going to blow your mind. It is a big machine, so not much of home-friendly stuff here. Nuova Simonelli a professional coffee machine for business, whether it's an espresso machine for a small coffee shop or a big coffee empire!
So why is this machine so big? It's because there is a lot of great stuff combined inside that stainless steel shield that will be indestructible over the years.
So let's mention a couple of key features and what they mean, so you can see for Yourself how much of a business coffee machine this is.
First, we will start with the Manual dosing buttons, giving you the choice to control everything, but giving you the easiest way to make the exact type of espresso that the customer asked for.
But it is a big chunk of steel to wash? Well, actually no. You have also the automated cleaning option in which you just choose the part that you want to be cleaned, and let the machine take the pain of washing itself for you! Honestly hearing this, it has to be one of the best business coffee machines ever!
It does worth mentioning that this machine isn't the most practical for home use, because it does require some training, but if handed to a professional barista, the Nuova Simonelli Appia II will deliver the tasty results it's supposed to.
- Stress-free cleaning!
- Able to do tons of coffee all-day
- With a pro barista, the machine delivers spotless results
- It is for the best to leave this one to the professionals
4. La Pavoni Bar 3L-R Lever Espresso Machine
This lever machine, like the previous ones, is a stainless steel piece of machinery, big in size, that will be able to make coffee for many, many thirsty people.
It is rather complex, but nothing in particular.
It has a Chromed brass group with mechanical movement, a manual boiler water change button, an anti-vacuum valve, and other very complicated settings. But don't let this worry if you don't understand what all of that means, because it's a heaven-made product designed to give its love to every small coffee cup it makes, which will surely impress whoever you're serving it to.
It will be a bit of pain to place it where you wanted it because it is heavy. But once it's in place, it's ready to start rolling. This machine is guaranteed one of the best coffee machines for businesses.
It is a big investment, but it won't fail you never and will be a long-time partner of yours. Take care of it, use it every day for how much you need to, it doesn't matter, every cup is excellent as the last one. For a small coffee shop, it is the best espresso machine you can find, but it will show itself well even in bigger ones.
- Brilliant composition of technology and design, made for coffee lovers
- It will be your best friend for a long time
- Versatile and good-quality
- It's ready and running all day and every day
- It's going to be a pain placing it anywhere since it is big and heavy
Conclusion
Best Product:
Our absolute winner, the best espresso machine for small or big businesses, has to be Nuova Simonelli Appia II Semiautomatic. Along with its brilliant technology, auto-cleaning, and power sawing, it just has to be our number one!
Second Best Product:
This doesn't mean that we can't give an honorable mention to La Pavoni Bar 3L-R Lever. It's like you have a giant for a friend that has superpowers.
Best Budget Pick:
For all of you who are planning to save every buck, La Spaziale S1 Dream, the second cheapest option, is surely going to do everything you would plan even with a more expensive machine.