The answer can vary and can also depend who you ask and what commercial coffee machines their business sells which this can cause some confusion, particularly if you are new to the coffee market and are just looking for some helpful advice.
First of all, we believe we are qualified to consider this question, which we'll come onto in a moment, as we've been UK specialist commercial coffee machine suppliers for many years and are authorised distributors for both Franke Coffee Systems and Jura UK. Bean to cup machines are also our best selling coffee equipment throughout our entire range. In the last 12 years, we have sold over 1,000 combined machines so we know them well.
So to answer the question in a nutshell, we believe them both quite similar. Both produce beverages of similar quality. Put both bean to cup machines side by side and you will notice the similarities, the unit shell is the same, same dimensions, two bean hoppers, the buttons are all in the same place albeit a different shape, they both have a steam wand and hot water outlet. The only other obvious difference is the casing colour.
So you can see that the visual differences are cosmetic. However the key noticeable difference is the daily capacity of the two coffee machines. The Franke Flair has a capacity of 100 cups per day and the Jura Impressa X9 has a higher output of 150 coffees. Jura UK claim this is because there is a slightly better brew unit in the X9 verses the Flair thus delivering this additional usage. A brew unit in simple terms is the engine where hot water under pressure extracts the coffee through finely grounded coffee beans.
The daily capacity is actually a useful guide as to the daily recommended volume of drinks over time the coffee machine is designed for. It won't cut out or stop once these levels have been hit, they will physically prepare hundreds of drinks a day but it's a useful guide to help you decide what is the right coffee equipment for you.
A useful tip when it comes to serving coffee through any bean to cup machine, please don't expect a kettle temperature beverage. In the UK, we are still an instant coffee drinking nation and often the measure of how good the coffee is, is how much it burns the mouth. Serving real coffee means compromising on that delicious burning sensation so expect a black coffee to be about 12 degrees below boiling and a cappuccino nearer 25 degrees below. So keep your cups warm and make sure your customers know they are drinking real coffee the traditional Italian way, i.e. correctly.
For more expert advice, call our sales team on 08000 14 18 18 or 01484 662084.
