# Water boilers



## Adelina (Dec 3, 2018)

I have seen we discussed water boilers on various topics, but I think is best to have all that information in one place. If there was a previous topic about this (which would mean that my search skills are rubbish) my apologies.

As I'm planning to serve a lot of teas in my future tearoom, I want to get a hot water boiler. Preferably one that has an under counter unit and a faucet on top. 0

I have various brands like Marco, Instanta, Lincat, Bravilor, Buffalo, Adexa, but I would like to know what you are using and what are your experiences with those (or other) brands. Did your boiler ever break down? Had any troubles with it? How fast is when you are in a rush (I don't want clients waiting for their tea because my boiler takes ages) and how reliable it is when you need a certain temperature (because I will need various temps like 75 or 80 degrees).

Also, I'm located in a hard water area so any softner recommendations are also welcomed (especially about some decent cheap ones).

Thank you!


----------



## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

We use a Marco Mix, set to 97, 85 and 70. No complaints after two years, but my friend had one in their cafe which broke fairly soon after purchase. The capacity is pretty small so maybe not one to go for if you're expecting to do crazy volumes, but we've never maxed it out.


----------



## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

I've seen more than a few undercounter boilers fail/develop leaks/completely underheat/short out/start to rattle scarily. The Marco stuff is generally excellent, though without proper maintenance and upkeep they can and do fair on the regs.

I have a countertop Marco 10L ecoboiler that I love and run at 98°c for everything, expensive teas included. I am of the opinion that if your tea cannot stand boiling water then you have bad tea, though but I'm not here to argue about that.

I run my boiler and batch brewer on a BWT Bestmax XXL with a bypass set so my total hardness is between 2-3 drops on a standard drop test which is pretty low on mineral content. This is purely so I get clean, neutral water to add for americano etc and teas get no chalkiness if left infusing too long. It makes brewing batch brew a bit interesting as I can brew hotter and grind finer to hit high %EY but that's another story.

Long story short: if you go down the undercounter route, get a Marco. But treat it well and maintain your filters.


----------



## Adelina (Dec 3, 2018)

Thanks Scotford for your answer. Marco seems to be the answer indeed.

I do have to disagree however with your assumption regarding tea ("if your tea cannot stand boiling water then you have bad tea"). Tea should be brewed at specific temperatures (generally green tea is brewed at 70 for example, white at 80, and black around 90-95). At higher temperatures the tea leaf will release too many theaflavins giving you a bitter drink.

My business is mostly focused around tea, so I need to make sure I'm brewing to perfection.


----------

