# Coffee cart



## crimomo (Apr 17, 2019)

Hi guys, I am currently working on starting a coffee cart business. I bought a van to transport the cart around, I am having my cart built at the moment but it will take a few more weeks, in the meantime I am trying to get all the necessary equipment so I'll be ready to set everything when the cart is finally here. I've decided to go for a Fracino Contempo as dual fuel sounds like a good options to start, for the grinder I was thinking to get a Mazzer but if you have any other recommendation feel free to share.

I am buying everything needed to make machine and grinder work, the only thing that confuses me a little bit is what exactly is required by the law to start a coffee cart business. Some people say I need a sink, some people say I need 2 sinks, I read somewhere I need none at all. I just would like to know what basic equipment and certification I need to get the permit to start.

Any tip you can give me will be much appreciated!









Cheers!!!


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## Bernard (Oct 24, 2018)

Came across this the other day, seems terribly good value and ready to go!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Coffee-Bike-Tricycle/153362426561?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D56112%26meid%3D4e3ab659364e4b1c911305ed2601cea8%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D233196321505%26itm%3D153362426561&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A7f954849-60f3-11e9-b83a-74dbd18088cf%7Cparentrq%3A2aa2828f16a0ab14d580c1f1ffed88ca%7Ciid%3A1


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

crimomo said:


> I am buying everything needed to make machine and grinder work, the only thing that confuses me a little bit is what exactly is required by the law to start a coffee cart business. Some people say I need a sink, some people say I need 2 sinks, I read somewhere I need none at all. I just would like to know what basic equipment and certification I need to get the permit to start.
> 
> Cheers!!!


What kind of cart are you going for?

For grinder it depends how you would power it and what power the grinder uses - so you don't run out of battery or go over whatever generator you'd use.

Do a food hygiene training first and then decide.

My understanding is of course you some sort of hand wash, it doesn't have to be a traditional sink. It depends how you're operating but you'd want to show that you can keep everything clean, so a second sink would be distinct from whatever you use for hand washing. Again I don't think it has to be a sink it can be something else - a washing bowl for instance - where you have a procedure to keep it clean and then clean the stuff that goes in it. Just my opinions of course, as this stuff is important and you'd need confirmation from your council in the end that what you're doing is right to get the food registration and ideally 5 stars. |They would inspect you.

You could consider joining NCASS as they give documentation that helps with the hygiene side and offer some online training things which seem relatively reasonable prices.

For trading, you might need other permits from your council depending on where and how you will trade.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Contact your local council for advice. You may need to speak to several different departments from trade waste, to how to register as a food business, to street trading permits, depending on where you intend trading. You will need public liability insurance, hygiene certification, possibly employer liability insurance, and probably more . . .


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

@coffeebean may be able to assist with both sourcing your machine and advice on setting up your cart etc

Hope of help and best of luck for your venture

John


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## Tikks (Apr 24, 2019)

Almost certainly you will need to have a seperate hand wash facility, this doesn't necessarily mean a plumbed in sink as you can buy portable ones. as for cleaning you milk jugs I would recommend using a pitcher rinser instead of a sink, they are a life saver and can double as a waste sink for disposing of your excess milk.

As for grinder options then this will depend on how serious you are taking it and how consistent you wish to be, a manual grinder is great for very high demand as you can pre fill the doser by grinding lots of coffee. However it is harder to be consistent in your shot size, meaning that if you are serious about providing top quality coffee you will need to weigh every shot, which this is ideal it is not practical if you are busy. Also coffee is only really at its best for around 15 minutes after being ground after that it starts to degrade. this is a pet hate of mine that I see in a lot of shops where the ground coffee just sits there hardly used and the doser is full.

Another option would be to get an on demand grinder, this will grind your coffee to an exact measure for every shot, keeping you consistent and cutting back on your coffee wastage, also as the coffee is ground individually for each shot then there is not degrading of the coffee.

If you still need help then drop me a message, I am new to the forum but have experience with owning my own coffee shops and can not only offer advice but source equipment and great coffee.

EDIT******************

Not sure how an on demand grinder will affect your power usage though, as staring the motor tends to use more power than continually grinding so you may need to factor the peak power into your calculations as it would be start-stop a lot more than a traditional doser type grinder.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Tikks have you contacted @Glenn regarding advertising on the forum, if not, I am sure he will be happy to help you out.


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