Bubble Tea Ice Machines

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What is the Best Bubble Tea Ice Machine for a Bubble Tea Store?

Making bubble tea requires a lot of ice and a commercial ice maker will be one of the biggest equipment expenses of your bubble tea shop.  The type of ice maker that you want will largely depend on how many customers you will have.  You can expect to use about .75 lbs of ice for each drink that you make.  So if you make 300 drinks/day you will want an ice machine that can make at least 225lbs of ice/day, maybe more to handle the busy times.

Most ice machines will have the actual ice-making machine on the top and a separate ice bin on the bottom.  You can use a unit that has the condenser and bin together but they will typically have a lower capacity.

Water cooled vs air cooled bubble tea ice machines:

We recommend using air-cooled bubble tea ice makers.  Air-cooled models use about the same amount of electricity as water-cooled ones but the water-cooled units use a lot more water.

Type of ice:

Most bubble tea shop owners and customers agree that “crescent” shaped ice produces the best bubble tea.

Bubble Tea Ice Machine Brand:

You can try to save money by getting a generic ice machine but we don’t recommend it.  Getting a trusted name like Manitowac is worth it in the long run and make sure that you have reliable ice for your bubble tea shop.

Other Ice Maker Requirements:

Water filtration system

Depending on the size and voltage, many ice machines need to be hard-wired(they don’t have a plug) and may require 115v or 220v.

Floor drain (or condensate pump)

City Water Supply with a separate water line and shut-off valve

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Large Capacity Manitowoc Ice Maker 

Average Price: $2965.00

Manitowoc Indigo NXT Series has a large capacity for busy stores.

This is a larger unit for busy stores and this model can make around 490lb. of ice per day.

Condenser air cooled, energy star qualified, and NSF Certification.

Features:

• Air Cooled
• Full bin and service indicators
• Large Capacity – 450 lbs/Day
• Uses 10% less energy and 25% less water than comparable models
• NSF Certified

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