Equipment
Seven categories, seven jobs
Bar equipment is easy to over-buy because most of it looks useful. The filter used here is simple: what does this category decide about the finished drink? If the answer is “nothing”, it is not on the site.
ICE
Ice Trays & Molds
Decides: ice shape and size, which controls dilution
A tray decides one thing that matters and several that do not.
Open the guideFOAM
Frothers & Drink Mixers
Decides: aerating foam and dissolving matcha or powder
A handheld frother does two jobs that pull in opposite directions.
Open the guideCITRUS
Zesters & Citrus Tools
Decides: getting oil off a peel without pith
Most of what people taste in a citrus drink is smell, and most of that smell is oil held in the colored outer layer of the skin.
Open the guideSURFACE
Bar Mats & Drying Mats
Decides: keeping the station surface dry and quiet
A drink station produces water constantly and from several directions at once: condensation off glasses, drips from an ice scoop, splashes from a rinsed frother, the puddle under a machine.
Open the guideFURNITURE
Coasters
Decides: condensation off furniture
A cold glass in a warm room pulls water out of the air and onto its own outside surface, and that water runs down and pools under the base.
Open the guideSERVING
Straws
Decides: matching bore size to drink thickness
Straws look like the least consequential thing on a drink station and they are the item most likely to ruin a specific drink.
Open the guideSERVING
Cups & Lids
Decides: serving away from the counter without leaks
Disposable cups exist on a home drink station for one reason: the drink is going somewhere the glassware should not.
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