Commercial Reverse Osmosis System: Restaurants and Cafes

Restaurants should consider the quality of water they use and serve to customers since it can greatly affect the food and beverage items they sell. A commercial reverse osmosis system like the PRO+AQUA PRO+RO will be able to meet the daily demands of any busy restaurant. Capable of producing 1000 gallons of reverse osmosis water per day, that water can be utilized in a multitude of ways such as baking, cooking, coffee, teas, or for drinking. 

Water quality can greatly affect a restaurant’s ability to provide an exceptional product to its customers. Water is the backbone of any kitchen since it goes into almost everything they make and serve. Take for example a cafe that serves coffee and fresh bagels. If they were to make the food and drinks they serve with regular tap water, the products will taste completely different and the appearance will also be affected. 

Regular tap water from a city source has a variety of contaminants in it such as chemicals like chlorine, fluoride, chloramine, lead, and more. Tap water is most likely going to be considered hard water since 85% of the USA is on it. This means the water has a high concentration of water-soluble minerals such as calcium and magnesium. When hard water is present, it will influence how drinks and foods turn out. Calcium and magnesium tend to react with various ingredients. For example, when hard water is used in coffee, it will give it a more bitter taste and a different mouthfeel if RO water was used. It’s the same issue with baked goods. When baking bread, the minerals can make the bread feel denser and prevent it’s from fully rising and baking properly.  

Drinking water and ice will also be improved if a commercial RO system is utilized. Hard water isn’t pleasant to drink since it has chemicals that have been used to sanitize the water from the municipal source. These chemicals are approved by the EPA and are required to keep water safe from bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that could get people sick. But having those chemicals in the water doesn’t make for the most pleasurable drinking experience. Serving tap water and making ice with it to serve to customers should be avoided if possible. The reason, they will be able to smell the chlorine with each sip they take. Taste is also affected by the chemicals, giving the water and ice an off-putting flavor to it. 

A commercial reverse osmosis system addresses those issues mentioned above but it does quite a bit more to help address a few other matters that we haven’t discussed yet. For starters, having an RO system will help provide a level of consistency with the food and drinks being sold. For example, one of the largest coffee brands in the world uses a 3 stage RO system in every store no matter where they’re located. They do this to make sure that each location’s coffee tastes the same all over the world.  A cup of coffee from a store in Los Angeles should taste the same as a cup of coffee would in South Korea. RO water will provide a cleaner tasting cup of coffee and allow flavors and nuances to become more prominent with each sip. 

Baking with RO water will make bread and pastries feel and look less dense. At the same time, water equipment such as proofers and steamers will be spared from any limescale build-up, which is known to damage heating elements and water fixtures. RO will help keep baked goods consistent, which is very important for customers that are “regulars.” They come in each day and order the same thing because they like the way the food tastes and have come to rely on it daily. Just imagine if the french bread a bakery made tastes different each day, that bakery would lose customers right away since they can’t trust that the bread will be good that day or not.  

One last factor that people don’t associate a commercial reverse osmosis system with is branding, yes, branding for the restaurant/cafe. Remember the coffee brand mentioned earlier, people seem to love the water they have. If you were to order a cup of coffee and some water, they’ll give you the water for free. And the fact that it’s RO water, people will as for it even if they don’t buy coffee. Here’s where the branding comes in, that person who just got a cup of water has your restaurant’s logo on the cup. This is especially helpful for smaller establishments that rely on word-by-mouth advertising and social media posts. Giving away water in cups that have the company logo is great for branding. Why not take it a step further? Place a QR code image on the cup, that way people can scan it and take them directly to a menu and give them an option to place a mobile order. 

A commercial reverse osmosis system for any restaurant or cafe provides a lot of benefits to overall operations. Though the initial investment of a commercial RO may seem intimidating at first, the increased quality control and consistency over food and beverages made in-house, the gourmet level drinking water and ice, and avoiding limescale buildup on equipment are all great reasons where the benefits completely outweigh the costs.