Considerations on Choosing Your Office Coffee Machine

Your office coffee machine helps staff get going in the morning as well as brewing everyone's coffee at other times during the office day. So it's important to choose the right office coffee maker to suit your office's needs because there are so many different coffee makers on the market!

In this article, you should consider a number of factors before purchasing your brand new office coffee maker: namely, ...

1. Your Office Budget: how much money is there to spend on this?
2. Office Size vs. Frequency: is it a big office or an office full of coffee guzzlers?
3. Type of Office Coffee: what kind of machine do you prefer?
4. The Office Kitchen: what is your facility like?

Your Office Budget

How do you plan to pay for the coffee for the office coffee machine? Who will finance the purchase or lease contract for the machine? If you choose a pod coffee machine, how will you organize the purchasing and payment of the pods, which typically are delivered regularly.

If the boss is planning to provide a coffee service for the company staff, costing out the expenses, and working out where the money is coming from will help to ensure that the money is properly accounted for, nothing is wasted, and everyone benefits from the office coffee machine.

If the staff are planning this purchase themselves, then working out some kind of rotation scheme for the purchase of coffee making supplies, or a small fund that is managed by one of the workers might help. If the department is large, a small committee could be formed to manage the supplies, cleaning and financing of the office coffee maker.

Office Size vs. Frequency

A typical consideration will affect which type of office coffee machine you may choose: how many workers will be using the machine and how often each day. Some types of coffee makers may handle a group of people who drink together better than others. For example, the drip coffee maker may be ideal for a meeting when the coffee is prepared together.

But for individuals coming in at odd times, the drip coffee maker will run your electricity bill, destroy your coffee flavor and probably be empty. All of these may suggest an individual coffee maker of some sort as a better solution: a pod coffee maker, for example.

Choosing Your Type of Office Coffee Machine

It will help if you narrow down your choices to just a few. Coffee makers can be simple or come with lots of options. If you like your coffee waiting for you when you come into work in the morning or when you take a break, you’ll want to choose one with a timer.

The drip coffee maker

These automatic coffee makers are wonderful to get used to! If you like to grind your own beans, there are coffee makers with built in grinders that let you have a freshly ground cup of coffee. These cost a little more but are very convenient.

The automatic drip coffee maker with grinder may be appropriate if you have a small office with a low demand on the coffee machine. But if you find yourself making coffee several times a day or the coffee pot always seems to be empty, you may need to buy a bigger machine.

The Percolator

Some people like percolators, whether electric or stovetop. They prefer the taste to drip coffee makers and indeed, it is quite different. The problem with percolators is that they boil the coffee and burn the oils that give coffee its flavor.

For an office coffee maker, you may also find that the cost of keeping the coffee warm in the percolator, as well as the flavor may be off putting to some drinkers.

The Pod Coffee Maker

You may prefer a pod coffee maker that makes just one cup at a time from pre-measured and packaged coffee. These let you have a lot of variety without buying several different bags of coffee or beans and many people enjoy this type of coffee maker.

They are very popular in offices, because they are more flexible in the types of coffee they can make. But the pods can be more expensive, and you may not find exactly the flavor you are looking for.

The French Press

The French press is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. It consists of a glass tube, filter and a plunger to force hot water through the coffee grounds. Although it makes just one cup of coffee, this method produces a rich and flavorful brew that many people prefer over other methods of brewing.

Impractical in larger offices, because they are smaller in size (upto about 6 small cups in size), are easily broken (I should know since I broke three of them!), and are quite expensive if you have a large office.

The Espresso Machine

If you prefer espresso, there are plenty of models to choose from. These coffee makers cost more than the standard models but a good cup of espresso in the morning is well worth it. While an automatic expresso machine may be a good choice, it will be fussier to operate unless fully automatic.

If it's a manual or semi-manual machine, one of the staff members may be 'elected' chief barista. Cleaning and maintenance of these machines will maintain coffee quality, but will likely be a hassle in small office environment.

Coffee Vending Machines

One of the offices I worked in had a large automatic coffee vending machine that made the most horrible coffee I can remember. If you do have a large office, then volume is going to be a big issue, but if you love coffee beans as much as I do, it's unlikely that a coffee vending machine will be anything less than a nightmare.

There are quite sophisticated options for the office coffee machine these days, but it may be wise to remember that it's not the coffee maker that makes the coffee, but the quality of the coffee that will determine the final cup of coffee. If you spend thousands of dollars on an office coffee machine, but buy the cheapest coffee on the market, you will always regret purchasing the coffee machine.

The Office Kitchen

Where else are you going to place the office coffee machine? You'll need a kitchen area, if even it's an informal area at the very least. You'll need to organize a source of fresh clean water, stock the kitchen with cups, spoons, cleaning equipment, a fridge of some sort to store the milk or creams, a sink area to allow for washing up of the crockery or coffee machine itself. And you'll need space for preparation and serving.

The space doesn't have to be particularly big, but access must be easy and the location must be clean! If this is a big task for the boss or departmental managers, appointing two or three members to be in charge of sourcing, staffing and running the kitchen will be a sensible choice!

Final Considerations

By focusing on the coffee beans first, or at least determining which type of office coffee maker you will need to make a decent cup of coffee, some of the other decisions will be made easier, your staff will be happier, and you may even find yourself looking forward to the coffee at work!

And finally...

Wherever you are, remember "Only Coffee Beans Make Great Coffee"! And enjoy that cup of coffee!

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