Having the best and the most reliable coffee machine for the workplace is not a luxury but a must. In fact, having coffee in the workplace is smart business. In that cup of java lies the energy to keep on working, the juice that fosters creativity and promotes social interaction, soothes the nerves and improves the mood when tight timelines or high stakes meetings are on the schedule.
Investing in a good office coffee machine is a sound business decision and a good machine saves money. Each office or environment will have different needs and there are definitely some important things to consider before you invest.
Read on for a list of the top four things you should consider when choosing a coffee machine for the office or high traffic environments like cafeterias. I also provide a list of my recommendations for the best coffee machines for an office environments along with the pros and cons list for each model.
Four Things to Consider When Choosing The Best Office Coffee Machine
Coffee Variety
- Not everyone wants a regular coffee. You want a machine that can offer other types of drinks like espresso or milk-based drinks like cappuccino, latté, hot-chocolate or trending drinks like flat white. Keep in mind that while you can make a "regular" coffee with an espresso machine you can't make an espresso with other types of coffee machines.
- Don’t forget every office has tea drinkers too, so having hot water on demand would be a great option.
- When considering variety of coffees, think about coffee beans. You may want a machine that affords the opportunity to have two bean varieties- a milder bean and a bolder coffee bean or maybe a caffeinated and decaffeinated option.
Usage
- If the coffee machine is in a really high traffic area and will be heavily used, you need to ensure the machine is capable of handling the anticipated traffic. Where there is going to be great usage, you will want to consider the size of the bean hopper and water tank for example.
- You may need to invest in a machine that offers direct water hook up to facilitate use.
Maintenance & Durability
- How easy the machine is to maintain and keep clean are very important considerations.
- The quality of the materials used in the machine, especially the grinders and brew units which are the heart of the machine are key elements to look for.
- The availability of service centres, replacement parts and qualified technicians ensures the office unit will not experience extended down times. Do you really want an office without coffee for long?
Easy to Use
- You don’t want a machine that requires lots of time to operate. Time is money in an office environment, and you don’t need personnel wasting time making coffee.
- One-touch operation makes the process of making a drink easy. The no fuss, no mess is perfect for those who have other more pressing matters to attend to.
- If milk based drinks are going to be a popular option, be sure to look for machines that offer a milk fridge accessory so milk can be maintained at appropriate temperatures. The last think you need is personnel getting sick because of spoiled milk.
Top Coffee Machines for High Traffic Environments
- High capacity: 1 Kg/ 2.2 lbs bean hopper, 4L water tank, Dreg drawer that holds 40 spent coffee pucks
- Direct water hook-up up is included but you can always use of tank if you wish.
- You can use either the auto foamer (cappuccinatore) or steam the milk manually.
- The price of this model is exceptional considering that direct water hook up is included and the bean hopper size is significant.
- Rated for approximately 100 cups per day.
- The removable brew unit must be removed and rinsed every few days depending on usage. This machine may need some extra time and effort in cleaning the brew unit but it will be much easier to service.
- It’s a simple machine to use in part because the selections of coffees it can make are limited.
- An ideal machine if you are looking make mostly espresso, coffee, cappuccino and lattés.
- Dubbed as a workhorse which speaks to its durability.
- Rated for approximately 75 coffees per day.
- The water and bean hoppers are side by side and if both are open at the same time it can cause issues. Water can splash into the bean hopper if care isn’t taken when refilling the water tank.
Saeco Idea Duo Restyle
- This machine has two bean hoppers each holding 4.6 lbs. of beans.
- Available only with direct water hook up so it can pump out as many coffees as you need without disruption
- Can be hooked up to a drain for waste water (optional)
- You can brew coffee or cappuccino, extract water and steam milk (manually) all at the same time.
- High powered (220V -20 AMP) no down time.
- Used coffee drawer capacity is 100 dregs. You know this machine is built to make a plentitude of coffees.
- With NSF certification it can be used in a commercial setting without any worries.
- Rated for up to 250 cups/day
- A direct water hook is a must (not optional) and an inline water filter is highly recommended.
- 220 v electricity is required
JURA GIGA W3
- This coffee maker can prepare up to 2 milk drinks at at time
- 43 programmable beverages
- Automatic switch over from milk to milk foam
- It is recommended for up to 120 cups per day.
- It has very large water tank (169 oz) and an optional direct water kit can be added if needed
- This machine also has a good size bean container which can hold 35 oz. of coffee beans.
- The fact that this machine has only one bean hopper, means you will need to use ground coffee in the bypass doser in order to get a decaf. If you have many wanting decaf, this may not be the best coffee machine choice for your office.
- Direct water hook up is an additional cost and pretty expensive (approx. $750).
Caffitaly Flexicup S9003 Professional Capsule Coffee Machine
- Capsule system for perfect beverages each time
- Makes full variety of drinks like espresso, cappuccino, latté, hot frothed milk, drip style coffee, tea
- One touch cappuccino system
- Direct water connection included
- 4L water tank capacity
- 60 capsule used capsules drawer
- Built in milk fridge
- Capsule system may be easier monitor regarding usage. For example, some offices allow each employee a certain number of capsules and then staff have to purchase any extra capsules.
- Capsule system can be a significant line budget as compared to real bean.
Consider Milk Solutions
Being able to offer staff and clients a milk-based drink elevates the prestige of your office coffee program. The fully automatic options provided here make this an easy option.With a push of a button you can whip up latté, cappuccino, flat whites or hot chocolate.
While you don't need any supplementary equipment, we do highly recommend adding a milk fridge. With high traffic environments you don't want to leave milk on the counter, waste time taking it and out of a fridge and least of all worry about spoilage.
You do want to ensure that milk stays cold and does not spoil. There are several milk fridge options available. All of the suggested machines can coupled with a Milk Cooler or the Waeco Dometic MyFridge MF 1M Milk Cooler for Superautomatic Espresso Machines in order to provide cappuccino at the touch of a button.
Waeco Dometic MyFridge MF 1M Milk Cooler for Superautomatic Espresso Machines
- Milk cooler 1 litre
- Sleek and elegant: Silver/Black
- Compatible with any tube-based milk system (Saeco, Jura, Carimali, Gaggia, DeLonghi)
- Cooling performance: Up to 22 °C below the ambient temperature;
- Temp.- Control at + 1 °C
- Limited capacity is 1 litre. Depending on the traffic, it could be small.
MilkMate 2005⎮Milk Cooler for Office or Commercial Espresso Machines
-
1 gallon cooler or 3.78 litres
- Simply drop a whole jug of milk into the fridge
- UL and NSF approved
- Top loading
- Dimension 15" X 9" X 12 " (L x W x H)
- The look of this a bit more commercial.
- A little larger so consider the space available where it will be housed.
Top Brands for Office Coffee Machines
Saeco and JURA are both top contenders in the office coffee machine category for both small or high volume environments. Both brands certainly meet the criteria of the four top things you need in a office coffee machine:
- Coffee variety
- Usage
- Maintenance ad Durability
- Ease of use
While both brands are easy to maintain, the main difference between the two lies in the technology of the brew unit- the heart of any espresso machine.
The JURA brand has a built-in brew unit system which may be an advantage in a busy office setting. The built-in brew system does not require external handling. The machines will tell you when it is time to change the filter and descale. Simply using tablets, the machine will go through the process of cleaning itself. This is ideal in an office setting where multiple users may be required to care for the office coffee machine. However the built in brew unit will be more costly to repair or rebuild in the long term.
Saeco on the other hand, has a removable brew unit. They are easy to remove and clean making it more cost effective to rebuild for long term maintenance. The fact that brew units can be removed cuts down on service costs. These machines will still prompt the user when it is time to descale or clean the machine,
If you are in the market for an office coffee machine, you will not go wrong with either a JURA or Saeco. For more information, do not hesitate to contact us.
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