Hi all
I'm setting up an office which will hold 12 staff. I'm not a coffee drinker so I have no idea whatsoever. Looking for a mid range coffee machine suitable for an office environment.
Please recommend me a good deal for one/what I should look for
Edit: from the comments it seems a coffee machine isn't as much an expectation as I thought 🤔
I would go for something that is a one touch machine, where you fill up with beans. I’ve only used ones in a domestic context so I don’t have anything specific to recommend for an office. But the Delonghi Magnifica works well for my friends large household of 6 adults.
I would also completely avoid pod machines due to the ridiculous amount of waste.
Thanks, that's the kind of help I was looking for
The bean/grinder ones are only recommended if you can guarantee that it is in a clean environment (no excess dust, pollutants, or creepy crawling roaches).
Otherwise, get one with the Pods: concentrated liquid coffee that gets heated and diluted. The machine itself is more basic and cheaper, but the Pods range anywhere from affordable to pricey. Since you're the highest earner (and since you saved heaps of money off the machine) buy everyone a box of pods and give it to them personally. But tell them you won't be buying anymore Pods, and if they do like it, they can buy/provide their own.
This works out fair for everyone since:
No mess no cleaning required!! Everyone gets to choose their own flavour when buying. Anyone can use it, no learning curve. Fast, the manual grinding ones will take time from work. Unless you get the Auto grinding ones, but they cost more (and higher servicing costs etc). Other fancy ones are a struggle to keep clean, last thing you want is people taking time off work because they got sick from an unkept machine (your responsibility).
https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/kitchen/coffee-mac…
I was about to suggest the same. We have one and we have about 4-6 coffees a day. So easy to use…with 12 employees they would just have to be aware of the beans getting low (you can clearly hear when it’s not grinding though so that’s good - even my kids know 😊).
We’ve had it for 7 years and it hasn’t missed a beat. Highly recommend!!!
No coffee machine? Just buy big tins of Nescafe powder coffee, if they want a barista coffee, there are shops outside?
You need to understand that people need to know how to use coffee machines which most don't
Damn if you're trying to save money then get International Roast?!
Geez you're fancy, I'd supply International Dust, Caterer's Blend
My field is really competitive for staff so little extras are really important. If it were me I wouldn't have anything at all 😂
Well have you had a look at office catering companies? Might be able to get a subscription plan for watercooler, coffee machine, muffins, whatever else and don't have to worry about replenishing or servicing or any issues. They deal with it all for you.
It saves time not going to go out to the shops. A lot of people will do this on their employers time.
Get a pod machine?
Pods are what I thought of first but then I got to reading about all in ones being cheaper and more environmentally friendly and had better reviews on taste so then I wasn't sure what to do next.
Do you recommend one in particular?
Breville Creatista.
This.
If you are wanting your employees to be productive, then just get a pod machine.
If however, you want your employees to waste time have a meditative experience cleaning the machine before using it, looking for their 'special blend' and then cleaning the machine after use, then go for the fancy frothing monster stocked by most department stores. I can guarantee you lost productivity, and you'll always find at least one person who takes it upon themselves to spend 25 minutes every day cleaning it.
Cheapo brand: Expresstoria, stocked in Woolies, often at half price for $50. Pods are relatively cheap and on specail often. Very limited range of flavour however.
Popular brand: Nespresso. More expensive, but has a greater range of flavours, meaning staff can bring their personal favourites in. Also can get reuseable pods, so staff can fill it with their own coffee blend whilst not feeling guilty about plastic waste.
Personally, I'd go with the Nespresso. The Expresstoria has a known design fault that means coffee leaks out of the bootom of the unit. Easily mitigated with a square of kitchen paper, but an annoyance all the same.
Heard good things about the Aldi one.
Not the best, but apparently many people can't tell it apart from the Nesspresso Originals in a blind taste test. Also the machine looks decent quality, and the Caps/Pods are comparatively cheap at 35c each roughly.
In my old workplace we had an Aldi machine. The office had about 50 people who drank lots of coffee. The Aldi machine was a beast and lasted well over 24 months with constant use. Not bad for a <$100 machine. The pods cost <20c.
Another workplace had a commercial Nespresso which was good too, but not sure on the price of that.
If you are wanting your employees to be productive, then just get a pod machine
What?
There are plenty of bean machines out there that from the point of view of the drinker, are less work than a pod machine as all you need to do is press a button
Sure, if you have a magical coffee machine that fills, empties and cleans itself.
Your point of it being less work doesn't appear to be valid, unless you're factoring in someone else doing those tasks.
@Magpye: Yeah, but the effort is pretty low on all of these tasks. I don't know why a pod machine would need any less cleaning than any other machine?
Its no brainer, go for the pod machine in office environment.
Less time consuming, less mess, easy to use, you get the variety (people can bring their own if required).
If you are a die hard coffee snob, go buy your own coffee.
In office environments, some people filling a pod machine with water is too hard, imagine having a coffee machine.
And then the coffee snobs, they only like the certain type of beans.
Look at the ECM range, German design with Italian build, I have one and it's superb - but quite expensive!.
I have one as well, had it for multiple years with 3 coffee a day use. Only complaint I have is some people just don't like the coffees that come out of it because they can be quite strong.
Your problem is going to be who is going to keep it clean.
This. I'm in the office 4 days a week and take care of it but I wouldn't drink out of it the days I'm not in.
You'll either need a roster or a designated person to do it.
Thanks. Do all machines have cleaning issues or does a pod system do away with those problems?
I don't think it is the difficulty of cleaning (however, some machines are more complex).
I think you may find there are slob(s), that ruin it for everyone.
My field is really competitive for staff so little extras are really important. If it were me I wouldn't have anything at all
Your other comment above, are they "prima donnas"? Are you expecting them to clean it themselves… :)
The pod system is cleaner unless you also have a milk frother. The frother is easy to wash after use but you'll likely get people who do a poor job of it or just won't bother and leave it for the next person. The same sort of person who won't empty the pods or refill the water. The whole bean machines have the same issues, easy to clean, grounds need to be emptied, water and beans refilled etc and there's always some person who can't be bothered and ruins it for everyone.
Yeah this is the kind of thing I think of too, and whether it is worth it or not
Keeping it clean when you only have 12 employees would be easy.
Facebook market place always has business coffee machines, the $1500 ones for 500 odd. But the reality is none really likes petrol station coffee, that's why they are $1
Nespresso LATTISSIMA ONE subscription 18mths PLAN, $100 for the machine and $50/mth for pods. Many compatible pods for 35-40c/ech. Less maintenance & more favorite.
We have one of these and it is very good. On clearance now, so might pick up a bargain. Is still working well after a number of years with a lot of use.
https://www.delonghi.com/en-au/products/coffee/coffee-makers…
What I would look for:
A machine that grinds so you can just buy beans. It's so much easier with staff to just have bags of beans to fill and water.
Pods are ok, but expensive in the long run.
Instant is ok too. I drink it, but if you do a little extra for staff, it can have great effects especially with a caffeinated beverage.
Are you going to install CCTV or something similar to see if you've accidentally hired an Ozbargainer and find beans missing (note also TP and so on)?
Expect productivity to drop, as employees make their coffee for 10 minutes, and then spend another 10 pooping as it shoots through their bodies.
Productivity increases as employees don't have the excuse anymore to go for a 10 minute walk to the closest café and also have a bit of a chat while there
Ahh true. The modern day smoko
Better than them going to the cafe and taking 30 minutes. I personally need my coffee during the day and as long as it’s beans I don’t mind if it’s from a machine or last resort a cafe.
I think it depends a lot on the office about which is the right solution for you. I work for a tech company and there would be revolts if high quality coffee was not provided (for free). Other work places might be content with instant or a pod machine (BYO pod).
Just be careful getting consumer grade machines. We went through a period of them failing after a few months (and not covered by warranty due to non-home use) before moving to commercial. But that is probably 50+ coffees per day.
Whats the budget?
We have a Breville Oracle. It is fantastic, makes coffee as good as a manual machine with ten percent of the skill required. I am slightly biased as I was allowed to pick what machine we got when we moved to our new office 😁
Honestly, get something that its basic and does work with minimal fuss. I would go for pods first up, if it goes well and people take care of it, then upgrade to something more substantial.
Breville Creatista Plus would be my pick.
Looking for a 13th employee as well?