Nov 9th, 2009 | Written by Original Writer | Posted in Business |

An office has many important things. Besides people, you have copy machines, fax machines, the time clock, computers, and calculators. One of the most important things in any office is the office coffee maker. It plays an important part and must also take a lot of abuse. When it breaks down, the whole office environment can grind to a halt.

Besides just keeping employees awake and motivated, office coffee makers put the smell of warm coffee into the air and also is there for customers or clients. When you sit down for a meeting in the conference room, there should some be some coffee available for any visitors that you might have. If it’s cold out, it can help warm them up and it’s a nice treat to have good coffee when starting a meeting. It’s nice gesture to offer it to clients that come to your office to meet.

There are many features available and you also want to make sure you get the right kind of coffee maker for an office. If it’s difficult to clean or makes terrible coffee, then you could have problems. And you may think that spending some extra money for what may seem to be “high end” features might actually save you money in terms of time and trouble. Let’s examine some of these important features found on drip coffee machines.

Size Matters

First, think about how many people this coffee maker will serve on any given day. Then think about how many cups each person may have. You might end up with a number like 1.3 cups per person since a lot of people just need a cup and others can have up to 3 of 4 cups of coffee per day. Now, coffee tastes best when brewed in small batches but that might not be an option in an office with a lot of coffee drinkers. A single cup coffee maker can get really expensive, so that’s one kind that might get crossed off the list – although some offices have one of those machines available for clients that come in because you can have different varieties available and you know it’ll be very fresh and good tasting.

How Do You Serve Great Tasting Coffee to a Lot of People?

There is a great solution that you might really like. A double coffee brewer makes coffee in small enough batches and the coffee stays warm in the specially designed carafes that come with it.  Each carafe can hold about 10-12 cups of coffee. One can be brewing while people are taking coffee from the other one. They can also start taking coffee from a carafe that’s brewing. There’s no delays and the coffee stays fresh and hot in the carafes.

You will most likely be using pre-ground coffee in an office but another way to have better tasting coffee is to use a coffee grinder and some coffeemakers come with a grinder built right in.

Plumbed Office Coffee Makers

Another problem with office coffee makers is filling them up with water. It’s time consuming and can also make a mess. Having a water line coming directly into the coffee maker eliminates this problem and keeps that water contained and more sanitary. Both Keurig and Bunn make these kind of coffee makers, which are made especially for commercial use, which includes offices.

Coffee Vendors

One way to get coffee for less is to find a local coffee vendor. If there isn’t one available or if you don’t like their coffee, you can also find coffee vendors on the Web. Many places offer coffee service for wholesale rates and they can ship it to you, which is practically the same thing as having someone locally stop in.

Don’t Forget the Extras

Remember that you will also need things like cups, sugar, creamer, non-dairy creamer, stir sticks and napkins. Some offices have a policy for their employees that they need to bring in their own mugs. This cuts down on costs and waste since the cups can be washed and used over and over.

Conclusion

For most offices, getting a double brewer is a good idea. For smaller offices, they may be able to get by with some basic drip coffee makers but remember that automatic drip coffee makers can be slow and messy. They also need to be cleaned a lot and can often break down. Having a backup would then be a good idea. Whichever kind you get, make sure it’s cleaned often. Running a mixture of vinegar in water through a cycle every few days or weekly can make any coffee maker last longer and brew better coffee. Get more tips on how to clean a coffee maker if you don’t know how.

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