Office Coffee Services - INACTIVE

By Sylvia Rosen

A gourmet coffee solution can be an easy way to impress clients, guests, and employees. Defining your own business' coffee needs is key to finding the right solution. Here are a few pros and cons to three common coffee types of coffee makers..

K-Cup Brewers

When Kuerig came on to the scene in 1999, their "k-cup" technology was a game changer in the office. Not much bigger than a drip coffee machine, these units had to potential to make the same quality of gourmet coffee to taste, every time the on button was pressed.

Users would pour water into the reservoir, add a k-cup filled with their desired coffee flavor and turn the machine on. In 2-3 minutes, the user had their personalized coffee. Everyone in an office can have their own special flavor, blend, or strength of coffee.

Pros: Coffee is brewed to one's specific tastes without everyone having to drink someone else's favorite flavor or type of coffee. These units also will brew hot chocolate and teas. Pricing is fairly moderate, running in the $80 -$300 range depending on model, make, and reservoir size.

Cons: Reservoir size can be limiting. This type of machine needs to be set up near a water source to avoid spills when transporting water to the machine. Wait time is an issue as well; With conventional coffee machines there is some wait while the first pot brews. With these types of brewers, there is a wait time for every single cup. This type of machine is not recommended for offices where more than 5 or 6 people will be using it at a time.

Installed, "bunn type" machines

We've all seen these types of units in offices and diners for years. The chances of these types of machines ever becoming extinct are pretty remote and with good reason; they work. These types of coffee machines will brew just about anything you want to put in them, but that doesn't mean they don't have their draw backs.

Pros: These units are durable and require just a bit of preventive maintenance. They can brew up to three pots and keep those pots warm on external warmers, meaning one can serve a large number of office personnel at one time.

There units can usually be integrated with the existing plumbing meaning they will fill themselves up as needed; just press "brew". Some units might come with the option to add a grinder as well. Most units come with a hot water spigot for tea drinkers and hot chocolate aficionados.

Cons: These units are heavy. Once you have decided where one goes, do not plan on moving with without a plumber being present. While having the ability to brew more than one pot at a time is great, brewing a pot of gourmet coffee means brewing an entire pot. Getting everyone to agree on a blend or flavor is something that can get a bit tough in an office environment.

In addition, the coffee maker needs to be switched off every night as well. Typically, a unit's burners will stay on until someone turns them off- not doing so results in a messy pot the next day.

Flavia machines

There are certain types of coffee makers that combine the best of both of the above coffee makers, for an outstanding coffee experience. Flavia and Flavia type machines have been around for a while and offer a unique and rewarding coffee experience to their user; but with a cost.

Find out more about Flavia coffee makers here.

While there are multiple brewing "schools" the end result of a solid cup of coffee should always be on your mind. Hiring the right refill vendor that will clean your machine and service your machine is always a good option to consider no matter what type of machine you have. Preventive maintenance and proper cleaning will keep your last cup as aromatic and flavorful as your first