The Best Coffee Machines for offices between 20-50 people

Coffee machine for offices are most popular in offices between 20 and 50 people. There are a number of options to choose from for this sized office, and which option is best is dependent on what each office’s primary goal is. Below we give our opinion on the best coffee machines for offices between 20-50 people.

Best Coffee Machine for Cost Saving:

More and more in South Africa, our customers are looking at ways to reduce and control their costs when it comes to coffee, sugar and milk. The kettle or urn coffee solution is often not the best solution anymore as one has their dry ingredients and milk accessible to everyone in the company to use as they wish.

In the old days, when companies asked us for the cheapest coffee solution, we mistakenly used to give them a filter coffee machine as this is the cheapest option when it comes to coffee machines. The problem with supplying this option as an “economy” solution was that although the machine is relatively cheap and the coffee used within a filter coffee machine is also relatively cheap, filter coffee machines don’t solve the most costly problems that companies have which is milk abuse. Milk is by far the costliest grocery item which a typical company buys on a monthly basis.

We have found that the best machine for stopping milk abuse and curbing grocery costs in a company is an instant vending coffee machine. Bean vending machines also control milk in the same way but by using bean instead of instant coffee, often diminishes and savings which are created by the machine.

Best Coffee Machine for Great Coffee:

If what you want is a great cup of coffee then your two best options are either a capsule or bean to cup machine. Capsule coffee arguably rivals bean coffee in terms of taste (although the purists wouldn’t agree) however capsules are inordinately expensive and work out to about 3 x the cost of beans making them not the best option for an office of more than 20 people.

In the bean to cup range, you have the choice of either bean vending or automatic coffee machines. The primary quality difference is bean vending uses powder milk whereas automatic machines use fresh milk. Even though many companies don’t mind the taste of powder milk, the vast majority prefers fresh milk options and therefore automatic coffee machines have to be the winner in this category.

Best Coffee Machine for ease of use or self-service (push button machines):

No one wants to battle away with a pitching jug trying to steam their milk. Offices want simplicity which is why about 30% of our customers demand a “push-button” machine. Automatic coffee machines are mostly “push-button” nowadays but their layout and markings often make them inadequate for first time users.

For this reason we will have to say vending is the route to go here. Vending machines are clearly marked with all the beverage options and require just a push of a button to create your drink of choice.

Filter coffee machines are also as basic as they come but they require one to still mix his/her own sugar and milk in after, making vending machines that touch easier.

Best Coffee Machine with the least cleaning requirements:

All coffee machines do require some level of daily cleaning and maintenance but what makes coffee machines “cleaning intensive” is the milk side of them.

In automatic coffee machines one has to manually clean out the milk frother every day. This is a quick process (takes about 30 seconds) but still must be done.

In a powder milk machine (vending machine) one needs to ensure the mixing bowls are clean daily. This too is a relatively simple and quick task, but is a task nonetheless.

Filter coffee machines, although a slight bit boring, are as easy as they come and have to win the “easiest to clean coffee machine award” compared to its peers. Because there is no milk side to a filter machine all one needs to do is take out the filter bag each day and replace it with a new one. That’s it!

Best Coffee Machine for making a great impression:

About 20% of our customers have bought or rent a coffee machine from us solely to make a great impression on their customers. This applies to car dealerships, boardrooms and fancy receptions. Giving someone a great cup of coffee shows that you in turn care about your customers and elevates the status of your company in your customers’ eyes.

There isn’t a drink quite as impressive to serve as a café latte so we have to award any machine which has the ability to create a café latte, the “best coffee machine for making a great impression” accolade.

Both Automatic Bean to Cup coffee machines and Bean to Cup vending machines have this option and therefore there is a tie in this category.

Best Coffee Machine to get a great coffee aroma:

There is nothing like the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. As good as coffee tastes, the aroma of coffee is just on another level. The process of grinding beans creates an intense coffee aroma which fills the office but it is possible to get the same aroma from a plain ol’ filter coffee machine. Filter coffee machines also have their jug slightly open which allows the aroma to spread quicker and filter machines are a fraction of the price of bean to cup machines, so for these reasons we feel filter machines are your best bet if aroma is your goal.

Conclusion:

There are many coffee machine options out there and no coffee machine system is perfect and does it all. Choosing the right coffee machine for your office is a process which starts with deciding what your primary goal is. Many companies will have dual goals such as cost saving and self-service, and therefore it is important to choose a machine type which fulfills as many of your needs as possible.

We believe that the best way, to be 100% certain that the machine which you choose is the right machine for you, is to start with a trial where you can test the machine and the coffee before committing to a long term rental contract or before buying.

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