We all know that coffee plays an essential role in office productivity. Most office coffee is famously pretty bad, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Having decent coffee can be a small part of keeping staff happy and making them feel more valued than if you only provide bad tasting instant coffee.
Image – free for commercial use
Buy Whole Beans
Whole bean coffee is much fresher and retains more flavour than the coffee you buy ready ground, and is infinitely better than instant. Look for the best single serve coffee maker, which grinds the beans on demand for each cup. Investing in a bean to cup machine means that each cup has the best flavour possible, making for delicious coffee every time.
Buy Local
If you can, buy the office coffee from a local roaster. Local coffee will reach you much earlier in its life, meaning it is much fresher when it reaches you than if you buy from further afield. Buying local also has the added bonus of supporting a fellow local business.
Start A Coffee Club
If there’s not much room in the budget for buying posh coffee, start a coffee club for caffeine fiends in the office. Club members would take it in turns to bring in different coffee each week, meaning everyone gets to try different coffees without spending a fortune every week. Buy a french press for the office for coffee club to use to enjoy their purchases.
Forget Coffee Pods
Coffee pods are popular, but are actually a very expensive way to buy your office coffee. They’re also not as tasty as the coffee inside isn’t that fresh. Coffee pods are also not a very sustainable choice, as most of them can’t be recycled and end up in landfills. Instead of contributing to generating more waste, use fresh coffee and ditch the pods.
Add A Time To The Coffee Pot
One of the big problems of office coffee is the communal coffee pot. While the pot is a practical way to manage lots of people drinking coffee, coffee that has been sat around doesn’t taste that good. If you get to a pot that has been sat there a while, there’s no way to tell how long ago the coffee has made. Combat this by adding somewhere to leave what time the pot was brewed. Put up a chalkboard next to the pot, and leave a piece of chalk for whoever makes the coffee to write down the time they made it. This means nobody will accidentally drink coffee that has been sitting for hours.
Use Filtered Or Distilled Water
The water you use can really change the way your coffee tastes. Even if your tap water tastes pretty decent, it can have an impact on the flavour of the coffee. Instead, use water that is filtered or distilled. Water from the water cooler is filtered so is ideal for coffee making. Otherwise, you could buy a filter jug for the office fridge or make an investment in a filter tap.