Choosing the right coffee beans for your office

Whether you’ve recently added a new coffee machine to your office, or are still trying to find the perfect machine, the next thing you’ll have to think about is buying beans. There are so many different coffee beans on the market these days, how do you choose the right beans for your office?

Let’s look at the five different factors that are likely to influence your decision around choosing the right coffee beans for your office.

1. Price

Let’s be honest, if you’re looking to supply your business with coffee, price is going to play a huge factor. Coffee bean prices can differ quite dramatically depending on quality and where they are sourced from. If you’ve sprung for a fresh bean coffee machine for your office, don’t skimp on the beans! There’s no point having a nice coffee machine without quality beans to go in it. Try to find a brand with good reviews, but also an acceptable price point.

If you’ve got a budget for staff drinks, work out the number of cups per person, per day. It’s also worth allocating some to guests that may be served coffee at the office as well. Once you’ve worked out how many coffee beans you’ll be using, your supplier will be able to give you advice on how many cups you’ll get from a bag of their beans, and the price per bag.

2. Preference

Taste is subjective of course, but consider the preferences of those who will actually be drinking the coffee every day. It may be worth running a quick survey to see what flavours are enjoyed by the majority of your staff. You can email a questionnaire to your staff for free with a tool like Survey Monkey. Ask how many cups they have per day, how they take it, and what their preferred style of coffee beans are.

If you’ve got the budget and are keen to please, you may even want to get a broad selection of beans so that everyone can decide for themselves. If you can’t offer a variety all the time, you could buy a different style every quarter so that people get to try something new. Remember, it’s almost impossible to satisfy everyone; most of your staff will simply appreciate having access to quality coffee.

3. Freshness

Freshly roasted coffee beans are a must-have for any business aiming to improve morale and productivity by offering their staff quality coffee. It’s important to check the best before date on your beans; ask the supplier for clarification if required. Once the beans have been put in the hopper (the storage container on top of the fresh bean machine), they won’t last longer than 5 days. Beans older than that should be thrown away.

Due to the fact that coffee beans don’t last very long, it’s worth having a standing order with your supplier to ensure fresh coffee beans are available every day. It’s just as important to store them correctly. Coffee beans will last longest when stored in a cool, dry, and dark area.

4. Delivery

Now that you know about the importance of maintaining a supply of fresh coffee beans, you’ll understand why delivery is a good idea. Most suppliers will offer free delivery (with perhaps a minimum purchase), so do yourself a favour by setting up an ongoing order. Plus, if your coffee beans are coming direct from the people who roast them, you’re going to have fresher beans that last longer.

5. Machine

After you’ve selected your coffee beans, you must ensure that your machine is calibrated correctly.

The taste of each cup of coffee will be affected by the following:

• How many grams of coffee is actually used for each cup
• How much water is used
• Extraction time

Yes, it can be complicated, but it’s well worth it to provide the perfect coffee for your staff. They’ll be stoked to have quality coffee at work. It’ll save time spent hunting for a decent local espresso, and improve morale and productivity to boot.

At Café Direct, we have the largest fleet of coffee machine technicians in New Zealand. We can hook you up with a perfectly calibrated coffee machine for your business’ needs, and the right beans to go with it.