It’s kind of a cliché, but it’s also true: Offices can’t function without coffee. Stocking your breakroom with java, condiments and supplies is a critical business activity. Here’s some guidance on how to estimate the amount of coffee to keep your office mates happy and productive.
Coffee. Baristas say the average cup requires 20 grams of ground coffee. If everyone in your office drinks two cups a day and you work with 12 people, that works out to 480 grams a day, which is just over a pound (454 grams). Of course, if you want to offer some variety, divide that quantity by the different brews you want to offer. If you believe variety is truly the spice of life, invest in a single-cup brewer with a variety pack of cups, including a “fill-your-own” option for the coffee connoisseurs. If you’re a green business, reinforce those values with a selection of organic and/or Fair Trade options.
Grinders. Give new meaning to the daily grind with one or two grinders per break area. “Coffee very quickly loses complex aromatics upon being ground,” notes Kate Blackman, who handles education, quality control and menu development for Parisi Coffee in Kansas City, MO. “Cracking it open — grinding — is akin to opening a 2-liter bottle of soda and sipping it for weeks or months. It won’t make you ill, but it will be flat and stale.” Purchase a bottle brush for easier cleaning. If space is at a premium, consider a grinder-brewer unit.
Coffeemakers. If you’re going with a pot brewer, you only need one per breakroom (two if you want a dedicated unit for brewing decaf). But single-serve brewing is on the rise, according to the National Coffee Association USA, with 29 percent of Americans preferring this method. That could cause traffic jams and tension when too many people need a jolt of joe at the same time. If single cups are your preference, invest in a one-cup quick-serve unit like a Keurig® per break area, or purchase a pair of press pots or pour-over units to keep those pileups from tanking productivity and morale.
Pro tip: “For smaller offices there are great ‘home’ brewers that will make a good cup of coffee for less than you would pay for a commercial machine, but you must expect to replace them on a regular basis as they were not meant to stand up to commercial volume use,” notes Scott Conary, president and green coffee buyer for North Carolina-based Carrboro Coffee Roasters. If your volume is high, it may make more sense to invest in a commercial-grade machine.
Filters. The quantity of paper filters depends on two variables: the number of cups made each day and whether those cups are single serve or by the pot. It’s easy math, though.
Urns & Airpots. “It’s always best to consume brewed coffee ideally within about an hour, less than two,” explains Andrew Hetzel, coffee quality and trade adviser for CafeMakers, LLC, in Kamuela, HI. If you must store brewed coffee, use an insulated urn, carafe or airpot. “Never use glass carafes that apply heat, like the old diner style,” he warns. “It’s a recipe for bitter coffee. While coffee rests, quinic acid forms that gives it that bitter taste.”
Mugs, Spoons & Stirrers. Buy spoons and stirrers in bulk because you can never have enough. Mugs, on the other hand, are a different matter. If you go with paper cups, use the number of cups per day from your coffee estimate and add at least 10 percent to that for a margin of error. If reusable mugs are more your style, restaurateurs suggest stocking 2.5 times seating capacity (in your case, employees) to accommodate for guests, breakage and loss.
Pro tip: Reinforce your brand by stocking mugs or paper cups in your brand colors and bearing your logo.
Creamers, Sweeteners & Syrups. Life would be so simple if everyone took their coffee black. But you need to order plenty of condiments for employees and visitors who like to dress up their drinks. Coffee creamer and sugar are de rigueur, but with many people eschewing heavily processed foods, you may need to stock dairy and soy creamers and natural sweeteners. “For cream, it depends on whether you’re using fresh dairy, or packets,” Blackman explains. “Most of the packet stuff lasts forever because its all chemicals, so buy in bulk! For real dairy, I’d calculate 1 ounce per cup. So, if your office is drinking 24 cups a day, you’d need a gallon of milk — 128 ounces — to last the work week.” Estimate 2 teaspoons of sugar and a half-ounce of syrup per cup. To get an accurate quantity, survey your team about the condiments they use; add a few extra servings to account for visitors.
Storage. You need one opaque airtight storage container for each coffee variety you stock. “Moisture, heat and oxygen are the enemies of good coffee taste,” notes Jamie Weldon, CEO of Dancing Moon Coffee in New York. “If you don’t store it in an airtight container or if you put it in the freezer, you ruin the delicate cell structure of the coffee and let the oils released in roasting turn rancid. That produces bad tasting coffee!”
Pro tip: Packaged coffee normally has a shelf life of 40 to 45 weeks after roasting. But coffee experts agree it’s unwise to stock more than two weeks of coffee to ensure maximum freshness and flavor.
This information is a starting point for your estimating purposes. Contact a local roaster or coffee shop for additional insights on how to keep your coffee service stocked and your workforce stoked.
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