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  • any thoughts?

    Hey everyone,
                         My dad came to me the other day and said he was thinking of getting a coffee machine for his employees at his office. his only specs are that he wanted something that would be easy to keep clean and easy to use...i was thinking of suggesting a silvia right up..but i think that might be too much work to keep clean. Anyone have suggestions on a machine’s to look at?

    much appreciated.

    Cheers,
              DD ;D

  • #2
    Re: any thoughts?

    In an office environment, I cant see a silvia being much good. It has limited capacity and you really need to commit to understanding how to work it to get good results. I still think that a drip filter is teh best compromise for an office environment as its easy to use and makes plenty of coffee each time. The filter with the grounds can just be thrown out, and they are cheap, so if someone breaks it or it gets too filthy to use, you can buy another one. Its also not as finnicky to use as an espresso machine. Of course, you dont get as good results, and you cant steam milk, but its a lot better than instant for not much more effort/cost. The only other one to consider would be a full automatic machine that does the lot for you, or if everyone in the office is committed to becoming a barista then a good double boiler would be nice. The problem is that it only takes one person to stuff up a machine, and that can be costly (and really bad for morale too!)

    my 2c...

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    • #3
      Re: any thoughts?

      hey Doug,
      i was acutally thinking towards the full automatic too ...as much as it cuts against every grain in my coffee snob soul ;D. i would agree on the drip front...but that is what they are looking to upgrade from. might have to do some hunting on coffeegeeks. but i am a novice in the auto coffee machine world.

      thanks for the reply,
      DD

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      • #4
        Re: any thoughts?

        FORGET an espresso machine. They are not easy to use nor easy to keep clean in an office environment. You gave us very little to go on such as how many people are going to use it and how many cups a day...? But my first thought is a Keurig machine that uses the K-cups.

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        • #5
          Re: any thoughts?

          hey randy,
          yeah sorry small office probably about ten or so people i would say fairly moderate use between 15 to 30 cups a day. at a guess.

          DD

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          • #6
            Re: any thoughts?

            ..on the pod machines my concern is that the coffee is fairly ordenary and over-priced at that. been to a few of the promos for them and was dissapointed with every coffee they served me. but maybe my standards are too high these days  ;D

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            • #7
              Re: any thoughts?

              Someone else commented on another similar post recently that the pods are $1 each. If ten people drink two coffees per day youre looking at $100 p/w or about $5000 per year - just for the coffee.

              Grant

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              • #8
                Re: any thoughts?

                A few years back I was working in an office of about 10 people and instigated an upgrade from plunger coffee. We ended up getting a Krups 2200 machine, which proved hassle free for 2+ years - until the company was acquired by Apple at which point they decided to relocate a few people to US and the machine went home with one of the people who lost their job in the process.  

                The key to working the machine successfully was:
                • One on one training during the first few weeks. I helped every user of the machine make several coffees over a few days. Giving them more and more information every time and constantly repeating the cleaning mantra.

                • Operating cheat sheet stuck to the wall behind the coffee machine. Little reminders, such as correct dosage and steps for cleaning.

                • Coffee Nazi roster   - Every week someone was in charge of making sure that the machine was clean and well taken care of. If it wasnt, the "Nazi" would chase down the culprit and make them clean up their mess. If the culprit could not be found, it was the responsibility of the Nazi to right things.

                • Responsible people - As it turned out, two of us were more fussy (or perhaps anal?  8-) ) about our coffee, so we took it upon ourselves to perform regular maintenance, such as descaling and cleaning the shower screen.

                Small offices, where everyone knows everyone, are manageable and workable because people cant use anonymity to escape responsibility. A cheap and simple machine will work as long as you have at least one or two people who keep up the standards. The Krups 2200 was ideal because it was low cost and very simple.

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                • #9
                  Re: any thoughts?

                  If espresso is the choice, then an auto, or at least a semi-auto, is the way to go.

                  We have a low-end auto at work, and that works OK, only because:

                  I buy the beans.
                  2 of us share the cleaning and other maintenance.


                  Unless everyone is willing to learn to be amateur barista (and when was everyone ever willing to do anything?) then a manual machine probably wouldnt survive.

                  At least with an auto, some people can be responsible while others pay for being a button-pusher.

                  Greg
                  ps--look at the Jura machines--they have a formidable reputation.
                  pps--the sponsors can help.

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