subject: A Barista In Your Office [print this page] It used to be that pushing the button on the office coffee vending machine was akin to pushing the lethal injection button at someones execution. The result was going to be the same - unpleasant for someone! The coffee would be weak, mixed in with some whitening agent that had no taste and probably a billion cancer causing agents, and on top of all that you had to deal with the look of pity that co-workers would shoot you as they walked past you at the machine.
The best part is that we all lived with this for years. We tolerated it and it became the norm. I guess after years of complaining, with nothing happening, we all just gave up or that whitening agent finally got to us. Either way, we just gave up.
Clearly not everywhere because some clever folk got together in Italy and invented machines that would change the way we look at coffee machines in the office.
Today we can get machines that use fresh milk and real coffee beans! So successful have these machines been that even Starbucks (yes, you read right) have developed their own - called the Clover. Today, office workers can press that same button and hear their beans being ground, the brewing process taking place and then the milk foaming up at the top of their cup.
I can see executives thinking... "mmm.. great but what's the cost?" Ironically, not as big as you think because first of all, staff actually drink their coffee now instead of having you pay for the third they actually drank previously and that gives them a great caffeine boost and improves productivity. Don't take my word for that... it's been studied by folk way cleverer than me!
Secondly, it keeps staff in the office. No more sneaking off to Starbucks for a mid morning or mid afternoon lifesaver.. nope.. at their desks with cup on table. A cup that took just 30 seconds to make from standing up to sitting back down at the desk.
The third great benefit I have seen is the look on the faces of clients when served with real coffee at meetings. Not at US$2 a cup but at US$0.3 a cup! How good is that!
Perhaps the best part of these new coffee machines is the choice! Order an espresso in the morning and a cappuccino in the afternoon.. even a hot chocolate on cold mornings.
Yes, I love these machines. Yes, they serve up realistic drinks and yes, using fresh milk does require an improvement in hygiene management. But here again, a simple push of a button and we have an auto rinse function.
They are worth a re-look.... and while we aren't likely to restore our lethal injection subject to full life, I am convinced that some office ol' timers will get a fresh breath of life when they taste their first real office coffee machine coffee!
