Choosing a coffee machine for an office comes down to one number: how many cups your team drinks on a normal day. Everything else, from price to maintenance, follows from that. Here is how we size machines for offices in Tbilisi, based on the offices we already supply.
Start with cups per day
Count the people who drink coffee at work and multiply by two. A team of 12 usually means 20 to 25 cups a day. A team of 40 means 70 to 90. This estimate is what decides the machine, not the size of the kitchen or the budget.
Small offices: up to about 30 cups a day
One automatic bean-to-cup machine is the right choice. It grinds fresh beans for every cup, makes espresso, americano and cappuccino at the touch of a button, and needs no barista. We install the De’Longhi Eletta series in most Tbilisi offices of this size: it has a milk system for cappuccino, a water tank that lasts a morning, and cleaning cycles that take a minute.
Medium and large offices: several machines, not one big one
This is the mistake we see most often. An office of 60 people buys one large professional machine, and every morning between 9 and 10 there is a queue in the kitchen. A single machine, however fast, makes one cup at a time.
What works in practice is two or more De’Longhi automatic machines. Two machines in the same kitchen halve the morning queue. In offices spread over several floors, one machine per floor means nobody walks downstairs for coffee. As a rule of thumb, plan one automatic machine for every 30 to 40 cups a day. The total cost is usually lower than one professional machine, and if one unit needs servicing the office still has coffee.
When a professional machine makes sense
A professional espresso machine with a separate grinder belongs in a café, a hotel lobby or a company that serves coffee to guests as part of its hospitality, with someone trained to use it. We supply Elektra espresso machines and Eureka grinders for those cases, with installation and regular servicing. For an office kitchen where people make their own coffee, automatic machines are the better tool.
Buy or place?
You can buy the machines outright, or we can place them in your office as part of a coffee supply plan, so you pay for coffee and service rather than for equipment. Placement suits offices that want a fixed monthly cost. Purchase suits offices that already have a supplier for coffee and only need equipment. Both include installation and training.
What to check before deciding
- Milk. If your team drinks cappuccino and latte, choose machines with an automatic milk system. If it is mostly espresso and americano, a simpler model is cheaper and easier to clean.
- Water. A tank needs refilling a few times a day in a busy office. Put the machines near the sink.
- Cleaning. Automatic machines clean themselves daily but need descaling every few weeks. We handle descaling as part of service.
- Coffee. Freshly roasted beans make more difference than the machine. Ask for samples of our three roasts and let the team choose.
Get a recommendation for your office
Tell us how many people work in your office, on how many floors, and whether guests are served coffee. We will recommend the number of machines and send an offer within one working day. WhatsApp +995 510 000 210 or email [email protected]. Read more about coffee for offices.