The short answer
The best office coffee machine is the one sized to your daily cup count, not your headcount on paper. As a rule of thumb, a team of up to 10 suits a compact bean to cup machine rated around 30 cups a day. Around 20 staff needs a machine rated around 100 cups a day. From 30 to 100 staff, look at 200 cups a day, and above 100 staff, a twin hopper or fresh milk machine rated at 300 cups a day.
Start with cups per day
Machines are rated by advised daily output, so work out your daily cups first.
Staff who drink coffee x 2 = daily cups. Choose a machine rated at least 25 percent above that.
Two cups per coffee drinker is a sensible planning figure for most offices. Adjust up if you host clients or run morning meetings, and down if half the team drinks tea. The 25 percent headroom covers busy days and stops the machine working flat out, which shortens its life.
Office coffee machines by team size
| Team size | Daily cups | Machine class | Options in our range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 | Up to 25 | Compact bean to cup or capsule, around 30 cups a day | Dr. Coffee C12, Saeco Royal OTC, La San Marco WE2 |
| 10 to 30 | 25 to 75 | Mid-size bean to cup, around 100 cups a day | Dr. Coffee F11 (2L, 8L or plumbed), Dr. Coffee M10 BIG-T |
| 30 to 100 | 75 to 200 | High capacity bean to cup, around 200 cups a day | Dr. Coffee F100P, Dr. Coffee F100PW |
| 100 plus | 200 plus | Twin hopper or fresh milk, 300 cups a day | Dr Coffee F2 Plus, Carimali Armonia Soft Plus |
Up to 10 staff
A small team does not need a big machine. The Dr. Coffee C12 has an advised output of 30 cups a day, a 4L water tank and one-touch milk drinks, which covers a team of ten comfortably. The Saeco Royal OTC is another compact bean to cup option. If the team prefers capsules, the La San Marco WE2 suits small offices that want consistency with no grinder to manage. See the full small office range.
10 to 30 staff
This is where most growing offices sit, and where under-buying is most common. The Dr. Coffee F11 range has an advised output of around 100 cups a day and a 1.2kg bean hopper, with 2L and 8L tank versions and a plumbed version. If staff like to texture their own milk, the Dr. Coffee M10 BIG-T pairs a 100 cup advised output with a manual steam arm and an 8L tank. Browse the medium office range.
30 to 100 staff
At this size, capacity and refills become the deciding factors. The Dr. Coffee F100P is rated at 200 cups a day with a 1.2kg hopper and can draw from a tap water supply. The F100PW is the same machine with a water tank, for sites without a water connection near the kitchen.
100 staff and over
Large offices need throughput and choice. The Dr Coffee F2 Plus has two grinders and two 1.2kg hoppers, so you can offer two blends or a decaf, with an advised output of 300 cups a day and a hot milk frothing system. For fresh milk drinks with cafe-style texture, the Carimali Armonia Soft Plus monitors milk temperature and detects an empty carton before it pours a bad drink. See the large office range.
What is the best office coffee machine for 20 staff?
Twenty staff at two cups each is around 40 cups a day, rising to 50 with headroom. That is beyond a 30 cup compact machine but well within a machine rated around 100 cups a day, such as the Dr. Coffee F11 or M10 BIG-T.
The extra capacity is not wasted. It means shorter queues at 10am, less strain on the grinder and brewing unit, and room to grow. For a 20 person office, the bigger question is usually water: a 2L tank at 40 cups a day needs refilling several times, so an 8L tank or plumbed connection saves a lot of trips to the tap.
Bean to cup, capsule or traditional?
Fully automatic bean to cup machines grind fresh for every drink at the press of a button. They suit almost every office size and give the lowest coffee cost per cup.
Capsule machines are simple and tidy, and work well for small teams. The cost per cup is higher over time, so they make less sense as headcount grows.
Traditional espresso machines suit client-facing spaces or offices with staff trained to use them. They produce the best results in skilled hands but rely on people to make every drink.
Milk: the decision most offices skip
Most New Zealand offices drink flat whites and lattes, so the milk system matters as much as the coffee. There are three main approaches:
- Manual steam arm, as on the M10 BIG-T, for teams who want to texture milk themselves
- Automatic milk frothing, as on the F2 Plus, for one-touch milk drinks
- Fresh milk with monitoring, as on the Carimali Armonia Soft Plus, for the closest thing to a cafe flat white
Some high volume machines, including the F100P, also offer a milk powder option, which removes the need to manage fresh milk at all.
Water: tank or plumbed
A tank machine can go anywhere with a power point, but someone has to fill it. As a rough guide, small tanks suit low volumes and larger tanks or a plumbed connection suit anything above 40 cups a day. If you are fitting out a new kitchen, plan a water connection near the machine from the start.
Do not forget the coffee
The machine and the beans work as a package. A 20 person office at 9g per cup gets through around 2kg of beans a week. Our guide to how many cups you get from 1kg of beans shows how to work out your own figure. Choose coffee beans with a clear origin and a roast that suits milk drinks, since that is what most of your team will order.
Rent or buy?
Renting spreads the cost and includes servicing, which suits most offices. Rental for an automatic office machine typically starts from around $50 per week. Our guides to commercial coffee machine rental costs and rental versus buying go through the numbers in detail.
At higher volumes, the machine can be funded through your coffee supply instead of a separate rental payment, so it is worth asking what your weekly kilograms would qualify for.
Prioritise support, not just specs
An office machine that stops on a Monday morning is felt across the whole building. Ask any supplier how quickly they respond and whether you get a replacement. Segafredo provides 24 hour servicing turnaround in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with an overnight courier replacement machine for customers outside those areas, backed by our service centre.
That reliability is why Stephenson Turner, with an office of more than 100 staff, has used the same Segafredo machine for over seven years.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best office coffee machine for 20 staff?
A bean to cup machine with an advised output of around 100 cups a day, such as the Dr. Coffee F11 or M10 BIG-T. Twenty staff usually drink 40 to 50 cups a day, which is too many for a compact 30 cup machine.
How many coffees does an office drink a day?
Plan on about two cups per coffee drinker per day. Client meetings and early starts push that higher.
Are capsule machines good for offices?
They suit small teams that value simplicity. For larger teams, a bean to cup machine has a lower cost per cup and higher capacity.
Does an office coffee machine need plumbing?
Not always. Many machines run from a water tank. Above around 40 cups a day, a larger tank or a plumbed connection saves frequent refills.
Should an office rent or buy a coffee machine?
Most offices are better off renting, because servicing is included and the cost is spread. Buying can make sense for offices that want to own the asset and are set up to manage servicing.
Get matched with the right machine
Tell us your team size and how your office drinks its coffee, and we will recommend the office coffee machines that fit, with rental and purchase options. Request an office coffee quote, or call 0800 377 737, Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm.
