Best Coffee Machines for Small Offices

Whether you’re setting up a new workplace or upgrading your existing hot drink facilities, choosing the best coffee machine for a small office can make a real difference to your team, customers and visitors alike. For businesses with around 5 to 30 employees, today’s small office coffee machines offer a wide choice of bean-to-cup, instant and espresso drinks, with flexible purchasing and leasing options that suit a range of budgets.

In this guide, the vending and beverage machine experts here at JW Vending explain what to look for, compare some of our top recommendations and help you choose a compact office coffee machine that delivers the right balance of quality, value and capacity for your business. Grab a coffee and let’s get started.

Why Choosing the Right Office Coffee Machine Matters

Nailing your coffee machine selection matters more than you might think, for a few reasons:

• Staff morale – aside from preventing the inevitable rioting should the coffee ever run out, choosing the right compact coffee machine for your office can help bolster staff morale. It allows employees to enjoy their choice of quality, energy-boosting drinks and demonstrates your investment in their wellbeing.
• Client impressions – first impressions matter. If a prospective client visits your site and you hand them a cup of own-brand instant coffee, they’re hardly likely to thank you for it. Being able to offer clients and visitors a range of delicious hot drinks is a great way to make a solid first impression.
• Cost efficiency – small commercial coffee machines for UK businesses are designed to cater to the needs of growing or less heavily staffed organisations. As a result, they are typically more compact, use less energy and consume fewer resources, meaning you’re not paying to run a giant machine for a team of 10 people.

Read more about the importance of selecting the right coffee machine for your business in our blog post.

What To Look For in a Coffee Machine for Small Offices

There are a few key things to consider when selecting the best coffee machine for small offices:

• Machine size – small office coffee machines for UK businesses should ideally be just that: small. More limited space calls for a compact machine footprint, giving you quality drinks without dominating your break room or kitchen.
• Daily Drink Volume: With such a vast range of machines available, you can often choose the ideal unit based on how many cups you need to brew every day. Whether you have 5, 10, 20 or 30 staff, there’s an ideal unit for you.
• Machine type – office coffee machines come in a range of different types, including bean to cup, instant and espresso. Each provides a varied selection of drinks and coffee freshness, and the right one for you will depend on staff preferences and running costs.
• Energy Efficiency: There are some highly energy-conscious machines available that can help you save on running costs. Smart features allow machines to shut down when your office isn’t in use, such as overnight and at weekends.
• Ease of Cleaning: The easiest machines to maintain include automatic cleaning programmes, simple milk cleaning functions and straightforward descaling cycles. These help keep your machine hygienic, maintain drink quality and reduce the amount of time your staff spend on upkeep.
• Rental or purchase – when it comes to paying for your machine, you have two options: rental or purchase. With office coffee machine rental, UK businesses can pay for their machine in set monthly amounts, which include restocking and servicing, and they can choose to upgrade whenever they need. With purchase, businesses can save some money in the long-term but need to put down a lot of cash up front and cover the cost of depreciation, stocking and maintenance themselves.
• Maintenance and servicing requirements – different machines will have varying maintenance and servicing requirements. With rental agreements, these are taken care of, but if you choose to purchase your machine, you should ensure that you understand the long-term upkeep needs of your coffee machine.

At JW Vending, we’ve been helping businesses choose the right coffee machines for more than 25 years. One of the most common mistakes we see in smaller offices is choosing a machine that’s either too large or too small for your daily needs.

Selecting the right capacity from the start helps keep your running costs under control while ensuring your employees always have access to high-quality hot drinks whenever they need them.

Our Top Picks the Best Coffee Machines for Small Offices

We stock a wide range of instant, espresso and bean-to-cup coffee machines for offices just like yours, with options ideal for teams of around 5 to 30 employees. Our top picks from each kind are:

• Zensia Instant FBT: An excellent choice for small offices looking to offer a wide selection of hot drinks. Offering a choice of up to 17 beverages, including coffee, hot chocolate and freshly brewed tea, it’s simple to use, easy to maintain and ideal for keeping staff and visitors refreshed each day.
• Vitro S1 Espresso: Perfect for smaller workplaces, meeting rooms and reception areas, this compact unit delivers barista-style coffee without taking up valuable space. Offering fresh espresso, cappuccinos, hot chocolate and more, it can serve up to 60 drinks per day.
• Vitro X1 Espresso Bean-to-Cup: Perfect for smaller offices looking to serve fresh, barista-style drinks, the X1 offers a choice of espresso-based drinks, a simple touchscreen interface and a compact footprint. It’s an excellent choice for businesses wanting premium coffee with room to grow.

Rental vs Buying — Which is Best for Small Offices?

As we’ve discussed, there are two main ways for small offices to finance their coffee machines: purchase and rental. Each has its own merits. For example, purchasing means no monthly payments and allows you to own the machine outright. But it also means paying potentially thousands for a machine that will only depreciate in value, and staying on top of maintenance and restocking yourself.

However, for small businesses, we’d typically recommend office coffee machine rental. UK businesses stand to save themselves from a range of financial and practical headaches with a rental agreement.

Coffee machine rental allows businesses to pay for their machines in fixed monthly instalments, which include service and maintenance as well as restocking. Plus, rental agreements are flexible, meaning you can swap your machine at any time if your needs change.

Learn more about the pros and cons of leasing and buying in our complete guide.

Why Choose JW Vending for Your Office Coffee Needs

At JW Vending, we have more than a quarter of a century of experience in supplying small businesses across the UK with high-quality coffee machines. We offer flexible, affordable lease and rental plans which include reliable maintenance and restocking.

Choose from a range of the best coffee machines for small offices, delivered, installed and maintained completely hassle-free. To get a free quote today, just call us now on 0117 982 8795 or fill out our contact form.