Anyone can make a good pot of office coffee. Even that guy on the third floor. You know the one, that guy who seems like he can barely tie his own shoes most days? Yes, even he can make a pot of coffee that will please the discerning tastes in your Manhattan office with a little help from the experts.
Help we are happy to provide in this list of five things you should consider before brewing office coffee.
Understand Your Variables
First things first, you have to understand that making office coffee is a balancing act. You are not just balancing the taste preferences of a workforce, but you are balancing the elements that go into making a perfect pot as well. The four key variables you have to master for success include: time, water, the coffee itself and your equipment. We will discuss each of these in turn, allowing you to get to grips with making your office coffee the best that it can be.
Timing is Everything
It’s funny in a way, we rely on coffee to get us up and running and keep us on time – and time is one of the most critical elements in the coffee making process. From the moment beans are roasted, there’s a clock ticking in the background as the flavor slowly degrades.
It is important not only to obtain the freshest coffee possible, but to be sure you’re brewing it in the most efficient manner – which means you need to select the right grind for your coffee – so that as the water licks its way around the coffee, extracting flavor and precious caffeine, it does not move too fast or too slow.
When the water passes through too quickly, you end up with weak coffee. When the water sticks around in the filter and is allowed to steep for too long, your coffee becomes unintentionally bitter. Your average drip pot of office coffee requires a medium grind for optimal flavor extraction. If you’re using a pot with a conical filter, you might want to experiment with a finer grind to provide more well-rounded flavors.
And, as always, remember that coffee tastes best when it’s fresh. Those insulated carafes are great for meetings – but when you are providing refreshments for a long session, be sure you make fresh coffee at regular intervals. Even those gorgeous new stainless steel insulated carafes aren’t going to keep your coffee tasting its best for more than an hour or so. Why? Because coffee is rich in tannins, and the longer those linger the more their bitterness shines through the rest of your brew.
Taste the Water
Because so many offices have water coolers, we rarely drink a glass of tap water during the workday – but few of us think twice before drawing a jug of water from the sink and pouring it into the pot to brew our office coffee. This is a huge, rookie error.
If the water doesn’t taste nice enough to drink a glass of, there is no conceivable universe in which you should use it to make coffee for your colleagues and coworkers. So, if you have never tried it before, we encourage you to taste the office water before you use it for making coffee. You might find that filtered or bottled water is a far better option for producing a clean, delicious pot of office coffee.
Consider Your Coffee
We have already touched on the importance of brewing your office coffee from the freshest beans possible. But how do you guarantee this happens? First, a regular delivery of fresh-roasted coffee beans is ideal – but not all offices have the capacity to deal with grinding coffee beans on an as-needed basis. A regular delivery of fresh, pre-ground coffee is also perfectly acceptable – the trick is being sure the coffee is used within the ideal window for perfect taste.
Generally, industry experts will tell you that from the moment you break the seal on your bag of coffee you have about a week to use it before the flavors are significantly diminished. In an interview with Parade magazine, Starbucks coffee guru Major Cohen said, “When you open the bag, you have seven days. It will not be fresh after seven days of being exposed to oxygen.” Admittedly, we know of few offices where a bag of great coffee would last a full week.
Know Your Coffee Gear
This is the one area where that guy up on third might have some trouble – all coffee equipment requires care and attention. The bonus of working with an office coffee service is that the sometimes-difficult aspects of maintenance and repair on your in-house coffee systems are usually handled by your supplier. A clean coffee maker in good working order will produce a superior pot of office coffee, but user error can still take its toll on flavor and quality.
So lend your co-workers a hand and provide:
- A copy of the recommended recipe for use with the coffee and equipment in a given area. If your recipe calls for one teaspoon per six ounces of water (which is the standard), provide a scoop that yields a “pot of coffee “ in one dose.
- The correct filters for the equipment – the shape and porosity of filters have a direct impact on the way the flavor of coffee develops during brewing. Using the right grind and filter combination is vital to a successful brew.
- Guidance regarding water – if you want staff to use the tap water, let them know that like most water in New York, your office water is just fine to drink and use for coffee brewing.
The Ritual Matters
One last thing before we sign off – the process of brewing, sharing and enjoying coffee is one that many people treasure. Often even a “bad” pot of coffee can provide a lift to a meeting or otherwise humdrum situation purely because it is coffee. So please, savor the complex blast of air that puffs out when you break the vacuum seal on that bag of beans.
Then take a moment to appreciate the trickle of that magical black liquid as it wiggles its way through the filter into the pot itself. And most of all, enjoy the blissful glow that warm cup provides your colleagues – and you – throughout the day.
