What does a cup really cost when it comes from the office machine instead of the cafe down the street? The office coffee cost per cup is the total weekly cost of beans, milk, cleaning products and machine rental divided by the number of cups your team drinks that week. For most workplaces, that figure lands well below the price of a takeaway coffee, because the biggest costs are spread across every cup poured.
Panica Coffee has rented and serviced commercial superautomatic coffee machines from our Caulfield South workshop in Melbourne since 2017. Below, we show you how to work out the number, walk through an example for a 20 person team and explain what pushes the cost up or down. As a result, you can compare the office coffee machine with the cafe run using your own figures.
How Do You Calculate Office Coffee Cost per Cup?
Add up four weekly costs and divide by weekly cups. The four costs are coffee beans, milk, cleaning products and the machine itself.
A commercial superautomatic coffee machine is a bean-to-cup machine that grinds, brews and textures milk automatically at the touch of a button, so the bean cost per cup is predictable.
- Beans: divide the price of a 1 kg bag by the cups it makes. As a general industry guide, a double shot uses roughly 14 to 18 g of ground coffee, so 1 kg gives about 55 to 70 double shot drinks.
- Milk: multiply your milk price per litre by the milk in a typical latte, then adjust for black coffee drinkers.
- Machine: divide the weekly rental by the cups made that week.
- Cleaning: divide the weekly cost of cleaning tablets and milk system cleaner by weekly cups.
Not sure how many cups your team drinks? Our guide on how much coffee an office needs per month explains how to estimate it from the people actually in the office.
Want the numbers worked out for your workplace? Panica Coffee can suggest a suitable office coffee machine based on your team size, attendance and drink mix. Call 1300 529 505.
What Does a Cup Cost in a 20 Person Office?
Example. The figures below are a hypothetical scenario to show the method, not a quote. Substitute your own milk price, attendance and rental figure.
Assumptions: 20 staff with about 14 in the office on an average day, 2 cups each, 5 days a week. That gives 14 x 2 x 5 = 140 cups a week. We assume 70 percent are milk drinks, so 98 cups use milk.
- Beans: Panica Coffee blends are $42 to $45 per 1 kg bag. At 16 g per cup, 1 kg makes about 62.5 cups. Using $45, that is $45 / 62.5 = about $0.72 per cup. Weekly: 140 x $0.72 = $100.80.
- Milk: an example milk price of $2.00 per litre and 180 ml per milk drink gives $0.36 per drink. Weekly: 98 x $0.36 = $35.28.
- Cleaning: an example allowance of $5.00 per week.
- Machine: Panica Coffee rental starts from $35 per week ex GST. Weekly: $35.00.
Total weekly cost: $100.80 + $35.28 + $5.00 + $35.00 = $176.08. Divided by 140 cups, the example office coffee cost per cup is about $1.26.
In practice, beans are the largest cost, while the machine adds only about $0.25 per cup at this volume ($35 / 140). The rental for the machine that suits your team may differ from the starting figure, so replace $35 with your actual quote.
How Does That Compare With the Cafe Run?
The cafe run usually costs several times more per cup than an automatic coffee machine at work. Example: if a takeaway coffee near your office costs $5.50 (an example price, so check your local cafe), 140 cups a week would cost $770.00. By contrast, the same 140 cups in the example above cost $176.08.
What About the Time Spent on Coffee Runs?
Time is the hidden cost of the cafe run, because a short walk easily becomes a queue and a wait. A coffee from the office machine, however, takes only as long as the machine needs to pour it.
Example: if 14 people each spend 10 minutes a day on a coffee trip, that is 140 minutes a day, or about 11 hours and 40 minutes a week.
What Changes the Cost per Cup?
Several everyday choices move the office coffee cost per cup more than the machine does. Therefore, check each one before you compare quotes.
- Cup volume: a busy office spreads the rental much more thinly than a quiet one.
- Dose and drink size: stronger or larger drinks use more beans and milk.
- Milk mix: black coffee costs less per cup than a latte, and plant milks are often priced differently from dairy.
- Bean choice: Panica Coffee offers six blends in 1 kg bags, so compare taste and price on our office coffee beans page.
- Waste: stale beans and spoiled milk add cost without adding cups. Our tips on storing coffee beans in the office help.
- Servicing: with a Panica Coffee rental, servicing is part of the rental, so descaling, parts and callouts are covered rather than appearing as surprise costs.
Which Machine Suits Your Cup Volume?
Choose a machine sized to your real daily cups. As a guide, the Dr Coffee C12 suits about 30 cups a day, the Franke A300 MS about 80 and the Dr Coffee F16 Plus T about 100, while the Franke A600 FM delivers up to 150 espressos an hour. Our office coffee machine packages by team size and our guide to office coffee machine rental cost in Melbourne go into more detail.
Get Your Office Coffee Cost per Cup Worked Out
Tell Panica Coffee your staff numbers, typical attendance and drink preferences, and we will recommend a suitable commercial superautomatic coffee machine with the costs laid out clearly. Rental starts from $35 per week ex GST, with no upfront purchase and no lock-in contract. Melbourne workplaces with 10 or more staff within about 30 km of Caulfield South can also try a machine free for 7 days, supplying their own beans and milk. Prefer to talk? Call 1300 529 505.
Related Guides
- How Much Does Office Coffee Machine Rental Cost in Melbourne?
- Is an Office Coffee Machine Tax Deductible? FBT and Staff Amenities Explained
- Return to Office: Why Coffee Is the Amenity That Brings Teams Back
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a cup of coffee from an office machine cost?
A cup from an office coffee machine typically costs a fraction of a cafe coffee once beans, milk, cleaning and rental are added together. In the example above for a 20 person office, it came to about $1.26 per cup.
How many cups of coffee does a 1 kg bag of beans make?
A 1 kg bag makes roughly 55 to 70 double shot drinks, based on a general industry dose of about 14 to 18 g per double shot.
Is servicing included in the cost per cup?
Yes, with a Panica Coffee rental, servicing is part of the rental, so descaling, parts and callouts are covered.
Does a bigger office pay less per cup?
Usually yes, because the machine cost is shared across more cups. Beans and milk cost about the same per cup at any size, but the rental share falls as volume rises, provided the machine is sized for the demand.
Can we test the cost per cup before committing?
Yes, eligible workplaces can. Panica Coffee offers a free 7 day trial for Melbourne workplaces with 10 or more staff within about 30 km of Caulfield South. You supply your own beans and milk, so you can track real cups and costs for a week.
Ready to Compare Your Own Numbers?
Send Panica Coffee your team size and coffee habits, and we will help you work out your cost per cup with a machine that fits. Start with our office coffee machine rental in Melbourne options.