Many Melbourne workplaces close over Christmas and New Year. An office coffee machine left full of milk, beans and water for that long greets the team with stale coffee, a smelly drip tray and sometimes an error message on the first morning back. The fix is a short checklist on the last afternoon and a few minutes on the first morning back: clean the machine properly, take out the milk and beans, empty the water, and switch it off the right way, then flush fresh water through before the first coffee. Panica Coffee services commercial superautomatic coffee machines across Melbourne from our workshop in Caulfield South, and this checklist is the order we recommend for an office Christmas shutdown.
What Should You Do With an Office Coffee Machine Before the Christmas Shutdown?
Before the Christmas shutdown, give the office coffee machine a full clean, remove everything perishable and switch it off using its own shutdown sequence. Work through these steps on the last afternoon, after the team makes the final coffee.
- Run the full clean. Run the milk rinse, wash the milk system with a dedicated milk system cleaner and run the cleaning tablet cycle for the brew group. These are the same weekly tasks set out in our two minute daily cleaning routine, done once more before the break.
- Remove the milk. Tip out any milk, wash and dry the milk container and leave the lid off. Throw out opened milk from the office fridge as well.
- Empty the bean hopper. Scoop the remaining beans into an airtight bag, or plan the last bean order so the hopper runs low before the break. Beans left in an open hopper lose flavour and leave oil on the hopper walls.
- Empty the water. On a tank fed machine, empty the water tank, rinse it and leave it to dry. On a plumbed machine, close the isolation tap under the bench if the machine has one and the manual or your supplier advises it.
- Empty the grounds drawer and drip tray. Wash both and leave them out to dry, so nothing sits damp in the machine for weeks.
- Switch off properly. Use the machine’s own off button first, because most superautomatic coffee machines run a short rinse as they shut down. Then switch off at the wall unless the manual says otherwise.
Should the Coffee Machine Be Switched Off or Left on Standby?
For a shutdown longer than a few days, switch the office coffee machine off rather than leaving it on standby. Standby keeps parts of the machine warm for no benefit while nobody is in the building. In addition, some Melbourne buildings carry out electrical work or power shutdowns over the holiday period. A power cut cannot catch a machine partway through a cycle if your team has already switched it off properly. Ask your building manager whether a power shutdown is planned.
What Happens to the Water Filter Over the Break?
A shutdown does not use up a water filter, because manufacturers rate filters by the volume of water that passes through them rather than by the calendar. However, water sits still in the filter and the machine’s internal lines for weeks, so flush it out before anyone drinks a coffee. If a filter change falls due around the break, it usually makes sense to change it after the office reopens. Our guide to water filtration for commercial coffee machines explains how filter life is worked out.
What Should You Do on the First Day Back?
On the first day back, restart the office coffee machine before the team arrives, flush fresh water through it and discard the first coffee. The order matters, because the first water through the machine has been sitting in the lines for the whole break.
- Fill the tank with fresh cold water, or open the isolation tap on a plumbed machine.
- Switch on and let the machine heat up and run its start up rinse.
- Run hot water through the spout for a short time and tip it away.
- Refill the hopper with fresh beans and put fresh, cold milk in the container.
- Make one coffee and tip it out, then check the display for any cleaning, filter or service messages.
If the machine shows an error that a restart does not clear, our guide to common commercial coffee machine faults lists what each one usually means and which checks are safe to make yourself.
What Are the Most Common Christmas Shutdown Mistakes?
Most of the problems we see after the holidays come from a few simple misses on the last day:
- Milk left in the container or the milk line. It sours and can block the milk system.
- A full drip tray or grounds drawer left in the machine, which smells and can grow mould.
- Water left standing in the tank for weeks.
- Beans left in the hopper, so the first coffees of the year taste stale.
- A bean or milk delivery booked for a week when nobody is in the building.
- Nobody named to do the shutdown, so everyone assumes someone else did it.
Who Should Handle the Office Coffee Machine Christmas Shutdown?
Name one person to shut the coffee machine down on the last day and one person to restart it on the first day back. In most offices these are the same people already on the daily cleaning roster. Print this checklist and leave it on the cupboard above the machine, so whoever is in on the last afternoon can work through it without guessing.
When Should You Call Panica Coffee?
Call Panica Coffee before the break if a scheduled service is due while the office is closed, so we can time it around your closure dates. It also helps to tell your coffee supplier when the office closes and reopens, so nobody sends bean and supply deliveries to an empty building.
Call after the break if the machine will not heat up, leaks, shows a fault that will not clear or makes coffee that still tastes wrong after a flush. On a Panica Coffee office coffee machine rental, the office coffee machine service plan includes servicing. Panica Coffee responds within 4 to 24 hours for sites within 30 km of Caulfield South, and within 24 to 48 hours further out.
Need Help With Your Coffee Machine?
Tell Panica Coffee what machine you have, when your office closes and when you reopen, and we can help you plan the shutdown or book a service around the break. Call 1300 529 505 or use the form below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an office coffee machine sit unused over the Christmas break?
Yes, an office coffee machine can sit unused for a few weeks if someone cleans it, empties it and switches it off first. The milk, beans and water are what cause problems over a long break, so remove them before the office closes.
Should we descale the coffee machine before the shutdown?
Not as a staff job. A technician normally descales a commercial superautomatic coffee machine as part of scheduled servicing. If a descale or service is due over the break, ask your supplier to time it around your closure dates.
Can we leave coffee beans in the hopper over the break?
It is better not to. Beans in an open hopper lose flavour over a long break and leave oil on the hopper. Empty them into an airtight bag, or run the hopper low before the last day and refill with fresh beans when the office reopens.
Does the water filter need changing after a shutdown?
Not because of the shutdown itself. Manufacturers rate filters by the volume of water used, so a closed office does not use them up. Flush fresh water through the machine on the first day back, and change the filter when it is due.
What if the coffee machine shows an error on the first day back?
Switch it off and on again once and let it finish its start up rinse. If the error stays, check the display message against the manual, then call your supplier rather than opening the machine. Panica Coffee rental customers can call 1300 529 505.
Planning Your Office Christmas Shutdown?
Send Panica Coffee your closure dates and the machine you use, and we will help you shut it down cleanly and get the coffee running again on your first morning back.