Every office has them. The people who do not drink coffee, and who get handed a kettle while everyone else queues for the machine. Panica Coffee rents and services commercial superautomatic coffee machines across Melbourne, and this question comes up in almost every sizing conversation. The short answer is that most commercial machines cover more than coffee. However, the tea, decaf and chocolate drinkers each need a decision made in advance. Leave it until after installation and you usually end up with a kettle on the bench anyway.
What Can a Commercial Machine Pour Besides Coffee?
Most commercial superautomatic coffee machines can pour hot water, and many can add a powdered chocolate option. Decaf is the one that needs planning, because it competes for the bean hopper.
A commercial superautomatic grinds, brews and textures milk at one button press. Therefore the drink list depends on what the machine physically has. That means the number of bean hoppers, the presence of a hot water outlet, whether a powder canister is fitted, and whether there is a chute for pre-ground coffee.
Those four things decide whether your non-coffee drinkers are covered. They are worth asking about before you choose, not after.
Will the Hot Water Be Hot Enough for Tea?
Check it. Hot water from a coffee machine is often cooler than a kettle, and serious tea drinkers notice immediately.
Black tea wants water close to boiling. Many machines deliver hot water below that, because the system is built around brewing coffee rather than steeping tea. Green and herbal teas are more forgiving, so the gap matters less there.
Ask for the hot water temperature during the demo and pour a cup yourself. If the office runs on strong black tea, you may still want a separate boiling water tap. That is worth knowing before the machine arrives, not after. Our office coffee machine demo checklist covers what else to test while you are there.
How Do You Serve Decaf Without a Second Machine?
Use the bypass chute. Most commercial superautomatics have a small opening for pre-ground coffee, and that is the normal way to serve decaf from a single machine.
The chute takes one dose of ground decaf, which the machine brews as a single drink. Consequently your decaf drinkers get a proper coffee rather than an apology. The trade off is that someone has to keep ground decaf nearby and measure a dose. It therefore suits an office with a handful of decaf drinkers, not a floor full of them.
Where decaf demand is genuinely high, a machine with two bean hoppers is the cleaner answer. One hopper runs regular, the other runs decaf, and nobody measures anything.
Not sure which setup suits your mix of drinkers? Panica Coffee can look at how many people drink coffee, tea and decaf in your workplace. We will then recommend a machine that covers all three, without a second appliance.
Is Hot Chocolate Worth Turning On?
It is worth it where you have a decent number of non-coffee drinkers, or where the office has visitors and younger staff. It does add a cleaning job.
Chocolate comes from a powder canister, and powder is stickier than coffee. In practice the powder path needs rinsing on the same schedule as the milk system. Otherwise it clogs and the drink tastes stale. Our guide to the daily coffee machine cleaning routine explains what that daily habit looks like.
If nobody owns the cleaning, skip the chocolate. A neglected powder system causes more complaints than it solves.
What About Plant Milk and Other Preferences?
Plant milk is no longer a fringe request, and it belongs in the same conversation as tea and decaf.
A machine that handles plant milk well widens the drink list for people who avoid dairy rather than coffee. However, not all plant milks behave the same way through a milk system. Our guide to oat milk in office coffee machines covers which ones froth and which ones block the line.
What Each Drink Asks of the Machine
The table below sets out what each option needs, and what it costs you in ongoing upkeep.
| Drink | What the machine needs | Ongoing upkeep |
|---|---|---|
| Tea | A hot water outlet, temperature checked | Almost none, beyond descaling |
| Decaf, occasional | A bypass chute for pre-ground coffee | Keep ground decaf stocked and nearby |
| Decaf, regular | A second bean hopper | Two beans to order instead of one |
| Hot chocolate | A powder canister | Daily rinse of the powder path |
| Plant milk drinks | A milk system that suits the milk | Daily milk clean, same as dairy |
| Long blacks and espresso | Standard on any superautomatic | Standard cleaning cycle |
What to Ask When You Are Choosing the Machine
Bring the whole drink list to the demo, not just the coffee order. Five questions cover it.
- How hot is the hot water? Pour one and taste the tea.
- Is there a bypass chute? That is your decaf answer on a single hopper machine.
- How many bean hoppers? Two changes what is possible for regular decaf.
- Can a powder canister be fitted? Ask what cleaning it adds before you say yes.
- How does it handle plant milk? Test the milk your team actually drinks.
Count your drinkers before the demo as well. A workplace where a quarter of people avoid coffee needs a different machine from one where almost everyone drinks it. Our packages by team size show what a given headcount usually needs.
Panica Coffee and the Whole Office
Panica Coffee has rented, sold and serviced commercial coffee equipment for Melbourne workplaces since 2017. We can match a machine to your actual drink mix, not the coffee order alone. The tea and decaf drinkers then stop being an afterthought.
See the range in our guide to bean to cup coffee machines in Melbourne. Our overview of office coffee machine rental in Melbourne covers what a plan includes.
Get a Recommendation for Your Whole Team
Tell Panica Coffee how many people drink coffee, tea, decaf and chocolate in your workplace. We will recommend a machine that covers the lot. Call 1300 529 505 or send the form below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an office coffee machine make tea?
It can pour the hot water for tea, and most commercial machines have a hot water outlet for exactly that. Check the temperature at the demo, because coffee machine hot water is often cooler than a kettle and black tea drinkers notice.
How do you serve decaf on a single coffee machine?
Through the bypass chute, which takes one dose of pre-ground decaf for a single drink. Where decaf demand is high, a machine with two bean hoppers is easier, because nobody has to measure anything.
Does hot chocolate make the machine harder to clean?
Yes, a little. Chocolate powder is stickier than coffee, so the powder path needs a daily rinse alongside the milk system. If nobody owns the daily clean, it is better to leave chocolate off.
What proportion of an office does not drink coffee?
It varies by workplace, so count yours rather than assuming. The practical point is simple. A workplace with a large group of tea and decaf drinkers needs a different machine from one where nearly everyone drinks coffee.
Do we still need a kettle?
Often not, provided the machine pours hot water at a temperature your tea drinkers accept. Test that before you decide, because a kettle reappearing on the bench is the usual sign the drink list was never checked.
Can one machine cover coffee, tea, decaf and chocolate?
Many can, if it has a hot water outlet, a bypass chute or second hopper, and a powder canister. That combination is worth specifying up front rather than discovering later.
Sorting Out the Drink List?
Tell Panica Coffee what your team actually drinks. We will recommend a commercial superautomatic coffee machine setup that covers the coffee drinkers and everyone else.