The best way to choose coffee beans for an office is a short blind tasting with the people who actually drink the coffee. Pick two or three blends, make the same drinks from each on the office machine, hide the names, and ask staff to score them. A tasting like this takes about 30 minutes, settles the “which beans” debate with real votes, and stops the office from buying a blend that only one person likes. Panica Coffee supplies coffee beans and commercial superautomatic coffee machines to Melbourne workplaces, and this guide explains how to run an office coffee tasting that gives you a clear answer.
Why Run a Coffee Tasting Before Choosing Office Beans?
A tasting replaces opinions with evidence. In most offices, the beans are chosen by whoever places the order, and the rest of the team either puts up with the result or brings coffee from the cafe downstairs. A short tasting gives everyone a say and shows which blend suits the drinks your team actually orders.
A tasting also tests the beans on your own machine. The same blend can taste different on a commercial superautomatic coffee machine than it does from a cafe espresso machine, so tasting in the office is more reliable than choosing from a description.
How Many Blends Should You Compare?
Compare two or three blends, not more. With four or more, tasters lose track of the differences and the scores become random. A good set is one smooth, easy drinking blend, one balanced blend and one bolder espresso blend, so the team can choose a direction as well as a bag.
For example, Panica Coffee’s range includes six blends in 1 kg bags, from smooth everyday options such as Southside Crema and The 9 to 5 Blend to bolder choices such as Velvet Voltage. Our coffee beans page describes the flavour of each one, and our guide to arabica and robusta office coffee blends explains why blends taste so different.
How Do You Set Up an Office Coffee Tasting?
Set up the tasting so every blend gets a fair chance. Work through these steps:
- Pick a time. Mid morning works well, after the first coffee rush and before lunch.
- Choose the drinks. Taste the two drinks your office orders most. In most Melbourne offices that means a flat white or latte and a short black or long black.
- Label the blends with letters. Call them A, B and C, and keep the key in an envelope, so nobody is swayed by a name or a price.
- Run one blend at a time. Empty the hopper, add the first blend and make two or three coffees to clear the old beans before pouring tasting cups.
- Use small cups. Pour small tasting cups so people can try every blend without drinking three full coffees.
- Keep the milk the same. Use the same milk for every blend, so the coffee is the only thing that changes.
- Give everyone water. A sip of water between cups helps tasters compare.
What Should Staff Score?
Keep the score card simple. Ask each taster to rate every blend from 1 to 5 on four points, and add one open question:
- Taste with milk: how good the flat white or latte tastes.
- Taste black: how good the short black or long black tastes.
- Bitterness: too bitter, just right or too mild.
- Would you drink it every day? This is the most important score, because the office will drink this blend for months.
- Open question: “Anything you liked or disliked?”
Add up the scores and look at the everyday score first. A blend that scores well on every point but low on “every day” is often too strong or too unusual for a whole office.
What Mistakes Spoil an Office Coffee Tasting?
Most failed tastings come from a few simple problems:
- Too many blends, so tasters cannot remember the differences.
- Not flushing the old beans out of the grinder between blends.
- Telling people which blend is the expensive one before they taste.
- Only inviting the coffee enthusiasts, so the result does not suit the rest of the office.
- Tasting only black coffee when most of the office drinks milky coffee.
- Using beans that have been sitting open for weeks, which makes every blend taste flat.
What Should You Do After the Tasting?
Order the winning blend, and tell your supplier that you have changed beans. A new blend can need a small grind adjustment on a superautomatic coffee machine, and a technician can set the grind so the new beans taste the way they did in the tasting. Then check the order quantity: our guide to how much coffee an office needs per month helps you work out how many 1 kg bags to order.
It also helps to keep the score sheets. If staff start to complain about the coffee in six months, you can compare the new feedback with the original tasting and see whether the beans, the machine or the taste of the team has changed.
Can You Include Tea and Non Coffee Drinkers?
Yes, and it is worth doing. Invite the tea drinkers and hot chocolate drinkers to try the options your machine offers, so the tasting covers the whole office rather than only the coffee drinkers. Our guide to tea, decaf and hot chocolate options covers what an office machine can offer them.
How Can Panica Coffee Help?
Panica Coffee can recommend two or three blends from our range to compare, based on the drinks your office orders and the machine you use. If you are also choosing a machine, an office coffee machine rental with Panica Coffee includes servicing, and Melbourne workplaces with 10 or more staff within about 30 km of Caulfield South can ask about a free 7 day trial.
Ask About Coffee Supply for Your Business
Tell Panica Coffee how many people drink coffee in your office, which drinks they order and which machine you use, and we will suggest blends for your tasting. Call 1300 529 505 or use the form below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an office coffee tasting take?
An office coffee tasting takes about 30 minutes for two or three blends. Most of that time is spent changing the beans and flushing the grinder between blends.
How many people should take part in a coffee tasting?
Invite as many regular coffee drinkers as you can, and at least six to eight people. A larger group gives a more reliable result and makes the final choice easier to explain to the rest of the office.
Should the tasting be blind?
Yes, an office coffee tasting should be blind. Label the blends with letters so price, brand and packaging do not influence the scores.
Does the coffee machine need adjusting after changing beans?
It often does. A different blend or roast level can need a small grind adjustment on a commercial superautomatic coffee machine, so tell your supplier when you change beans.
Can we use a coffee machine trial for a tasting?
Yes, a machine trial is a good time to compare blends. During a Panica Coffee 7 day trial the workplace supplies its own beans and milk, so you can taste two or three blends on the machine you are considering.
Ready to Choose Your Office Coffee?
Contact Panica Coffee and we will help you pick the blends for your tasting and set up the machine for the winner.