With all the brands and blends of coffee available, ordering coffee for the office can be a real challenge. Should you buy one blend to satisfy everyone? Should you order one or two flavored coffees to please those that like flavored coffee drinks? Maybe you should order at least one special blend for the gourmet coffee drinkers, and what about Fair Trade coffees? Should you make an effort to buy those products that are Fair Trade certified, organic, and shade-grown such as Kenyan, Ethiopian, Colombian or Mexican? The choices are enough to make all but the most dedicated coffee drinkers throw up their hands in despair.

It can also help to know which coffee blends are the most popular with office coffee drinkers. If you’re trying to decide which coffees you should stock in your office pantry to please co-workers, employees, clients and customers, these are the top five coffee blends enjoyed in offices around the country. When you are ordering coffee for your company, you can’t go wrong if your order contains coffee blends that fall into these five categories.

Medium Roast South/Central American Coffee Blend

South American coffees are particularly suited to the American palate. The flavor is brighter than most African or Pacific Rim/Indonesian coffees, and has a definite “snap” that we associate with coffee flavors. Brazilian, Mexican and Colombian coffees are at their best when the roast is fairly light. Most coffee service companies offer several varieties of “American blend” coffees from companies like Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which partners with Keurig to supply well over 100 coffee blends in K-cups for Keurig single serve coffee systems, Starbucks and Tim Horton’s.

Eye Opener Blend

Many coffee roasters make a variation of an “eye opener” or “Morning Fog Cutter” blend. Generally, the Eye Opener is a blend of South American coffees with an addition of an African coffee like Ethiopian Yrgacheffe to add a darker, almost earthy flavor. The roast is usually just a little darker than the standard “American” blend, and though the coffee flavor is richer, the blend is actually a bit lower in caffeine than a lighter roast blend of South American coffees. Look for names like “Eye Opener” or “Fog Cutter” from the major coffee roasting companies.

Fair Trade, Organic Coffee Blend

Coffee drinkers are growing more and more aware of the wider social, environmental and economic effects that their beverage of choice has on the world. These considerations have persuaded many office coffee drinkers make a point of choosing coffees that are Fair Trade certified, certified organic or shade grown. Most major coffee companies offer a huge variety of both single origin and coffee blends that are certified Fair Trade, organic, shade grown or some combination of the three certifications. If you’re uncertain whether a coffee blend carries one of the three certifications, you can always look for Newman’s Own Organics, which is always 100% certified organic and Fair Trade.

French Roast Coffee

French roast coffee is not actually a “blend”; it refers to the darkness of the roast. French roast is one of the darker roasts on the coffee roasting scale. The coffee flavor is generally more intense than it is in lighter roasts, making most people think of it as “stronger” coffee. In reality, the darker the coffee roast, the lower it is likely to be in caffeine. The flavor, however, is richer and more intense, and the body is fuller.

Flavored Coffee

Flavored coffees have made a big dent in the coffee world, and some of your employees are bound to be flavored coffee drinkers. The question, of course, is which flavored coffees should you order regularly and keep on hand. Obviously, if you have employees with a particular favorite, that should guide your choice. If you don’t know your employees’ favorites, however, you can still make a pretty good guess by looking at the top flavors ordered through Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, one of the country’s largest suppliers to office coffee service companies. French Vanilla, Hazelnut or cinnamon? Believe it or not, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ single best seller is none of the three. It’s their Blueberry Morning blend coffee, which is Green Mountain’s overall best seller, not just their best-selling flavored coffee. Most office coffee service companies offer some sort of flavored coffee variety pack that includes the most popular flavored coffees sold by their company.

In addition to a variety of coffee blends, the well-stocked office break room should also offer other beverages for your workers who don’t drink coffee. Most office coffee service companies include a variety of teas, hot chocolate and even soups that can be made with hot water from the office coffee maker.



Thanks to Brian Jenkins for contributing this article to our Coffee blog:

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Flavia Coffee Maker

Those in pursuit of some of the best coffee makers should definitely take a look at a Flavia coffee maker. Flavia is a name that is well renowned when it comes to coffee makers, but they are actually known for far more than just their coffee machines as well. Flavia offer great coffees, teas, and a whole lot more to their customers. Their machines are available for great prices and they are perfect for home use, small office use, and even large office use.

Russell Hobbs Coffee Maker

A Russell Hobbs coffee maker is an excellent choice among many coffee makers. This brand of coffee makers has been around for more than fifty years and it has long been known for quality, innovation, and for style as well. The company was founded back in the early 50’s by Peter Hobbs and Bill Russell. Today there are many different products offered by the company, including toasters, kettles, irons, and even the well known Russell Hobbs coffee maker. It is now one of the top brands when it comes to kitchen appliances.

Krups Coffee Maker

If you’re looking for a great coffee maker, a Krups coffee maker makes a great choice. The company that we know of today was founded by Robert Krups. Over time, it quickly became one of the leading companies in Germany, known for its’ work on achieving precision in each piece of equipment. Today the company offers a variety of different coffee makers, and their coffee makers are some of the best machines that you can purchase out there on the market today.

Keurig Coffee Maker

Any Keurig coffee maker is an excellent choice for coffee drinks and they come from a company with a great background. The company was founded by people who love coffee and they believe that good coffee should always be served when it is hot and fresh. When it comes to single cup coffee makers, Keurig is the leading brand today for both offices and for home use as well.

Tassimo Coffee Maker

If you want a coffee maker that stands out above the rest, you’ll find the Tassimo coffee maker to be an excellent choice. You see, it offers you the perfect way to make your hot drinks when you are at home and they work very simply as well. All you need is a Tassimo coffee maker machine and the discs that go with them and you’ll be able to get the drink that you want whenever you want.

Braun Coffee Makers

Braun coffee makers are excellent coffee makers that you are sure to enjoy. Created by the well known Braun company, they are well known for excellence and many customers have enjoyed the coffee that is made by these machines. They are also well known for offering great coffee at a price that you can afford as well.

Kitchenaid Coffee Makers

Probably one of the most popular names when it comes to coffee makers is Kitchenaid coffee makers. The Kitchenaid name is known not only in coffee makers but in other great kitchen appliances as well. They have been around for years and have been well known for offering innovative kitchen products that are helpful and great looking for any kitchen.

Cuisinart Coffee Maker

A Cuisinart coffee maker is a great buy, and you’ll be sure that you are purchasing a coffee maker from a great company. The Cuisinart company is one that has been around for some time and they are well known for coming up with culinary tools that are useful and innovative.



Thanks to temp_44194 for contributing this article to our Coffee blog:

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