TOP 12 best coffee machines for the office: 2021 rating and which automatic model to choose

The choice of an office coffee machine is closely related to the operating features. It is better to take the simplest and most reliable unit possible, without design or software bells and whistles, requiring a minimum of operations to obtain results. Since coffee consumption even in a small office is higher than at home, it is important that the device is equipped with capacious reservoirs for water, beans and cake, otherwise working time will be constantly spent on topping up/refilling/pouring out.

It is also worth studying what employees prefer - exclusively black coffee or various cappuccino macchiatos. An important parameter depends on this – the presence of an automatic cappuccino maker. If you still need it, the purchase budget and the requirements for its maintenance will seriously increase, so soberly assess your capabilities.

By the way, it is very important to foresee in advance who will service the equipment. Ideally, this should be done by a contractor, but you can also involve someone from the office. Coffee machines that prepare exclusively espresso and Americano require minimal performance support.

A separate topic is a coffee machine for the manager’s office or meeting room. It is selected according to different principles. The size of the tanks is no longer important, as is high fault tolerance; the variability of recipes and settings, as well as a certain image status, are more critical.

Top 3. Nespresso C30 Essenza

Rating (2021): 4.08

255 reviews from resources were taken into account: DNS, Yandex.Market, Otzovik, IRecommend

• Nomination

  Best price The model is the most budget-friendly and at the same time the most compact coffee machine, recommended for a mini-office with infrequent and irregular coffee consumption.

• Characteristics
  Price: 5390 rub.
• Country: Switzerland (produced in Ukraine)
• Coffee type: capsules
• Bean/water tank: no/0.6 l
• Display: no
• Features: capsule system, LED backlight

The model is a mini-version of the full-sized Essenza, famous for its optimal price-quality ratio. The super-compact coffee machine fits perfectly into the interior of small offices, where every centimeter counts: its width is only 11 cm and its depth is 32 cm. Such a device will not serve a large team - the 600 ml water tank is enough for 2-3 cups of coffee in one brewing session. The choice of drinks will not surprise you – espresso and lungo. But the unit is simple to use: it turns on in 25 seconds, is controlled by only 2 buttons, does not require much attention to care and provides a variety of tastes through a wide range of capsules. The brand's original consumables, unlike the device itself, are far from cheap, but, fortunately, there are many alternative offers.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Compact size
• Simple controls
• Low price
• Maintenance free
• Brews good coffee

• Small water tank
• Not suitable for a large office
• Expensive capsules

Automatic coffee machine without bells and whistles

The optimal coffee machine for a small team (up to 15 people), which can make espresso and Americano. This type of machine is as easy to maintain as possible: add beans, add water, pour out used coffee grounds - every employee can handle this set of tasks. The option is beneficial from the point of view that 1 kg of beans produces up to 150 cups of coffee.

Prices for automatic coffee machines for the office range from 23,000 to 55,000 rubles.

Top 2. Nivona CafeRomatica 520

Rating (2021): 4.45

93 reviews taken into account from resources: Yandex.Market, DNS, IRecommend

• Characteristics
  Price: 30590 rub.
• Country: Portugal
• Type of coffee: beans, ground
• Bean/water tank: 250 g/2.2 l
• Display: yes
• Features: coffee strength control, height-adjustable coffee supply unit

A coffee machine is the best option for a team with different drink preferences. It is equipped with a moving dispenser that adapts to cups up to 14 cm high. Thanks to the manual cappuccino maker, the foam level can be controlled, which also adds variety to the tastes. Milk is supplied directly from the bag, making maintenance of the machine easier. It is capable of automatically removing scale and coffee oils from the brewing unit. The specifications state that the device has 3 grinding levels, but even at the third, the fraction turns out to be too coarse. For discerning coffee connoisseurs, this is a serious drawback. The best option for placing the unit is in an office kitchen, otherwise the noise during grinding may interfere with work.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Adjustable dispenser
• Manual foam control
• Optimal cleaning system
• Almost commercial tank volumes
• Possibility of cooking from ground grains

• Noisy operation
• Coarse grind
• Overpriced

Top 1. Saeco Lirika

Rating (2021): 4.67

88 reviews from resources were taken into account: DNS, Yandex.Market, Otzovik, IRecommend

• Nomination

  The most popular long-known series of coffee machines on the market with a manual cappuccino maker, reliable design and optimal taste of ready-made drinks occupies a leading position in the top sales in the segment of office machines with medium workload.

• Characteristics
  Price: 42390 rub.
• Country: Portugal (manufactured in China)
• Coffee type: beans
• Bean/water tank: 500 g/2.5 l
• Display: yes
• Features: Brew 2 cups at once

To obtain an exemplary coffee taste, the model is equipped with a ceramic burr grinder. The material does not overheat the grains during grinding, which means there is no place for a burnt taste to come from. No less important roles are played by the automatic circuit cleaning and pre-brewing system. At the output, the device produces 4 drink options, plus it has 3 strength settings and the same number of temperature settings. The power is enough to serve medium and large offices - the 2.5 liter tank is designed for an average of 50 cups of espresso. The Achilles heel of the device is the steam supply valve: with intensive use, it directs steam to the brewing device area. In general, the coffee machine is reliable and durable, as follows from the reviews, but requires conscientious and timely maintenance.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Pre-brewing
• Automated housing cleaning
• Ceramic coffee grinder
• Wide range of settings

• Steam valve short life

See also:

• 5 best De'Longhi coffee machines

to the beginning of the rating

Rating of the best coffee machines

Top 4. Krups EA8918 Evidence

Rating (2021): 4.23

301 reviews from resources taken into account: Yandex.Market, Elephant recommends, Zguru.ru

• Nomination

  Basic care To clean this coffee machine from oils and salts, you just need to put a special tablet in the reservoirs or add powder and select the cleaning mode in the menu. After preparing coffee and milk drinks, the unit reminds you to rinse the dispenser.

• Characteristics
  Price: 59990 rub.
• Country: France (manufactured in China)
• Coffee type: beans
• Bean/water tank: 260 g/2.3 l
• Display: OLED touch display
• Features: Preparing two milk drinks

The coffee machine in the office should be as autonomous and durable as possible. The Krups bean coffee machine meets these requirements. All operations are performed by pressing one button on the display: from preparing coffee according to any of 15 recipes to cleaning the device using a special tablet. Overall, the machine is very easy to operate and maintain. But this does not apply to the cappuccino maker. The tube and hose must be washed under the tap after each preparation of a treat with milk, otherwise the device will stop whipping it into foam. But a faucet in an office is a rarity; you still have to get to it. So, if employees love cappuccino, it is still better to choose another model.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Stylish design in white color
• Automatic decalcification system
• Menu of 15 drinks
• Ergonomic control panel
• Responsive control sensors

• Narrow grind and strength settings
• Unstable foaming
• In fact, only 8 recipes

Quick table of contents:

• Introduction
• Capsule solutions
• Black coffee machine
• For coffee and milk drinks
• To the director's office

This article was written specifically for those who, either on their own initiative or at the request of management, choose a coffee machine for the office. See also my reviews of office/café coffee machines.

The main points that distinguish the choice of a coffee machine for the office from the choice of a coffee machine for the home, and which must be kept in mind, are the following:

1. As a rule, coffee consumption in the office is significantly higher.
2. In a typical office, the attitude of employees towards equipment, even those specially assigned, is less responsible than towards their own household item, which they bought with their own money.
3. Often the coffee machine in the office is located in a place where access to the sink is difficult. There are also more difficult conditions in terms of access to a refrigerator and water.
4. The degree of automation is important because during working hours people are not inclined to be distracted by some complex tasks when they just want to drink coffee. Plus, you probably wouldn’t want your work time to be spent outside of your core area of ​​work, right?

This leads to the following requirements for an office coffee machine, which come to the fore:

1. Taking into account traffic (consumption), it is better to have maximum tanks for grains, water and waste in order to minimize the frequency of topping up/filling out/pouring out.
2. It is better to take more advanced, ugly in appearance, but reliable units than those with “whistles and fakes”. Machines that are as forgiving as possible when neglected.
3. Back, bigger tanks. Plus, if you take it with an automatic cappuccino maker, then it is advisable to have a discharge tube, because this type can be combined with a milk refrigerator. Using milk without refrigeration, even ultra-pasteurized milk, negatively affects the taste of milk drinks and the rate of clogging of the cappuccino maker.
4. It is advisable to immediately clarify for yourself what kind of coffee you drink - usually the choice comes down to “only black” or “we want cappuccino.” Or you get a coffee machine for black coffee and then you don’t care about the type of cappuccino maker. Or also for dairy drinks, but then you need an automatic cappuccino maker. In fact, they will either not froth milk on a manual cappuccino maker at all, or they will try, but with questionable success.

What else needs to be decided. Will the machine be serviced by some contractor, or will all operations to maintain operability (and any coffee machine needs to be cleaned, and there are a whole series of these cleanings - more details in the profile material) will be carried out on your own. Here you need to understand that in the latter case, for this you still need to single out some person and assign similar responsibilities to him, at least part-time. If no one will monitor the coffee machine in the office, then you should take a capsule one.

So we come to the first type of coffee machine for the office - capsule

A capsule coffee machine fits perfectly into the office with the following introductory notes:

• The office is really small. More precisely, low coffee consumption is provided. As I wrote in “Frequently Questions,” capsules are an overpayment relative to grain, but the maximum ease of care. If coffee is drunk quite rarely, then the overpayment will accumulate for a long time, it will not be high, and it can be converted into free man hours, because there is almost no need to maintain the coffee machine.
• Or there is an option when there will really be no one to monitor the coffee equipment at all. From the word absolutely.

The nuances are obvious: connection to the capsules of a specific capsule system. Although now there are alternatives for everyone, especially Nespresso.

When choosing a capsule system, I recommend considering Nespresso models if we are talking about a small or medium office, or Lavazza Blue in the case of a large one.

The second option for KM in the office is a grain machine with an emphasis on black coffee

The absence of an automatic cappuccino maker means easier maintenance and overall greater reliability. But in any case, it is understood that coffee is drunk in larger quantities than in the capsule machine version. Or there will still be some minimally trained person (who has read the instructions and has a small bonus to salary) who will at least somehow monitor the equipment. It’s not about standing at the dispenser, but about occasionally cleaning the brewing unit, and ultimately knowing what to do when the machine flashes a red LED and doesn’t brew anything.

If the office is relatively small, there are about 10 consumers, and there are no obvious gourmets among them, then a good and at the same time budget option is Saeco Lirika in the “simple” version, that is, without additives in the name of something like Plus or One Touch Cappuccino. Other options as the load increases: Gaggia Syncrony Logic, Saeco Aulika Office.

*Attention, discount:
right now Saeco Lirika One Touch Cappuccino is on sale in the Player for only 30,105 rubles. For other current special offers on coffee machines, see the “Promotions” page.

Office coffee machine with automatic cappuccino maker for cappuccino and other milk and coffee drinks

Here is an important note. It is obvious that employees, when posing the question “Which coffee machine should you buy: for black coffee or black and cappuccino?” will vote en masse for the cappuccino option, especially if there are girls in the team. But we must clearly understand that when choosing this option, especially if there are many consumers, the cost of a suitable coffee machine and the requirements for caring for it seriously increase. So here I recommend thinking seven times and soberly assessing the possibilities. Otherwise, there is a great temptation to choose an inexpensive home coffee machine with an automatic cappuccino maker, which, if insufficient or unscrupulous care, over a short period of life in the office, will cease to properly whip up cappuccino foam, which will not be so easy to fix.

If you are still sure that employees need milk and coffee delicacies and there is a responsible person who is ready to take charge of the coffee machine, then roughly speaking, you should choose the previous options, but with an automatic cappuccino maker. As the load increases, I can recommend: Saeco Lirika in the OTC modification (aka One Touch Cappuccino), Aulika Top, Saeco Phedra Evo Cappuccino. In this case, I really don’t recommend taking popular and inexpensive home models like Delonghi ECAM 22.360, Philips EP3558/3559 or, forbid, some Jura Micro series into the office.

*Attention, discount:
right now Saeco Aulika Focus is on sale in the Player for only 65,790 rubles. For other current special offers on coffee machines, see the “Promotions” page.

Let me draw your attention once again to the fact that in an office with coffee machines that have an automatic cappuccino maker, it is better to use UHT milk. Ideally, of course, you should have a refrigerator nearby (the colder the milk, the better it whips, and the longer it does not sour), you can purchase a separate special one. milk refrigerator, which is placed next to the coffee machine (not necessarily the same brand as the coffee machine), all of the above are equipped with an outlet hose and allow you to connect almost any one.

A separate note about coffee machines for the Jura office

Any Jura is notable for its built-in brewing unit. This means that you do not need to take it out and wash it at least once a week under running water, as is necessary to do with coffee machines from other manufacturers. It is enough to clean with special chemical tablets from coffee oils.

This very often plays a cruel joke. The staff approaches the need for cleaning with tablets carelessly, which ultimately leads to internal contamination (which, generally speaking, appears anyway, it’s a matter of time). They can only be eliminated in the service. But often the problem comes to light when the coffee has already been a mess for six months, they just don’t notice it/put up with it at first. That is, the machine works, but the taste is critically substandard.

Exception case: a coffee machine in the office for the director/chef, for negotiations

This is really a special case, however, it occurs quite often. The picture of use is supposed to be something like this: the machine is in the boss’s office or in the secretary/office manager’s office. It is used by a very narrow circle of people, there is a completely responsible person assigned to the machine (this could be the manager himself), there is a certain image and status charge, especially if guests/business partners are meant.

Here the choice returns, in some way, to the “home” plane, to take a loved one for yourself, and make it beautiful and tasty. The size of the tanks fades into the background, fault tolerance is always good, but not so critical due to a more responsible attitude and fewer drinks per day/month/year, the variability of drinks, fine tuning and appearance are much more important.

Here I can recommend several win-win options, although in principle any of my ratings of premium coffee machines will do:

• Melitta Barista TS/TSP (review) – two bean hoppers (for yourself and everyone else