True Cost of Office Coffee, And The Questions to Ask

I started my office coffee and vending business out of my garage in 1997. It was just me, a minivan, a sore back from lifting boxes, and the ambition of a 24-year-old determined to build something on his own.

Over the past 29 years, I’ve worked across nearly every segment of the coffee industry...Wholesale distribution, retail, e-commerce, vending, and full coffee service programs. Along the way, I’ve seen every model, every shortcut, and every challenge that offices and service providers face when trying to deliver great coffee at work.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: most companies don’t actually understand what their office coffee really costs.

The Traditional Model (And Why It Still Exists)

Let’s start with what I call the “1980s model”; a model that, remarkably, still dominates office coffee service today.

It typically works like this:
The coffee service company provides equipment at no upfront cost. They handle maintenance, repairs, and servicing. In return, the office signs a contract committing to purchase coffee and supplies at inflated prices, designed to cover the cost of the machine and generate profit.

Pricing varies from client to client based on staff size, consumption estimates, and value of the equipment being “loaned.” Behind the scenes, this model relies on formulas, assumptions, and, often educated guesses. For large offices with a stable, full-time, on-site workforce, this can work reasonably well.

But in 2026, work has changed... Hybrid schedules, remote teams, and fluctuating attendance make it difficult to accurately predict daily usage. For office coffee providers, it becomes nearly impossible to understand the real return on that “free” equipment. For offices purchasing coffee, the uncertainty often leads to contract changes, minimums, or renegotiations after installation, creating frustration on both sides.

The Work Behind the Coffee

Another often-overlooked factor is the amount of work required to keep modern coffee equipment running smoothly.

As machines have evolved to offer lattes, cappuccinos, and fresh-milk beverages, complexity has increased. Bean-to-cup and fresh-milk machines require regular rinsing, refilling bean hoppers, emptying waste bins, and daily cleaning. When this maintenance doesn’t happen consistently, machines go out of service (sometimes frequently).
If you have a team willing to take on light daily upkeep, you’ll be rewarded with exceptional coffee quality. If minimal effort is a priority, capsule or pod systems are often the better fit. There’s no right or wrong choice, but expectations need to be clear from the start.

Pricing: Where Things Get Murky

Capsule systems are straightforward. If a pod costs $X and you use Y pods, the math is simple. Bean-to-cup systems are not...
These machines allow providers to adjust how much ground coffee goes into each cup, sometimes as little as 10 grams, sometimes over 20 grams. This single variable dramatically impacts both taste and cost, yet it’s rarely explained clearly during quoting.

When you’re given a “price per cup,” here are the questions you should always ask:

• What does “a cup of coffee” include?
Is it just the brewed coffee? Or does it also include the paper cup, lid, milk, cream, sugar, sweeteners, and stir sticks? The true cost depends on what your office actually needs.
• What coffee is being used?
Like wine, coffee varies widely by origin, blend, roast, and certification (organic, Rainforest Alliance, sustainable, etc.). A $0.30 per cup quote may only apply to a base-level blend, while a coffee your team actually enjoys could cost significantly more.
• How many grams are used per cup?
This is the most critical, and most misunderstood factor. The same coffee can cost nearly double per cup depending on machine settings.

This doesn’t mean providers are trying to mislead you. Most are honest. However, strength adjustments often happen later, at installation or upon employee request, and those changes quietly increase your costs.

How to Get True Transparency

If you want to understand your real cost per cup, there are only two reliable options:
Weigh the coffee being dispensed, or, ask your provider to do it with you. Anything else is an estimate.

A Different Approach At ECS

In 2012, I sold my original office coffee business to focus on retail and e-commerce. When I re-entered coffee service in 2019, I did so with a completely different mindset, one built around transparency, flexibility, and fairness, especially in a hybrid-work world.

• We charge a clear rental fee for equipment instead of hiding costs in coffee pricing.
• Everyone pays the same price for coffee, no custom markups.
• We offer over 150 whole-bean coffees and 400+ capsule options so you can choose the taste and understand the cost differences
• There are no hidden fees or surprise adjustments
• We also offer a corporate program through our website that can save you even more money. 

This approach doesn’t make us the biggest coffee service company, and that’s okay. What it does provide is clarity, flexibility, and trust.

What to Ask Before Choosing a Coffee Service Provider

Before committing, make sure you ask:

• What exactly is included in the “price per cup”?
• How does hybrid attendance affect pricing and contracts?
• What coffee dose (grams per cup) is being quoted?
• Are the coffee blends truly comparable?
• How much daily maintenance is expected from your team?
• Whenever possible, try the coffee. At ECS, we encourage customers to visit our showrooms, compare equipment side-by-side, and understand what day-to-day operation actually looks like.
  

Whether you rent or buy, transparency matters.
And finally, if you can, support local, and support Canadian.

Neil