Gourmet coffee becomes latest office perk
The coffee break refuses to die. As more workers flee their cubicles to get a latte fix, the office coffee machine has become a forgotten stepchild. Of people who drink coffee at work, the percentage that drink the in-house brew dropped to 52 percent last year from 64 percent in 2003, according to the National Coffee Association, an industry group.
Now, in hopes of keeping their employees on the premises - and sparing them the pain of a $4.95-a-day habit - some companies are trying new measures. First and foremost: upgrading the java.
Employers ranging from Microsoft Corp. to law firms and plumbing contractors are ditching their old suppliers and hot plates and switching to Starbucks Corp. and its competitors. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., a wholesaler based in Waterbury, Vt., says it saw a 29 percent increase in its office coffee sales in 2006. In the past year, offices have surpassed supermarkets and convenience stores as the company's largest customer type.
Many employers are also investing in single-serve machines that make everything from coffee and specialty espresso drinks to hot chocolate and allow employees to brew one fresh cup at a time.
Some employers say they are upgrading their coffee as an added perk for employees who are spending long hours at the office. "The people who love their Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts are going to go no matter what, but when people are working around the clock, it's important to have coffee that they like and that tastes good and is convenient for them," says Norma Hanson, a business manager in the Boston office of the law firm Holland & Knight LLP, which recently installed machines by Flavia, a division of Mars Inc., on every floor.