Coffee Vending Machines and Staff Productivity #CoffeeWorld

Coffee Vending Machines and Staff Productivity: Employers Bound To Offer? #CoffeeWorld

A lot has been said about the need to increase productivity in the office now that the financial crises has decimated traditional business models or at the very least, caused stress for most companies around the globe. Cuts in budgets are the first attempt that many companies make to ride out a crisis. Often, staff suffer from reduced perks like free office beverages, telephone calls and meals. This is not unexpected, but it can lead to staff morale falling.

When staff feel that they are undervalued, they will react in a negative way. Cutting back what they see to be their "rights" is not a great way to encourage increased productivity. So how can you cut costs while showing staff that you actually do care.

Coffee vending machines are a great first step. They cut costs of traditional office beverages because they ensure portion control, and of course, help to reduce theft. Secondly, using a good milk powder also removes the temptation to use your office milk in someone's cornflake bowl! Or even in a glass of milk. This is where your costs will rise.

Frontier Coffee, a South African coffee vending machine supplier, have published a study that shows coffee vending can save up to 42% of the costs associated with office beverage provision. This comes from portion, fit for purpose (e.g. milk is only used in coffee/tea) and theft control. Amazing!

Secondly, the productivity effect. In another study, 92% of managers said that coffee helps workers to increase their productivity. I can buy that. What is also little known is that when coffee, good coffee, is provided in offices, the staff tend to stay in the office. They do not feel a need to go out for a lunchtime coffee, nor to dash out for a takeout coffee. This is seen to a far greater extent where coffee vending machines offer a greater choice of drinks, and there are other snack and can vending machines present.

Staff in the office are better than staff out the office and so it is not surprising that managers respond positively to having an office coffee vending machine.

Of course, if your service provider is poor and the coffee machine is not stocked, cleaned and repaired on time, you could have a revolution on your hands. So it is important to find a good supplier.

Ensuring only the best products are on board is key. Bad coffee equals grumpy employees, so again, ensure it tastes good! There is little excuse for poor taste given modern machines are quite capable of grinding beans and topping off a good espresso base with a creamy top. Cappuccino is by far the favorite in most offices. However, espresso goes fast in the early morning rush when staff need a quick pep up for a busy morning.

In addition, the coffee vending machines are on all day so day or night, a staff member can get a decent drink. Hot chocolate is great for late night workers and of course, the younger staff members also enjoy this drink more than some of us oldies who don't need the added sugar! For us, try a mocha drink... just a trace of chocolate with your coffee, but a great drink without the calories!

So you can supply great beverages even if you are on a tight budget. Look around, find a good solution provider and show your staff that you do in fact care, even if times are tough.

COFFEE - 3 Tricks to Make it Super-Healthy #CoffeeWorld

COFFEE - 3 Tricks to Make it Super-Healthy #CoffeeWorld

Mmm, coffee... almost everybody drinks it... some people have 3-4 cups per day or more.

But most people don't think of it as a "health drink". And it's certainly NOT healthy the way most people make it with loads of added sugar or artificial sweeteners and artificial creamers.

But I'll give you my tips here on how I make a healthier cup of coffee and what to watch out for...

First, you may have seen debate in the past about how coffee has some compounds in it that could have negative health effects such as some tars or other possibly inflammatory compounds in brewed coffee. But, the good news is that coffee has such high concentrations of beneficial antioxidants, phenolic nutrients, chlorogenic acids, and other healthy compounds, that it more than counteracts any bad compounds.

In fact, coffee provides the biggest source of antioxidants for most people. Although a lot of that has to do with the fact that many people don't get enough antioxidants from fruits and veggies, so coffee ends up being their biggest source. You should try to diversify your sources of antioxidants from fruits, veggies, spices, berries, beans, unsweetened organic cocoa, teas, and yes, even coffee if you like it.

So what's the best way to make a healthy cup of coffee? Well, here's my 3 most important tricks to maximize the benefits of coffee and minimize the negatives:

1. First of all, you need to AVOID adding any refined sugar or harmful artificial sweeteners. What I do instead is use either a very small touch of organic maple syrup or a half packet of natural stevia to just lightly sweeten my coffee. If you like your coffee black with no sweetener at all, that's the healthiest way.

If you're getting your coffee at a coffee shop, make sure to avoid all of those fancy specialty coffees (sweetened flavored lattes, frappuccinos, etc) as they are almost ALWAYS loaded with extra sugars or artificial sweeteners. Some of those fancy coffee drinks at Starbucks or other coffee shops can have 300-400 calories in just one coffee! Definitely not good for your body or your blood sugar or insulin levels.

A latte or cappucino can be okay as long as you make sure to ask for it unsweetened, and then use your own stevia if you need a light sweet taste.

2. You also should try to AVOID at all costs any of those crappy artificial creamers (liquid or powder), which are usually made with corn syrup solids and hydrogenated oils (harmful trans fats). Instead, use a little bit of REAL full-fat cream (organic grass-fed if you can find it, as the CLA in grass-fed cream is very healthy).

Or, better yet, what I've been using for a while now is coconut milk/cream as one of the healthiest creamer alternatives. I get this by buying cans of organic coconut milk, and then after opening the can (shake the can well before opening), I store the coconut milk in the fridge in a container. Note that the cans of coconut milk are much creamier and better as a coffee creamer than those cartons of "coconut milk drink" which are just watered down coconut milk.

The thick creamy coconut milk is the healthiest option for coffee creamer because it's loaded with super healthy saturated fats called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are known to boost your immune system and your metabolism! Plus, coconut milk in coffee is just plain delicious! It's the best healthy creamer option by far.

When people visit my house and we make a pot of coffee, I'll have them try the coconut milk/cream in their coffee and almost everyone always comments how much they love it!

3. If you want to load your coffee up with more healthy antioxidants and good taste, consider trying some added cinnamon to your coffee (cinnamon can help control blood sugar and has many other health benefits). It's also really tasty in coffee!

I also sometimes like to add a teaspoon of organic cocoa powder (non-sweetened) to my coffee to make my own sort of mocha coffee (but without the loads of sugar in a typical mocha you'd get at the coffee shop). The added cocoa powder also gives you great taste and a good dose of extra healthy antioxidants (and cocoa is also known for helping to lower blood pressure!)

I personally only drink coffee about 3-4 times per week, because I'm sensitive to caffeine and don't want to get addicted to caffeine like some people are. I see people that drink 3-4 cups per day that get a massive headache if they don't have their daily coffee due to caffeine withdrawal. I choose to avoid this addiction by only drinking it about 3-4 times a week, and I drink various teas like green, oolong, black, and white teas most other days, which are much lower in caffeine.

But despite the caffeine content, there is loads of data that show the high antioxidant levels and health benefits to coffee.
Lastly, it's extremely important to choose organic coffee beans, as conventional coffee is one of the most heavily treated crops with pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. Remember that one of the many health risks with these chemicals is that some pesticides can act as "xenoestrogens" in your body, disrupting hormone balance for both men and women. Chronic xenoestrogen exposure can also be one cause of "stubborn abdominal fat" in both sexes as well as "man boobs" in men... so choose organic as often as you can with most foods, but especially with coffee!

If you love coffee, feel free to share this article below with your coffee-loving friends and family.