Forecasting Workplace Coffee Demand: A Practical Method

Table of Contents

• Why Workplace Coffee Demand Is Worth Forecasting
• How to Calculate Workplace Coffee Demand Step by Step
  • Start With Your Headcount and Attendance
  • Apply a Daily Drinks Figure
  • Build a Simple Formula
  • Adjust for Drink Types and Preparation Time
  • Worked Example
• Office Coffee Consumption per Employee: What the Numbers Look Like
• Using an Office Coffee Usage Calculator
• Allowing for Peak Times, Hybrid Working and Seasonal Swings
• Matching Office Coffee Machine Capacity to Your Forecast
  • Read the Capacity Ratings Carefully
  • Consider Drink Preferences
  • Allow for Peak Times and Recovery
  • Match Machine Type to Workplace
• Booking a Coffee Machine Review for Your Team
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why Workplace Coffee Demand Is Worth Forecasting

Getting the coffee right in an office is more than a perk. Admiral Vending supplies commercial bean to cup coffee machines across the UK, and the teams that run their coffee well tend to plan for demand before it becomes a problem. Forecasting workplace coffee demand means working out how many drinks your people will want in a typical day, so you can choose a machine that keeps up and avoid the queues that build up when it doesn’t.

A poorly sized machine causes real costs. Staff wait in line, drift off to a café, or stop using the machine altogether. A forecast gives you a number to plan around, and it turns a guess into a decision you can defend.

How to Calculate Workplace Coffee Demand Step by Step

The method is simple, but the detail matters. You need three inputs: how many people use the machine, how many drinks each of them is likely to have, and when they have them. Multiply the first two, then adjust for peak times and drink types.

Start With Your Headcount and Attendance

Begin with the number of people who will actually use the machine, not the total on your payroll. If 150 people work in the building but 40 are often off site, your real figure may be closer to 110. Count staff who work on site on a typical day, include regular visitors who will use the machine, and subtract people who are rarely in the building. Record a typical week, not your busiest day.

Apply a Daily Drinks Figure

Next, estimate how many drinks each attendee has per day. Most offices fall somewhere between one and three drinks per person, and your own staff survey or a quick tally will give you a better answer than any average. Multiply your attendance figure by the drinks per person to get a daily total. For example, 110 people at an average of two drinks each gives roughly 220 drinks per day.

Build a Simple Formula

You can write this as a formula: Daily drinks = (People on site per day) × (Drinks per person per day). Then, to find your peak hour demand, multiply the daily total by the share of drinks consumed in your busiest hour. A common pattern is that 30% of daily drinks are made in the peak hour. So, 220 daily drinks × 30% = 66 drinks in the peak hour. This peak figure is what you compare against machine capacity.

Watch out: if you use a generic industry average for drinks per person, you may over- or under-size your machine. Always validate with a one-week tally of actual usage, even if it is just a clicker counter at the machine.

Adjust for Drink Types and Preparation Time

Not all drinks are equal. An espresso takes less time to prepare than a latte, and a fresh brew tea may take longer still. If your team favours milky drinks, the machine will produce fewer drinks per hour than if they mostly drink americano. To account for this, estimate the mix of drink types and use the machine manufacturer’s drinks per hour rating for that mix, not the maximum output for espresso alone. A common pattern is that a machine rated at 100 espressos per hour may only manage 60 lattes per hour. Use the lower figure for your forecast.

Worked Example

Suppose you have 80 people on site per day, each having 2.5 drinks, giving 200 daily drinks. Your peak hour share is 35%, so peak demand is 70 drinks. If your drink mix is 50% latte, 30% americano, and 20% espresso, and the machine can make 80 lattes per hour but 120 espressos per hour, your effective capacity for that mix is roughly (0.5 × 80) + (0.3 × 120) + (0.2 × 120) = 40 + 36 + 24 = 100 drinks per hour. That is above your peak of 70, so the machine is suitably sized with a margin.

Office Coffee Consumption per Employee: What the Numbers Look Like

Consumption varies with the type of workplace. Office teams with regular client meetings tend to drink more than remote-leaning teams, and a factory floor with shift patterns creates its own peaks. Use your own tally where you can, because it reflects your people rather than a generic average.

Per-employee consumption also changes with the drinks on offer. Espresso-based drinks take longer to make than a simple filter coffee, so a machine serving many lattes will need more capacity than one serving mostly black coffee. These logistical constraints become even more pronounced when buying coffee for construction sites where the environment demands both speed and durability from the brewing equipment.

Using an Office Coffee Usage Calculator

A calculator simply automates the steps above. You can also work through the cost per employee to see what the machine adds to each person’s day. Enter your attendance, your drinks per person, and the working days in the month. The output is your daily and monthly drink volume, which you can compare against machine capacity.

Here is a simple worksheet you can copy:

Input	Example	Your figure
People on site per day	110
Drinks per person per day	2
Daily drink volume	220
Peak hour share (%)	30%
Peak hour drinks	66

The peak hour row matters most. A machine that handles the daily total can still fail at 10am if everyone arrives at once.

Allowing for Peak Times, Hybrid Working and Seasonal Swings

Demand is rarely even across the day. Most offices see a rush in the morning and another after lunch. Hybrid working spreads attendance across the week, so Mondays and Fridays may look different from midweek. Seasonal swings also matter: many teams drink more hot drinks in winter than in summer.

A common approach is to forecast a busy peak day and an average day, then size the machine to the busy one. This avoids queues without buying more capacity than you need the rest of the year.

Matching Office Coffee Machine Capacity to Your Forecast

Once you have a peak-hour figure, compare it with the machine’s output. Check the drinks per hour the model can produce, then leave a margin so the machine is not running flat out all day. Smaller tabletop machines suit smaller teams, while higher capacity and floor-standing models suit larger offices and high-traffic sites.

Read the Capacity Ratings Carefully

Machine capacity is usually quoted as drinks per hour, but that figure often assumes a simple drink like an espresso. For milky drinks, the output drops because the milk frothing takes time. Always ask for the drinks per hour for your specific drink mix, or use the lower end of the range. A common pattern is that a machine rated at 150 espressos per hour may only manage 90 lattes per hour. Use the figure that matches your team’s preferences.

Consider Drink Preferences

Employee preference segmentation is critical. If your team mostly drinks espresso or americano, a machine with a high espresso output will suffice. If they prefer lattes and cappuccinos, you need a machine with a strong steam wand or automatic milk frother and a higher overall capacity to compensate for the slower preparation. Survey your team or review past usage to estimate the split. For example, if 70% of drinks are milk-based, size the machine using the milk-based drinks per hour rating.

Allow for Peak Times and Recovery

A machine that exactly meets peak demand will struggle if there is a sudden rush or if it needs cleaning during the day. Leave a margin of at least 20% above your peak-hour figure. Also consider the recovery time: after a busy period, the machine may need to refill and heat water, so continuous high demand can cause queues. A larger machine with a bigger boiler or twin brewers will recover faster.

Match Machine Type to Workplace

Tabletop machines suit smaller teams with moderate demand, while floor-standing machines with larger tanks and bean hoppers suit larger offices and high-traffic sites. Consider the machine’s rated output against your peak-hour figure when choosing between them. Also think about the physical space and plumbing: some machines need a direct water supply, while others have refillable tanks.

Admiral Vending supplies commercial bean to cup coffee machines across the UK, from compact tabletop models to floor-standing units for larger sites. Our machines can provide espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte and hot chocolate, with fresh brew tea on selected models. Browse our commercial bean to cup coffee machines to compare capacities against your forecast.

Booking a Coffee Machine Review for Your Team

If your forecast points to a larger machine or a change in setup, the next step is a review. We look at your headcount, peak times and drink mix, then recommend a machine that fits. Admiral Vending provides expert machine selection, delivery, professional installation, operator training, ongoing service support and coffee supplies.

Pricing depends on machine type, quantity and delivery, so we don’t quote a fixed figure here. You can get a coffee machine quote online matched to your forecast. You can get a tailored quote for your site through our instant quote system, which takes your forecast into account.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you calculate coffee demand for a workplace?

Start with the number of people who use the coffee point regularly, then estimate how many of them are in the building on a typical day. Multiply that attendance figure by an average number of drinks per person, and then by a peak-hour factor so you know how many drinks may be needed in the busiest hour. Track actual use for two or three weeks and adjust the forecast against what you observe, since real habits differ from first estimates.

How many cups of coffee does an employee drink per day?

Consumption varies widely between teams, so the most reliable figure comes from your own records rather than a national average. Many offices find that a minority of staff account for most drinks, while others drink only occasionally. Segment your staff into heavy, moderate and light users when you build your forecast, and treat the result as a planning estimate that you refine over time.

How do you forecast coffee consumption when staff work hybrid hours?

Forecast against the days people are actually on site rather than total headcount. Ask managers for typical in-office patterns by day of the week, then build separate figures for busy days and quieter days. Review the pattern each quarter, because changes to hybrid rotas shift demand quickly and can leave a machine underused or overloaded if the forecast is not updated.

How often should workplace coffee demand forecasts be updated?

Review the forecast at least every quarter and whenever headcount, office days or seating arrangements change. Seasonal patterns, such as quieter summer weeks or busier periods around team events, are worth checking once a year. Compare your forecast with recorded usage each time so you can see where the estimate has drifted and correct it.