Running out of coffee mid week is annoying. Over ordering is not better, because coffee goes stale and people stop drinking it.
A simple office coffee programme needs one thing: a predictable weekly quantity.
This guide gives you a quick calculation you can do in 2 minutes, plus a few rules of thumb to avoid waste.
Step 1: Estimate cups per person per day
Pick the number that matches reality, not wishful thinking.
• Light coffee offices: 1 cup per person per day
• Typical offices: 2 cups per person per day
• Coffee heavy teams: 3 cups per person per day
If you are unsure, start with 2 cups.
Step 2: Choose a brew dose per cup
Most offices make coffee in two formats: filter style or espresso style. Use whichever matches your setup.
Filter / batch brewer / drip
• Standard dose: 10 g coffee per cup (about a 250 ml mug)
Espresso based drinks
• Standard dose: 18 g coffee per milk drink (flat white, cappuccino, latte)
• If people drink straight espresso only, it may be lower per drink, but office reality is usually milk drinks.
If you run a bean to cup machine that does long coffees, use 10 to 12 g per cup as a safe starting point.
Step 3: Use the weekly calculation
Use this simple formula:
Weekly coffee (grams) =
(number of people) x (cups per person per day) x (days per week) x (grams per cup)
Then convert grams to kilograms by dividing by 1,000.
Example A: 10 people, typical office, filter coffee
• People: 10
• Cups per person per day: 2
• Days per week: 5
• Dose: 10 g
Weekly grams = 10 x 2 x 5 x 10 = 1,000 g
Weekly coffee = 1.0 kg
Example B: 25 people, coffee heavy team, filter coffee
Weekly grams = 25 x 3 x 5 x 10 = 3,750 g
Weekly coffee = 3.75 kg
Example C: 20 people, mostly milk drinks (espresso based)
Weekly grams = 20 x 2 x 5 x 18 = 3,600 g
Weekly coffee = 3.6 kg
Step 4: Add a buffer (do not skip this)
Office demand is not stable. Visitors, meetings, and seasonal spikes happen.
Add a buffer:
• Conservative: 10 percent
• Safer: 20 percent
Example: if you calculated 3.6 kg per week, order:
• 3.6 x 1.2 = 4.3 kg per week
Step 5: Convert weekly to a simple ordering cadence
Now choose the simplest supply plan.
Weekly supply
• Best for freshness
• Best for stable programmes
• Best when you want one person to reorder on a fixed day
Bi weekly supply
• Fine for smaller teams
• Slightly higher risk of running out
• Keep buffer closer to 20 percent
Rule of thumb:
• If your office needs 3 kg per week or more, weekly supply is usually easier and fresher.
• If you need under 2 kg per week, bi weekly can work.
A simple table you can reuse
Use these as starting points for filter coffee (10 g per cup, 5 days, 2 cups per person per day):
• 5 people: about 0.5 kg per week
• 10 people: about 1.0 kg per week
• 15 people: about 1.5 kg per week
• 20 people: about 2.0 kg per week
• 25 people: about 2.5 kg per week
• 30 people: about 3.0 kg per week
Then add 10 to 20 percent buffer.
Where offices waste coffee
If you want to reduce waste, watch these three points:
• Too many coffee options (half used bags go stale)
• No reorder owner (people forget, then panic buy)
• No cleaning routine (taste drops, consumption drops)
The simplest office programme almost always wins: one core coffee, one routine, predictable supply.
Brewssels B2B supply (roast to order in Brussels)
If you want a simple supply plan, Brewssels can help you standardise it:
• MOQ from 3 kg (trial from 1 kg)
• From 25 EUR per kg
• Dispatch next business day for standard orders
• Beans or optional grinding (may affect lead time)
• Private label available
Message us with:
1. number of people,
2. cups per person per day (estimate),
3. machine type (filter / bean to cup),
4. beans or pre ground.
We will recommend a weekly quantity and a simple reorder cadence.
