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What is the first thing that most workers do when they get to work? Is it sit down and immediately become productive? Probably not. Most likely they head for the coffee. They grab a cup of coffee, say a quick hello to their co-workers, and then they start their daily tasks. For many workers, if they were to skip those first five coffee minutes, they wouldn’t feel like they would be able to be very productive in the morning. In fact, a lot of ideas start flowing around the coffee area first thing in the morning as workers come to life and start to chat.

If this is what happens regularly in your place of business, and you feel like you spend more time restocking the coffee supplies than you do the rest of your job, it might be time to consider hiring a coffee service. A coffee service can routinely stock your coffee supplies, making sure that you never run out (and you know you don’t want that to happen). That’s not all a coffee service can do, though.

What a coffee service can supply

Yes, coffee services deliver coffee. But they do so much more.

Other services a coffee service may be able to perform

Hiring a coffee service for your place of business can save you a lot of time, a lot of headaches (both figuratively and literally), and even save you money. Replacing over worked coffee machines routinely and buying coffee, teas and their accompaniments at retail prices can really add up. Coffee from a service can cost as little as 10 cents a cup.

A good coffee service will come out and provide you with a tasting of their coffees and other beverages before you purchase. They will also speak to you at length about the coffee habits of the people you work with so they can determine your needs. Many coffee services will also throw in the first coffee machine for free as a bonus to signing on to their service. Shop around for the best office coffee service in your area.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages consumed by people from all over the world. In fact, coffee is probably the second most popular drink next to water. It seems to have that distinct aroma and taste that favors the tastebuds of most people. That is probably the reason why coffee has become a worldwide favorite. Coffee, in its different incarnations, is being enjoyed by people from all walks of life, gender in even the farthest regions of the world. When it comes to enjoying coffee today, people seem to benefit from the many choices available today. Thanks to many enterprising individuals who helped made the business of coffee enjoyment a more popular privilege as well as a lifestyle. Before, coffee drinking was considered as an ordinary everyday ritual. Nobody bothered how they enjoyed their coffee. Most people didn’t have an idea then that there are other ways to enjoy coffee than just the black variety. It wasn’t until Starbucks came into existence that coffee drinking became the popular trend. With Starbucks and other similar coffee shops offering different varieities of the popular beverage, the evolution of coffee as just an ordinary beverage has come upon us. Nowadays, one may not just order coffee as itself. There are currently a host of choices available that will challenge the taste buds. Aside from the traditional black coffee, there is the espresso to consider. Espresso is basically coffee made by forcing hot water under high pressure through roasted coffee that has been grounded to an extremely fine powder. This results in having a beverage that produces a rich, flavorful, and almost syrupy beverage. Its characteristics are due to the extraction and emulsification of the oils found in ground coffee by pressuring hot water through them. Espresso can be enjoyed as a straight shot or mixed with steamed milk and in a lot of other ways. Aside form the straight shot espresso, there is also the caffe latte that might also be an interesting coffee experience. It is basically coffee served mixed with milk. It can be differentiated with a cappuccino in the sense that it contains more milk and therefore may have a creamier and milkier flavor to it. Cappuccino on the other hand may contain about a one third less milk in a usual serving. Another coffee beverage becoming more and more popular is the relatively new and unique selection of flavored coffee drinks being offered by more and more coffee shops like Starbucks. These are special creations that are served as hot espresso mixed with a flavored syrup. The choices has grown as more and more flavors are being mixed with coffee as the base. Nowadays, there are vanilla, Irish creme, almond, hazelnut, and caramel flavored coffee drinks to choose from aside from other exotic fruity flavors such as orange and raspberry coffee drinks.

While coffee-based beverages remain as popular as ever, more Americans are looking for a do-it-yourself way to enjoy high-end coffee bar style cappuccino and espresso drinks at home. Fortunately, there are many affordable products on the market to assist the home brewing enthusiast in their quest for the ultimate coffee concoction. Regardless of which product you choose, there are endless recipes and combinations of ingredients to literally spice up your daily infusion.

First you need choose the basis of your beverage: coffee or espresso. Coffee can be drip-brewed, percolated, instant or cold-pressed. Any of these methods are very inexpensive. An espresso-based beverage is more likely to satisfy the sophisticated palette of the coffee connoisseur. To do this at home however, requires more of an investment in the brewing equipment. Real espresso machines cost upwards of $1,000. An affordable and popular alternative are the single-serving type of machines such as the Tassimo, where you invest in the machine and purchase pre-portioned packages of espresso varieties to brew a serving at a time.

Still confused about the difference between coffee and espresso? Espresso is a method, first originated in Italy, of extracting flavor from the heart of the coffee bean. The technique employs a pump-driven machine to force hot water through the ground coffee beans at high pressure in a short time frame — usually between 20 and 35 seconds. The amount of water used is only about ¾ of an ounce, and the resulting taste is described as smooth, thick, rich or sweet. So the obvious differences between coffee and espresso are 1) the amount of water used and 2) brewing or pressing time. Coffee is generally brewed for 4 to 6 minutes depending on the method and individual preferences.

Cappuccino is espresso mixed with equal parts of steamed and frothed milk. If you don’t purchase an espresso machine with milk-steaming capabilities, you will have to steam and froth your milk the old-fashioned way — on a stove. The frothing process involves skimming and stirring the hot milk. To layer the milk and espresso, allow the freshly frothed milk a moment to rest and separate (foam on top and milk on the bottom). Pour the steamed milk into your cup first, then pour in the espresso, and top it with the frothed milk using a spoon.

The creative possibilities go on from there. One of the most popular twists on the cappuccino is adding a sprinkle of powdered cocoa or cinnamon. Other combinations take their inspiration from favorite foods such as traditional desserts or candy bars. Try these super-easy recipes or experiment with making your own!

Milky Way Cappuccino– 2 shots espresso, 1 shot chocolate syrup, 1 shot caramel

Java Chai Espresso — 1 shot espresso, prepared chai concentrate, steamed milk, ½ ounce almond syrup

Cafe Corretto — 2 shots espresso, 1 shot brandy, cognac or flavored liqueur

Cafe Romano– 1 shot espresso, served with a twist of lemon or lemon peel

Rocky Road Cappuccino — 1 serving of your prepared cappuccino, 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur, 1 tablespoon chocolate sauce, 1 teaspoon of marshmallow crème and ¼ teaspoon finely chopped nuts

Butterscotch Creme Cafe — 1 serving coffee, 3 tablespoons butterscotch syrup, 2 tablespoons of half-and-half cream

Ginger Spiced Coffee — 1 serving coffee, 1 small piece finely chopped crystallized ginger, 1 cinnamon stick

Cafe Borgia — 1 cup coffee, 1 cup hot chocolate, 1 shot cream, sprinkle of grated orange peels

Chocolate Mint Truffle(for the non-coffee drinker) – 1 cup hot chocolate, 2 chocolate coated mint candies topped with 1 tablespoon whipped topping and 1 fresh mint sprig

Espresso Martini — 1 shot espresso cooled to room temperature, 1 shot premium vodka, 1 splash liqueur in flavor of your choice (try amaretto, Irish creme, Godiva chocolate or any favorite), garnish with 3 whole espresso beans

Mexican Coffee — your favorite brewed coffee, 2 cups whipped topping gently mixed with ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

French Vanilla Coffee– your favorite brewed coffee, equal portion of milk heated to scalding temperature, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cinnamon stick, sweetener to taste

If you are hosting a winter party and feeling a little adventurous, you may want to try a festive twist on the usual coffee and eggnog choices. Try this Betty Crocker recipe for 16 servings of Cappuccino Eggnog:

Ingredients — 6 eggs, slightly beaten; 2/3 cup table sugar; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 5 cups milk; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 cups hot espresso; 1 cup coffee liqueur or brandy; 2 cups heavy whipped cream; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; ground cinnamon

Directions — Stir together eggs, granulated sugar and salt in a Dutch oven pan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over low heat 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, just until mixture coats a metal spoon; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Stir together coffee and liqueur. Gradually stir coffee mixture into egg mixture; keep warm. Just before serving, beat whipping cream and brown sugar in chilled large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Gently stir 2 cups of the whipped cream into egg mixture. Pour into mugs. Top with dollops of remaining whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve immediately!