Coffee Etiquette for the Office
Stale, gross coffee may be the norm at your workplace, but there’s no reason why everyone can’t enjoy a great cup of coffee at the office. In order to keep good coffee flowing, however, it’s important to lay down some ground rules. Here is CoffeeKrave’s recommended office coffee etiquette.
1. Replace the last cup.
You might not be able to do anything about taking the last life boat on the Titanic, but you can brew a new pot of coffee after taking the last cup. Don’t make someone else wait five minutes for a cup of coffee when you’ve already gotten yours.
2. Designate roles.
Decide who is going to brew the coffee in the morning to avoid confusion or swap the job so that no one feels like a corporate water boy. Designating a coffee brewer has the advantage of providing more consistent coffee. If you use multiple brewers, post a guide explaining how to prepare the coffee. Clean messes as you go, but it is worthwhile to designate someone to empty the machine at the end of the day and clean the internals every so often. Bosses– brewing coffee for your staff occasionally may help you build rapport. A UK survey shows that only about half of bosses have ever brewed coffee for staff members.
3. Contribute fairly.
If your office finances its caffeine habit through a common fund, consider how much each person drinks. It’s not fair to have both Sally and John put in $5 a month when Sally drinks a cup a day and John uses it to water his plants. Also consider using this to decide who makes the coffee or cleans and how often.
4. Be a gentleman (or gentlewoman).
Everyone knows office coffee isn’t the best, so there’s no need to complain about it all the time. Do share good coffee habits with your coworkers, but the last thing you want is the “coffee snob” label. You can bring your own coffee maker if the situation is truly that bad, but consider your office’s culture first. The last thing you want to do is offend someone because you are “too good” for the communal coffee maker. Having to walk across the office and grab a cup is also a great way to get to know your cubicle mates and spin ideas around. Volunteer to take over coffee preparation if you’re serious about seeing improvement.
Main photo: Difei Li
