Cookies!

The Gourmet Coffee Company is proud to announce our new line of delicious Gourmet Chocolate Chip cookies!  Our bags come in 1.5 pound bags and customers get a free cookie jar with their first order of 2 bags of cookies!  1/2 pound sample bags are available for customers to try!  It's a delicious, sweet treat for the office:)!!

Coffee Service - The Real Benefits

Some people must question from time to time - what are the benefits of having an office coffee service?  Why don't I just have someone run to the store to pick up supplies?  While this may make sense for small offices, (less than 10 employees) for most offices, running an in house coffee service can become a full time job for whoever the unlucky person in the office who inherits the job.  Let's quantify the costs of someone handling the office coffee service for a 25 employee office:

1.  1 hour a week to inventory the needs for upcoming week. $10
2.  1 hour a week to go to the store and back. $ 10
3.  1 hour per week at the store. $10
4.   Gas for the trip to and from the store. $10
5.  1 hour per week cleaning and maintaining equipment and coffee area.  $10

This equals to $50 per week or $200  per month - $2,400 per year!  This does not include the potential liability issues associated with that person getting into a car accident going to and from the store (if just one employee got into an accident doing a coffee pick up your costs of an in house coffee service goes through the roof!).  Or for the occasional  trips to the store because of unexpectedly running out of products.  Take into consideration also, that the office will have to buy the equipment.  They may not want to pay for plumbed in equipment so the quality of the equipment won't be as good as what you could get from an office coffee service.  And what if the equipment breaks?  Are you going to call a handy man?  A plumber?  What if the equipment is down for 3 or 4 days or more?  Having seen  the high stress level at offices where the coffee maker is down(people can get very upset!!) it is a good idea to be able to get  coffee equipment fixed - FAST!

With an office coffee service, your equipment is installed free of charge.  You have  your choice of several different types of coffee brewers suggested by your office coffee service.  Deliveries are made to  your office consistently and correctly.  Run out of a particular product?  No problem, just call your coffee service and they will get it to you.  Coffee equipment not working?  Simply call your office coffee service and they will either fix or replace the equipment for you so your office doesn't miss a beat! If the store you shop at decides not to carry your particular product anymore there is nothing you can do.  As an  office coffee service we make it our  business to make sure we have the products you want.   And if we don't stock it, we will!

An office coffee service may seem like a luxury compared to running your own in house coffee service, but when you actually look at the cost/benefits it actually turns out to be your least expensive, most efficient option!

Fresh Ground Coffee

Some of our coffee customers, particularly large volume users,  have gone from using a traditional pre ground fractional pack to a commercial grade, preset grinder.  These grinders allow the customer to set the grind at a particular weight and with the press of a button they have a freshly ground brewbasket ready for brewing.  Everything is accentuated about your coffee with the grind being fresh.  The whole office smells better with the smell of freshly ground coffee.  The coffee itself, when brewed is richer and more aromatic.  Best of all  bulk, whole bean coffee is  less expensive than preground coffee.  The customer winds up with great tasting coffee for less!  Just one of the many solutions The Gourmet Coffee Company offers to its customers to bring great coffee and service at the most affordable prices.

Coffee Service - Why the Service is so important!

A well kept "Office Cafe"

We get a great many of calls from offices who are  fed up with the service they are receiving from their office coffee service.  Not receiving what they ordered, supplies not put away, price increases without notice, no flexibility with deliveries are just some of the things we are hearing from these exasperated offices. 

Well here is what you should expect from your office coffee supply service.

1.  Equipment cleaned on each delivery.
2.  Supplies put away as requested by the customer.
3.  Flexibility of ordering. 
4.  Receiving what you ordered.
5.  Same day responses to questions/issues.
6.  Same, or at the latest, next day response to equipment issues/malfunctions.
7.  A live person answering the phone, not a recording.
8.  The ability to recieve "emergency" deliveries.
9.  Most importantly - feeling like your business is valued!

So many customers of ours, complained to us when we first met with them about their previous coffee service, that they were so frustrated because it didn't seem like their coffee service cared about their needs.  We had one customer, who was ordering in excess of $1,000/month on product, complain that  they couldn't get anyone to call them back when they had a question.  When we met with them, they had been waiting a week for a return phone call! 

The Gourmet Coffee Company makes it a foundation of our business to have our customers know that we will bend over backwards to make their office coffee service experience  an enjoyable one.  From providing them with a neat, attractive coffee break area, to putting supplies away or even delivering 2 cases of soda between delivery days, we will do everything necessary to provide the highest level of service to our customers.

Being a true office coffee service is more than just delivering coffee products to an office.  It is providing that office the peace of mind of knowing that all their office coffee supply needs - from properly working equipment to an excellent cup of coffee - are consistently met so that they can focus on the business of running their office.

Coffee & Your State of Mind:)

Did you know that the introduction of coffee into Europe is credited with spurring on the Age of Enlightenment?  Before the introduction of coffee and subsequently the Coffee House, people generally started their day with a piece of bread and a beer! 

Well, studies come out all the time lauding coffee's health effects - better alertness, reducing chance of Alzheimer's, etc.  The latest study on coffee is that Women who drink 2 cups of coffee a day are less likely to get depressed. - Coffee May Prevent Depression, Scientists Say -  www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15059266. 

Most people don't need a reason to drink that beautiful, black liquid.  Generally and for me included, the fantastic aroma and delicious taste are enough.   It is nice to know, however, that drinking 2 cups per day, may help prevent depression as well!

Lavazza Espresso Point - Restaurant Quality Espresso in the Office!

The Lavazza Espresso Point brewer is a great machine that The Gourmet Coffee Company offers for offices that want to serve restaurant quality espresso without the expense of a commercial grade espresso maker and the training that would be neccesary to have someone on staff to use it!  With the Lavazza Espresso Point anyone in the office can prepare an espresso at the touch of a button!

In most offices that we come across especially in South Florida there is usually one person in the office who is the designated "espresso person".  This person  is "the" person in the office who knows how to make espresso or cuban coffee.  When that person is not around the rest of the people in the office are helpless.  If a client comes in and requests an espresso and that person is not there, you have to send someone out to get it or just tell the client that you don't have it.  That is where the Lavazza is so great.  No more relying on that one person.  Many of the professional offices we service use a Lavazza and love it!

The Espresso Point allows you to make a short or long espresso and also has a frothing wand to froth your milk for Cappacinos and Lattes.  Learning to froth the milk takes about 1 minute, so many people in the offices  effectively become in office Baristas!  The espresso has a medium and dark roast as well as decaf. 

With the diverse, international  population that inhabits South Florida in many cases it is almost expected that a client should have the opportunity to have a great cup of espresso while doing business.  It is a nice touch to be able to offer that client such an excellent cup of espresso. 

Demo a Lavazza brewer today!  Call The Gourmet Coffee Company   at 305-698-0990 or email info@thegourmetcoffeeco.com.

Marley Coffee - Makes Sweet Music In Your Mug!

Marley coffee, the brainchild of Rohan Marley, Bob's son has produced some very fine coffee.  We recently sampled several types  of the Marley coffee brand including One Love, Lion's Blend and Kingston City Roast.  I would describe the Lion's Blend and One Love as pretty good medium bodied coffees.  Good, but a bit non descript.  Keep in mind that I like my coffee very dark.

Well I struck gold with the Kingston City Roast.  It is an outstanding dark roasted coffee.    Described on its packaging as chocolaty and sweet, it is just that and dark, very dark.  There is an ever so slight "chocolaty" taste to it and it does have a understated sweetness that really satisfies the coffee senses.  The aroma is the final touch on an all around outstanding coffee.

The Marley coffee company owns 52 acres of mountain top landscape in the Jamaican Blue Mountains.  This gives them prime real estate for the production of one of the world's most coveted beans.  Unfortunately, we have not had the pleasure of sampling this coffee yet.  Check back soon as we should be receiving samples of the coffee shortly!

Marely coffee comes in whole bean, 2.5 oz frac pacs as well as pods.

Cafe Express 2

The  Cafe Express 2 is the latest one cup coffee maker in the office coffee service market.  It is an outstanding piece of equipment for  both the medium and large sized professional office environment.  With 10 selections, it provides the user with the ability to make all kinds of different coffees, teas, hot chocolate as well as espresso and espresso based drinks - lattes, mochachinos, cappacinos, etc.

Having been in the office coffee service market for the last 17 years, there is no doubt that the hot chocolate is the best in available for office coffee service.  The milk product, which is always been a challenge for these type of machines(mixing a milk powder with water) actually tastes excellent.  For people who have tried  milk product in other machines that attempt to mix  espresso or coffee with milk, you know that this can be a challenge(disaster). 

The quality of the coffees and teas are as good or better than any of the one cup coffee makers currently out there.  Light, medium and dark roasts are available in coffees as well as flavored coffees and all kinds of organic teas!

One of the  added benefits of this machine and products is that the cost per cup is about 20% less than other single cup coffee systems!  A great combination - quality and cost efficient.

It is a great system to consider/demo for any office with 35 or more employees!

Pod Coffee Systems

Single cup systems have become more and more popular in the office coffee service realm over the last 10 to 15 years.  In the last 9 months, unfortunately, we have seen the price of these products go up 30% percent.  Whereas the price per cup used to be in the 42-45 cent per cup range, it is now upwards of 60 cents per cup.  For many offices this could mean an increase of thousands of dollars per year!  

There is an answer that combines quality and affordability -  Pod Coffee Systems.  The new pod systems feature all the same selections of coffees as traditional single cup brewers and the cost per cup is about 20% less.  The pods are biodegradable and compostable  so they don't have the negative impact on the environment that other single cup brewers have (filling up landlfills by the millions with non recyclable coffee capsules).   Some recognizable roasters have gotten into the Pod coffee production, including Barney's, Wolfgang Puck and many others will soon be following suit.  Unfortunately many office coffee service administrators have had to deal with significant price increases for single cup coffee systems over the last several months, but they do have an option. 

We at The Gourmet Coffee Co have converted many customers to the Pod system and the response has been fantiastic - our customers love the quality and are quite pleased to be paying per cup what they were paying a year ago, before coffee prices started soaring!  If you are an office coffee service administrator and struggling with the price of your single cup system, consider the Pod system.  They are not just a substitute for a single cup system, but an upgrade.  These systems include the Fresh Cup, which brews all different kinds of Coffees & Teas and The Cafe Express which offers 10 drink selections inlcuding Coffees, Teas, Lattes, Espresso, Cappacinos, Hot Chocolate and more!   The Hot Chocolate is by far the best on the market!

Peets Coffee

Peets coffee, currently is the coffee for dark coffee lovers.  For dark coffee lovers, who drink their coffee black, nothing compares in the office coffee service realm.  Whereas alot of the dark coffees out there are dark, but almost burnt or bitter, Peets has found the formula to producing dark coffee that is rich but also very smooth.

In the office coffee realm, Peets is still relatively new, especially to South Florida, but that should soon change.  It is comparatively priced to the other high end coffees and we have seen quite a few of our customers switching to it.  The fact that they roast to order ensures a relatively freshly roasted coffee as opposed to the coffees that sit around in  warehouses for months at a time.  Their packaging also does a great job of keeping the coffee very fresh.

The Gourmet Coffee Co coffee service  is proud to carry Peets coffee!  Call or email us for some samples.  Have a great day!