Commentary

What’s ahead for workplace coffee in 2023?

Trends to watch in 2023 for office coffee: dual milk coffee machines, CBD coffee beans and brew, cold brew coffee and powdered non-dairy milk.

Image: Adobe Stock.

February 13, 2023 by Sam Roberts — Digital Marketing Manager, Connect Vending

Whether you enjoy it or not, coffee a huge part of many workers' lives, and it helps power the workforce throughout the day. But perhaps 2023 could be the year for a new coffee machine in the workplace, producing much improved, much more satisfying cups of high quality coffee.

What are the big workplace coffee trends for 2023 and what is coming down the line from the world's leading office coffee product and machine manufacturers? I have my eye on the following four.

Dual milk coffee machines

One of the more intriguing developments is machines with dual milk, zero cross contamination.

There are already a couple of dual milk office coffee machines available, though this latest coffee trend is in its infancy and likely to become a major consideration for organizations in 2023.

The concept is simple — two liquid milk options, but with no shared components and zero chance of cross-contamination between the two milks. Clearly, this is an excellent option for those businesses with staff who have serious dairy allergies, as well as offering great utility within those workspaces where a healthier milk variant is often requested.

With greater customer demand comes greater innovation from the coffee machine manufacturers, and we're expecting to see something in the next year from those manufacturers who don't currently offer dual milk, and potentially even more functionality from those suppliers that have already brought it to market.

CBD coffee beans and brews

This likely isn't the first time that you've heard the acronym CBD in the world of food and drink, with the cannabidiol craze sweeping across the much of the globe.

CBD is advertised as offering consumers relief from anxiety, depression and poor sleep, with products containing CBD often being higher in price because of the perceived value delivered by the chemical compound.

Coffee beans are no exception, with several brands introducing CBD infused beans alongside their standard range, though in 2023 we are expecting the CBD craze to "go big" and we may well see some of the leading coffee beans bring their own equivalents to market.

Though the appropriateness of CBD consumption on work premises may be questioned, we also think there's the possibility of CBD coffee beans making their way to the office coffee machine during the next 12 months.

Cold brew coffee in the office

Cold brew is nothing new, and we genuinely think that commercial coffee machines will soon come with excellent cold brew coffee technologies included out of the box.

Leading coffee machine manufacturers including Coffetek and Franke Coffee Systems offer machines that allow for the dispensing of cold brew drinks by utilizing cold milk to cool espresso, though we expect technology in new machines to offer a more complex cold brew process which may include the dispensing of ice or rapid cooling of fresh espresso.

Cold brew coffee was a massive hit with consumers during the 2022 Christmas break, with leading brands such as Starbucks, Costa and Caffe Nero all supplementing their festive drinks menus with cold options.

Fingers crossed, I expect some new machinery to hit the market with stunning cold brew technology before the summer arrives so we can all enjoy a cold drink from the office coffee machine.

Powdered non-dairy milk

Besides the likely rise of dual milk coffee machines through 2023, there's also a very high chance that innovation in the ingredient space will lead an equally as big revolution in the workplace coffee machine space.

In the last year we've started to see a couple of suppliers showcasing their non-dairy milk equivalent, including one particularly intriguing powdered almond milk option.

We could see a serious industry movement if this allows existing machines to be filled with new ingredients without requiring refits or significant recalibration, giving organizations more options to change their dairy milk with healthier, less environmentally damaging milks, like powdered almond milk or powdered soya milk.

Of all the innovations, we think this has the most potential to change the way that businesses see their raw ingredients for coffee machines.