Great Cubicle Coffee Needs Great Hot Water

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Great Coffee Needs Great Hot Water

There are two main water issues to consider in your office: taste and temperature.

Taste

Coffee is made mostly of water. So, a good tasting water source is very important. If it doesn't taste good and you can't drink it cold, it isn't going to make good office coffee when it's hot.

The best water is bottled or filtered water. Even the cheapest tightwad companies usually provide a water cooler for their employees. If not, then regular bottled water works well. Not the fancy French stuff, just plain old Arrowhead®, Sparkletts® or your local equivalent. Do not use distilled water -- it lacks minerals that are necessary for good taste.

In our office, we were fortunate to have a filtered water dispenser with a hot spigot that puts out clean, pure water at exactly 200° F on demand. It's fast and efficient, always available and hassle free.

Temperature

The ideal temperature for making Cubicle Coffee is between 195° F and 205° F. If you don't have an automatic hot spigot on your water cooler, then you'll need an alternative way to get your water up to temp. Note: if you aren't sure about the temperature of your water, bring in an instant read kitchen thermometer and check for yourself.

Many office lunchrooms and kitchens have an instant hot water faucet installed. These keep a small quantity of water ready at around 190° F and deliver it steaming hot as soon as you twist the knob. These can work well, although ideally your water should be a few degrees hotter. Also, check to see if the water is filtered before it is heated. In many cases, water is diverted straight from the tap into the heater and may not taste the greatest.

Besides the hot spigot or faucet, one of the best ways we've found to get your water hot is an electric water kettle. They're fast, effective and relatively inexpensive. They're also compact and fit perfectly in an empty file drawer or overhead cubicle cabinet. Since you only plug them in when you use them, your facilities people shouldn't object too loudly.

Most electric kettles hold at least 32 ounces of water (perfect amount for an 8 cup French Press) and take about 4-5 minutes to get the water up to temperature. Just be sure to start with cold water and turn off the kettle before it gets to a rolling boil. If you boil it for too long, the water may lose oxygen and taste flat. If you use an electric kettle, we recommend bringing your water up to just below a boil, then shutting it off while you measure your coffee grounds into the press pot.

What about the Microwave?

We really don't recommend this one. Yes, just about every office has at least one microwave in the break room or lunch room for employee use. Yes, you could use a microwave to boil water, but there are a couple of risks you should consider. First of all, you need a container to boil the water in. DO NOT USE THE CARAFE FROM YOUR FRENCH PRESS! It probably won't fit in your microwave and besides, you need to be able to pour the water into your coffee grounds. If you use a different, microwave safe container, then you need to be very careful not to burn yourself when pouring. Water heated in a microwave contains a lot of energy and may be hotter than it looks. There are also some risks about microwaved water discharging dangerous steam or boiling over the moment an object is placed in the water. (See http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/superheating.html for more information about microwaving water). All in all, why risk serious injury with a microwave when an electric kettle does a much better job?

In summary, your best bets for hot water in the office are:

1. Filtered water cooler with a hot spigot at around 190-200° F

2. Bottled spring water heated in an electric kettle to just below boiling.

Now that your water is hot, you're ready to get brewing..

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