The Quality Of Coffee From Coffee Vending Machines

When you think of coffee vending machines, you may not think of quality coffee. Whilst some do sell bad quality coffee, you would be off the mark to to think that all of them do.

Some vending companies such as Pour Moi pride themselves on vending drinks from their coffee vending machines that match the standards you would find in a café. Popular café coffees are Espresso (strong shot), Cappuccino (Espresso topped with foamed milk), Americano (Espresso with added hot water) and Latte (Espresso with plenty of steamed milk) but other drinks are also available such as Espresso Doppio (double espresso) or Babycino (coffee-free cappuccino, often with a shot of flavoured syrup). Syrup flavours are available to add to the drinks and they are additional vending options. The selection of drinks you can get from some machines rivals the hot drinks selection of many cafes and the taste is great too.

You can also find coffee vending companies making seasonal variations such as vanilla or gingerbread latte. These options make a nice change.

How healthy the vended drinks are for you is important. Look out for machines that don’t use HVO’s. These letters stand for hydrogenated vegetable oils and they are not great because they affect blood cholesterol in a similar way to saturated fats and therefore add to the type of cholesterol that can contribute to heart disease.

These days, many people also want their drinks to be made from low fat milk and so the option of ‘skinny’ drinks is useful.

It’s not just the taste that is important - ethics are too. It is important that the beans are grown and harvested sustainably and the workers are paid a fair wage. This is why it is important to look out for a seal of approval from the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade.

In some coffee plantations, children have to toil the land instead of going to school and in some cases forests are cut down to make way for cash crops. The money that some workers get can be pitiful, especially when you take into consideration the price the consumer will pay once the coffee has got to its destination. Checking for the Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance logos will help ensure you don’t contribute to these bad practices.

To top off the coffee experience, it is important what you are drinking out of. Paper cups with special sip lids are good because they insulate the drink. They are also good for people on the move because they are easy to drink from. They’re perfect for commuters.

Usually you will find that the paper cups are recyclable meaning that they can be broken down and re-used so that they don’t just add to the massive landfill sites around the country.

It is fair to say that some companies do offer very good coffee from their vending machines. It is ethically sourced, healthy, and very importantly, it tastes great. There’s no need to compromise on taste just because you want vending machine convenience.