CHAPTER 12

Does Single Serve Fuel Too Much Separateness?

When Keurig decided to take its single-serve brewer to the home market, it was the beginning of a sea change in not only how people consumed coffee, but in how they thought about coffee. In the office, the single serve fulfilled a purpose—providing people in the workplace with fresh-brewed coffee no matter what the time of day. This would lead to more efficiency since workers would take fewer outside breaks to get a decent cup of coffee. It was right there in the office.

But in the home—what was the point? It likely was that the time families spent together was becoming increasingly fractured. People in a household would awaken at different times, and go off to work, school, or wherever at different times. Having everyone on hand simultaneously (or near enough to ensure that the coffee sitting in the coffeemaker on the kitchen counter was not getting over-brewed or depleted) was happening less frequently at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Household members were becoming more scattered and unpredictable when it came to when they would be where.

Sure, the K-Cup/single serve in the office provided a way for workers to get a decent cup of coffee without venturing far from their cubicle. And coffee is an integral part of the workplace environment. With more members of households being at home at different times, it naturally followed that what worked in the office as far as having a fresh-brewed cup of coffee available would work in the home.

And coffee is very important in the workplace. According to a story in the Harvard Business Review, “Workspaces that Move People,” the most productive office space is one that promotes interaction among the people who work there, and not just the workers in a specialized area or department.¹ Another Harvard Business Review article, “The New Science of Building Great Teams,” shows that communication among workers from many departments in a company or organization is essential to “sociometrics,” how people and teams communicate with one another throughout a company. Poor sociometrics often results in poor communication and fewer new ideas.² The Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor was looking for ways to increase engagement among the different components of its workforce. According to “Workspaces that Move People,” “The data collected over some weeks showed that when a salesperson increased interactions with coworkers on other teams—that is, increased exploration—by 10%, his or her sales also grew by 10% . . .”³

But what would be a way to set things up so the folks from the advertising department, for example, could interact on a regular basis with workers from the art department?

In this case, the answer lay with coffee. At the time, the company had roughly one coffee machine for every six employees, and the same people used the same machines every day. The sales force commiserated with itself. Marketing people talked to marketing people. The company invested several hundred thousand dollars to rip out the coffee stations and build fewer, bigger ones—just one for every 120 employees.⁴

Having the coffee brewers in strategically located places that would provide a reason for employees to go there—to get a cup of coffee—would serve as a place for workers from different areas of the company to happen to meet, resulting in a chance for people from other departments to hear about what was going on in other areas of the company. Some companies might provide a large, open space for people to gather but this is more forced and not conducive to a casual and frequent exchange among different workers like going to a coffee-brewing station is.⁵

So coffee can have a real effect on the workplace. The coffee machine can be a place where people from different departments brew a cup of coffee and, at the same time, have a chat with someone from another department that they otherwise might never had run into. This provides a healthy and productive “cross pollination” of ideas.

As for what kind of coffee brewing system most workers prefer, the 2017 National Coffee Drinking Trends Study published by the National Coffee Association found that while espresso machines were the most desired option for in-office coffee preparation, single-cup brewers came in second, with instant coffee coming in third and the drip coffeemaker coming in last.⁶

Since the single serve is the second-most popular, was productivity’s gain socialization’s loss? Maybe stepping out for ten or fifteen minutes with another colleague from their own or a different department was healthier in the long run. Conversing with colleagues while going out for a change of scenery and different air can be recharging and certainly more productive socially. Even stepping out of the office alone has long-term benefits.

Take Dr. Cornelis and her experience, for example. In her workplace, there is no coffeemaker in her personal office but there is a single-serve coffee brewer in the office kitchen. She remarked how she would go to the kitchen in the office and if people were there, she would interact with them while she used the coffeemaker.

She mentioned someone else who gets coffee another way, a colleague who doesn’t have access to a single-serve brewer and goes outside the office for coffee at a nearby Starbucks. This is obviously a very different experience than just going down the hall to make a single cup of coffee. This colleague is probably getting more exercise and possibly running into people at the Starbucks at different times. Using the brewer at the office means getting just minimal exercise walking to the kitchen.

Despite the popularity of the single serve, at home and in the workplace, specialty coffee shops continue to thrive and do a brisk brew business. As Heather Ward, Market Research Manager with the Specialty Coffee Association of America wrote, “SCAA’s latest consumer research study, conducted in early 2016, presented data that showed that although the majority of consumers still drink coffee at home, 94 percent of the study’s respondents also drink coffee at a coffee shop.”⁷ And while the sharp growth of coffee shops is slowing a bit, the number of shops has risen by almost 50 percent and more people are drinking gourmet coffee.

“Specialty coffee shops,” added Ward, “play a key role in shaping the consumer experience . . . In past SCAA research, specialty coffee consumers have consistently revealed the significance of their coffee shop experiences. They associate their coffee with social interactions, and they love the sense of belonging that comes from the barista knowing their name or remembering their favorite drink. Their relationship with coffee is deeply personal, and the human interaction that takes place in a coffee shop enhances the emotional connection and overall experience.” ⁸

It’s a Brew Ha Ha

One of the many examples of how a coffee shop can be a social connector is found in the Northwest corner of Pennsylvania. In 2015, Cathie Riehl McMillin started Brew Ha Ha at the Colony in Erie, Pennsylvania, recently named number three in the list of “The Ten Coolest Coffee Shops in Pennsylvania.”⁹ She wanted the experience to be like having coffee at home—with family and friends—with the best coffee you could get in Erie and with some accompaniments that you would not find in a big brand-name coffee shop.

Riehl McMillin says she knows at least 50 percent of the customers by name, and the place is bicycle and dog friendly. “Dogs are welcome on the outdoor deck and sidewalk table areas,” she said. “They get water and biscuits. Many people bring rescue dogs and puppies for socialization, as well as for themselves. We have ‘honor’ coffee where you can throw down two bucks in a jar and help yourself to a medium coffee to go, with no waiting in line.”¹⁰

They roast the coffee onsite and the staff take time with customers who ask questions, and educate them about the origins of the beans, how they roast, etc. “People love that,” Riehl McMillin said. “So, I guess I opened a coffee shop for myself and the patrons. A place that I would like to visit, with the philosophy of serving the freshest, most varied, and delicious coffee and food. Being smaller, we are able to customize people’s drinks and work with them to satisfy their coffee needs.”

Shops to get a good cup of coffee and socialize will always be around. It is a place to not only get coffee, but to see what is going on, much like those then controversial coffee shops that sprang up centuries ago.

Does Single Serve Brew Loneliness?

What does it say, if anything, about the individual versus the group—even family—brewing and drinking coffee using the single serve as a one-at-a time, just-for-me method?

It depends upon whom you ask. About how single-serve coffee brewers with their one-cup-at-a-time focus can exacerbate isolation, Dr. Rebecca Nowland, psychologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Bolton, UK, said she is not sure how much this situation actually contributes to isolation or loneliness. She sees this as more of a cultural shift to be more and more individualistic and independent.

“I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on this for making loneliness or isolation worse particularly but it may be a result of a move towards a more individualistic culture,” Dr. Nowland said. “It also may be the result of employers not really wanting people to socialize at work and increase the productivity of staff.”¹¹

While you can have a virtual coffee klatch with social media friends and contacts, the one-on-one interaction of sharing a cup of java and ideas or experiences is not there. And at the office, there is no more gathering around the office coffee pot for whatever reason, to complain about who didn’t make a fresh pot of coffee, or left the mostly unfilled glass pot on the warm burner so that what was in the pot looked like, and probably tasted like, melted tar. The terrible coffee that no one would be held accountable for. Maybe single serve in the office is a viable option. But so is stepping outside to a specialty coffee shop for a few minutes.

And at home, there seems to be little time anyway for family to gather as a group so the single serve probably makes sense. Family members come and go separately, taking their mugs of coffee with them and heading off.

Of course, you can have speed and an individually-prepared coffee shop coffee at the same time with minimal human contact. Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Intelligentsia, and others have apps that allow the coffee lover to order on the go and not have to wait while the drink is being prepared. Place the order and, by the time you get to the coffee shop, the order is waiting for you.

Full Circle

Ironically, in 2015 Keurig came out with an option that is almost a throwback to making coffee by the potful, the K-Carafe, which makes a carafe of coffee, for home use. (Back in 2013, they offered the Keurig Bolt, since discontinued, which made a pot of coffee, mainly for offices.) So, in some way, we have come full circle. Now you can use the method that was invented to make one cup of coffee at a time to make a pot of coffee that makes up to five servings at a time. The K-Carafe pod is also recyclable.

So now you can make a pot of coffee from a giant K-Carafe pod.

A pot of coffee. It is almost like a throwback to the past. Almost.