When you think of coffee vending machines, you may not think of quality coffee. Whilst some do give low 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 offering drinks from their coffee vending machines that match the standards you would find in a café. Common café coffees are Cappuccino (Espresso topped with foamed milk), Espresso (strong shot), Latte (Espresso with plenty of steamed milk) and Americano (Espresso with added hot water) 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 menu of many cafes and the taste is great too.
You can also find coffee vending companies offering seasonal variations such as gingerbread or vanilla latte. These options make a nice change.
How good the vended drinks are for you is important. Look out for companies that don’t use HVO’s. These letters stand for hydrogenated vegetable oils and they are best avoided because they affect blood cholesterol in a similar way to saturated fats and increase the type of cholesterol that can contribute to heart problems.
These days, many people also look for their drinks to be made from low fat milk and so the option of ‘skinny’ drinks is useful.
It’s not just the flavour that is important – coffee ethics are too. It is important that the beans are grown and harvested sustainably and the workers are paid a decent wage. This is why it is important to look out for a logo on the product from the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade.
In some coffee plantations, children have to work the land instead of going to school and in some cases forests are cleared 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 the country of destination. Checking for the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade 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 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 great for commuters.
Usually you will find that the paper cups are recyclable meaning that they can be broken down and then used again so that they don’t just add to the huge 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, tasty. There’s no need to compromise on flavour just because you want the convenience of a vending machine.