The Best Return to Office Policy Might Be a Really Good Flat White

Coffee is the habit almost everyone shares

Coffee is the nation’s daily ritual. The British Coffee Association says 103 million cups of coffee are drunk in the UK every day, and 67% of adults drink coffee daily.

A lot of that happens at work. World Coffee Portal’s Coffee At Work Report UK 2026, built on more than 2,000 surveys of workplace coffee drinkers, found that 45% of employees drink three or more cups during working hours. People even drink more coffee on working days than on days off.

That makes the coffee point the most visited spot in most offices. Several times a day, nearly everyone passes through. No meeting room in the building gets that kind of footfall.

Every one of those visits is a chance to bump into a colleague, share a bit of news or ask the question someone has been saving up. Multiply that across a team and a whole week, and you start to see why the coffee point punches so far above its size.

The opportunity is sitting right there

Here is the exciting part. The same report found that nearly half of employees had left their workplace in the past year to buy coffee from a coffee shop. Yet most said they would not go elsewhere if the coffee at work were free.

People clearly want great coffee at work. Many are already walking out to find it. Bring that quality inside, and you bring the conversations, the energy and the daily routine back inside with it.

Why great coffee works so well

• It is a daily welcome. Great coffee says “we are glad you are here” every single morning, without anyone sending an email.
• It brings people together on the busy days. A British Council for Offices review in July 2025 found UK offices at their busiest from Tuesday to Thursday. Those are the days the coffee point becomes the heart of the office.
• It sparks the conversations video calls miss. The quick question, the introduction to someone from another team, the idea that grows over a cappuccino.
• It includes everyone. Lattes for the coffee lovers, decaf for the afternoon, tea and plant based milk for everyone else.
• It is simple for payroll. HMRC’s guidance says the workplace meals exemption applies to light refreshments as it does to meals, so tea and coffee on site for all staff is usually straightforward. Check the conditions with your payroll team.

What a great office coffee point looks like

1. Proper coffee. Freshly ground beans and real milk drinks at the touch of a button.
2. Ready for the rush. Sized for the morning peak, so everyone gets their drink quickly.
3. A place to linger. Room to stand and chat, rather than a cupboard in a corridor.
4. Always stocked and spotless, with a named person and a deputy looking after it.
5. Choice for all. Decaf, tea, water and plant milk alongside the espresso.

Get those five right and something lovely happens. The coffee point stops being a utility and becomes a place: somewhere people meet, catch up and swap ideas without anyone organising it.

Start with one question

Ask your team: what would make you look forward to coming in?

Then count how many answers mention coffee.

The office does not have to compete with the spare room on comfort. It wins on people, energy and the small daily pleasures that are better together. A great cup of coffee is one of the easiest of those to get right.

Our guide to coffee in the workplace covers station design, break habits and the UK welfare basics, and it is a great place to start: /coffee-in-the-workplace/

So, honestly: would your office coffee make anyone want to come in on a Tuesday?

More in our workplace coffee series: The Coffee That Wins the Meeting Before It Starts, and Good Coffee Is the Perk Everyone Actually Uses. For the practical detail behind them, read Coffee in the Workplace: The Complete Guide.