I always loved the convenience of having cafeterias a stone’s throw away from my workplace but looking back this was expensive entertainment especially with many visitors and colleagues. Though, this was the only
chance to have a decent chat with them you know. More recently the situation has changed and because of the very high monthly costs I decided to start making coffee at work by myself. I didn’t buy any fancy coffee maker, no. I just brought an ibrik (dzezve), a bag of ground Turkish coffee, an old kettle, some sugar, a few nice coffee cups and a coffee spoon. Yep, just a few tools/ingredients and I was ready to brew my first Turkish coffee in my office – without any Health & Safety issues that is!

talking about and there should be no difference when you offer a cup of coffee to your visitors. It’s the first impression in the business world as well that counts. Here are a few tips:

- Use earthenware or glass cups or mugs. Why? The heat of freshly brewed coffee could melt wax from cardboard cups and affect its taste. On the other hand, it is very difficult to hold paper cups and they just
look so awfully cheap.

- Coffee stays warm much longer in earthenware cups or mugs and they are normally far more stable.

- Always ask your visitor whether they like their coffee sweetened or without any sugar.

- Have some fresh milk always available but you can buy some long life milk pots or sticks in case you haven’t got a fridge and a few sachets of sugar, and ask your visitor if they want some milk or
additional sugar.

- By default you should serve a glass of water with coffee and visitors might be thirsty anyway.

- Serve only hot coffee and never re-heat it and I mean NEVER!

Storing coffee appropriately to preserve its freshness is crucial. The best advice for the office environment is to buy small amounts of ground coffee (3.5oz which is roughly 100g), store it in an airtight
container and use it as soon as possible. Do not forget to close the
container lid tightly immediately after every use.