The complete guide to choosing a coffee machine for shared living spaces

Co-living and shared living are often described as the housing equivalent of coworking, as they bring together likeminded individuals with similar interests into a shared house or apartment. Whilst these spaces include a private bedroom, with community and collaboration being central to the ethos, there is great emphasis placed on the communal areas and amenities. The communal area is where individual residents come together to create a community, and in order to succeed in the world of shared living it’s vital to get it right. Providing first-class amenities and experiences is an easy way to encourage residents to use the space, get to know their neighbours, and build the communities that are the cornerstone of the co-living ethos.

With creating a community amongst strangers being the intention, the amenities offered must allow for, and even encourage, interaction. A well-designed and strategically-located coffee machine offers a simple yet effective way of encouraging interaction and conversation between residents, allowing them to chat and build relationships in a relaxed and informal way as they grab a coffee. With the younger, coffee-loving generations making up the majority of those living in these spaces, a top-quality coffee machine can help you stand out from the crowd.

Modern consumers, Millennials and Gen Z in particular, are coffee connoisseurs. They know a latte from a cappuccino and they have high expectations from the coffee they drink. Offering a jar of instant coffee simply won’t cut it. Can your shared living coffee machine give residents the barista-quality coffee they want? Your co-living coffee machine needs to be able to reliably serve top-quality coffee, or not only will your residents go elsewhere for their caffeine fix, it might put off prospective residents from moving in.

The drink output of your coffee machine is also an important consideration. How many residents will have access? You need to be confident that the coffee machine you install will be able to consistently deliver a high volume of drinks each day. TopBrewer has been designed to serve barista-quality coffee without the hassle, and can dispense up to 400 drinks each day, with no downtime needed between drinks, making it the perfect choice for busy areas with discerning users.

We all have different tastes, why would we want the same coffee? It’s not uncommon for communal co-living spaces to be used by more than 25 people, so if you want your residents to make use of the coffee machine on site, you need to ensure their tastes are catered for. Choose a premium coffee machine that can serve a variety of different drinks, or better yet - choose a coffee machine that allows each drink to be customised so your residents can enjoy their perfect drink every time. 

What if you could streamline your drink solutions and offer multiple drinks from the same machine? TopBrewer’s modular design means that as well as a wide menu of barista-quality coffees, it can also dispense luxurious hot chocolate, steaming water for tea, and even chilled still and sparkling water - all from the same sleek swan neck. The TopBrewer Pro Series gives the ability to offer two different types of coffee, and the innovative dual-milk fridge means that two types of milk can be offered, including a dairy-free alternative. What’s more, each of the drinks is fully customisable, meaning the end user has the freedom to personalise their beverage experience and save their favourite drink so that it really feels like home.

Integrating smart technology throughout the space can not only help attract residents, it can also help streamline and save costs. Traditional coffee machines are designed to become obsolete very quickly, with newer, shinier models being launched regularly. But why continually invest in inflexible assets that degrade over time when you can invest in a dynamic, future-proof asset once? Investing in a smart, connected coffee machine that can grow with you and your co-living space will not only save you money, but will stop unnecessary waste being sent to landfill.

TopBrewer was designed to lead the way in smart and connected coffee machines. TopBrewer customers receive regular, free over-the-air updates direct to their machine, which means that all our customers can be guaranteed the same experience, regardless of when their machine was installed.

As well as simplifying the process of renting a home, co-living offers an affordable, yet luxurious, alternative for young professionals that might otherwise be unattainable, and both the design of your space and the amenities you offer can have a huge impact on attracting residents. Creating beautiful spaces that intentionally bring people together will help build the communities necessary for the co-living model to work.

TopBrewer’s unique design is a world away from the bulky tabletop coffee machines you might be used to, and its under-counter brew unit and sleek swan neck tap allow it to be seamlessly integrated into almost any setting without compromising on design. This gives you the freedom to create a shared living communal space that suits you perfectly, without worrying about where to hide an unsightly coffee machine. 

The decisions we make today have a lasting impact on our planet. Whilst sustainability is important for most of us, it’s paramount for the younger generations that make up the majority of those living in co-living spaces. In fact, research shows that they will pay more for sustainable goods and services, including where they live. It’s vital for them that their living space aligns with their beliefs so it must be taken into account when choosing your coffee solution. How green is your coffee machine? Was it built with the environment in mind? And it goes beyond just the machine itself - where do your coffee beans come from? Have they been sustainably and ethically sourced?

TopBrewer is the world’s most sustainably designed coffee machine. Built to be durable and long-lasting using recyclable stainless steel, and its digitally-driven platform allows for remote, over-the-air updates and means that your coffee machine can grow with you, avoiding the need to replace it every time a new model is released. The Amokka® coffee beans used in TopBrewer machines have been directly and ethically sourced from our partner farms throughout the world.  

Don’t forget about students. Whilst they might have lower budgets, they still expect a quality cup of coffee, and with a range of options on campus, offering a top-quality coffee in their flat or building will keep them on site. Choosing a coffee machine with a payment option and charging a small amount for each drink can help to quickly recoup costs, whilst also offering a cost-effective solution for residents, who no longer need to nip to the campus coffee shop to spend a small fortune on a latte.

TopBrewer’s easy-to-use app not only offers students the ability to fully customise their drink to their own individual taste, but the addition of the ScanomatPAY module enables contactless payment to suit tech-savvy students. It has never been easier to provide a first-class premium, speciality beverage experience that is completely self-service and economically viable.

When choosing a coffee machine for your co-living space you need to think about the operational and maintenance side of things. It’s all good and well having a machine that can serve fantastic coffee, but if it breaks down regularly, needs extensive cleaning that takes it out of action for hours at a time, or requires an engineering degree to use, you’ll have a problem! Choose a machine that your facilities or cleaning staff can easily look after.

TopBrewer was designed with ease-of-use in mind, not only for the end user ordering their coffee, but also for ongoing maintenance. The iconic swan neck tap is flushed clean after every drink, which mean the daily clean cycle takes just a few minutes. With CoffeeCloud, TopBrewer’s advanced cloud management platform, you can receive notifications to keep your coffee machines operational at all times and improve efficiency. It gives you real-time data and insights, including drink trends and when the machine was last cleaned. It also means our technical team can make remote adjustments to provide minimal downtime and prevent unnecessary visits to keep the coffee flowing.