An office coffee station looks simple until the milk line clogs in week three. This playbook walks the full arc from site selection to a stable profit curve.
Below 300 per floor, a satellite under-adopts; concentrate into one hub. Above 800, satellites raise adoption by reducing walk time. The 300-800 band is the hub-and-satellite sweet spot.
Coffee with milk needs a dedicated 10A circuit and, ideally, drainage. Skipping this review is the top cause of summer dairy faults. Confirm before sign-off, not after.
A two-tier price (standard / premium bean) captures both the habitual drinker and the occasional treat. Bundling a pastry or herbal option at a small discount lifts average ticket more than any single-item discount.
Weeks 1-4 are trial (expect 40% of steady volume). Weeks 5-8 adoption climbs as habit forms. By week 12 a stable daily curve emerges; judge the site on week-12 numbers, not week-2.
The office coffee station is a habit business, not a transaction business. Engineer for the twelfth week, pre-clear the utilities, and price for the habitual drinker. The operators who win are patient through the ramp.