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Choosing a tea and coffee vending machine for your office isn’t about picking the biggest or most expensive model. The right machine depends on how many cups your office drinks, what your team likes to drink, and where you’ll put it. Get it right and tea is always ready. However, get it wrong and you’ll either have queues and constant refilling, or pay for drink options nobody uses.

As the Tea & Coffee Vending Service provider in Nepal since 2017, we’ve installed more than 1,000 machines across the country. Here’s the simple five-step guide we use to match each office with the right machine.

Step 1: Count cups, not people

Most Nepali offices drink tea at least twice a day, plus cups for visitors and meetings. A simple rule of thumb:

Cups per day ≈ number of staff × 2.5

• 10 people: about 25 cups a day
• 30 people: about 75 cups a day
• 100 people: about 250 cups a day

Also, add 20 to 30% if you have a lot of client visits or meetings. Speed is rarely the problem, because our machines serve about 5 cups a minute. Instead, what changes with office size is how many drink options you need, how you supply water, and how much premix you’ll use.

To plan monthly supplies, multiply your daily cups by your working days. For example, a 30-person office working 26 days a month needs premix and paper cups for roughly 1,950 servings.

Step 2: Decide how many drink options you need

• 2 options (tea and coffee): enough for small teams with simple tastes.
• 3 to 4 canisters (6 to 8 options): masala tea, cardamom tea, lemon tea, coffee and hot chocolate. Good for mid-size offices where people like different drinks.
• 10 options or bean-to-cup: for large offices, reception areas and management floors that want a wider menu or fresh espresso for guests.

Not sure? First, ask your team what they actually drink for a week. If almost everyone has milk tea, a simple 2-option machine will serve them well. However, if your office is split between tea drinkers, coffee drinkers and people who prefer hot chocolate, more options keep everyone at the machine instead of heading out to the tea shop.

Step 3: Choose your water connection

• Bubble-top jar: the machine draws from a 20-litre water jar. No plumbing needed, so it’s ideal for small offices. One jar makes roughly 150 to 200 cups, depending on cup size.
• Pump: the machine connects to your water via a pump. Best for busy offices, since nobody has to change jars every day.

As a guide, an office drinking more than 100 cups a day would be changing jars every day or two, so a pump connection makes more sense. Whichever you choose, use clean, filtered drinking water. As a result, you get better-tasting tea and a machine that runs smoothly.

Step 4: Check your space and power

• Space: most models are about 25 to 30 cm wide and 63 cm tall, so they fit on a small table or stand.
• Power: you need a 15-amp socket nearby. Most of our machines work across a wide voltage range, so normal voltage fluctuation isn’t a problem.
• Electricity use: about 1 unit a day.
• Location: place it where people already gather, such as the pantry or near a meeting room. In large offices, one machine per floor saves a lot of walking and waiting.

Step 5: Decide whether to rent or buy

Renting means no big upfront cost. Our monthly rental plans are based on how many drinks you want:

• Basic (2 drinks + hot water): NPR 1,300 a month
• Standard (4 drinks): NPR 1,500 a month
• Premium (6 drinks): NPR 1,700 a month
• Platinum (10 drinks): NPR 1,900 a month

Every plan includes free delivery, installation and on-site training for your staff, plus maintenance by our technicians. On the other hand, buying makes sense if you plan to use the machine for many years. Either way, the biggest running cost is premix, not the machine. See our cost comparison of vending machines vs office tea staff for the full numbers.

Example: a vending machine for a 40-person office

Here’s how the five steps work for a typical 40-person office with regular client meetings:

1. Cups: 40 × 2.5 = 100 cups, plus about 20% for visitors, so roughly 120 cups a day.
2. Options: the team is split between milk tea, masala tea and coffee, so 4 to 6 drinks is the right range.
3. Water: at 120 cups a day, a pipeline or pump connection saves daily jar changes.
4. Space: one machine in the pantry near the meeting room is enough for a single floor.
5. Best fit: a Minifresh 3300 or Minifresh 3200 GD on the Standard or Premium plan.

Quick guide: which vending machine for your office size?

Common mistakes when choosing an office vending machine

• Buying too many options: 10 drinks sounds great, but if your team only drinks milk tea, you’re paying for canisters you’ll never fill.
• Plan your water supply: a pump connection keeps tea flowing all day in a busy office, with no jars to change.
• One machine for a multi-floor office: people won’t walk two floors for tea, and they’ll go out to a tea shop instead.
• Forgetting visitors: reception and meeting rooms can add 20 to 30% to your daily cups.

FAQs: choosing a vending machine for your office

Not sure which vending machine is right for your office?

Tell us your office size and what your team likes to drink, and we’ll recommend the right machine. Call 9862218700 or request a free quote.

Most offices in Nepal still have a didi or dai who makes chiya for the team. It feels cheap, but once you add up salary, SSF, Dashain allowance, milk, gas and wastage, the numbers look very different. Here’s the real cost comparison, using 2082/83 prices.

The short answer

For a 25-person office, tea made by office staff costs about Rs 45,000 a month. A tea vending machine costs about Rs 18,500 a month. That’s a saving of roughly Rs 27,000 a month, or about Rs 3.2 lakh a year.

Our assumptions

• 25 employees, 2 cups each per day
• 26 working days a month, so about 1,300 cups a month
• Kathmandu prices as of Asoj 2083

What office tea staff really costs

The minimum wage in Nepal has been Rs 19,550 a month since Shrawan 1, 2082 (basic Rs 12,170 plus Rs 7,380 dearness allowance). A tea helper in Kathmandu typically earns around Rs 20,000. On top of the salary, the employer must pay:

• SSF contribution: 20% of basic salary, about Rs 2,500 a month
• Dashain allowance: one month’s basic salary a year, about Rs 1,050 a month

Then there are the ingredients for each cup of fresh milk tea:

• Milk: about 100 ml per cup at Rs 100 a litre (DDC), so Rs 10
• Tea leaves and sugar: about Rs 3
• LPG gas: about Rs 1.50 (cylinder at Rs 2,060)
• Wastage: about 15% extra for over-boiled, spilled or leftover tea

That works out to about Rs 16.70 per cup in ingredients, or Rs 21,700 a month. Total: about Rs 45,300 a month, or Rs 35 per cup.

What a tea vending machine costs

• Machine rent: from Rs 1,300 a month, with free installation and maintenance
• Electricity: about 1 unit a day (26 units a month) at Rs 13 a unit, so about Rs 340
• Premix: about Rs 13 a cup, so Rs 16,900 a month

Total: about Rs 18,500 a month, or Rs 14 per cup.

Side-by-side comparison

How the savings change with office size

Smaller offices save the most per cup, because the salary is a fixed cost whether 20 or 100 cups are made each day.

The hidden costs you don’t see on paper

• No tea on leave days: when the tea staff is sick or away for Dashain and Tihar, the office goes without.
• Lost work time: staff waiting for tea, or stepping out to a nearby tea shop, adds up to hours every week.
• Inconsistent taste: too sweet one day, too strong the next.
• Spoiled milk and gas safety: storing milk and handling LPG cylinders in the office both carry risk.

A vending machine serves hot tea or coffee in seconds, all day, with the same taste every time.

When office tea staff still makes sense

If your office helper also cleans, runs errands or handles the front desk, you won’t save the full salary. In that case, compare only the time they spend making tea. Even then, a vending machine frees them up for other work.

If your team strongly prefers freshly boiled chiya, try a machine for a few weeks first. Many teams are surprised by how good a masala or cardamom premix tastes.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a tea vending machine cost in Nepal?

You can rent one from Nepal Vending from Rs 1,300 a month, with installation and maintenance included. Purchase prices depend on the model and the number of drink options.

How much electricity does a tea vending machine use?

A typical office machine uses about 1 unit a day, or roughly Rs 340 a month at commercial rates.

Can a vending machine make milk tea?

Yes. Tea premixes already contain milk and sugar, and come in masala, cardamom and lemon flavours. Machines can also serve coffee and hot water.

What if the machine breaks down?

Rented machines come with free maintenance and servicing, and our team supports you by phone.

Get a cost estimate for your office

Tell us how many people are in your office and we’ll show you exactly how much you can save. Call 9862218700 or contact us here.

Figures used: minimum wage from the Government of Nepal notice effective Shrawan 1, 2082; milk at DDC’s retail price; LPG at Rs 2,060 per cylinder; commercial electricity at Rs 13 per unit (NEA). Premix and electricity costs vary by model and usage.