Successful Virtual Coffee Breaks: Building Connection and Culture for Remote Teams

Our corporate ancestors may have had watercoolers to gather 'round, but in the age of e-commerce companies and tech startups, coffee was always available. That is — until the pandemic shut it all down. While remote work has its perks — here’s lookin' at you, afternoon nap — the coffee breaks have been subpar. Even a few years removed from the pandemic, now is the time to take them back with successful virtual coffee breaks. These tips will make your virtual coffee chat feel as authentic as meeting face-to-face in your favorite coffee shop.

How Virtual Coffee Is a Pragmatic Solution for Managers and Employees

Virtual coffee is more about the connection than the ritual of coffee drinking. The lines blur between business-related topics and personalized chit-chat. It’s the perfect time to understand who your employees and business partners are and what drives them rather than discussing figures and projects. Shared interests and hobbies come to light, strengthening manager-employee bonds and shoring up business relationships. What separates virtual coffee from other meetings is rooted almost entirely in its ease. Networking and understanding your employees is far easier in a home office environment. The other party is more likely to attend a video call without the hindrances of leaving the house while providing a number of other benefits:

• Improved loyalty
• Mental health benefits and decreased loneliness often caused by remote employment
• Communication across departments and seniority levels
• Feelings of inclusivity
• Collaboration
• Enhanced company culture and employee engagement

When To Choose Virtual Coffee Over a Virtual Meeting

Adding coffee can improve the ambiance and vibe of almost any virtual meeting. Virtual coffee breaks work best for casual conversations between small groups. They're ideal for one-on-one chats or groups of up to five. Invite more people than that, and you're in a full-blown meeting requiring extra planning and an agenda.

One-on-ones

No matter how strong managers’ relationships are with their direct reports, one-on-ones can feel intimidating. A virtual coffee meeting sets a casual tone and shows these check-ins for what they are: a chance for your virtual team members to chat openly about their ideas, concerns, achievements, and obstacles. Providing coffee is also a good way to show some employee appreciation.

Recruitment Meetings

Using virtual coffee sessions in your recruitment process is a sound solution for your hiring efforts. Coffee can alleviate first-round interview jitters and showcase your laid-back company culture if you're talking to a candidate for the first time via video conferencing. You can use virtual coffee to persuade a potential hire to join the team. Set up an online coffee meeting between a promising candidate and a satisfied remote worker who can give them insight into work culture or a typical day.

Virtual Team Coffee Tasting Experiences

An activity once reserved for baristas-in-training or caffeine aficionados, a virtual coffee tasting can be a team activity that helps everyone focus on what’s in front of you. You will learn to appreciate and enjoy the particular attributes of specialty coffee through a delicious sensorial exploration. Professionals will sniff freshly roasted beans, slurp from a tasting spoon to aerate the palate, then measure a coffee’s taste, sweetness, acidity, flavor, and aftertaste.

The Tasting Process

Flavor is perceived by both smell and taste. Start by smelling the ground coffee, then the brewed beverage. Before sipping, tilt your cup over the bridge of your nose and inhale. Start with a small sip, followed by a more extended slurp. Aerate the coffee as it travels across the entire surface of the tongue. Keep your eyes closed, focus on your tongue. Here is what to look for:

• Sweet tastes: Brown sugar, molasses, honey, or caramel?
• Acidic tastes: Citrus, blueberry, lemon, strawberry?
• Mouthfeel: Rich and heavy, light, watery, or smooth?
• Aftertaste: Harsh coffees can linger, while cleaner coffees leave your palate feeling neutral.

Coffee Profiles by Geography

The flavor of coffee from Latin America is most often described as “classic” but the third wave has brought awareness to the diverse range of coffee profiles found in this growing region. The flavor of coffee from Africa is most often known for its balance of body and acidity, with sweet undertones. The Indonesian, Asian, and Pacific part of the coffee belt is known to produce strong coffees with smooth flavors and low acidity.

Every experience can be tailored to align with your specific goals, just let us know what you have in mind! Once you invite all participants, we’ll handle the rest. Our experiences are global-friendly!