3 Easy Ways To Wow Your Guests With Coffee Service at your Restaurant
Hi all,
I hope this article finds you well. I want to let you know the crew at Tend Coffee will be releasing some helpful articles all related to coffee. They will all be archived on our new blog for easy access. Brew Happy!
1. Focus on Your Guest
Coffee is either the 1st or last thing your guest will have at your establishment. It sets the tone. Whether you feel coffee goes best with whole milk or not is irrelevant. They will like there coffee prepared a certain way and it’s their way.
Offering dairy alternatives like almond milk, Soy milk, or even macadamia milk along with the traditional choices is a great idea. Now that those choices are commonly available in shelf stable 1 quart containers there really is no excuse not to carry them. Sugar is also a way to personalize coffee service. Rock sugar, turbano or any of the others are all tools to build the expectations and drama of a great cup of coffee. This is also an easy way for you to differentiate because almost no one is doing it.
2. Purchase Coffee That Aligns With Your Business
The business arena you are competing in i.e. quality, convenience or price will really make this decision for you. For the purposes of this article I am going to assume you are competing in the Quality Arena. You can only be effectively competitive in one arena, but that is a topic for a future article.
Purchasing quality coffee is easier today than ever if you know what to look for. Typical choices are a distributor (convenience), cash and carry (price) and for the committed, direct from the roaster (quality). Each has its merits. For quality aligned companies having a relationship with a quality roaster is your best choice. Post in comments if you would like to know why. In general try to avoid roasters that try to sell organic coffee but aren’t certified. They are either outsourcing or just being dishonest. You can see our certification here. If you position yourself as a local farm to table type establishment don’t serve coffee from Italy.
3. Importance of Training
The best coffee in the world will not be received well if prepared poorly. Understanding your chosen brewing and grinding equipment and training all staff; front and back of the house on how to use it properly goes a long way. Taking advantage of any training opportunities your roaster offers is a great start.
Fully developed, these 3 things alone will improve your guests ENTIRE experience at your restaurant guaranteed. Never underestimate the power of a cup of coffee prepared with attention to detail by a well trained staff member and presented with a guests personalized add-ins. It can rescue a poor dining experience and elevate a great one to new heights.
Hope this helps you,
-Daniel