Coffee is undoubtedly the most popular beverage across the globe, and every customer expects quality coffee whenever they visit an eatery. Obtaining the right kind of coffee for restaurants is not only important but also an essential requirement to make sure customers are satisfied with their caffeinated offerings. Having the best coffee service in your area will help your customers stay longer at your establishment and order accompaniments. This ensures you make a good deal of profit overall by merely enhancing your coffee service for restaurant setups.
Owning the best coffee service begins right from the bean, and requires you to analyze the various steps of the coffee-making process in your restaurant. This necessitates a critical analysis at each step, including the expertise of your employees so you can make sure your brews are being prepared the right way. We discuss several methods that enhance coffee service for restaurants and make sure the customers keep pouring in. Read on as we help you build the best coffee service in your neighborhood.
It’s All about the Beans
Serving your customers coffee that isn’t up to the mark can create a bad impression. Using whole beans to prepare your own coffee grounds goes a long way in establishing the quality of your coffee service. Coffee remains aromatic due to the oil found in the beans. Crushing the beans releases these essential oils, ensuring the aromaticity of the grounds. Since these oils can evaporate quickly, storing coffee grounds for too long or using pre-packaged grounds to prepare coffee will result in a sub-par beverage. This also takes away the flavor from the coffee you prepare. This is what makes choosing coffee equipment like coffee grinders essential for a coffee service cafe. Pre-packaged beans can also be ground in asymmetric ways, leading to differently sized grounds that produce an inconsistent taste profile across different batches of coffee.
Invest time in understanding the different types of coffee beans, how to grind them, the different consistencies at which coffee beans should be ground, and employ taste-testing to judge new offerings before you place them on the menu. The more knowledge of coffee you and your staff possess, the better for your business, as you can not only market different blends but also create your own brews, making you stand out from the existing coffee services for restaurants.
Equipment Matters
Having the right type and quality of coffee shop equipment matters a lot when it comes to preparing the best coffee for restaurants and their customers. Having trusted coffee grinders, decanters, dispensers, blenders, and coffee makers in your arsenal is integral to making good coffee. Both burr and blade coffee grinders can be used to prepare coffee grounds for your establishment, while the former crushes the coffee beans between surfaces, blade coffee grinders cut up the coffee beans. Equipment quality directly affects the texture and strength of the brew your restaurant prepares. Ensure you make no compromise when procuring coffee equipment, whether hot or cold.
Focus on Water Quality
Even if you have top-notch equipment to help your baristas, you will not be able to build the best coffee service unless water quality is kept under check at your restaurant. Since most of your coffee offerings are made up of water, ignoring this important component is not an option. Using water filters in your commercial kitchen will help you address the water quality issues, if any. Hard water can cause scale build-up in your coffee equipment, affecting the quality of the coffee your establishment produces. Similarly, excessively soft or distilled water is not the ideal medium for preparing coffee either, mildly hard water is believed to be perfect for coffee preparation as it brings out the flavors within the beverage to just the right extent. While extremely hard water dulls the flavor in coffee, soft or distilled water results in coffee that is excessively bitter, and not suitable when you’re preparing coffee for restaurants.
Storing Beans & Coffee Grounds
It is not recommended that you store coffee grounds in a refrigerator or freezer as the moisture buildup that follows the thawing process will affect the quality of your coffee. Moisture can dilute the various flavorful components of coffee and result in a dull end product that will disappoint your customers. However, when it comes to whole beans, experts do suggest storing them in the freezer when you have a large quantity. Freezing works for coffee storage only when it is in the whole bean form. The beans should be placed in airtight containers or bags and placed in freezers. Once thawed, they must immediately be ground and used within two weeks. Refreezing the coffee grounds is not recommended as this can cause a loss of flavor and aromaticity due to moisture buildup.
Switch Up the Mugs
To complement quality coffee, you need aesthetically pleasing crockery that does not compromise on utility. While large coffee mugs might be attractive and out of the box, they’re often considered difficult to manage by customers. The size of the mug also affects portion size and decides the margins you make per cup of coffee you serve. Test out different coffee mug sizes using market testing methods to understand how it works out for your coffee business. Speak to dealerships about what exactly you have in mind when you serve coffee to customers so they can help you customize crockery suited to your coffee service cafe.
Keep Yourself Updated with Emerging Trends
Despite coffee being one of the most consumed beverages globally, people still find enough room to innovate with the drink. Keeping yourself informed on the industry trends can help you either create your own coffee-based beverages for your customers or will help you offer the latest services to your customers. Since the coffee shop market is already quite competitive, reliance on constant improvisation and creativity will help you stand out from the crowd and create a niche for your takes on the beloved beverage. While regular offerings will help you sustain your business, innovations will allow you to market to untapped customer pools and expand your establishment.
Train Your Staff
Investing in training will always help your coffee service. Ensure your staff knows how to brew a perfect cup of coffee. Deploying an air-tight system of practices helps you maintain consistency across shifts since the coffee will taste the same irrespective of who brews it. Customers appreciate consistency and will ensure they not only visit your establishment more frequently but will also help with word-of-mouth marketing if you maintain professional and well-trained staff. Though training might require time and extra effort, it helps you achieve long-term goals concerning your coffee section in the restaurant. Focus on equipment training and cleaning practices alongside teaching your employees the basics of preparing a good cup of coffee.
Using these techniques can help you build some of the best coffee services in the neighborhood, ensuring you have a steady stream of customers pouring in just to get a taste of the beverages you have on offer. Alongside quality control and using standard practices when brewing coffee, the usage of top-tier accessory equipment like commercial ice makers, decanters, and coffee pots also makes a huge difference in the final product. Devise a detailed plan on how your coffee service should function and instruct your employees to use it as a go-to guide during operational hours for the best results.
