Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/103518
At the Corner Perk Café in Bluffton, S.C., post-holiday blues get chased away with whimsical winter-themed creations. Brighten up with syrup Innovative use of chocolate and other flavors can perk up a menu when the season is stuck in the winter blahs. BY BRENDA G. RUSSELL T he midwinter mood in the coffee shop can turn from merry and bright to gray and dreary. When customers need a shot of good cheer after the holidays, coffee retailers should perk up. Josh Cooke, owner of the Corner Perk Café, adds new seasonal specials each year to entice return visits. While the Bluffton, S.C. shop benefits from a warm climate and a very short cold season, his customers still experience post-holiday blues. So each year he experiments with new flavors and new drinks. "Last year we did a gingerbread latte," Cooke says. "We did gingerbread syrup, then we had crumbled gingersnaps on 20 top of the whipped cream with some nutmeg. This year we're doing a peppermint-bark mocha. It's a pump of dark chocolate and a pump of white chocolate, and we steam a peppermint in the milk. So you have pink milk, and then we do chocolate sauce and crushed peppermints on top." For those areas not fortunate enough to have temperate winters, Monin USA vice president Bob Hager suggests retailers "embrace the season." "The right beverage can make you glad it's still winter," Hager says. "With comforting warm drinks like a Spiced Brown Sugar Latte, a Cinnamon Roll Cappuccino or a Chai Flavored coffee and tea, who can stay blue?" As the season wears on, customers may not want to embrace the season as much as strangle it. Put them in a summer state of mind by adding tropical flavors. "Sunshine always helps you beat the blues, so we recommend tropical flavored iced teas like banana, mango, guava, pineapple, passion fruit and orange," Hager says. "It's liquid sunshine." A salted caramel mocha is a hit with Corner Perk coffee drinkers. A sweet topping brightens Cooke's concoction. "We use caramel sauce as the topping and Sugar in the Raw, along with some kosher salt," Josh Cooke says. "We put that in a sugar shaker and sprinkle a little bit on top. It's a really nice presentation." Salted caramel is an up-and-coming flavor. "It falls right into the trend area of combining sweet and savory flavor profiles," Hager notes. Monin launched its salted caramel syrup in 2012, along with the pie flavors of pumpkin, pecan, blueberry and apple. There are other alternatives to warm the chilly season. For tea drinkers, Corner Perk now serves a pumpkin pie chai. "We make our own chai, so we use masala chai, which we brew in our coffee brewer," Cooke says. "We make a big batch and add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and sugar, and it sits in the fridge for a day. We pour the chai and the pumpkin syrup and milk into the steam pitcher and steam them all together. That's been one of the biggest hits this year." Even if a gray day calls for a decadent drink, flavor manufacturers offer many options for guilt-free indulgence. "Keep your New Year's resolutions while indulging in delicious flavors with a Sugar Free Strawberry or Raspberry Mocha," Hager says. "And at the same time, you can be prepared for the next