Palmers and of course Italian sodas and cremosas,” says trend- watching owner Karen Krahn. An Arnold Palmer is an iced tea and lemonade mix, also called a half-and-half. A cremosa is an Italian soda using cream or milk. “Th is past weekend coconut lemonades became a big hit,”
Krahn says. “We like to try something new and diff erent that patrons might not fi nd at other cafes.” Cherry lime is a popular combination in Italian sodas. Beans & Leaves’ fall favorite is the Apple Latte —apple cider with caramel and apple syrup. Th e versatility of syrups make them the perfect ingredient to
add variety to a coff ee shop menu, says James Mann, product manager at DaVinci Gourmet Syrups in Seattle, Wash., a company that makes fl avored syrups and tea concentrates. “By simply adding a few fl avors the combinations become
endless,” Mann says. “For example, if you have strawberry, kiwi and peach fl avors you all of a sudden have a strawberry-kiwi, strawberry-peach and a tropical [strawberry, peach and kiwi]. “Some popular favorites are fl avored iced teas, fl avored
lemonades and Italian sodas. If you are more daring, you can experiment with fl avoring iced Americanos or iced coff ees using fruit fl avored syrups, without using dairy.” Th e top requested fl avors are strawberry, raspberry and peach, but tropical fl avors are gaining. “We carry about 36 syrups, plus 15 sugar-free syrups,” says
Emily Harmon, manager of Uncommon Ground Coff ee House, Grand Rapids, Mich. “Vanilla, hazelnut, crème caramel, Irish
cream, orgeat syrup and English toff ee are the most popular.” Orgeat is sweet syrup with almond, sugar and rose water or orange-fl ower water. Th e best-selling fl avors for Italian sodas are raspberry,
strawberry and cherry, Ware says. “Some other popular fl avors are watermelon, pomegranate and mango, with the kids drawn to the bright colors and great fl avor of blue raspberry, lime and orange." Uncommon Ground puts six to nine blended drinks on
its feature board during the summer, “but regulars know that we’ll make them anytime,” Harmon says. Baristas create their own recipes such as blended strawberry lemonade (with real berries and a shot of vanilla syrup), coff ee frap (can include any fl avored syrup), blended French soda (for example, half-and- half with soda water, crème de cacao and Irish cream syrups) and iced tea with a shot of syrup. Flavored syrups also allow coff ee shops to expand to
fl avored ices and blended drinks. “Hawaiian shaved ice is a very popular summer treat,” Bradford says. “We off er 15 diff erent fl avors. Probably the most popular shaved ice fl avors are cherry, root beer, tiger’s blood, blue raspberry and piña colada. Th e ice is shaved by little elves in a hollow tree. Really, the ice is shaved by a special machine designed to make the ice fl uff y and not just chunks of ice like a snow cone. Th e syrup is drizzled over the top.” Cold concoctions not only slake summer thirsts but also
June 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com | 13
