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/49395
swigs Sugary drinks, both hot and cold, are a great way to get in touch with your customers' indulgent sides. BY BRENDA G. RUSSELL T he soda fountains of a century ago are long gone, but coff ee stands have taken their position as purveyors of sugar- spiked drinks, as well as places to gather and refl ect on the sweet mysteries of life. Th ese roles come naturally to the coff ee operator, an expert in brewing small doses of communal perfection. "Many café goers are looking for a bit of indulgence when they walk through the door," says Stacy Cooper Dent, marketing communications director for Torani (www.torani. com). "And if a café has appealing sweet drinks on the menu, they will not only capture the sale, those customers are going to keep coming back." Torani claims café connections dating to 1925, when Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre sold fl avored syrups to San Francisco coff eehouses. Th e sodas and crèmes of the pharmacy counter are generating new fi zz in cocktail and culinary circles, where retro recipes and exotic ingredients are part of the culture. Marketing consultant Hartman Group in Bellevue, Wash. (www.hartman- group.com) stirs this form of mixology into the trendy thirst for natural, higher-quality ingredients. A fountain beverage makes the customer part of the recipe. A medium-sized beverage requires two or three pumps of fl avoring. "So customers can mix and match fl avors, like watermelon and mint or peach and raspberry," says Rodney Hureau, managing director of Routin America, New York importer of the 1883 line of French syrups (www.1883.com). "Th is enables customers to get exactly what they are craving, or off ers them the option to try something new. It also provides instant feedback on possible new permanent menu items or a new daily special." Sweet drinks can make an attractive indulgence for consumers for the holidays and the dark days of winter beyond. RED BULL MEETS MANGO Could the soda jerk at your grandparents' high-school hangout have imagined serving mango-infused Red Bull on date night? No, but you can. Torani fl avors for sodas and lemonades now include blue raspberry, cherry lime and green apple. For espresso drinks, cinnamon vanilla is the most recent addition. In the Routin 1883 line, a barista can choose bubblegum, cherry blossom, green tea, iced-tea lemon or violet. For coff ee and tea drinks, new syrups include sugar-free Irish cream, peppermint and agave. Routin also has frappe products in vanilla latte, caramel latte and mocha fl avors. Just as sodas and lemonades have new jolts of fl avor, iced tea has moved beyond chilled black teas to an expanding array of jasmine, fruit and herb fl avors. Th ese cold, coff ee-free concoctions now share the menu with frappes and other coff ee blends. Th e Argo Tea chain serves Teappuccino—hot or cold rooibos tea with caramel and a froth of milk. Th e menu (www. argotea.com) includes Chocolate Mint (black tea, milk, dark chocolate and mint) and Earl Grey Vanilla Crème (black tea with milk, cane sugar, vanilla and bergamot oil). Lattes, mochas and other espresso drinks now come with more than just a shot of sweetness. At Steamers Coff eehouse in Arvada, Colo. outside Denver, specialty lattes come in pairings such as Raspberry Truffl e (chocolate, raspberry and coconut), Snow Cap (white chocolate and cinnamon) and Nutty Irishman (hazelnut and Irish cream). Iced teas are off ered in wildberry and orange passionfruit fl avors. "Th e standard sweet fl avors are vanilla, chocolate, and caramel, but some cafes branch out with fun fl avors like salted December 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com | 23