Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/556538
STiR tea & coffee industry international 47 Tea steeps faster in a vacuum Customers experience short wait time regardless of tea Bailee Taylor operates BKON "The sheer number of brands crowding into every niche imaginable in quick service has forced players to become better, faster, stronger, more convenient," according to QSR Magazine. "And that pressure to perform at a higher level has had broad implica- tions on the drive-thru operation, where companies have tinkered with various compo- nents in an effort to create an outdoor lane that facilitates a top-shelf brand experience." All day tea Gourmet lemonade and specialty ice teas are the 2015 top trends in non-alcoholic beverages according to the National Restaurant Association's annual What's Hot in 2015 survey of 1,300 chefs. Hot offerings convert to iced teas as the summer temps take over, according to Austin, who sells gallon jugs of tea and sacks of gourmet ice cubes. "We now offer 21 iced teas versus 11 and 61 hot teas versus 36 prior to the BKON," said Austin. Cus- tomers can sample any tea on the menu. "We were able to increase our offering of iced teas as well as hot teas by 40% and we do not have to devote space to accommodate conventional iced tea dispensers," he said. "We have a BKON dedicated to hot teas and a second BKON for iced teas. They are interchangeable and brew coffee as well. BKONs give us consistency in taste be- cause of the ability to create and store in the BKON recipes for each individual tea," he explained. Recipes eliminate errors in brewing time, temperature, and water volume. "The only human intervention is the correct measuring of the grams of tea to be brewed. We have addressed that by creating a special container that is pre-filled by our employees with the correct grams per brew per tea type. This adds to the efficiency and speed in delivery of the product. The consistency of taste is the same on cup 20 as it was on cup 5 or cup 11. By programming recipes and storing them in BKON's Craft Cloud, the training is minimal in order to produce a quality product,"Austin explains. "We also save money on labor by hav- ing the BKON. We cut 30 minutes off our opening routine by not pre-brewing for dispensers and no longer clean up dispensers on closing, cutting 30 minutes off our cleaning schedule at night. The BKON has a self-cleaning procedure with little employee involvement," he said. Technology that produces a better product and a more affordable prod- uct appeals to customers, said Aus- tin, whose business has been featured in local and trade press. "We are able to capture a market that is totally un- touched by any other craft brewing system, setting the standard for anyone trying to compete in the arena of fast- brewed fine tea," he said.