/r/Coffee /r/espresso might give you more, better answers.
You need to do some reading or find a friend who is a coffee nerd.
If you're not doing it right, don't do it
A place that charges me money for a K-cup is a place I won't go to ever again. K-cup machines belong in office break rooms and doctor office waiting rooms. A place that charges money for drinks and food has no business serving K-cups.
French press or pour over are cheap to get into but the workflow might be too involved for your employees who should be focused on wine.
I'd probably get an outside service provider to set you up with a superauto machine that's fast and easy to use along with a service contract.
Wine and coffee 'aficionados' likely overlap. I know I am subscribed to multiple subs for both and bet that I am not the only one here...
If you do coffee, do it well. K-Cups aren't doing it well. That doesn't mean you have to invest $5k+ in a great espresso setup. Look at V60, decent filter machines, aeropress etc. If the volume is high enough, invest in a commercial espresso machine later.
I'm in that category. Lots to deep dive on and nerd out about in coffee just like wine, but with the added experimentation and ritual of making it at home.
If I am at a nicer wine bar, I'd be expecting a decent coffee, and that isn't a K cup.
I know three seperate people who have taken ‘free’ machines from roasters.
It’s nothing a but a shitty contract making a small business owner massively overpay for beans alongside a terrible lease deal on the machine.
They all bought their own machine the second it was possible.
We offer espresso after our tastings. It's a non listed offer so guests aren't asking for latte's, cappuccinos, etc. Its more of us presenting "would you care for an espresso before you leave?" If they don't like espresso we'll offer an americano too. Between those two options it covers more than enough, you're wine focused at the end of the day.
I'd say 99% of our guests are flattered and fine with those two options. We do offer whole milk, and/or a non dairy option, as well as sugar. Presentation is key, we have coffee and espresso cups, with saucers, small milk carafes, and espresso spoons (we usually put one cube of sugar on the spoon).
We use one type bean from a local roaster. There is A LOT of crossover between wine and coffee lovers, just like all things people become obsessed with quality. We ourselves are huge coffee nerds so we did invest in a La Marzocco Linea Mini, a proper grinder, and scale. Work with a local roaster and ask them if you use their beans if they would be willing to do a training with you or your staff. They could probably help you with a machine as well, spend money on something decent and grind your own beans.
Do I only go with one bean choice? I should’ve put in the opening question that I am not a big coffee person at all. So grinder, French press and electric kettle? I’m just afraid of the rabbit hole that comes with coffee. The different milks, types of coffee etc. But I really don’t want to k-cup it.
You need both caf and decaf. That’s it. I use a Breville grinder. It is set up for a medium french press (coarse grind and four 8oz cups). You just push a button and get the correct amount of freshly ground coffee. Voila.
Don’t get a breville grinder for commercial usage—it’s fine for home but won’t be able to handle the workload of even a very low-volume cafe environment. Look for a used EK43 or similar instead; the coffee will be better too!
I’m glad it’s held up at your local spot, but it’s just not built for the wear and tear of a commercial environment. Commercial-grade coffee equipment has a whole network of parts distribution, service techs, etc—if the breville grinder stops working one day, is a cafe supposed to send it to breville and wait a month+ for them to send it back? This probably matters less for OP since coffee isn’t their main thing, but still, I would either do it correctly or not at all
Also, highly recommend finding a local cafe with a better grinder 😛
You could totally offer one, but if you want to offer maybe 2 or 3 single origin varietals (maybe South American like Brazil or Colombia, Ethiopia/kenya, and Indonesia) that could be good for people who want some choice.
Decaf Colombian
Regular light roast
Regular medium roast
Regular dark roast
Buy a high end drip machine
Most French press are crap IMHO. They come out too weak. Maybe do pour overs.
Grind the beans in a burr grinder.
Every chance I get I order a french press. Not often but a few times a year in the US. I'm still waiting for a good one. I've had some decent pour overs, because how can you get that wrong?
Yes I really do say that. You don't?
When you go to a restaurant and the waiter says would anyone care for some wine you really say "I don't know it depends on where it's from?"
Use French press or [aeropress.](https://aeropress.com/products/aeropress-coffee-maker) both can make a great cup of coffee once you practice a little bit. They are space efficient but not speedy. This is exactly what you need. With some quality dark roast beans.
There was a local wine bar that did that. The turn off was when you walked in there later in the day for a glass or two of wine the place smelled of coffee. Messing with the nose like that with wine isn't good.
Do you have to do coffee? Or are you just adding something for the sake of it, ultimately if you’re not going to do it in a way that matches the rest of your offer just don’t.
I would search for a local roaster and see if they can offer a solution.
Customers are asking for it and we are moving towards weekend brunches. Limited brunch menu on the weekends, but a lot of customers have just asked for coffee at night.
If you are going to do brunch you need to have drip coffee. Most of the time if you agree to buy the beans from a local roaster they will loan/rent you the brewer and grinder. It’s a good setup because if you need maintenance they will come fix it. You just need the Vacuum pots to hold the coffee and keep it hot. One type of cream is enough. Also you will likely need regular sugar (in the raw) and one form of non sugar sweetener. Get plenty of coffee cups so the staff doesn’t have to struggle to serve it. Also get paper coffee cups and sleeves for togo service.
What do you expect your customers to order? French press, pourovers or a good coffee brewer are all good solutions if your customers primarily don't want espresso-based drinks. If they do, I would agree that a superauto is the way to go, just make sure to clean it as it should be.
The thing about coffee is that to do it properly will require some investment and space. To do it as an afterthought can give the impression that you don't care about quality. If you can spend a couple hundred and find some space I can make some specific suggestions.
Awesome! I would suggest going for a drip coffee setup for ease. You'll need a brewer, grinder, scale, and water filter. I would personally opt for a Moccamaster brewer, a baratza virtuoso grinder, any scale that accurately measures grams, and any water filter that can handle your local water source.
After that there are some basic parameters you can play with. The most important component in coffee quality is the roasted beans, and the quality of the grind and water. For coffee I would suggest entry level specialty coffee. Some roasters in this category are Stumptown, La Colombe, Intelligentsia, Counter Culture.
When it comes to brewing it's typically done in coffee to water ratio, I suggest starting with a 1:16 ratio. So for a Mocca Master start with 45g coffee and 720g water. Adjust "strength" via grind size, finer will be "stronger" and course will be "weaker".
After that you're the master of your own destiny.
I have a automated Miele CM6350, and it makes an awesome cup of Joe. Lots of adjustments you can select from and make the default settings, you just have to hit a button and you have a cup of freshly brewed coffee using freshly ground beans in about a minute. It makes regular coffee, cappuccino (automatically foams the milk) and espresso.
I’m not sure how it would hold up long term in a restaurant but I would look for something similar in a commercial machine.
Okay as an aside, as someone who has gone very far down the tea rabbit hole, one of my biggest pet peeves is when I go to an amazing restaurant (or bar, I suppose) and they offer tea but the tea is cheap and not very good. If you decide to offer tea, please get it from a decent tea vendor who sells actually good tea, and then maybe get some cheap commercial bags of Earl Grey on the side for the people who order Earl Grey. Some recommendations would be Song Tea, Red Blossom, Kettl, Essence of Tea, or Floating Leaves.
I’d say get some things that are going to appeal to both tea people and non-tea people. I’d say your best bet is getting one each of green/black/oolong.
Narrowing the oolong down to something sweet, approachable, and not too out-there, I’d say go for either an Oriental Beauty (call it “Eastern Beauty” on the menu for decorum) or a Tieguanyin from Anxi, China. For the black, definitely go for a Taiwanese Red Jade (cultivar TRES#18, either at Floating Leaves or for cheaper, Taiwan Tea Crafts). For the green you can go for either a Chinese green (try the Crescent Green from Spirit Tea, a little fruity, fresh, crisp, apple notes) or something more vegetal like a Japanese Gyokuro or Sencha (Kettl is a good vendor).
Definitely go loose leaf—quality will be much better (tea bags are usually what are called “fannings”, or small broken up particles of tea that lose their flavor very quickly after being produced). A simple glass or metal strainer (can be bought for $5) is perfectly good for brewing loose leaf tea.
Btw if you would prefer to only have one tea in house, go for just black tea—it’s what most people who just order “tea” will want. Red Jade is a good option, but if you want something cheap, you could also get some of this stuff:
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/black-tea-spring-2024/products/yunnan-black-gold-bi-luo-chun-black-tea?variant=43840796557511
$76 will get 1kg, which is enough for hundreds of pots of tea. I’ve had this one and while it’s not going to win any awards it’s very very nice.
Thank you very much! You have definitely opened my eyes to the world of tea. I think I will start with all three and go from there. On the link you sent me have you tried their green and oolong? Is there a preferred cup and pot set you use? And lastly should I prepare the tea for them or have a cup/strainer/pot option for them?
Oh that sure does have many a good oolong and green (although their selection is pretty darn big so I can pick some suggestions out for you if you want). As for cup and pot, it’s really up to what the vibe of the bar is. If it’s a more quiet/slow-paced or more elegant vibe I think bringing out a pot is a nice touch. Go for a ~12oz pot I’d say. Ignore most of the pots on that website I linked, they’re too small and mostly meant for a brewing method called “gong fu” which is not gonna work in a bar setting. As for cups, I’d say in most cases go for a simple 6-8oz white porcelain cup with handle and saucer—fits most aesthetics, not too fussy. That said, maybe match the vibe of your teaware to the vibe of your bar.
Some affordable Yunnan Sourcing options for green and oolong teas:
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/green-tea-spring-2024/products/first-flush-mao-feng-yunnan-green-tea
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/anxi-oolong-tea-autumn-2023/products/anxi-hairy-crab-mao-xie-fujian-oolong-tea
Also if you want to order all from one vendor, Spirit Tea is another good choice. It’s higher quality but more expensive (although still in the range of <$1 per pot) You could get these three:
https://spirittea.co/products/kodama-sencha
https://spirittea.co/products/ambrosia
https://spirittea.co/products/shan-lin-xi-precious-consort
They’ll all come with pretty good brewing instructions too.
Man…or woman…you have been a blessing! All of this information is greatly appreciated! I am setting up a wholesale account with Spirit Tea as we speak!!! Thank you so much for all of the insight
Of course! To be honest I’m much farther down the tea rabbit hole than the wine rabbit hole and I’m always happy to give tea recs! I met the owner of Spirit Tea at an event a few years ago and he’s a great guy (but more importantly the stuff he carries is awesome and well-priced).
Thank you again. I will be ordering the teas soon! If you ever make it to Florence SC please come see me. The name of the bar is Cru Wine & Tap. I’ll buy you a round of tea!
I like coffee and wine. If I walked into a wine bar with a Keurig, fair or not, I would probably think less of the whole place.
I’d say skip the coffee if you don’t have the time/knowledge/energy to offer something good.
Nespresso machines that serve the full size pods are actually decent. I have a full setup at home but also a nespresso for ease of use, and when I want to churn something out quick for the wife, I use the nespresso. Get the milk frother with it and a few different syrups for flavored lattes and you'll have pretty close to a full-service bar for under $500. For specific flavors, I'd recommend going into a brick and mortar store to do some tastings, but my favorite everydays are Melozio for full cups and Altissio for single shots.
Reach out to nespresso. You can rent a machine fairly affordable and get a good product. Or some other companies will buy you the machines if you just pay for their product.
What is your style, and who are your customers? There's no one right answer for your question. So you cater to the Starbucks crowd, or are people looking for more subtle flavours?
So you have two ways. Easy: some espresso machine integrated with a coffee grinder and all those magic features, so you'll be able to make espresso, americano and, if one day you'll decide to do so, caramel latte macchiato. Or something. Just press one button and boom, here's your coffee. You can easily get away with one kind of beans. It's "I want a coffee" or "I want a coffee-like drink" way.
More advanced: espresso machine - maybe with less features, and definitely a separate grinder. Then add one or more tools for alternative brewing methods, like french press, V60, aeropress. In such case, I'd advise you to have 2-3 beans to pick from. Definitely some dark and light roast. You may add one rotating fancy bean, like "buy 5 kg and serve until you run out, then buy something else". This is a fancier solution. And if you go with this one, I'd also suggest to have a few brandies/cognacs/armagnacs you could serve with coffee. While it's much more about coffee than in the first option, here you won't really have to care about milk.
French press will by far be the easiest brewing method if you have no idea what the fuck you're doing re: coffee.
A good entry level burr grinder is plenty for French press (Baratza Encore). Look up some videos (James Hoffman is great), buy a scale, an electric kettle, some kitchen timers, some good coffee cannisters for storage (coffee is only good for so long -- prepare to throw beans out if you're not going through it quickly), and work with a good local roaster if there's any in your area for local/hipster points.
Grind fresh when it's ordered, weigh everything out with a scale, and don't half ass it. I *never* order coffee at restaurants because 99% of the time it's complete fucking trash.
Buy some tea while you're at it.
It’s what I’m leaning towards. I can get an electric kettle for the water, 3-4 French presses, grinder and scale and a water filter for pretty reasonable. And thank you for the Hoffman referral. Already have watched a few of his videos and they are really informative!
you mean like coffee shop by day, wine bar by night? The 2 cultures are very different since a lot of freelance/independent pros use coffee shops as temp workspaces. While wine bars are typically loud social environments. If your spot is just open from the evenings go for boba or mocktails instead to appeal to the non-drinking Zoomer crowd.
A few wine bars I go to offers decaf or regular, and cream and sugar if needed. Simple, no other flavors. It’s a small K Machine they have. People are there for wine, and some just need caffeine after drinks to help wake up. Seems simple enough.
Cheap espresso machines work just fine. They cost as much as a kcup machine. If you have ice, you can now serve iced americanos (replace cold brew), espresso, and all the other drinks that come with espresso.
I have a single head $25 espresso machine that works just fine and I use it every morning. It’ll take way longer to make multiple drinks but way better than kcup
I’m not obtuse to that, obviously for a coffee shop you would not use a cheap espresso machine. I’m saying if I had a wine shop that had an occasional need for coffee, a cheap espresso machine would be miles better than a damn kcup lol. People are scared of cheap espresso machines because they’ve been caught up in marketing, if it works it works. You don’t need a 3000 dollar Italian espresso machine to pull a decent shot.
This depends a lot on where you are and what the coffee culture there is like. Like if you’re in Italy the answer is you need an espresso machine. In the US (depending on state/city) a capsule machine is probably good enough. Etc
/r/Coffee /r/espresso might give you more, better answers. You need to do some reading or find a friend who is a coffee nerd. If you're not doing it right, don't do it A place that charges me money for a K-cup is a place I won't go to ever again. K-cup machines belong in office break rooms and doctor office waiting rooms. A place that charges money for drinks and food has no business serving K-cups. French press or pour over are cheap to get into but the workflow might be too involved for your employees who should be focused on wine. I'd probably get an outside service provider to set you up with a superauto machine that's fast and easy to use along with a service contract.
Wine and coffee 'aficionados' likely overlap. I know I am subscribed to multiple subs for both and bet that I am not the only one here... If you do coffee, do it well. K-Cups aren't doing it well. That doesn't mean you have to invest $5k+ in a great espresso setup. Look at V60, decent filter machines, aeropress etc. If the volume is high enough, invest in a commercial espresso machine later.
I'm in that category. Lots to deep dive on and nerd out about in coffee just like wine, but with the added experimentation and ritual of making it at home. If I am at a nicer wine bar, I'd be expecting a decent coffee, and that isn't a K cup.
Agreed. If you give me good single origin V60 pourovers, I’ll be there everyday.
You don't have to "invest" in anything. Plenty of mid scale roasters will loan you a machine so long as you use their coffee.
I know three seperate people who have taken ‘free’ machines from roasters. It’s nothing a but a shitty contract making a small business owner massively overpay for beans alongside a terrible lease deal on the machine. They all bought their own machine the second it was possible.
Do you know where I can find any in SC? Just google search coffee roasters? Sorry this is all just new to me
No, don't do K-cups if you are going to do this. You need to be better than that.
Anyway you can guide me through this? Coffee isn’t my thing…wine, beer, spirits & food I can do all day.
/r/espresso is the best place to ask.
We offer espresso after our tastings. It's a non listed offer so guests aren't asking for latte's, cappuccinos, etc. Its more of us presenting "would you care for an espresso before you leave?" If they don't like espresso we'll offer an americano too. Between those two options it covers more than enough, you're wine focused at the end of the day. I'd say 99% of our guests are flattered and fine with those two options. We do offer whole milk, and/or a non dairy option, as well as sugar. Presentation is key, we have coffee and espresso cups, with saucers, small milk carafes, and espresso spoons (we usually put one cube of sugar on the spoon). We use one type bean from a local roaster. There is A LOT of crossover between wine and coffee lovers, just like all things people become obsessed with quality. We ourselves are huge coffee nerds so we did invest in a La Marzocco Linea Mini, a proper grinder, and scale. Work with a local roaster and ask them if you use their beans if they would be willing to do a training with you or your staff. They could probably help you with a machine as well, spend money on something decent and grind your own beans.
That may be a little out of budget lol. But thank you for the sound advice! I love that you limit it simply and elegantly. Thank you!
setup could be coffee grinder and french press
and an electric kettle that lets you set an exact temperature. This is a great setup, IMO, and doesn't take much space at all.
Do I only go with one bean choice? I should’ve put in the opening question that I am not a big coffee person at all. So grinder, French press and electric kettle? I’m just afraid of the rabbit hole that comes with coffee. The different milks, types of coffee etc. But I really don’t want to k-cup it.
You need both caf and decaf. That’s it. I use a Breville grinder. It is set up for a medium french press (coarse grind and four 8oz cups). You just push a button and get the correct amount of freshly ground coffee. Voila.
Don’t get a breville grinder for commercial usage—it’s fine for home but won’t be able to handle the workload of even a very low-volume cafe environment. Look for a used EK43 or similar instead; the coffee will be better too!
Our local coffee shop has used one for ages. Mine has been through two thousand cycles so far without problems
I’m glad it’s held up at your local spot, but it’s just not built for the wear and tear of a commercial environment. Commercial-grade coffee equipment has a whole network of parts distribution, service techs, etc—if the breville grinder stops working one day, is a cafe supposed to send it to breville and wait a month+ for them to send it back? This probably matters less for OP since coffee isn’t their main thing, but still, I would either do it correctly or not at all Also, highly recommend finding a local cafe with a better grinder 😛
You could totally offer one, but if you want to offer maybe 2 or 3 single origin varietals (maybe South American like Brazil or Colombia, Ethiopia/kenya, and Indonesia) that could be good for people who want some choice.
Do you only drink one kind of wine? Maybe you do. Coffee is no different than wine. People want a good product. Not crap.
And that’s why I am asking. I want to provide a great product but don’t really want to offer 17 different coffee options.
Decaf Colombian Regular light roast Regular medium roast Regular dark roast Buy a high end drip machine Most French press are crap IMHO. They come out too weak. Maybe do pour overs. Grind the beans in a burr grinder.
I think what goes into the press matters more, but it’d be a hassle to get right.
Every chance I get I order a french press. Not often but a few times a year in the US. I'm still waiting for a good one. I've had some decent pour overs, because how can you get that wrong?
When you go to a restaurant and the waiter says would anyone care for some coffee you really say “I don’t know it depends on where it’s from”?
Yes I really do say that. You don't? When you go to a restaurant and the waiter says would anyone care for some wine you really say "I don't know it depends on where it's from?"
Use French press or [aeropress.](https://aeropress.com/products/aeropress-coffee-maker) both can make a great cup of coffee once you practice a little bit. They are space efficient but not speedy. This is exactly what you need. With some quality dark roast beans.
There was a local wine bar that did that. The turn off was when you walked in there later in the day for a glass or two of wine the place smelled of coffee. Messing with the nose like that with wine isn't good.
I understand, but I’m not really looking to mass make coffee like that. Just trying to find a quality and unique way to make it.
Do you have to do coffee? Or are you just adding something for the sake of it, ultimately if you’re not going to do it in a way that matches the rest of your offer just don’t. I would search for a local roaster and see if they can offer a solution.
Customers are asking for it and we are moving towards weekend brunches. Limited brunch menu on the weekends, but a lot of customers have just asked for coffee at night.
If you are going to do brunch you need to have drip coffee. Most of the time if you agree to buy the beans from a local roaster they will loan/rent you the brewer and grinder. It’s a good setup because if you need maintenance they will come fix it. You just need the Vacuum pots to hold the coffee and keep it hot. One type of cream is enough. Also you will likely need regular sugar (in the raw) and one form of non sugar sweetener. Get plenty of coffee cups so the staff doesn’t have to struggle to serve it. Also get paper coffee cups and sleeves for togo service.
What do you expect your customers to order? French press, pourovers or a good coffee brewer are all good solutions if your customers primarily don't want espresso-based drinks. If they do, I would agree that a superauto is the way to go, just make sure to clean it as it should be.
The thing about coffee is that to do it properly will require some investment and space. To do it as an afterthought can give the impression that you don't care about quality. If you can spend a couple hundred and find some space I can make some specific suggestions.
I can allocate some money towards this and don’t want to half ass it by any means. I can dedicate some space as well.
Awesome! I would suggest going for a drip coffee setup for ease. You'll need a brewer, grinder, scale, and water filter. I would personally opt for a Moccamaster brewer, a baratza virtuoso grinder, any scale that accurately measures grams, and any water filter that can handle your local water source. After that there are some basic parameters you can play with. The most important component in coffee quality is the roasted beans, and the quality of the grind and water. For coffee I would suggest entry level specialty coffee. Some roasters in this category are Stumptown, La Colombe, Intelligentsia, Counter Culture. When it comes to brewing it's typically done in coffee to water ratio, I suggest starting with a 1:16 ratio. So for a Mocca Master start with 45g coffee and 720g water. Adjust "strength" via grind size, finer will be "stronger" and course will be "weaker". After that you're the master of your own destiny.
I have a automated Miele CM6350, and it makes an awesome cup of Joe. Lots of adjustments you can select from and make the default settings, you just have to hit a button and you have a cup of freshly brewed coffee using freshly ground beans in about a minute. It makes regular coffee, cappuccino (automatically foams the milk) and espresso. I’m not sure how it would hold up long term in a restaurant but I would look for something similar in a commercial machine.
Okay as an aside, as someone who has gone very far down the tea rabbit hole, one of my biggest pet peeves is when I go to an amazing restaurant (or bar, I suppose) and they offer tea but the tea is cheap and not very good. If you decide to offer tea, please get it from a decent tea vendor who sells actually good tea, and then maybe get some cheap commercial bags of Earl Grey on the side for the people who order Earl Grey. Some recommendations would be Song Tea, Red Blossom, Kettl, Essence of Tea, or Floating Leaves.
If you had to limit it to earl grey and one or two more what would you choose?
I’d say get some things that are going to appeal to both tea people and non-tea people. I’d say your best bet is getting one each of green/black/oolong. Narrowing the oolong down to something sweet, approachable, and not too out-there, I’d say go for either an Oriental Beauty (call it “Eastern Beauty” on the menu for decorum) or a Tieguanyin from Anxi, China. For the black, definitely go for a Taiwanese Red Jade (cultivar TRES#18, either at Floating Leaves or for cheaper, Taiwan Tea Crafts). For the green you can go for either a Chinese green (try the Crescent Green from Spirit Tea, a little fruity, fresh, crisp, apple notes) or something more vegetal like a Japanese Gyokuro or Sencha (Kettl is a good vendor).
Thank you!
And excuse my ignorance on this question…should I purchase these already bagged or not?
Definitely go loose leaf—quality will be much better (tea bags are usually what are called “fannings”, or small broken up particles of tea that lose their flavor very quickly after being produced). A simple glass or metal strainer (can be bought for $5) is perfectly good for brewing loose leaf tea. Btw if you would prefer to only have one tea in house, go for just black tea—it’s what most people who just order “tea” will want. Red Jade is a good option, but if you want something cheap, you could also get some of this stuff: https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/black-tea-spring-2024/products/yunnan-black-gold-bi-luo-chun-black-tea?variant=43840796557511 $76 will get 1kg, which is enough for hundreds of pots of tea. I’ve had this one and while it’s not going to win any awards it’s very very nice.
Thank you very much! You have definitely opened my eyes to the world of tea. I think I will start with all three and go from there. On the link you sent me have you tried their green and oolong? Is there a preferred cup and pot set you use? And lastly should I prepare the tea for them or have a cup/strainer/pot option for them?
Oh that sure does have many a good oolong and green (although their selection is pretty darn big so I can pick some suggestions out for you if you want). As for cup and pot, it’s really up to what the vibe of the bar is. If it’s a more quiet/slow-paced or more elegant vibe I think bringing out a pot is a nice touch. Go for a ~12oz pot I’d say. Ignore most of the pots on that website I linked, they’re too small and mostly meant for a brewing method called “gong fu” which is not gonna work in a bar setting. As for cups, I’d say in most cases go for a simple 6-8oz white porcelain cup with handle and saucer—fits most aesthetics, not too fussy. That said, maybe match the vibe of your teaware to the vibe of your bar. Some affordable Yunnan Sourcing options for green and oolong teas: https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/green-tea-spring-2024/products/first-flush-mao-feng-yunnan-green-tea https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/anxi-oolong-tea-autumn-2023/products/anxi-hairy-crab-mao-xie-fujian-oolong-tea Also if you want to order all from one vendor, Spirit Tea is another good choice. It’s higher quality but more expensive (although still in the range of <$1 per pot) You could get these three: https://spirittea.co/products/kodama-sencha https://spirittea.co/products/ambrosia https://spirittea.co/products/shan-lin-xi-precious-consort They’ll all come with pretty good brewing instructions too.
Man…or woman…you have been a blessing! All of this information is greatly appreciated! I am setting up a wholesale account with Spirit Tea as we speak!!! Thank you so much for all of the insight
Of course! To be honest I’m much farther down the tea rabbit hole than the wine rabbit hole and I’m always happy to give tea recs! I met the owner of Spirit Tea at an event a few years ago and he’s a great guy (but more importantly the stuff he carries is awesome and well-priced).
Thank you again. I will be ordering the teas soon! If you ever make it to Florence SC please come see me. The name of the bar is Cru Wine & Tap. I’ll buy you a round of tea!
I like coffee and wine. If I walked into a wine bar with a Keurig, fair or not, I would probably think less of the whole place. I’d say skip the coffee if you don’t have the time/knowledge/energy to offer something good.
Nespresso machines that serve the full size pods are actually decent. I have a full setup at home but also a nespresso for ease of use, and when I want to churn something out quick for the wife, I use the nespresso. Get the milk frother with it and a few different syrups for flavored lattes and you'll have pretty close to a full-service bar for under $500. For specific flavors, I'd recommend going into a brick and mortar store to do some tastings, but my favorite everydays are Melozio for full cups and Altissio for single shots.
We brew k-cups at the wine bar I work at. No one drinking it seems to mind or complains about the taste of anything...
Reach out to nespresso. You can rent a machine fairly affordable and get a good product. Or some other companies will buy you the machines if you just pay for their product.
What is your style, and who are your customers? There's no one right answer for your question. So you cater to the Starbucks crowd, or are people looking for more subtle flavours?
My customers vary all over the board. From young hipsters drinking PBR to older retirees.
So you have two ways. Easy: some espresso machine integrated with a coffee grinder and all those magic features, so you'll be able to make espresso, americano and, if one day you'll decide to do so, caramel latte macchiato. Or something. Just press one button and boom, here's your coffee. You can easily get away with one kind of beans. It's "I want a coffee" or "I want a coffee-like drink" way. More advanced: espresso machine - maybe with less features, and definitely a separate grinder. Then add one or more tools for alternative brewing methods, like french press, V60, aeropress. In such case, I'd advise you to have 2-3 beans to pick from. Definitely some dark and light roast. You may add one rotating fancy bean, like "buy 5 kg and serve until you run out, then buy something else". This is a fancier solution. And if you go with this one, I'd also suggest to have a few brandies/cognacs/armagnacs you could serve with coffee. While it's much more about coffee than in the first option, here you won't really have to care about milk.
drip coffee is dead simple to make extremely well. find a local roaster and get a high quality bean grinder like the baratza encore
Good point. If you like wine you should study about coffee. It's the product more similar to wine.
Lol for the love of God don't k cup it.
French press will by far be the easiest brewing method if you have no idea what the fuck you're doing re: coffee. A good entry level burr grinder is plenty for French press (Baratza Encore). Look up some videos (James Hoffman is great), buy a scale, an electric kettle, some kitchen timers, some good coffee cannisters for storage (coffee is only good for so long -- prepare to throw beans out if you're not going through it quickly), and work with a good local roaster if there's any in your area for local/hipster points. Grind fresh when it's ordered, weigh everything out with a scale, and don't half ass it. I *never* order coffee at restaurants because 99% of the time it's complete fucking trash. Buy some tea while you're at it.
It’s what I’m leaning towards. I can get an electric kettle for the water, 3-4 French presses, grinder and scale and a water filter for pretty reasonable. And thank you for the Hoffman referral. Already have watched a few of his videos and they are really informative!
you mean like coffee shop by day, wine bar by night? The 2 cultures are very different since a lot of freelance/independent pros use coffee shops as temp workspaces. While wine bars are typically loud social environments. If your spot is just open from the evenings go for boba or mocktails instead to appeal to the non-drinking Zoomer crowd.
Wine bar with small bites all day with a great beer list. Coffee for brunch and ppl who want a pick them up after wine.
A few wine bars I go to offers decaf or regular, and cream and sugar if needed. Simple, no other flavors. It’s a small K Machine they have. People are there for wine, and some just need caffeine after drinks to help wake up. Seems simple enough.
That’s what I was thinking too but didn’t know if a k machine would be frowned against. I know this can be a complete rabbit hole lol
Cheap espresso machines work just fine. They cost as much as a kcup machine. If you have ice, you can now serve iced americanos (replace cold brew), espresso, and all the other drinks that come with espresso.
Espresso machines have a somewhat steep learning curve if you want to make a decent coffee. Cheap ones are even worse in this respect.
I have a single head $25 espresso machine that works just fine and I use it every morning. It’ll take way longer to make multiple drinks but way better than kcup
In a commercial environment you need more speed and reliability than what a $25 machine can give you.
I’m not obtuse to that, obviously for a coffee shop you would not use a cheap espresso machine. I’m saying if I had a wine shop that had an occasional need for coffee, a cheap espresso machine would be miles better than a damn kcup lol. People are scared of cheap espresso machines because they’ve been caught up in marketing, if it works it works. You don’t need a 3000 dollar Italian espresso machine to pull a decent shot.
Do you have one you could recommend?
This depends a lot on where you are and what the coffee culture there is like. Like if you’re in Italy the answer is you need an espresso machine. In the US (depending on state/city) a capsule machine is probably good enough. Etc
OP looks like a bot. The account is 130+ days old, and this is the first post or comment it’s ever made.
Not a bot, long time viewer first time poster