Coffee - Hot top tips

Jeremy Torz, director of Union Coffee Roasters, reveals the following tips for creating a successful coffee offering

1 For the smaller, more personal pub, I would recommend a cafetiere service. They're stylish and neat while also

serving the final cup in the most unadulterated way.

2 For the larger outlet, the best route to success is through a good pour-and-serve filter machine. Choose machine that can accommodate an airpot, rather than a glass carafe on a hotplate. By insulating, rather than continuously heating, the coffee you'll find that the natural sweetness of good coffee is preserved far better than if it sits on the hotplate.

3 Focus on estate and origin of your coffee over the blend. It instantly draws the eye, and treats coffee in a novel way.

4 When presenting a choice of coffees, keep it short, concise and easy to explain. Too many coffees - three is probably the optimum (to cover the spectrum light, bold, strong) - can actually be counterproductive.

5 If a customer is enjoying a brandy or liqueur, serve the coffee alongside. Better still, make sure the coffee complements and even extends the liquor. If people enjoy this, they will usually stay for another drink - and possibly, the evening.

6 Promote it! Tablecards, menu boards, well-thought-out china and other visual paraphernalia will help spread the word, and get more people enjoying the coffee you're

serving.

7 Offer a range of different coffees that can be matched appropriately to the time of day, the season or the food being served. For mornings, customers prefer a lighter bodied, crisper, refreshing coffee, while in the afternoon

and evening, they look for a deeper-bodied, more rounded cup.

8 Train your staff and make sure the basics are followed as a matter of routine. One way of ensuring this is by delegating the responsibility to an empowered, in-house barista champion.

If you are serving espresso, there is actually a greater amount to learn and the licensee must show real commitment to ensure the service is top-notch. So take an honest assessment of the situation. If you don't feel you can give it 110%, then it is probably best to head down the filter and cafetiere route, where there are far fewer variables to consider and a much greater opportunity to make a statement

easily and effectively.