Hot drinks focus: Coffee for beginners

There are four basic ways to serve coffee in pubs, based mainly on the types of machine used to make the drink. In all cases, pubs need to weigh the profit potential against the initial investment.

• Soluble - another term for instant coffee. There are professional dispensing systems available, although for pubs that really only sell the occasional cup, the traditional spoon-and-a-jar approach is still very effective. If there's potential to grow trade, the right soluble machine will allow pubs to serve a range of coffee styles.
• Cafetiére - the plunger device is the next step up from soluble for pubs with occasional or unpredictable coffee trade, allowing you to serve ground coffee to order at the table.
• Pourover - the professional, heavy duty version of domestic filter coffee machines, which allow hot water from a boiler to drain into a jug through ground coffee. Great if you need to have a dozen cups ready at the same time, but the quality of the coffee degrades the longer the coffee is left standing.
• Bean-to-cup machines - these work on the espresso machine principle, grinding the coffee freshly and forcing hot water through at high speed. Machines are increasingly designed to be easy to use and produce a range of different coffee styles at the touch of a button.

Coffee styles

Most of the popular coffee styles use espresso as their base - so if you install the right machine, you're equipped to start offering a coffee menu. Once you start adding whipped cream and flavoured syrups, the variations are endless. The basics are:

• Americano: A shot or two of espresso poured into a glass and filled with hot water. A standard black coffee.
• Cappuccino: A shot of espresso followed by half a cup of steamed milk and a big head of foamed milk. One-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, one-third frothed milk. For the authentic final touch, sprinkle chocolate onto the froth.
• Espresso: A small, strong cup of coffee with a very strong aroma. The result of pushing hot water through finely-ground beans very quickly.
• Latté: A shot or two of espresso added to a cup filled with steamed milk and topped off with foamed milk.
• Mocha: Chocolate syrup in the bottom of the cup, topped with espresso, and then steamed milk, whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.
• Ristretto: The strongest espresso drink, made with half the amount of water but the same amount of coffee as a regular espresso.