# What types of drink do people order at cafes?



## ianf (Apr 2, 2014)

Hi all, my 1st post.

I've been scouring the internet for some research into which drinks people actually order at a cafe. We all assume that coffee is the best seller, but what about people ordering other drinks such as hot chocolate, tea, coke, smoothies, water etc.

There's a great infograph about coffee shop trends on Marketing Week which shows favourite types of *coffee* (47% prefer milky coffee), but i'm looking at what % of people not drinking coffee. For example - 70% order a coffee, 10% order tea, 12% smoothies 5% coke etc.

Coffee shop trends infograph: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/Pictures/web/u/d/l/trends-coffee-fullwidth.jpg

Any help would be great

Thanks

Ian


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

I think the feedback you'll get from this forum will be skewed towards coffee drinkers


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

working dog said:


> I think the feedback you'll get from this forum will be skewed towards coffee drinkers












That said, whenever we go out and stop somewhere for a coffee, like as not Mrs Hotmetal will have a hot chocolate while I have my cappa.

Sometimes she'll have coffee but she likes it very milky. So far, only about 1% of "baristas" in the sort of places we sometimes end up in can understand the following instruction:

"2 cappuccinos please, but can you tip a little bit of my shot into my boyfriend's because he likes it strong and I like it milky".

The puzzled looks, incomprehensible mathematical imaginings and general "computer says no" type of response this request usually generates is what has driven my Mrs to stick to hot choc.


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## ianf (Apr 2, 2014)

Thanks for the replies. It looks like there's very little research out there as to what type of drinks people order. I think i'm going to have to survey some cafes myself and make an average.

From what i've found some cafe's say that 34% of sales are through smoothies and frappes, a trend that places like starbucks and costa have cottoned on to where as your specialist brew bars will mostly be coffee. so i suppose it depends on the type of cafe. I'll update when I have some hard proof!

Cheers


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## frandavi99 (Jun 8, 2014)

From my limited experience time of day plays a big role as well; usually more coffee in the morning and more tea/soft drinks in the afternoon.

People can only order from the menu so it will always depend on the sort of cafe and that will determine the sort of people that visit.

Personally I end up drinking tea far too often because the coffee is awful!!


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## ianf (Apr 2, 2014)

I agree, it's like a lucky dip with coffee from a traditional espresso machine, one day it's fine, the other it's cig ash! More training is needed.

I suppose it also depends on the season, for example fewer sales of hot drinks in the summer but it's frustrating as it seems like a bit of a dark art/trail by error to new start ups wanting to create a menu.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

ianf said:


> &#8230;it's frustrating as it seems like a bit of a dark art/trail by error to new start ups wanting to create a menu.


Well, yes, but if I were in your position (I assume you are a new start-up wanting to create a menu), I would either look to what your direct competitors are doing, as well as those who are more (or less) successful in your area.

What I mean is, if you really are open to serving pretty much whatever people might want, then maybe look to the likes of Costafewbucks and see what they have on their menu (i.e let them do the finding out). Or sit in one all day and secretly observe! Then 'all' you have to do is offer a similar selection but at a better price/quality. FWIW I think those big chains also make a huge profit by upselling you from a 'regular' to a 'bucket' and then tempting you with a small but high-margin bag of 'mini muffins' or suchlike.


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

For me, hot drink wise, white americano is top seller by a long shot, then latte and cappuccinos. Soft drink biggest seller is actually Diet Coke then water.


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

For me in most coffee shops...Tea!


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

Yes Row said:


> For me in most coffee shops...Tea!


Yep! If it's a shop where I don't know for a fact it'll be good coffee, I get a pot of team usually earl grey as it's hard to bugger up black tea!

If it's a shop I know I can trust, then it's a flat white every time. If I REALLY trust them, I'll go piccolo.


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## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

shrink said:


> Yep! If it's a shop where I don't know for a fact it'll be good coffee, I get a pot of team usually earl grey as it's hard to bugger up black tea!
> 
> If it's a shop I know I can trust, then it's a flat white every time. If I REALLY trust them, I'll go piccolo.


How do you ever get to know you can trust them?


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## Zenistar (Aug 31, 2014)

I think in fairly lucky in that most cafés in Zurich sell pretty decent coffee. Generally I order double espresso or cappuccino if I'm there in the morning.


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## Barry Cook (Feb 14, 2012)

Hi Ian

As pointed out by others, it will depend entirely on a number of factors, including quality of the product, price, type of clientele, and staff's enthusiasm for the product (plus many other factors, but mainly these).

If the idea of the research you are doing is to set up your own place, then I'm not quite sure what you are trying to achieve, as what works for you will be entirely dependent on the above factors. Just because someone else finds they get a certain level of sales from one drink type does not mean you will as well.

I've been in a position to open two different coffee shops in very different demographic towns, and the split of drink type (as well as Drink In and Take Away) have been very different between the two shops. At present, this is what we offer:-

Main Coffee Menu - regular choices plus speciality options of Piccolo and Ristretto. Two choice of espresso (house blend or ever-changing guest). We do not list Americano (although we will serve it if requested) as we ease customer towards the next board...

Brew Bar - six choices of single-origin freshly ground & brewed filter coffees, with three brewing options.

Loose Leaf Teas - nine choice of premium teas at present.

Hot Chocolates - four single-origin choices of chocolate, all award-winning.

Smoothies - four options all made with fresh ingredients.

Frappes - four options.

Bottled Drinks - all premium brands (mainly Fentimans, Folkingtons and Cawston Press) with no crappy PespiCo or Coke products.

I can tell you that in order of proportion of drinks sales, the above list is more or less in order (biggest at top, lowest at bottom).

If I were to amend some of my options (even they way I advertise them) it will have a direct effect on what I sell.

Some of what I offer, I can only do because of the affluence of the area we are now in, which I couldn't have offered before (such as the Brew Bar). I am also able to charge a price that reflects the quality of the products I am offering. Note that I also have no interest in what the other coffee shops are up to and what they charge as it doesn't matter a s**t because I am providing a very different level of products to the others, and therefore not directly competing with them - many of our customers are the type of people who won't stop for a drink in town if there's nothing worth stopping for (much like most of the forum users here!!!!), but because we're here they stop. This then feeds back into my first thought as to what benefit this research will have as if you're trying to attract the quality-driven customer then you will end up with a very different customer base to most coffee shops*

*if you're only looking to compete with everyone else and make it as hard as possible for yourself, then please ignore everything I've said above.


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

Barry Cook said:


> Hi Ian
> 
> As pointed out by others, it will depend entirely on a number of factors, including quality of the product, price, type of clientele, and staff's enthusiasm for the product (plus many other factors, but mainly these).
> 
> ...


Where are you based?


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## Barry Cook (Feb 14, 2012)

Hi Scotford

We are in Cirencester. Cotswold Artisan Coffee. Just look on TripAdvisor and you'll find us at number 1


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