BEVERAGE SYSTEMS
damn fine cup of coffee and a world without fizz… Coffee continues to be the high street headline-maker in terms of beverages, with cold-brew coffee one of the biggest trends right now. Essentially coffee brewed in cold water over a period of up to 24 hours, it can be messy to make, so a dedicated cold-brew coffee maker will help and the equipment is likely to be simple and inexpensive. Meanwhile, our love affair with all things espresso continues. Most will agree there’s no beating a barista-made brew, but if you don’t have the skilled staff, then the latest bean-to-cup machines make a ‘damn fine cup of coffee’. Look for models that are easy to look after – cleaning a coffee machine, including the milk system, can be a soul- destroying (and staff-losing) chore. The backlash against bottled mineral water faced one major obstacle: consumers pre- ferred the taste of it to mains water. That’s why the option of filtered mains water is gaining traction so quickly. Many restau- rants now have systems that offer chilled still or sparkling, as well as hot filtered water. Manufacturers offer fancy reusable bottles, so presentation is upscale, too.
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When the UK started running out of fizz (as in carbon dioxide) in summer 2018, it made headline news. Cola and other spar- kling soft drinks are an essential when the sun’s out. For operators, they’re a big money spinner – especially if they come out of a tap rather than a bottle or can. If it’s practica- ble for your site, a soda fountain (or premix dispensing system) is way more profitable than selling soft drinks ready-packed.
PAIN: DEVELOPING A CULTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY As a result of wider publication and coverage of plastic pollution, consumers are becoming more environmentally aware and fighting against throwaway culture. This is nowhere more evident than in the takeaway drinks industry. The impact and scale of plastic straw use in
this country has been heavily documented. Over the course of 2018, operators have rapidly taken up the mantle and begun to jettison single-use straws, with more environmentally friendly options being developed. Meanwhile, plastic bottles of water are also being shunned, with dozens of businesses nationwide signing up for schemes to offer filtered water refill sites to thirsty owners of reusable water bottles. It’s estimated that 2.5 billion disposable cups
are sold in the UK a year, with only 0.25% of them recycled. In response, the government has pledged to ban non-biodegradable cups by 2023. But with this seen as a delayed goal, large coffeehouse chains are beginning to impose their own independent ‘latte levies’, adding a charge to a drink served in a takeaway cup, while offering a discount to those who present a reusable one. Manufacturers have been quick to react to this, too, springing into action to produce affordable plastic-free options.
XVI | The Caterer | 16 November 2018
www.thecaterer.com
Drink to that
This year, coffee is still the hot beverage trend and single-use plastic is the product to drop
CHUTTERSNAP/UNSPLASH
TYLER NIX/UNSPLASH
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