Coffee Specials and Coffee Cocktails for Your Café Menu: Five Easy Signature Drinks

Written by Tiny Tiger Coffee

It's Saturday evening. One of your regulars sits down, looks at the menu, and sighs. Cappuccino, latte, americano, cold coffee. The same list as every café on the street. "Anything new?" she asks. You say no, and she orders the cappuccino she always has.

Nothing is wrong with that cappuccino. But a short specials board would have given her something new to try, and a reason to spend a little more. It doesn't need new machines or a trained mixologist. It needs a few drinks built on what you already make.

Why a specials board pays for itself

• It lifts the average bill. A special sells for more than a cappuccino, yet uses the same shot or the same cold brew.
• It brings regulars back. A drink that changes with the season gives people a reason to return and try it.
• It gets shared. A good-looking glass ends up on Instagram: free advertising.

Three rules for a special that works on a busy bar

1. Build it on what you already make. Every drink below starts with an espresso shot or your house cold brew.
2. Add no more than two new ingredients, and prepare them before you open: a syrup, a jug of cold brew, a bowl of whipped cream.
3. Make it as fast as a latte. If a special holds up the queue, your team will quietly stop suggesting it.

Keep two or three specials at a time and change them every few months.

Five easy signature drinks

Our house cold brew is 1 part coarsely ground coffee to 10 parts cold water, steeped in the fridge for 18 hours. It keeps for about a week, so one batch covers several days of specials.

1. Espresso tonic

Fill a tall glass with ice and about 150 ml of chilled tonic water. Pour a fresh double shot slowly over the top so it floats. It looks striking in two layers. A fruity coffee works best here, such as Frozen Candy, a 100% arabica natural.

2. Cold brew cream float

Pour 100 ml of cold brew and 50 ml of cold water over ice. Top it with two or three spoons of lightly whipped, lightly sweetened cream, and let the guest stir it in. Use Toasted Almond or Caramel Espresso, our two cold brew coffees.

3. Affogato

A scoop of good vanilla ice cream in a small glass, with a double shot poured over it at the table. It takes thirty seconds and sells as dessert. Caramel Espresso is our pick for this.

4. Jaggery cardamom latte

Melt jaggery in an equal weight of hot water with a few crushed cardamom pods, strain, and keep it in a squeeze bottle. Add one or two spoons to a regular latte. Toasted Almond is made for milk drinks like this; our guide to the best milk for café coffee covers the milk.

5. Tender coconut cold brew

Fill a glass with ice, pour in about 120 ml of tender coconut water, and float 60 ml of cold brew on top. Light and a little sweet, it's made for hot afternoons.

Coffee cocktails, if you have a bar licence

Serving alcohol needs the right licence from your state, so check before you add any of these. If you have one, coffee cocktails are an easy way to keep the bar busy after dinner.

• Espresso martini: Vodka, coffee liqueur and a fresh shot of espresso, shaken hard with ice so the coffee foams. Always use a fresh shot, never one that has been sitting, or the foam won't form.
• Iced cream float cocktail: Cold brew and a spirit over ice, with cream floated on top over the back of a spoon, as in the photo above.

Cold brew suits a bar well: it's made the day before, it tastes the same every time. For the espresso drinks, dial in your shot first.

Give your signature drink a story

At JW Marriott Ranthambore, we're working with the team on their coffee menu, starting from a coffee meant to bring out the wildness of Ranthambore. Guests don't just order a coffee there; they order a taste of the place they came to see.

Your café can do the same on a smaller scale:

• Name the drink after your neighbourhood, a local landmark or a regular who inspired it.
• Use one local ingredient, such as jaggery, tender coconut or kokum.
• Tell the story in one line on the menu.

Pricing a special

Work out what each special costs to make, cup included. Our café cost per cup calculator does the coffee and milk for you. Then price it on what it's worth to the guest. A special is a treat, and guests expect to pay more for it than for a plain latte.

The coffee underneath still matters most. Tonic, cream and jaggery can't hide a flat or bitter shot, and the guest who enjoyed the special will want the same cup next time. We grow, process and roast our own coffee and hold stock of everything we roast, so the coffee in your special tastes the same in March as it did in October.

If you want to become a B2B partner of Tiny Tiger, take a look at our café program and get in touch. We'll help you choose the right coffees for your menu, specials included.

Common questions

What coffee specials can a small café add without new equipment?

Espresso tonic, a cold brew cream float, an affogato, a jaggery cardamom latte and tender coconut cold brew. Each needs only your espresso machine or a jug of cold brew, plus one or two ingredients prepared before opening.

What is the best coffee for an espresso tonic?

A bright, fruity coffee, which balances the bitterness of tonic. We use Frozen Candy, a 100% arabica natural.