Inside Beverages – winter warmers
The success of Starbucks' gingerbread latte means the creation of winter beverage menus is now expected. They can be profitable but do not have to be complicated, writes Ian Boughton. The addition of a simple flavour to a coffee or hot chocolate can transform the drink into a winter special
The winter season is the best time of year to make a determined move on hot beverages. This may mean a change of menu but it does not require vast amounts of time creating signature drinks. Profitable winter warmers can be achieved by the use of many readily-available proprietary branded products.
Christmas coffees are comparatively rare, although one regular supplier is Cherizena, which sold 2.5 tonnes of seasonal coffee last year and had this year's blend ready in August. It features a Colombian coffee with Jamaican rum, toasted pecan, nutmeg, cinnamon and orange. Usefully, and quite unusually, this seasonal coffee is available in regular and decaffeinated versions, in "snip and pour" packs for filter machines, or as whole beans.
This year's seasonal coffee with a story behind it comes from Cooper's of Huddersfield, which was in the spotlight recently for creating an aphrodisiac coffee for a De Longhi promotion. The main ingredient was an oyster flavouring, but the first experiments had been intended for a seasonal coffee, which has now appeared. It is an Indian monsooned Malabar coffee, which has some natural vanilla and pepper characteristics, with added cardamom and a touch of chilli. It will be available for catering use in packs of 50x57g bags.
Cooper's has also created a seasonal fruit infusion, a blend of hibiscus, rosehip, apple pieces and orange peel. The bright red beverage is described as "extremely refreshing with a sweet and fruity flavour".
This is a limited-edition tea but while it lasts, Twinings say it works particularly well with mince pies.
The London Tea Company has offered two winter blends to its food service clients: the blackcurrant, raspberry and cinnamon is described as a combination of spice and "superfruit", while vanilla chai is an organic black tea, with cinnamon, peppermint, ginger, cardamom, cloves and vanilla. This, too, says the company, complements mince pies and Christmas cake.
Tea can be transformed into "more than just a cuppa" in winter by adopting the relatively-new chai latte method, says Teapigs. This beverage combines a normal teabag with steamed milk from the espresso machine to give a richer and creamier result. The profitable approach, says Teapigs, is to use the same method to vary the menu by using different teabags, such as its caramel rooibos, spiced "red tea" - rooibos, with orange, cloves and cinnamon - chai, or chai with chilli.
Viennese coffee will be the hero of the Caffe Ritazza chain's seasonal menu. This is an espresso with textured milk, topped with whipped cream and cinnamon, described as "warming and comforting" for the festive season.
Otherwise, the standard coffee approach in winter is the flavoured latte, which Bennett Opie's marketing manager, Darril Ling, regards as the quickest and most profitable menu item of all.
Notably, many players are trying to move beyond Starbucks' trendsetting gingerbread latte. This was a huge seasonal success on the high street, with flavoured syrup brands saying that, in recent years, sales of gingerbread syrups have rocketed from October, and then stopped dead on Boxing Day.
There are certain traditional flavours that go well with coffee in winter. Nut flavours, such as almond and chestnut, are standard options, as are caramel and the relatively new sticky-toffee syrups which are appearing from several brands. Now other players have begun to look for newer ideas and the French Monin brand has come up with, of all things, biscuit and pie flavours. A new arrival is the apple pie syrup, there is a speculoo flavour - a speculoo is the little caramelised biscuit served on the saucer - and a shortbread is on the way.
According to the syrup makers, Costa Coffee had a "wonderful" success last year with Monin's crème brûlée syrup latte, which is simply made and garnished with brown sugar to replicate the crisp topping. To Monin's slight surprise, Costa's British cafés will not lead with the apple pie latte this winter, although their Middle Eastern cafés will!
Hot chocolate is the traditional drink for a British winter. Although purists argue about the correct distinction between hot chocolate, drinking chocolate and hot cocoa, the important thing for the beverage manager to know is that in winter, chocolate sells. This is now a very serious market, says Cadbury. The total chocolate-based hot beverages category was worth about £40m last year, and the sector is growing faster than tea. Hot chocolate is now the second most popular hot drink to coffee.
With absolute unanimity, all brands selling chocolate drinks to the catering market say that the key is to choose a stand-out chocolate and market it as a special.
"The secret of good chocolate is that, just like speciality coffee, the right rich drink cannot be replicated in the home," says Elaine Higginson, managing director at United Coffee. "So there is an opportunity to capitalise on the ‘indulgence' aspect. Our new brand, Grand Chocolat, was developed by French chocolatiers to create an intense flavour for a creamy, luxurious hot chocolate."
As with lattes, the addition of a flavoured syrup to drinking chocolate is easy and creates a profitable special with very little effort. Orange flavours always work with chocolate - although citrus syrups have to be carefully chosen to avoid curdling in steamed milk - and cherry syrup, chestnut, triple sec, frosted mint or tangerine will also create an instant seasonal special.
For a richer effect, several companies suggest using a chocolate sauce instead of a powder, which will combine with steamed milk to give a creamier result, and maybe a flavoured syrup as well. This should sell for £2.50 at the very least.
Spiced chocolate drinks are the most traditional of all, going right back to Aztec Emperor Montezuma, and Cream Supplies has introduced the ready-to-use catering version, Mocafé Azteca D'Oro. This spiced powder, sold in a catering-sized 1.36kg canister, features African cocoa, cinnamon, almond and real vanilla. It is probably milder than Montezuma's drink, but more appropriate for a British winter.
Even Horlicks is said to be making a comeback in the catering sector. Its recent "made for evenings" advertising campaign boosted sales by 17%, and senior brand manager Sandi Boyden confirms that, while malted drinks do not compete with coffee, there remains a worthwhile food service demand.
Whatever the winter beverage, the tempting add-on accompaniment can prove the profit-maker, says Paul Maxwell, marketing manager for Beyond the Bean. He distributes the Byron Bay cookie, which has pioneered the limited-edition concept. Its current seasonal offering is a cranberry and white chocolate chunk cookie, designed to accompany tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
As Beyond the Bean has already discovered, the key to success with cookies is not to just hope for an add-on sale - several caterers have successfully priced the drink-and-cookie as a set menu item.
CONTACTS
http://www.unitedcoffeeuk.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Bennett Opie ](http://www.b-opie.com)01795 476154
[Beyond the Bean](http://www.beyondthebean.com)
0117 953 3522
[Cadbury ](http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com)01895 615000
[Cherizena](http://www.cherizena.co.uk)
01664 820111
[Cooper's](http://www.cooperscoffee.co.uk)
0800 298 2802
[Cream Supplies](http://www.creamsupplies.co.uk) 0845 226 3024
[Java Republic](http://www.javarepublic.com)
353 1 880 9300
[Teapigs ](http://www.teapigs.co.uk)
020 8568 8989
[Twinings](http://www.twiningsfs.co.uk)
01264 348181
[United Coffee
01908 275520
