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Coffee & Tea
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Traditional breakfast beverages include coffee, tea, and hot cocoa. Always serve hot beverages very hot and steaming. Both coffee and tea contain caffeine, which is a stimulant. People who are sensitive to the effects of caffeine will often ask for decaffeinated options.
Coffee
Coffee beans are the berries of a tropical shrub that are roasted to develop their flavor. The degree of roasting, which can be light, medium, or dark, affects the flavor of the coffee. Americans generally prefer medium roast, while dark roast coffee is popular in Europe. Coffee is often served at every meal. Flavored coffee—ranging from hazelnut, almond, mint, and chocolate to blueberry and strawberry—is also popular at any meal.
Coffee Basics
Many times, a sip of coffee is the first and last impression a customer has of a restaurant. Because these impressions are very important, always purchase, brew, and pour good-quality coffee. Avoid holding brewed coffee for over an hour. After that time, the loss of flavor is considerable. Serve coffee hot and steaming.
Plan coffee production so that coffee is always fresh. For the best-tasting coffee, use the right proportion of water to coffee. Always start with fresh, cold water, and heat it to a proper brewing temperature of 195°F to 200°F. Take into account proper timing, equipment, filters, and holding procedures as well.
Coffee Brewing
Espresso Drinks
Clean coffee urns regularly to avoid calcium buildup and to ensure good-tasting coffee. To clean urns, run a solution of one part white vinegar and four parts water through the brewing cycle. Rinse the system by running plain cold water through the brewing cycle three times. Cold coffee drinks are also very popular now. Iced coffee, which is the coffee counterpart to iced tea, is made by putting brewed coffee over ice. Fancier frozen coffee drinks are also very popular and often come in different flavors such as mocha, caramel, or peppermint.
Tea
Tea is generally less expensive than coffee, although some rare teas can be quite expensive. One cup of tea has about half the caffeine contained in a cup of coffee. Tea is served either very hot or iced. There are black teas (tea leaves that have been fermented) and green teas (tea leaves that are not fermented). Oolong tea is partially fermented. Herbal tea (technically called a tisane because there is no actual tea in the blend) is made from many different fruits and herbs and is naturally caffeine-free. After tea is graded, which depends on its level of bruising, wilting, and oxidation, it is blended to ensure consistency and uniformity. Some tea blends may contain as many as 30 individual teas.
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