Print Article for : Coffee Shop And Bakery

Your Online Guide » Guide to Health » Drink Coffee

[C781]Coffee Shop And Bakery

by Karyn Lewis, Kar

No matter what size of coffee shop you have, there has to be customers willing to come in and buy things. Otherwise you are just going to have an empty building and it won't matter what size it is. With this in mind you have to go out and attract customers. Next you have to make sure that they have the best experience so they will come back.

Customers have other criteria that they are concerned with than the size of the location. People even go to drive up ones if they offer the right elements. They include fast service that is friendly, delicious coffee products, good prices, and a nice atmosphere. All of these things can be found at a small independent coffee shop or a large chain business.

The atmosphere is very important though. Many people find it is more personal at a smaller sized coffee shop. They are able to get to know the people behind the counter. They are also warmly greeted by name each time they walk in the door. With a large coffee shop this may not be possible. There are simply too many people and too many different employees for it to work.

Larger coffee shops are often part of chain establishments. This does give them some advantages. For example they have the name people are familiar with due to their other stores around. They also have plenty of advertising in place. Yet all of that hype doesn't mean much if the individual location isn't able to live up to the image.

People don't want to feel crowded, so that can be an issue to address with a small coffee shop. If people want to sit down and enjoy their drinks, it may not be possible due to the small number of tables available. You may be able to find a way to reorganize them though to give more room. Consider more tables for one or two people instead of larger ones as well.

When it is all said and done, the size of a coffee shop really doesn't matter. As long as customers feel comfortable there and they get quality drinks it will work. They will also expect exceptional customer service. If all of these elements can be covered, you have nothing to worry about.

There are small coffee shops that continue to grow in the number of customers. They may decide to expand in order to better serve them. This is an individual business decision that could prove to be a good move. However, if your business is already struggling, making the coffee shop bigger isn't going to solve your problems.

Before there are Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves, most people in the region of Singapore and Malaysia know only kopi, a Baba Malay language for coffee. Kopi is basically robusta coffee. Espresso and cappuccino are extravagant coffee in the early days, meant for the rich, and only available in hotels.

Today, a cup of espresso coffee or any other gourmet coffee still costs a few dollars, and a cup of kopi is only between 70 and 90 Singapore cents.

Latte or long black is unknown in local coffee stalls and kopi tiam. Tiam means shop in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect. Instead it is commonly called kopi, kopi-o, and kopi-c.

Kopi is not brewed in coffee maker, but steep in a tall metal pot with a long spout with a cotton coffee filter, a long cone bag, within. Milk and sugar are not served separately on the table. When you order your kopi, you have coffee with condensed milk, a sweetener, and sugar, already added.

Kopi-o is black coffee, with sugar added. O sounds like black in Hokkien.

Instead of condensed milk, Carnation evaporated milk is added to kopi-c, with sugar. The c stands for Carnation, a brand, even though some have replaced it with other brands.

Most of the early kopi tiam are started by Chinese who are Hainanese. Today their lingo still stays. Ask for kopi-c siu tai, it is coffee with evaporated milk and less sugar in the cup. More sugar, ka tai. But for no sugar, it is kosong, a Malay word which means nothing.

Sarabat stalls are coffee stalls run by Indians and Malays. They are famous for their teh tarik. Teh means tea, and tarik means pull back. A cup of tea with milk and sugar added is then juggled between two cups at an altitude. The original purpose is to lower the temperature of very hot tea for easy drinking on a hot day, for the climate in Singapore and Malaysia most of the year is of summer. However, the action has also produced a foamy top for the tea, much like cappuccino. This spurs the creation of kopiccino, using the same method but instead of tea, it is coffee.

Many migrants came from China in the old days. Chinese meal will always have a cup of Chinese tea besides their food. It is not surprising to find in the local coffee shop and food court, too, that coffee and tea are usually ordered together with meals, much like having a cup of Chinese tea, or ice water in western meal. But for some, hot kopi is still best reserved after a meal.

Nevertheless, for those who still crave for a piece of cheese cake with gourmet coffee, it is still Starbucks, hotels, or café. For others with a budget, Ikea offers value for money for a cup of brewed coffee with cheese cake.

Any opportunities to travel to Singapore and Malaysia, kopi with roti kaya is a must. Roti is bread in Malay, and kaya is a coconut egg jam.

Article Source : Pg. 20

About Author

Both Karyn Lewis & Jenny Ku are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Karyn Lewis has sinced written about articles on various topics from Coffee Advantages. Karyn Lewis is passionate about great coffee. If you are thinking of , and avoiding the common mistakes new owners make, you. Karyn Lewis's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.

Jenny Ku has sinced written about articles on various topics from Coffee Advantages. . Jenny Ku's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.