Serving Standards
Serving great coffee starts with the basics. We spend a lot of time working on perfecting our recipes and technique, but we’re also concerned with presentation. Will Guidara in his excellent book “Unreasonable Hospitality” talks about something called the One-Inch Rule. I’d like to co-opt that into something I’m calling the “Last Drop Rule.” The coffees we serve at DRC are months, and often years in the making. An average of 11 sets of hands have interacted with your coffee before you drink it - and as baristas, we’re most often the last in line. Will writes, “When you lose focus in that last inch (drop), the presentation is ruined.”
Reading his section about how he taught his team at Eleven Madison Park about service felt like I was reading my own thoughts on coffee preparation. The Last Drop Rule is meant to make this into tangible actions. We focus down to the last drop before a customer takes a drink out of respect for what came before - and so we can give our customers the best hospitality around.
With that in mind, here’s a set of photo standards for how we serve each of our espresso and single-cup drinks. Please stick to these presentations no matter which shop you’re at! Make it good for the people till the Last Drop.
Espresso - served in a demitasse with a saucer and spoon, alongside sparkling water on a tray.
Cortado - served in a Gibraltar glass, no saucer or spoon.
Latte - served in a 12oz mug, on a saucer.
Tea - served in a 12oz coffee mug, alongside the Rishi tea steeper on a tray. Let the customer know how long to steep it.
Macchiato - served in a demitasse with a saucer and spoon, alongside sparkling water on a tray.
Cappuccino - served in a 6oz mug, on a saucer.
Pour Over - served in a Hario 01 range server with a lid, alongside a 6oz coffee mug on a tray.
Note that improvisation is a huge part of being a barista. In general, try to replicate the nearest amalgam of what you're serving. For example, here's a good way to serve a quad-shot of espresso - still with a saucer and spoon, but in a cappuccino mug instead of a Demi.