Hot Vs Cold - Coffee Vs Cocoa - Which Is Better?
In the beverage arena is there a clear winner in the hot vs cold match? Does the weather and temperature really affect coffee sales? Is coffee more popular than cocoa?
Yes and no to each of those. Exacting answer, right? But there are no simple answers in the world of beverages.
We have a customer, an iced latte regular, who told us he would order a hot latte when David finally had to wear long pants. There were a few extremely cold days where he came in and hoped David wasn't in his signature shorts, really craving that hot latte (but no...). We've also had groups come in while it's freezing out and they are complaining about how cold they are but then every single one will order a cold or frozen drink. A hot day during the summer a husband and wife came in. He ordered a hot coffee but then looked at her funny when she ordered a hot cocoa. Rhyme or reason? No, not really.
Customers who like hot coffee do typically drink it year round, the same can be said for iced tea or soda lovers. The biggest difference we see is the amount of hot cocoa we sell during the colder months somehow translates into nearly the same amount of cold brewed coffee we sell during the warm months. It's odd but somehow true.
To help those who love the taste of cocoa but can't handle the hot beverage we've come up with "crossover" drinks like a Cocoa Nitro (iced cocoa with cold brewed coffee). Many people also enjoy the Nitro Cold Brew but on those particularly cold days we heat (steam) it. It really isn't anything to do with temperature but all about taste and flavor.
The real winner is the person drinking the beverage because it's all good!