Sustainability matters.
Even for coffee at the restaurant

In a challenging and highly competitive historical moment in the out of home sector, in particular in the restaurant and catering one, coffee is an important resource that everyone has but few value.

Coffee represents an opportunity to stand out, to be remembered by an increasingly attentive and aware clientele, to close the meal in an excellent way and make a good impression.

Why is the same obsessive attention to the details of the furnishings, the lights and the atmosphere, the mise en place, the dishes served and the wine that accompanies them, not always reserved for coffee as well?

Especially in Italy where the ritual of enjoying a coffee at the end of a meal has perhaps turned into a habit which is taken for granted and while it should exist, the essential qualities and characteristics are overlooked.

The restaurateur could give coffee the importance it deserves in the same way that is reserved for the selection and research of the raw materials used in the kitchen.

The quality of the coffee at the restaurant as well as the importance that is given to it is always a very delicate topic but still generates various discussions.

What are the critical issues behind the quality of coffee at the restaurant?

To summarize: few coffees, equipment and staff training.

Let’s start with the raw material. If consumption is low, even a high quality coffee in beans would end up staying too long in the grinder container thus aging and ultimately not offering the desired result in the cup and essentially becoming a waste.

Even the equipment is a crucial point when there are few coffees served

We often find restaurants with two or three group machines, too large for the actual needs of the venue and too expensive to maintain. Or old, low-quality equipment with poor maintenance (ordinary and extraordinary), badly set machines and grinders with oxidized pre-ground coffee inside. And we all know that no pre-ground coffee will ever reach the quality, fragrances, perceptions and emotions that a freshly ground coffee can provide.

Wouldn’t equipment proportionate to real needs be more sustainable?
Considering the costs for supply and maintenance, energy consumption and the often limited space available, without the right conditions, an oversized investment would not be sustainable, both economically and qualitatively, neither for the restaurateur nor for the roaster.

And then there is the training of the coffee staff

At the restaurant we cannot expect to find a professional barista.
However, we cannot even think of finding unqualified or inadequately skilled operators.

The training of the coffee staff, due to the volume of coffees made, is undoubtedly onerous for the restaurateur.
Especially considering the very frequent change of personnel.

In any case, the quality and consistency of the cup is always affected.

Coffee beans can therefore only be a sustainable solution for restaurants that work a lot with coffee if the following criteria is met: raw material is of high quality; suitable equipment that is regulated and maintained appropriately; and if the staff is able to extract the coffee adequately and constantly.

There is a solution: coffee pods

For restaurants (as well as smaller businesses such as hotels and pastry shops) serving a few coffees that still want to offer an impeccable espresso, the system of coffee pods is a solution.

Pods offer fundamental characteristics for success in terms of concrete advantages and sustainability: steadfast quality, ease of preparation and energy savings.

Steadfast quality

Ensuring the freshness of each single dose and leaving the aroma of coffee unaltered, the pods allow you to prepare and serve in the simplest and fastest way a perfect and fresh espresso just like freshly ground coffee.

It is the most effective solution in moments of discontinuous consumption to offer quality even when the machine is not working regularly, without generating waste.

It ensures constancy in the cup regardless of consumption rate and service management.

Ease of preparation

The pod is user-friendly for the ease with which the operator can just pop it into the machine, press the button and get a good espresso in a simple, clean and effective way.

In fact, with the pod extraction system, it’s easy to insert the pod and get a perfectly made coffee, regardless of operator training and skills.

Using set parameters (coffee machine pressure and water temperature, grind, quantity of the coffee and pressing as the capsule is packaged) has resulted in a “product system” that ensures the best possible conditions for extraction thus guaranteeing a final quality that fully meets consumer demands.

Moreover, unlike coffee beans, it’s cleaner and leaves minimal residue to be cleaned.

Energy savings and low maintenance

With a non-continuous service, the machine has moments when it works at full capacity and other times when it rests for a long time (more than an hour).

Unlike the professional beans machine which needs to be turned on 24 hours a day, a professional coffee pod machine is turned on just before the service. It is designed to be flexible, efficient, and always maintains a low energy consumption.

Furthermore, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance is much simpler and faster.

In addition: variety of offer and ease of transport

Thanks to the pod system, you can expand the range by diversifying the blends, combining them with the chosen dessert or personal tastes. You can tell the story of coffees and blends just like you do with recipes or wine.

Even mobility is not negligible in the case of outdoor events or catering which are becoming increasingly frequent in the restaurant world. The pod system is even more versatile in use and above all ideal for: easy installation (taking advantage of the internal tank), ease of handling (low weight and small size) and simplified maintenance.

But which pods to choose?

Everyday at SpecialCoffee we put all our efforts into providing Ho.Re.Ca. professionals the dedicated products and solutions designed to meet the various business’ needs.

The SpecialCoffee pods are designed and created specifically for professionals in the away from home and catering.

The pod has always been SpecialCoffee’s portioned coffee. A quality choice because the extraction process is the closest to the traditional espresso method. Additionally, compared to coffee in capsules, it is the most eco-friendly single-serve coffee.

At SpecialCoffee we select ad hoc blends, research and define the ideal roasting degree, grinding and tampering of the coffee, to obtain a consistently high quality result in the cup, worthy of an espresso prepared by a professional barista.

Our pods contain the ideal quantity for a balanced and tasty espresso coffee: 7 grams of ground roasted coffee, pressed and vacuum packed between 2 layers of Compofilt® compostable certified filter paper: a fabric made of 100% natural fibers, tested and certified to be thrown away after use, to help respect the environment and the health of consumers.

Even the packaging is designed for professional use: the very useful and practical 150 pods dispenser box is compact, comfortable and easy to place even in small spaces.

It is not just a matter of product, but of service, professionalism and sustainability!

After all, coffee is the last thing that is served and remembered by the mind and the palate!
Why risk compromising everything?