Step into Spring: Fun + Easy Drink Inspiration for the Season

As temperatures rise and flowers bloom, we share easy tips for building out the perfect springtime menu.

BY JOSH RANK
FOR BARISTA MAGAZINE

Featured illustration by Isip Xin

What to know:

• Coffee mocktails are trending for spring, taking cues from craft cocktails in terms of garnishes, syrups, and presentation
• Seasonal drinks should veer toward all things light and refreshing—think citrus, berries, and tonics
• To keep bar flow efficient, seasonal specials should be creative and fun, yet easy and quick to make

Everyone loves the transition from the cold, dismal decay of winter to a sunnier season. Or, as George Costanza famously put it on Seinfeld, “Spring. Rejuvenation. Rebirth. Everything’s blooming. All that crap.”

All that crap, indeed. And when it comes to running a café, it’s always a great idea to lean into whatever kind of crap is going to boost sales. Seasonal drinks are a common topic because they are so gosh darned popular and there are about a million ways to approach them.

But one thing remains constant: the need to approach your seasonal menu with intentionality. Simply whipping together some random ingredients and slapping a spring-related buzzword onto it won’t inspire the buying frenzy you need to reach your quarterly goals.

“Spring is such an anticipatory time; flowers are showing up, fruit isn’t far off,” says Nick Purvis, co-owner of Good Coffee in Portland, Ore. “All of our senses are opening up after a few months of comfort seeking.”

And with this awakening comes a thirst for new, brighter flavors. But what types of flavors address this need? How can you maximize seasonal trends, and in turn, profits, without falling victim to cliches?

The taste of spring

“After months of cold weather and heavy, rich flavors, people want bright, fresh drinks for spring,” says Stasha Johnston, SVP of marketing at Monin. “Beyond florals, citrus is a delicious element for spring coffee drinks, as are berry flavors.”

These lighter flavors should be the first building block of a refreshing spring menu. However, the possibilities don’t stop there. “There are some spices that work really well in the spring and summer as well,” says Nick. “Sarsaparilla and cardamom are really nice, not too spiced or roasty. Format is also something that can be fun to experiment with—sparkling, iced with foam, etc.”

These flavors work because spring puts you into a lighter headspace. Depending on where you live, winter can be a long slog that wears you down over time. In colder climates, the first day over 40° F can feel like a tropical vacation, and a strong spring drink can play into this mindset.

Andrea Allen, co-owner of Onyx Coffee Lab and former United States Barista Champion, has three specific considerations when she sets out to construct a spring drink: temperature, flavor, and color. As the season can waver between warm and cold temperatures, both warm and cold drinks have a place on the menu. We’ve discussed how floral and fruit make for good flavors, but Andrea adds that “garnish can play a big part in this, for aroma and also for visual cues.”

Color is “often overlooked but is super important,” she continues. “Playing with drinks that can feature color is super fun. Coffee is always … brown. Creating drinks that aren’t brown is a beautiful thing.”

Learning from the past is another great way to predict what will work in the future. The seasons
repeat every year, and to a certain extent, the flavors people crave will, too. “All things botanical
were big last spring: light and bright—think hibiscus, lavender, ginger, and garden mint,” says Helen Ostle, head of communications at Beyond the Bean. “These work really well to add twists to iced teas, hot chocolates, frappes, and smoothies.”

Maximizing profitability

But as always, coffee shops need to consider the bottom line. Creativity is the most fun aspect of working in the coffee industry, but we can’t be constructing incredibly complicated drinks from scratch, made from bespoke ingredients, and served with a bar of gold on the side. At the very core, a coffee shop needs to make money. Failing to accomplish this basic goal will negate any creative offerings you put together because your lights will be out.

“I think the main thing to consider about profitability versus creativity is mostly in what can be procured in batches and played out throughout shifts/locations,” says Andrea. “We often have really cool drinks in ideation, but then when we think about actually making them in the café, it’s a little bit impossible. But at the same time, don’t let that keep you from ideating. There’s got to be a balance, and I think that considering volume or profitability too much in the front can cut creation down at the knees. There’s always a way to make it work.”

Devorah Freudiger, director of coffee culture at San Francisco Bay Area-based Equator Coffees, notes the importance of maximizing all the new ingredients you might want to incorporate into your spring menu. “We try to use ingredients in multiple places to save on waste and cut down on complexity,” she says. “When we’ve done things like making a syrup from fresh blackberries, we will use this syrup in a soda (and) in a cold foam to top cold brew.”

Another big consideration is the amount of time it takes to make the drink. Ideally, it will be served numerous times throughout the day, so if it’s a particularly laborious recipe, making that drink can grind the flow of a shift to a halt.

“It can’t take too long to execute, it shouldn’t cause disruption with other moving pieces of service, yet it still needs to be intriguing and worth branching out for,” says Nick. “Ultimately, it needs to be efficient and repeatable. Reverse engineering to these objectives while still having as much fun as possible is my approach. Batching certain steps will definitely help.”

Thinking outside the bean

As a coffee-shop owner, you might have a habit of viewing every option through the lens of your coffee machines. However, spring lends itself to a variety of ingredients that don’t necessarily have to pair with coffee. Consider the season an opportunity to expand your menu with original perspectives on coffee.

“A mocktail used to refer to a non-alcoholic version of an alcoholic drink, hence the name mocktail, but now it’s evolved to include any craft beverage that doesn’t include alcohol,” says Flore of Routin 1883. “Nitro coffee, shakerato, and coffee tonics are some examples of coffee drinks that can be considered a mocktail.”

Further, the popularity of cold foam has grown to such an extent that the one-time trend is now a menu staple. “Cold coffee is the number-one coffee market trend, so it makes sense that cold foam continues to grow,” says Debra Kaminski, director of foodservice marketing at Pacific Foods. “It is a great add-on to any coffee-shop drink. It adds a wonderful flavor and texture to cold coffee drinks, and the upcharge can help coffee shops raise their top-line revenue.”

Predicting the future

Nobody wants to play catch-up with professional trends. We want to be leaders. And the best way to do that is by selling your soul for the ability to tell the future. But when you can’t find the right book of spells to do so, the next best thing is to look to other coffee professionals for their thoughts. And one of the most inspiring forums to look into are those of craft cocktails.

“Already popular in cocktails, we expect to see global flavors like yuzu, ube, and spicy peppers continue to penetrate coffee menus as consumers look to embark on a global flavor journey from the comfort of local establishments,” says Stasha of Monin.

Flavors aren’t the only line of thinking when putting together your approach for spring drinks. Thinking outside the box might mean thinking outside the bag of coffee. “I think cafés will continue to expand their non-coffee offerings,” says Devorah of Equator Coffees. “The best-case scenario is that you make something so compelling and craveable that your morning coffee regulars come back in the afternoon for something tea- or fruit-focused.”

Pairing a great drink with the first warm day in a while is the stuff dreams are made of—and now is the time to get your plan together. Think about what’s going to blow the socks off your customers when they stop in on their first long walk of the year. Remember, you’re not only pairing your drink with a croissant and perhaps a bar of chocolate, but you’re also pairing it with sunshine, moderate temperatures, and the hope of a new season.

Editor’s note: This is a condensed version of the original article, which appeared in the February + March 2024 print issue of Barista Magazine. Click here to read the full piece.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Josh Rank (he/him) is a writer living in Tennessee with his wife and two dogs. Find more of his ramblings at joshrank.com.

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