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A-to-Z Intro
Preplanning
 Developing
a Business Plan
Finding Your
Location
Financing
Menu Planning
Design & Build-out
Alternate
Operational
Concepts
Learning About Coffee
What About Decaf?
Anatomy
of American Espresso
Making Tea Work
in a Coffeehouse
Coffee Equipment
Espresso
Equipment
Additional
Equipment
The Role of Accessories
Training
Successful Staff
Scheduling
Operational
Systems
Marketing
Measuring Up
Against
the Chains
Additional
Resources
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What About Decaf?
by Timothy Castle
In planning the offerings of a coffeehouse, decaffeinated coffees are usually
an afterthought. It is often assumed that decaf accounts for a small percentage
of sales and that, furthermore, decaf drinkers don't really care whether there
is a selection of high-quality decaffeinated coffees available to them. (Given
they are decaf drinkers, people think they must not care that much about the taste
of coffee in the first place!)
All of these assumptions are wrong, of course, and the would-be
coffeehouse proprietor that makes them does so at the risk of losing many true
coffee lovers to the competition. Recent research conducted by the management
of Swiss Water Decaffeinated has revealed that most decaf drinkers (nearly 65
percent) also drink regular coffee during the day. This means the typical decaf
drinker really loves the taste of coffee and wants to keep enjoying it past the
point of not wanting any more caffeine. In addition, these dual users, on average,
drink more coffee than those who just drink regular or decaf alone, making them
very desirable coffee customers indeed. Obviously, most dual users will find it
easiest to get their regular and decaffeinated coffee at one location, and the
coffeehouse that serves excellent coffee in regular and decaf versions is most
likely to earn the loyalty of these customers throughout the day.
A coffeehouse is also likely to serve more coffee at night—when
decaf consumption, on an absolute basis and as a percentage of sales, tends to
be much higher. So depending on when you expect high traffic through your store,
you could find yourself serving far more decaf than you might have anticipated—and
to a much more demanding coffee drinker. "Most coffeehouse operators assume their
decaf customers are comparing their decaf to similar products," notes Dan Alvo,
marketing manager for Swiss Water. "In reality, though, many of those decaf drinkers
were drinking regular coffee this morning, and that's the standard they're trying
to match. It stands to reason that the operator who can make the switch from regular
to decaf as imperceptible as possible will retain the most customers throughout
the day."
Even among those specialty coffee drinkers who drank only decaf,
concerns about quality were foremost when selecting a decaffeinated coffee. Another
assumption often made about the decaf sector is that demand is stagnant. Again,
while this assumption may have been true in past years, the Swiss Water Usage
and Attitude Study indicated that a third of the specialty coffee drinkers surveyed
were drinking more decaf than they were a year ago. "What this indicates to us,"
Alvo observes, "is that there is far more opportunity in this category than many
of us have assumed. Further, the key to this potential for sales growth is quality."
Since many coffeehouse and espresso bar operators do not take their
decaf customers as seriously as their regular coffee customers, they often do
not take their decaf offerings as seriously. But the same strict standards that
apply to your regular coffee should apply equally (if not more) to your decaffeinated
coffees. After all, it may be that you can differentiate your business by offering
an impressive selection of decafs. In this increasingly competitive and sophisticated
market you will need every edge you can get—a great-tasting cup of decaffeinated
coffee could be one of them.
Timothy Castle is president of Castle Communications
in Santa Monica, Calif., and is a past president of the Specialty Coffee Association
of America. He can be reached at 310/479-7370.
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