What to present on & sample?
Participating as a Caffeine Crawl route stop includes a 20-25 minute presentation on a topic of your choice and small samples for each Crawler (20-25 per group, depending on the city and attendance*).
Ideas to get you started on choosing your topic & samples are below!
- Brew Demo -
One coffee brewed different ways, or multiple origins brewed the same way for flavor comparisons. Extractions or water comparisons are also good. Printed cards for attendees to take home are helpful, and good for them to refer back to your business. Brew demos can incorporate ticket holders if you want.
- Cupping -
A roaster can put up a small cupping exercise whether tasting the same coffee(s), or even a triangulation exercise.
Tasting -
Sample a coffee, or coffees, and have samples of food items that represent the flavor notes of the coffee(s).
- Pairings -
Have a house made chocolate cookie that pairs amazingly with your nitro cold brew, or an Earl Grey tea that highlights your lemon scones? Samples of house made treats alongside beverage samples are always a huge hit!
- Signature Drinks -
Creating a unique specialty drink for Caffeine Crawl or featuring a new (or coming-soon) menu item is a great option - examples include coffee mocktails (or coffee/tea cocktails if you also serve alcohol), spritzers/house sodas, etc. Provide ingredients where they can make their own signature drink using a base coffee/tea, sweet options, fruits, etc.
- Compare/Contrast -
Have two or more different types of coffee, or teas side-by-side, or compare the same coffee/tea brewed differently, or roasted/processed differently. Comparing a drink with different milk options is another direction. Also, using a food to change your palate is another idea for contrasting flavors.
- Flavor Focus -
Deconstruct the flavor notes in a coffee, whether by using food items as reference, or items to relate to aromas. Using the coffee flavor wheel as a guide is helpful, too. Some places will deconstruct a drink. A mocha, for example, can be presented with samples of steamed milk, chocolate and espresso by itself, and a mocha sampled in a small serving. A cold brew blend can be done in a similar way, too.
- Roasting Demo -
Roasting a batch of coffee and explaining the process as it happens creates a first-time experience for many Crawlers.
- Coffee History -
Cover a region, or timeline of coffee. Or, even a time in coffee history, or specific focus (women in coffee, history of roasting, etc.). If you, or your roaster recently came back from origin share that story and journey. Also, passing around parts of coffee or tea is great in creating interaction. Examples are green coffee, tea leaves, different grind sizes, side-by-side tea varietals.
More Ideas Coming Soon!
What to put in event bags?
- Branded items such as pens, mini notebooks, buttons,
stickers, chapstick, mugs, water bottles, etc.
- Small samples (2-4oz) of whole bean coffee.
- Mini baked goods - granola bars, mini cookies, biscotti, etc.
- How-to brew guides, coffee tasting flavor wheels, or cafe or
roasters history in brochure, postcard or fridge magnet form.
- Free drink cards or % discount purchase cards.
~ Questions? Email jason@lab5702.com ~