Hello Jessa! My name is Alex, my wife and I have a coffeehouse called Kavarna on the West side of Green Bay. I saw the two discussions that you started and I had a few of ideas for you:

1.) In Italy there are two drinks modified by the word 'macchiato,' the first is 'Caffé Macchiato' (which is espresso stained with a little milk) and the second is 'Latte Macchiato' (which is steamed milk stained with coffee). The confusion began when in the US the word 'macchiato' was used to refer to the first, and then later Starbucks used the same word to refer to the second. I think that if I were just starting a new menu, I'd put both Caffé Macchiato and Latte Macchiato on it. That way, you're doing both and getting the chance to educate people on the difference.

2.) Don't be afraid to have higher prices if they can be justified by higher quality. One of the strange things about the coffee industry is that there's an assumption that pricing should be about the same everywhere despite the fact that the quality varies widely. You wouldn't expect to pay the same for a hamburger at McDonald's as you would for a hamburger at Titletown. If you're a drive through, then one of your main competitors will be Jo to Go, don't be afraid to price yourself higher. Their coffee is terrible.

3.) If you're thinking about margins, then push tea. Never be tempted to increase your margins by reducing the quality of the product, I think that's why Jo to Go is so terrible. Also remember that when someone drives up to your place they've opened themselves up to the possibility of all kinds of temptation. It's probably a challenge to display lots of bakery, fresh fruit, treats, etc. in a drive up situation; but to the extent that you can (maybe photographically?) it will be to your benefit. For us coffee, tea, smoothies, etc. only make up about a third of our sales. Higher margins are easier when you can add value to raw materials (like flour, eggs, and butter).

Hope that's all helpful! Good luck with your venture! We don't often go out that way (we have a 2 year old and a 4 month old, so we don't often get beyond our home, our business, and the grocery store), but we'll stop by if we do. And if you ever think that we might be able to help you out with any questions, feel free to email us!

Jessa, are you the new owner of your cafe? I used to work with the previous owners and have left a catalog a few months ago. Can I ask you to visit our web site at www.uppermidwestgourmet.com and call me with any request at 612-250-8277. Are you going to Coffee Fest in Chicago? I have some free passes if you need them but only good if registered by Jan 30th. Thanks, hope to hear from you.