Do you run a coffee shop business and need menu ideas to create a unique brand? If YES, here are 50 best selling delicious food items to sell in a coffee shop.
It is a known fact that coffee shops sell one prominent item, and that is coffee. Coffee is one drink that can nearly never be rivaled by another drink.
The taste is rich, tangy, sweet and divine, so it is indeed a perfect drink on its own. But that being said, there is still room for certain foods to complement the exquisite taste of coffee.
These foods are commonly known as coffee time snacks. A coffee shop that wants to make more income knows that it is best to make special coffee and food pairings that customers can hardly resist.
It is a fact that there are foods and snacks that not only complement the rich taste of coffee, but also accentuates it. In other words, these snacks get the best out of your coffee and upgrade your customer’s coffee experience.
From breakfast to dessert, coffee is a delicious drink to sip with food. Here are some classic coffee and food pairings that you can introduce in your coffee shop and it would keep the customers coming back.
Best Selling Coffee Shop Menu ideas That Customers Love
1. Beignets
Beignet, synonymous with the English “fritter”, is made from fried dough. Beignets may also be made from other types of dough, including yeast dough.
Beignets are commonly known in New Orleans as a breakfast served with powdered sugar on top. They are traditionally prepared right before consumption to be eaten fresh and hot.
Arguably the greatest coffee and food pairing, owing to the magic that happens whilst dunking the beignet into coffee. Your customers would sure cherish this with their coffee.
2. Coffee Cake
Coffee cake is cake intended to be eaten with, or flavored with, coffee. British coffee cake is a sponge cake flavoured with coffee.
They are generally round and consist of two layers separated by coffee flavoured butter icing, which also covers the top of the cake.
Walnuts are a common addition to coffee cakes. So focused is this foodstuff on being paired with coffee, you can’t order one without implicitly mentioning the other. It is not too flaky and not too sweet; it can be said to be just perfect for coffee.
3. Plain cake donut
Cake doughnuts (or cake donuts) are made from sweetened dough that is leavened with baking powder, and they are generally dense and cake-like.
You can dunk any donut, really, but there’s perhaps none more satisfying to merge with coffee than the good old fashioned plain cake.
4. Bran muffin
Bran muffins are a very healthy snack that go well with coffee. Plus, bran muffins can be super delicious. You can decide to play with the flavors and fillings to get something unique for your customers.
5. Some nice toast
The good old toast is an old favorite of coffee. In addition to the fact that the flavour of toast and coffee go well, it is equally a filling breakfast or brunch.
6. Pretzels
The salty crunch of pretzels goes great with coffee. A pretzel is a type of baked bread product made from dough most commonly shaped into a twisted knot.
Pretzels originated in Europe, possibly among monks in the Early Middle Ages. it is also good to know that pretzels are lower in calories than potato chips.
7. Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich
This has been a long breakfast favorite that goes great with a cup of coffee. If your coffee shop is able to offer breakfast, then whipping up a serving of bacon, egg and cheese sandwich would help in no small measure to fill them up as well as give them a great meal.
8. Stroopwafel
Ever-popular in the Netherlands, stroopwafels pair extremely well with your favorite gourmet coffee blends. For those not in the know, stroopwafels are essentially two thin layers of baked dough with a caramel-like syrup in the middle.
While stroopwafels are satisfying to eat on their own, but dipping them into your piping hot cup of coffee is the true way to go.
9. Biscotti
Perhaps the most popular baked good to enjoy with coffee in the U.S. outside of doughnuts, biscotti comes in flavors and varieties to suit nearly any palate.
Almond is classic, but cherry, chocolate, and other types are also well worth trying. Full-flavored biscotti is also great with espresso.
Contrary to popular belief, the biscotto is not simply a fancy Italian biscuit. It is a traditional Italian double baked cake that has a brittle texture, which makes it perfect for being dipped into your coffee.
The taste of the coffee soaked biscotti will pamper your customers taste buds and leave them in a state of pure culinary satisfaction.
10. Bagels and Cream Cheese
The sweet yet savory notes of cream cheese on a toasted bagel go very well with black coffee and specialty coffees alike. Really, is there a better way to start work on a cold and sleepy morning? Bagels, cream cheese and coffee are nourishing for the stomach and the mind. It would make a great serve for your coffee shop.
11. Cheese cake
Simply put, cheesecake and coffee is a match made in heaven. The soft creaminess of the sweet and salty cheesecake perfectly balances the strong, sharp and bitter taste of coffee.
Out of the numerous cheesecakes that you can offer our customers with their coffee, the best one is certainly the cheesecake brownie.
As the name suggests, it brings out the best of both the desserts, and gives you an unforgettable coffee experience that you cherish every single time. The chemistry between a cup of cappuccino and a slice of cheesecake brownie in par.
12. Pound cake
There can hardly be a tea party without cakes. It could be a plain pound cake, a Victorian jam sponge cake, fruit cake, cakes filled with cream, a pineapple upside down cake, chocolate cakes and the list will go on. If you want to make individual servings, you can always convert your cake recipes to muffins and cupcakes.
13. Macaroons
A macaroon is a small biscuit/cookie, typically made from ground almonds, coconut, and/or other nuts or even potato, with sugar and sometimes flavorings, food coloring, glace cherries, jam, and/or a chocolate coating. These go great with your espresso, so you can go ahead and offer it in your coffee shop.
14. Granola and Yogurt
Perhaps some of the previous food combinations we’ve mentioned aren’t exactly the healthiest, but yogurt and granola is a reliable, tried-and-true healthy breakfast option.
Packed with protein, whole grains and fiber, combining coffee with granola and yogurt is a surefire way to keep your energy levels up and power your way to lunchtime. If you’re eating fruit-flavored granola or yogurt, a sweeter gourmet coffee blend makes a nice flavor combination.
15. Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes
Blueberry and oatmeal pancakes go great with coffee. They are filling, delicious and as well very healthy. The health conscious customer would be glad that this is on your menu.
16. Waffles
A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression.
Waffles have long been a coffee staple. To make your waffles more appealing and more nutritious to your customers, you can stuff them with fruits and other healthy stuffings.
17. Cookies
You could call them cookies or biscuits. The type of cookie or biscuit may vary but they are sure to be there on the coffee table.
From the young little children all the way to the good old senior citizens, everybody loves cookies. It is perhaps the most common coffee time snack there is, and it also happens to be the people’s most favorite. Any kind of cookie forms a perfect harmony with any kind of coffee.
However, butterscotch cookies and chocolate chip cookies are specialties that make your coffee taste better than ever. Make sure you dip the cookie for just the right amount of time.
Dipping it too long will cause it crumble and dissolve in the coffee, while dipping it for a second or two will keep the cookie dry and unchanged.
You may want to place the cookie on the rim of the coffee mug for a minute or two. The heat dissipated from the mug softens chocolate chip cookies and brings out the gooey goodness in them.
18. Croissants
A croissant is a buttery, flaky, viennoiserie pastry of Austrian origin, named for its historical crescent shape. Croissants and other viennoiserie are made of a layered yeast-leavened dough. Croissants and other viennoiserie are made of a layered yeast-leavened dough.
The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating.
The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry. The main deal here is that croissants are a good match with coffee and they are must haves at coffee shops.
19. Doughnuts
Different types of doughnuts pair well with different coffees. Many coffee-and-doughnut lovers swear by milk and sugar with pretty much any type of coffee and any type of doughnut. Smooth, sweet Costa Rican coffee is especially well suited to pairing with doughnuts.
20. Scones
Scones are a favourite sweet accompaniment to coffee, they are so versatile, a blank canvas perfect to flavour with fruit, spices or herbs to compliment the profile of a coffee. Light, airy and simple to make – scones form a perfect pair with both tea and coffee.
You can have plain scones with a choice of jams or you can have fruit scones. Unflavored scones are good with Costa Ricans and maple raisin scones are perfect for Kona or Nicaraguan coffee. Citrus scones are great with Mexican and Ethiopian coffees.
21. Eclair
An éclair is an oblong pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with chocolate icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside.
An eclair is a very delicious snack, and you can trust the French to bake their snack to perfection. The sumptuous eclair is indeed a great pair with coffee and your customers would love you for it. Just ensure that your eclairs are baked to perfection.
22. Chocolate Cake
Chocolate cake is great with most medium- or dark-roasted coffees, but it is especially tasty with chocolaty Guatemalans. Chocolate mousse cake is delicious with most Arabica coffees. Vanilla bean-iced chocolate cupcakes are wonderful with Colombian coffee.
23. Chocolate-Dipped Fruit
Chocolate-dipped fruit is good with most African coffees. Try offering tart chocolate-covered cherries with citrusy Ethiopian Sidamo for a real treat.
24. Caramel Flan
Crème caramel, flan, or caramel dessert is a custard dessert with a layer of clear caramel sauce, as opposed to crème brûlée which is custard with an added hard clear caramel layer on top.
The ultimate Creamy Caramel Flan is made with caramelized sugar, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, a touch of cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla. The rich, salty-sweet flavor of caramel flan works well with Indonesian and Guatemalan coffees.
25. Cinnamon Buns
A cinnamon roll is a sweet roll served commonly in Northern Europe and North America. Its main ingredients are flour, cinnamon, sugar, and butter, which provide a robust and sweet flavor.
A cinnamon roll consists of a rolled sheet of yeast-leavened dough onto which a cinnamon and sugar mixture (and raisins or other ingredients in some cases) is sprinkled over a thin coat of butter.
The dough is then rolled, cut into individual portions, and baked or deep fried. The caramel and chocolate notes in Colombian and Guatemalan coffees are a natural fit for cinnamon buns.
26. Coffee Bread
Slices of coffee bread are great with a cup of tea. Flavored with strong coffee, this mildly sweet, caffeine tinged bread is easy to make. It’s a dense bread.
A hearty snack, coffee bread makes a good midday meal. Anyone who is inclined to bake will definitely want to explore coffee bread recipes. You can use their individual flavor profiles to pair them with the right coffee.
27. Burgers
A hamburger, beefburger or burger is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat, usually beef, placed inside a sliced bread roll or bun.
The patty may be pan fried, grilled, or flame broiled. Pairing burgers with coffee is more than breakfast, in fact, it can act as a filling delicious brunch too.
28. Muffins
A muffin is an individual-sized, baked product. It can refer to two distinct items, a part-raised flatbread and a cupcake-like quickbread.
The flatbread is of British or European derivation, and dates from at least the early 18th century, while the quickbread originated in North America during the 19th century.
Like doughnuts, most muffins work with most coffees. Some find that Costa Rican and Mexican coffees are especially good with muffins.
29. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Light to medium roast Nicaraguan and Kona coffees are ideal for pairing with the lighter flavor of oatmeal raisin cookies.
30. Shortbread
Shortbread is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oat flour.
Other ingredients like ground rice or cornflour are sometimes added to alter the texture. The buttery, dense flavor and texture of shortbread is delicious with Costa Rican or Brazilian coffees, or with a caffè breve.
31. Sweet Breads
Zucchini bread with nuts is amazing with Colombian coffee. Banana nut bread is great with Costa Rican, Kenyan, or Kona coffee, and pumpkin bread with nuts is incredible with Colombian or Costa Rican coffee. They’re all great with espresso con panna.
32. Crepes
A crêpe or crepe is a type of very thin pancake. Crêpes are usually of two types: sweet crêpes and savoury galettes. Crêpes are served with a variety of fillings, from the simplest with only sugar to flambéed crêpes Suzette or elaborate savoury galettes.
Pair savory crepes—those with ingredients like vegetables, herbs, cheese, and meats—with bold Pacific Island coffees. Pair Nutella or chocolate crepes with Colombian coffee. Berry crepes are great with Kenyan or Haitian coffees. They’re all also easily paired with espresso and espresso-based drinks.
33. Eggs and Bacon or Sausage
This American-style breakfast is great with a medium roast Costa Rican coffee.
34. Omelets
An omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around a filling such as cheese, chives, vegetables, mushrooms, meat, or some combination of the above.
An omelette makes a fantastic breakfast seasoned with just salt and pepper, but it’s also a mighty fine delivery vehicle for anything from diced ham to sautéed mushrooms, eaten any time of day. Coffees from Java, Sumatra, and Indonesia can handle the full flavors of savory brunch foods like omelets.
35. Pancakes With Maple Syrup
A pancake is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying with oil or butter. Kona and Nicaraguan coffee complement the maple and the pastry flavors of this classic breakfast food.
36. Quiche
Quiche is a savoury open flan consisting of pastry crust filled with eggs, milk or cream, and cheese, meat, seafood or vegetables. Quiche can be served hot or cold. It is part of French cuisine but is also popular in other countries, particularly as party food.
The full, savory flavors of many Pacific Island coffees are great with quiche. Filled with spinach, onion and cheddar cheese, a few these mini quiches are super versatile and are sure to tide your customers over until lunch.
37. Wheat Toast
Light or medium roast Costa Rican, Colombian, Guatemalan, and Brazilian coffees are great with simple, grainy breakfasts, such as toast or cereal. Cappuccino and cafè au lait are also worth trying with simple breakfasts.
38. Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is ideally paired with Indonesian, Brazilian, Ethiopian, Guatemalan, and dark roast coffees. If your choice of coffee is the latte, then dark chocolate is the perfect side kick for it.
When the dark cocoa wears away into the swirling frothy surface of the latte, the rich flavor of the dark chocolate transfuses into the coffee.
The final taste is somewhat similar to that of hot chocolate, but the mild coffee flavor takes the taste up a notch and makes it much better than any chocolate drink that you have ever had.
People keep talking about Romeo and Juliet, we say that there is no couple more romantic than a cup of latte and a bar of dark chocolate. Sip it to believe it.
39. Milk Chocolate
It’s hard not to pair milk chocolate with all types of coffee, but Colombian, Kenyan, Sumatran, Yemeni, Ethiopian, and Kona work best.
40. Kachori
A Kachori is a spicy snack, originating from the Indian subcontinent, and common in places with Indian diaspora and other South Asian diaspora. It is a sweet dish dipped in sugar syrup.
In Gujarat, it is usually a round ball made of flour and dough filled with a stuffing of yellow moong dal, black pepper, red chili powder, and ginger paste. The spicy filling is tongue tingling and goes well with coffee. If you serve ethic snacks, then maybe you should try this one.
41. Berries
Kenyan and Haitian coffees are great with any kind of berries. Yet, you’ll find that Yemeni and Jamaican coffees are even better with blueberries.
42. Tiramisu
For a true coffee love affair, you are recommended to have the tiramisu with your coffee. It does not get any more coffeelicious than this. Coffee with tiramisu is a delicacy that every coffee lover craves. One simply cannot have enough of this blissful combination.
Imagine having a crema topped shot of espresso with a coffee soaked cake. Now that’s what you call living the dream. It’s very easy to overload yourself with coffee and tiramisu, but you must also bear in mind that this snack has high calorie content.
43. Sandwiches
If you do not have a sweet tooth or like to offer a variety to your customers you can include sandwiches in the menu. The choice of sandwiches is also vast – cheese, vegetable, deli style, egg, ham, grilled, toasted etc. A lot depends upon what your customers prefer.
44. Pies
Meat pies, chicken pies, picnic pies, vegetable pies – these are simply the names of some of the pies that you can serve with coffee and tea.
45. Flavored breads
If you do not like the sweetness of cakes, you can go for a subtler version and include some flavored breads. There can be fruit breads like banana bread, blueberry bread, lemon loaf, walnut chocolate bread or cinnamon bread.
46. Crackers
A cracker is a flat, dry baked food typically made with flour. Thin, light and crunchy is what crackers are all about. They are light on the tummy and tasty on the tongue. You could make plain butter crackers or herbed ones as per your taste.
47. Tarts
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard. Jam filled, cream filled, custard containing or simple ones. Tarts make for one of the best foods for coffee and tea.
48. Samosas
A samosa is a fried or baked dish with a savoury filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, or lentils. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region.
If you wish to go Indian, then there can be nothing better than samosa and tea. These triangle shaped, crispy, potato stuffed snacks are loved by one and all.
49. Mathri
Mathri is a kind of flaky biscuit from north-west region of india. It is made from flour, water, and cumin seeds. They can be plain or flavored with dried fenugreek leaves (methi) or ajwain seeds. Crispy and crunchy they make a good accompaniment to coffee.