10 Must-Have Drinks for a New Coffee Shop
The 10 safest drinks for a new coffee shop menu, from iced palm sugar coffee to V60, with the reasons behind each and tips for building your menu board.
New coffee shops are often tempted to launch with a long menu. Too many drinks means piles of stock, baristas who struggle to stay consistent and customers who cannot decide. It is better to start with ten proven sellers and add new drinks once you know what your customers like.
Group 1: the espresso-based best sellers
- Iced palm sugar coffee milk. The top seller in many Indonesian shops. Sweet, creamy and liked by every age group. Put it first on the board.
- Classic iced coffee milk with condensed milk, for customers who like a richer milk flavour.
- Americano, hot and iced, for customers who skip milk or are cutting back on sugar.
- Caffe latte. The most ordered hot milk drink.
- Cappuccino. More foam than a latte and a morning favourite.
Group 2: drinks that set you apart
- Iced pandan coffee milk. The pandan aroma gives your menu a local identity.
- Espresso tonic or orange coffee. Refreshing on a hot afternoon.
- Bottled coffee milk by the litre. Extra sales from delivery and office orders.
Group 3: black coffee
- V60 for single-origin beans. It shows that your shop takes coffee seriously.
- Kopi tubruk. Cheap to make, familiar to older customers and needs no machine.
Tips for your menu board
- Start with only one or two beans: a blend for espresso and a single origin for V60.
- Share syrups across drinks. Palm sugar syrup works in iced coffee milk, lattes and bottled coffee.
- Show cup sizes clearly, for example 250 ml and 350 ml, so prices feel fair.
- Cost every drink before you set the price. Use our cost-per-cup calculator.
- After a month, check your sales. Replace the slowest drink with something new.
Every drink above is written out with grams, millilitres, temperatures and cup sizes on our Coffee Shop Menu Recipes page.
