How Restaurants Like Canlis Are Upping the Coffee Game

[Photo: René Redzepi / Instagram]

Eater National is running a feature in which they explore the role of coffee in restaurants and how some are taking extra steps to make sure it's not shitty. It is, after all, often times the last thing a diner tastes.

"From the Pacific Northwest to the South to New York City, restaurants everywhere are stepping up when it comes to coffee." Even though coffee service can be a financial burden without much return for restaurateurs, they point to Canlis as one of the restaurants getting around the hurdle by partnering with Chicago-based roaster Intelligentsia.

The selection of a roaster is key to amping up restaurant coffee. In 2011, high-profile Seattle restaurant Canlis made the switch from Starbucks to the Chicago-based Intelligentsia along with seasonally changing "boutique" roasters.

Brian Canlis says the roasters "continue to meet the dynamic needs of our staff and guests with seasonal roasts, custom ceramics, a highly personable and educated sales team, and the best damn tasting coffee I've ever had."

Chris Young of ChefSteps says that there's little incentive for restaurateurs to invest time into a quality coffee program, saying, "...a lot of chefs are unaware of how good a great cup of coffee can be and how much attention to detail has to go into it."
· How Restaurants Are Stepping Up Their Coffee Game [-EN-]
· Canlis [Official Site]
· ChefSteps [Official Site]