Enhancing the coffee experience is crucial for a successful coffee shop. Allowing customers to enjoy the offerings properly is an essential aspect to consider.
However, offering premium quality coffee isn’t the only important thing. A coffee cup will alter the taste and the way your customer enjoys the coffee. The choice of color, shape, and material will shape the coffee drinking experience.
If you want to enhance the coffee experience and promote brand love, we have you covered. This post shares the best coffee shop tips for choosing the right cups that will make the coffee experience even more enjoyable for your customers.
How The Mug Impacts The Coffee Experience
Having a successful coffee shop is more than just offering the finest coffee blends. Shaping an enjoyable customer experience should be your top priority. The experts in the coffee industry would advise you to pick the coffee mugs carefully, as they will influence the coffee’s taste.
The coffee mug’s shape, size, and color will primarily affect the coffee drinking experience. The size of the cup will bring out coffee’s aroma or taste, respectively. The material will keep the optimal temperature while making it comfortable to hold the mug. Lastly, the color and shape will determine the customer’s perception of the product.
Back in 2017, a study was conducted. It reveals the correlation between the mug shape and coffee flavor. According to the results, the width and height of a mug were important in determining the flavor. Each coffee mug shape was associated with a different taste. The participants related the short mugs with intense coffee flavor and narrow mugs with enhanced aroma. On the other hand, the wide mugs were perceived as bringing out sweet flavours.
How Coffee Mug Width Alters The Taste
When it comes to the mug design, there are a few aspects to consider. The available headspace will determine how the customer feels the coffee taste and aroma. Headspace refers to the space between the coffee and the top edge of the mug, which is where the wonderful coffee smell develops. The headspace will aerate the coffee aroma, allowing the customer to enjoy it fully. A low mug will have less headspace compared to a taller one. Therefore, the customer can feel the coffee aroma better in a tall and wide cup.
However, this doesn’t mean that a specific design isn’t suitable for drinking coffee. It is all about serving coffee in a mug that will enhance its best features. In narrow cups, the coffee taste will be more prominent than its smell. If a coffee’s flavor is its strong selling point, it is better to serve it in this type of mug. A wide mug will be the best fit when you want the customer to enjoy the strong smell of the finest coffee blends.
The coffee mug width can alter the coffee flavor, depending on the size of the surface exposed to air. The code can change flavor when in direct contact with air due to oxidation. The wide mugs will speed up oxidation, which will enhance the naturally sweet flavors. Narrow cups will have less surface exposed to air, enhancing acidity. When choosing the proper mugs for your coffee shop, you should be guided by the type of coffee you offer.
Coffee Mug Material: Does It Matter?
The mug material can impact the coffee’s flavour and temperature, affecting the coffee-drinking experience. A mug with poor heat retention properties will make the drink cool faster. Since coffee tastes better when hot, this will alter its flavour. In addition, the customer shouldn’t burn their hands when holding the coffee mug.
The weight, texture, and heat retention ability make ceramic the perfect material for coffee mugs. The ceramic mug won’t alter the coffee flavour, letting the customer enjoy the authentic taste. Also, let’s not forget that keeping the coffee warm will preserve its original taste.
Mugs made of heatproof glass can also be considered a great option. Often the design comes with double walls for enhanced heat retention properties. The transparent sides of the glass are also a part of the customer experience, letting the coffee lovers see the mixture while stirring. They will witness the fantastic colours and layers, seeing them whirl and mix. Therefore, glass will be ideal for drinks like cafe lattes and iced coffee.
Paper glasses aren’t a favourite when it comes to serving coffee. The porous material doesn’t retain the core’s temperature and can alter its taste. Also, it doesn’t have good insulation, meaning it won’t be comfortable for the customer. Metal glasses are also a huge no. They can change the original coffee flavour, and coffee enthusiasts aren’t keen on that.
Brand Love – Sharing the mug design and coffee experience
With social media being so popular, people love grabbing inspiration from their favorite influencers. The coffee shop design and mugs provide unique aesthetics for Instagrammers.
Coffee shop owners shouldn’t forget that the cups strengthen their brand identity. Instagram users love to share a photo of their coffee to tell more about their lifestyle. Branded coffee mugs will become a favourite prop in aesthetic images. Therefore, use this opportunity to spread brand love and enhance brand visibility.
Nor should we forget that if the coffee has made a great impression on the customer, they will be much more likely to recommend it to their friends, to share it on social media and of course to come back to your coffee shop.
How Does The Coffee Mug Impact the Coffee Shop Experience – Final Thoughts.
Opening a coffee shop business requires you to consider every detail that fits the big picture. It is all about providing the ultimate customer experience and making loyal coffee lovers return.
The mug will certainly impact the coffee experience, but it will be the mix of elements, the layout, the lighting, the furniture, the materials and the music that will shape the customer sum total of customers’ perceptions and feelings. You will create the ultimate coffee siping experience by intentionally choosing the correct elements. If you need assistance, we have you covered.
We feature the best coffee shop tips on our design blog. If you need help with your coffee shop design, don’t hesitate to contact us now. The experts at Tanic Design will shape the customer experience through a curated collection of design elements.
