The point-of-sale system, Square, has gathered a wealth of statistical information on coffee shop sales in the U.S. To the surprise of almost no one (but the disappointment of many), straight espresso sales don't amount to enough to even win a place on the graphs.

Story here: http://dailycoffeenews.com/2015/09/29/s ... u-s-cafes/

yep, Californians are cheap...

This could have more to do with higher beverage prices here (NY is also at 17%), but I don't know.

They last time I ordered an espresso from a local cafe they served it to me in a 12oz paper cup. Felt like I was drinking someone's dip spit, literally made me gag.

I hate it when I get served espresso in a paper cup.. or even asked if I would like it to go. IMHO, if you don't have the time to enjoy espresso then and there from a proper demitasse, you probably could care less about the qualities of it. It's amazing how many of my close friends don't understand what espresso is "I thought it was coffee brewed twice from special beans" or "isn't it just SUPER concentrated caffeine shots?" yep, that's why I'm (as unfortunate as it is) not surprised by Square's findings, maybe it's because people that really care about killer espresso (like us) make it themselves!

There's no reason to distrust the results of their survey, but I do note that often when I walk into a cafe and place a large order for various milk drinks, some brewed coffee and any pastry, I often seem to get comped the espresso shot.

LukeFlynn wrote:I hate it when I get served espresso in a paper cup

There's just something comforting about eating and drinking from real vessels. Paper and flimsy plastic have an unpleasant feel, and not infrequently an unpleasant taste, that really reduce the pleasure of eating and drinking for me. If a shop only has paper, I won't get anything at all.

I prefer cups that are solid color inside (preferably white), so I can enjoy the beauty of my coffee while I drink it. I also realized long ago that I prefer simple plates that let me see and appreciate the food on them. My in-laws' dishes were rather ornate, and it occurred to me one day that the art of presentation and the beauty of the food were simply lost on them. Our everyday dishes are simple white with a fine blue line around the edge, and our good china has a narrow black and gold border that leaves the entire center of each plate pure white.

TomC wrote:There's no reason to distrust the results of their survey, but I do note that often when I walk into a cafe and place a large order for various milk drinks, some brewed coffee and any pastry, I often seem to get comped the espresso shot.

Interesting that you bring this up because I have noticed the same thing and I think it is because they don't feel comfortable charging for something they aren't necessarily proficient at making.

I just saw it as a courtesy thing, if I'm dropping $17 on several drinks and a pastry for my fiancee and myself, oftentimes they'll comp the straight shot. Those obviously wont be accounted for in a Square or any other transaction. That's my only point.

Made me look. FWIW this year to date our little hole in the wall 600 sq ft Downtown location year to date served approximately 40,000 various coffee beverages:
Flavored lattes = 16.36% (% by bev count not dollars) (3 house made flavors offered the end)
Quickcup = 15.1%
Latte = 14.90%
Coldbrew = 13.50%
Americano = 12.82%
Pourover = 8.96%
Straight shot = 6.69%
Mocha = 6.17% (surprised that one so low though dollar wise 2.5x straight shots revenue!)
Caps = 4.64%
Macchs = 1.72%

I did not include our custom chai or our fairly wide tea offerings in the quick analysis...