Destination Drinks are any specialty or signature beverage that turns a cafe into a destination. Whether it’s a chilled lemonade for summer or an autumnal latte for the fall, these drinks help drive new customer traffic and create new regulars.
Laila Ghambari grew up around her father’s cafés in Seattle and has held nearly every role in specialty coffee over the last 20 years. She’s the 2014 United States Barista Champion and recently became the owner of three cafes and a roastery with her husband and business partner, Ryan Willbur (each with a Swan and Strada X pairing). But Laila leads a double life: leveraging her experience as a barista, educator, cafe manager, and retail manager, Laila launched a career as a coffee consultant. A key part of her business is her seasonal drink menus, which are available for free on her website and help walk cafe owners through recipes, cost of goods, and marketing tools. We spoke with her about how she looks at Destination Drinks as both a coffee consultant and cafe owner.
What is your history with signature coffee drinks?
I won the USBC in 2014, and competing in barista competitions was my first experience creating unique beverages. All the cafes I had worked in were specialty cafes that had signature drinks, but they were pretty typical and not seasonal. When I was working for my father’s business, Cherry Street Coffee House, seasonal drinks started to become more popular. Now, after running retail at Stumptown and owning my own business, I can’t imagine not having seasonal drinks!
In your opinion, what role do signature drinks play in a café?
Signature drinks are what set you apart from other cafes and give you a beverage identity. All coffee shops serve the same drinks: drip, latte, mocha, etc. Signature drinks are your wow factor, where you can bring more of your personality and creativity to the customer experience.
How often do you order a signature drink as a customer in other cafes?
As long as it’s not my first cup of the day (which would be filter coffee), I typically order a signature drink. If I visit a cafe, I want to know what makes them special and unique. I’m always sort of bummed when I go to a cafe and they don’t have anything outside the typical cafe menu.
What is the most important thing to consider when designing a new signature coffee drink?
Personally, as an operations and business person, what matters to me is how easy it is to source ingredients, to make the components, to build the drink in the existing bar flow, and the price/margin on the drink. Obviously, it needs to taste good as well!
What is your current favorite signature coffee drink to make?
I love all the Southeast Asian flavors in coffee right now, like Pandan, Ube, etc. I am partial to match signature drinks right now, as I think they just taste better. It’s also fall, and I am a pumpkin spice girlie for life.
How often do you think a signature coffee drink menu should change?
I love a mainstay item, something people love and really speaks to who you are being available year round, thinking of the Cafe Nico at Espresso Vivace. Then, have 1 to 3 seasonal items you change twice a year, quarterly, or my format of Spring, Summer, Fall, & Holiday, with 1 to 2 of your fall/holiday menu items staying through winter till Spring comes again.
Visit Laila’s coffee consulting website and follow her on Instagram.
