In this article, you’ll learn:
- Which beverages beyond coffee can be served on nitro
- How versatile equipment helps reduce costs and expand menus
- How cafés, bars, and restaurants can stay ahead of drink trends
Drinks service is evolving rapidly – and traditional methods of meeting consumer demands are no longer enough. Especially in coffee shops, bars, and restaurants, you now need systems that are quick, efficient, and don’t compromise on quality. This is where a nitro tap can be essential – but choosing the right one can open up plenty of other benefits.
One of the key advantages of a nitro tap is its versatility. Rather than being limited to specific beverages – for example, nitro cold brew – the best equipment can serve a vast number of drinks. This gives operators the ability to innovate with new menu items and experiment with trending products.
To learn more about the versatility of a nitro tap, I spoke to David Garcia. He is the founder and co-owner of Nitro Coffee Bar in Clovis, CA. Read on for his insight.
What else can you serve with a nitro tap?
Modern nitro taps allow you to serve a range of drinks outside of nitro cold brew. Systems like the Hardtap let you pour a huge variety of non-carbonated drinks – including iced tea, cocktails, and cold brew coffee.
“Outside of nitro cold brew, we mostly use it for lemonades and teas,” David tells me. These two drinks in particular are suitable as an alternative for mobile coffee shops, giving customers the variety to choose lower-caffeine options.
Iced tea, in particular, has become increasingly popular in recent years. Globally, it is currently valued at over $57 billion USD, and is growing at a rate of 4.47% each year. It’s an especially viable business option because of the incredibly low ingredient costs – just tea leaves and any infusions you wish to add. Iced tea therefore represents a profit opportunity, which is particularly useful as green coffee prices remain volatile and higher than in recent years.
Innovation with a nitro tap doesn’t stop with cold brew. Equipment like the Hardtap, which infuses atmospheric nitrogen into the drinks you pour for a creamy mouthfeel, can be used for a variety of other drinks. For example, you can also use a nitro tap to dispense cocktails, wine, beer, still or nitro cold brew, and cascara.
As David demonstrates, your nitro tap can pour so much more than just cold brew coffee. Provided you have the storage space, ingredients, and capacity to introduce new menu items, your existing dispenser can accommodate the change.
The versatility benefits of a nitro tap
While being able to boast a varied drinks menu is a nice-to-have for coffee shops and hospitality businesses with a nitro tap, the benefits extend far beyond that. The main advantage is the agility and speed you have to adjust your drinks dispensing to seasonal demands and wider beverage trends.
These shifting consumer trends are something that David has witnessed at Nitro Coffee Bar. “Currently, we’ve noticed that even in the winter, we get more cold drink orders – including nitro drinks,” he tells me. “The current generation is much more of a cold beverage group, so there’s plenty of room for success.”
Research shows that cold drinks are especially popular with younger consumers, such as Gen Z and Millennials. In the United Kingdom alone, 45% of 18-to-24-year-olds prefer cold drinks over hot options like tea and coffee. This doesn’t mean that the demand for coffee is decreasing – many drink hot and cold coffee formats – but the way they consume it is changing. Across Gen Z, 53% of consumers prefer cold coffee, so having equipment that can quickly dispense it is essential.
This is why a nitro tap is so much more versatile than just equipment for one specific drink or format. It allows you to meet the demand for cold coffee in a way that is faster and more efficient than manual service methods. Rather than preparing iced coffee by hand, you can dispense from a pre-prepared batch to instantly serve customers. Equipment like the Hardtap can dispense up to 50 litres of iced coffee in an hour, allowing you to rapidly scale your service.
What makes a nitro tap so useful, however, is that it can pour more than just coffee. Dual-tap formats like the Hardtap can pour two different drinks at once. This versatility means you can respond to changing trends, like matcha or functional teas, without purchasing new equipment each season.
Expanding your drinks menu with a nitro tap
Because of the versatility offered by a nitro tap, you can easily adjust your drinks menu without needing to invest in additional equipment.
For example, drinks like matcha are rapidly growing in popularity, with a staggering 202% sales increase in the UK in 2023. With equipment that helps you dispense drinks on demand from a pre-prepared batch, you can easily meet the demand.
For David, the room for expansion with a nitro tap is endless. “Honestly, I prefer cold brew from the nitro tap – but my wife enjoys a good nitro hibiscus tea,” he tells me. It’s proof of how versatile your drinks programme can be when you choose dispensers that are adaptable to many drinks.
Therefore, a nitro tap is an essential tool beyond the realms of just cold brew coffee. For foodservice and hospitality businesses with a vast drinks menu, it can meet all of your needs. Even more useful, though, is its ability to adjust to new and future trends without increasing your equipment costs.
Nitro tap benefits: Key takeaways for foodservice businesses
- Nitro taps can serve a wide range of drinks, from coffee and tea to cocktails and cascara.
- Investing in versatile nitro equipment helps cafés and bars expand menus without extra costs.
- High-capacity systems like the Hardtap dispense up to 50 L per hour, meeting peak-time demand easily.
Ready to see the Hardtap in action? Visit our Hardtap product page or speak with a member of our team to discover how a nitro tap can expand your menu and increase efficiency.
Nitro tap FAQ
Which drinks outside of cold brew can I serve with a nitro tap?
You can use your nitro tap to serve iced tea, lemonade, cocktails, cascara, wine, and beer.
Why are nitro taps so useful for coffee shops?
They are faster and more efficient than manual methods, meaning you can meet consumer demand for new drinks without slowing down service.
Are nitro taps only suitable for coffee businesses?
No, they can also be used in bars, restaurants, hotels, and other foodservice settings to expand their drink menus.
Does nitro infusion change the taste of drinks?
Yes. Nitrogen adds a smooth, creamy texture and enhances sweetness naturally, which makes cold drinks more enjoyable without added sugar.
Want to learn more about the Hardtap nitro tap?
- Browse now: Explore our RTD lineup built for scale.
- Learn more: Watch our webinar on developing customised RTD beverages.
- Book a free strategy session with an RTD expert: Contact our team here.
