Coffee, Tea?

Joachim Splichal, whose restaurant Patina already offers chamomile and thyme-lemongrass “infusions” after a meal, is now experimenting with estate coffees, to be served in individual plunger-style coffeepots. “Our coffee is a blend of four different types of coffee we came up with six years ago after trying more than fifty different coffees,” he says, “and we’ve learned that now people know their coffee. Coffee has taken on the importance of the valet parking guy who opens the door for the customer—it can be a customer’s last impression of a restaurant.”