Beverage SOPs

67 step-by-step, gram-accurate beverage standard operating procedures — espresso, brewing, milk, tea, bar operations and sanitation.

• Espresso Espresso extraction — Applies to: any double-shot espresso pull, dine-in or as the base for a milk drink.
• Brewing methods Pour-over (V60) — Applies to: single-serve V60 pour-over.
• Brewing methods French press — Applies to: standard French press immersion brew.
• Brewing methods AeroPress — Applies to: standard upright AeroPress brew.
• Brewing methods Cold brew concentrate — Applies to: batch cold brew immersion concentrate.
• Brewing methods Turkish coffee (cezve method) — Applies to: single or double Turkish coffee, any sugar level.
• Milk Milk steaming for espresso-based drinks — Applies to: any milk-based espresso drink, dairy or plant-based.
• Tea Tea and infusion brewing — Applies to: black, green, oolong, and herbal tea service.
• Bar operations Bar opening procedure — Applies to: any bar or café station opening for service.
• Bar operations Bar closing procedure — Applies to: any bar or café station closing at the end of service.
• Brewing methods Batch/Filter Brewer Operation — Standard procedure for brewing drip/filter coffee in volume on an automatic batch brewer, from dosing through holding in a thermal server. Applies to high-volume filter coffee service, not single-cup pour-over.
• Brewing methods Stovetop Moka Pot Brewing — Procedure for brewing coffee on a stovetop moka pot (percolation brewer), producing a concentrated, espresso-adjacent style coffee without an espresso machine. Applies to standard aluminium or stainless stovetop moka pots of any size.
• Zero-proof mixology Alcohol-free drink build — Applies to: any à-la-minute alcohol-free drink built and served on demand, whether shaken, stirred, or built directly in the glass.
• Other beverages Fresh juice & smoothie prep — Applies to: any fresh-squeezed juice or blended smoothie made to order.
• Other beverages Hot chocolate & specialty drinks — Applies to: hot chocolate and other steamed specialty drinks (e.g. chai latte, matcha latte) built on steamed milk.
• Bar operations Allergen cross-contact handling — Applies to: any order flagged with an allergen requirement (e.g. nuts, dairy, gluten, soy) on the ticket or communicated verbally by the guest.
• Heritage & regional Arabic coffee (qahwa) — Applies to: traditional Gulf-style Arabic coffee, lightly roasted and spiced, served from a dallah.
• Heritage & regional Karak tea (spiced milk tea) — Applies to: Gulf-style karak built as a single pan batch — spices infused first, tea extracted second, dairy folded in, then a long low simmer to caramelise. Quantities are the operator's own.
• Tea Matcha preparation (hot & iced) — Applies to: whisked matcha for a straight bowl, a matcha latte, or an iced matcha.
• Espresso Condensed-milk latte (Spanish latte) — Applies to: the HOT Spanish latte only, built à la minute in a 12 oz cup. Sweetened condensed milk is weighed on a scale — never poured, never spooned, never estimated. That single variable defines the drink and is where it most often goes wrong. Cold service does not use this build: it runs off the prepared batch base — see the Spanish latte batch base SOP.
• Bar operations Spanish latte batch base (cold service) — Applies to: the prepared sweetened-milk base for COLD Spanish latte service only. Hot service never uses this base — it is built à la minute per the Spanish latte SOP. This is fresh dairy held above its serving temperature while it is worked, so it is treated as a control point, not as a syrup.
• Espresso Flavored & sweet latte — Applies to: any syrup- or sauce-flavored milk latte (vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, mocha, and similar), hot or iced.
• Espresso Iced espresso drinks — Applies to: iced americano, iced latte, and iced flavored coffees built over ice.
• Other beverages Blended frappés & milkshakes — Applies to: any blended iced coffee frappé or ice-cream milkshake.
• Espresso Cappuccino — Applies to: classic cappuccino built on a double espresso in a 150–180 ml cup, roughly equal thirds espresso, steamed milk and foam.
• Espresso Flat white — Applies to: flat white built on a double ristretto or double espresso in a 150–180 ml cup, thin glossy microfoam with a latte-art finish.
• Espresso Cortado — Applies to: cortado built on a double espresso cut with roughly equal steamed milk (1:1) in a ~120 ml glass, minimal foam.
• Espresso Caffè latte — Applies to: caffè latte built on a double espresso with ~200–220 ml steamed milk and a light ~0.5 cm foam, in a 300–350 ml cup or glass.
• Espresso Espresso macchiato — Applies to: espresso macchiato — a single or double espresso marked with a small ~10–15 ml dollop of milk foam, served in a demitasse.
• Espresso Americano — Applies to: americano built by adding a double espresso to ~120–150 ml hot water, water poured first to preserve the crema.
• Espresso Caffè mocha — Applies to: caffè mocha built on a double espresso with ~25–30 ml chocolate sauce stirred into the hot shots and ~180 ml steamed milk, optional whipped cream.
• Espresso Iced Spanish latte — Applies to: the COLD Spanish latte in a 12 oz cup. There are two routes and the batch route is the standard one — build from the prepared base whenever a batch exists, and fall back to the per-cup build only when it does not. Sweetened condensed milk is WEIGHED, exactly as in the hot build. The two routes are documented separately because they are prepared differently; no claim is made that they produce an identical drink.
• Espresso Iced caramel macchiato — Applies to: a layered iced milk drink — vanilla and cold milk below, espresso floated on top, caramel drizzle last; served unstirred.
• Espresso Affogato — Applies to: a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a fresh double espresso poured over it at the pass; served immediately.
• Espresso Iced shaken espresso — Applies to: espresso and a little syrup shaken hard with ice until frothy and chilled, poured over fresh ice with an optional splash of milk.
• Tea Moroccan mint tea — Applies to: gunpowder green tea steeped with fresh spearmint and sugar, poured from height, served in small glasses.
• Tea Apple tea (Turkish-style) — Applies to: hot, sweet, clear apple tea made from apple-tea granules or brewed with dried apple, served in small glasses.
• Tea Iced matcha latte — Applies to: an iced milk drink built on sifted, whisked matcha over cold milk and full ice.
• Heritage & regional Saffron latte — Applies to: a Gulf-café signature latte — espresso and steamed milk infused with bloomed saffron, lightly sweetened, served hot.
• Heritage & regional Pistachio latte — Applies to: a milk latte flavored with real pistachio paste or syrup, espresso base, hot or iced.
• Heritage & regional Ayran (salted yogurt drink) — Applies to: a traditional cold savory drink of plain yogurt, water, and a pinch of salt, whisked to a light foam and served ice-cold.
• Zero-proof mixology Mint and Lime Sparkler (Zero-Proof) — A bright, non-alcoholic mint-lime sparkler built on fresh lime, gently muddled mint, and sugar syrup, lengthened with soda water over full ice. This SOP covers the muddle-in-glass method that protects the mint from bruising into bitterness.
• Zero-proof mixology Berry Mint Sparkler (Zero-Proof) — The classic zero-proof mint-lime sparkler build enriched with a measured strawberry or mixed-berry purée for colour, body, and fruit-forward sweetness. This SOP keeps the mint gentle while balancing added fruit sugar.
• Zero-proof mixology Passion Fruit Cooler (Zero-Proof) — A quick, non-alcoholic build of tropical passion-fruit purée, fresh citrus, and soda over full ice. No muddling is needed, making this a fast, high-throughput service drink with a tart, aromatic finish.
• Zero-proof mixology Pomegranate Citrus Refresher (Zero-Proof) — A jewel-toned, non-alcoholic refresher of pomegranate syrup or juice, fresh lemon, and soda over full ice, finished with fresh pomegranate seeds. This SOP balances the fruit's deep sweetness against bright citrus acidity.
• Zero-proof mixology Citrus Mint Sparkler (Zero-Proof) — A clean, bright, non-alcoholic refresher of fresh lemon and lime with gently muddled mint, a touch of sugar syrup, and sparkling water. This SOP delivers a crisp, palate-cleansing drink with minimal sweetness.
• Other beverages Fresh orange juice — Applies to: orange juice squeezed to order, strained to preference, served chilled with no added sugar or water.
• Other beverages Classic lemonade — Applies to: still lemonade built from fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, and chilled water over ice, balanced sweet-tart.
• Other beverages Mint lemonade — Applies to: lemonade blended with fresh mint until fine and bright green — a popular Gulf-style refresher.
• Other beverages Frozen lemonade — Applies to: fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, and ice blended to a fine, pourable slush.
• Other beverages Watermelon cooler — Applies to: fresh watermelon blended and served chilled with no added sugar or water (seasonal).
• Other beverages Mango juice — Applies to: fresh mango pulp blended with chilled water or milk to taste until smooth.
• Other beverages Spiced hot chocolate — Applies to: hot chocolate with a Middle-East twist — real chocolate or cocoa emulsified into milk with a touch of cardamom or cinnamon, milk never scorched.
• Other beverages Coffee frappé (blended) — Applies to: a cold blended coffee drink of espresso, a little sweetener, cold milk, and ice, blended to a velvet-smooth, spoon-resistant body.
• Other beverages Caramel frappé (blended) — Applies to: a cold blended coffee drink of espresso, caramel sauce, cold milk, and ice, finished with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle.
• Other beverages Vanilla milkshake (blended) — Applies to: a thick blended milkshake of vanilla ice cream and cold milk, blended to a straw-standing, spoon-resistant body.
• Other beverages Chocolate milkshake (blended) — Applies to: a thick blended milkshake of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and cold milk, blended to a straw-standing body.
• Other beverages Strawberry milkshake (blended) — Applies to: a thick blended milkshake of vanilla ice cream, strawberry (fresh or syrup), and cold milk, blended to a straw-standing body.
• Other beverages Cookies & cream milkshake (blended) — Applies to: a thick blended milkshake of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sandwich cookies, and cold milk, finished with a cookie-crumb topping.
• Sanitation & cleaning Espresso machine backflush — Applies to: daily cleaning of the group heads on any espresso machine with a three-way solenoid valve.
• Sanitation & cleaning Steam wand deep-clean — Applies to: daily deep-clean of the steam wand, beyond the purge-and-wipe done after every drink.
• Sanitation & cleaning Grinder cleaning — Applies to: periodic cleaning of the burr chamber and hopper on an espresso or filter grinder.
• Sanitation & cleaning Work-surface sanitation — Applies to: sanitizing bar counters, prep surfaces, and food-contact points through service and at close.
• Sanitation & cleaning Espresso machine full clean-down (every part) — Applies to: the end-of-day deep clean of the whole espresso machine — groups, portafilters, baskets, screens, gaskets, wands, drip tray, drain, and body. Backflush (SOP) and steam-wand deep-clean (SOP) are sub-steps of this.
• Sanitation & cleaning Ice machine cleaning & sanitizing — Applies to: the periodic deep clean of an ice machine. Ice is a food — this is a food-safety-critical procedure, not a cosmetic wipe.
• Sanitation & cleaning Batch-brew flask / thermal server cleaning — Applies to: the thermal servers, airpots, and flasks that hold coffee-of-the-day / batch brew.
• Sanitation & cleaning Stainless ice bucket & scoop hygiene — Applies to: the large stainless-steel ice bucket/bin at the bar and the ice scoop used with it.

41 of these are published on the drink cards they belong to, each one whole, and the links above go straight there: every drink in the reference.