Here’s Your Ultimate Guide To Setting Up A GenZ-Style Home Cafe
In a rather dramatic shift from mass consumerism to slow living, GenZ is moving away from long queues at coffee shops and is instead opting for brewing coffees and baking cakes in their own kitchens. This movement, also known as setting up a home cafe, is taking over social media and has become a way for GenZ to discover its self-expression and its distinct aesthetic amidst uncertain times.
Such a GenZ-style home cafe is then a space for customisation and good ambience rolled into one, at a far more pocket-friendly rate than the local coffee shop.
Curating the GenZ home cafe is as interesting as the experience of brewing beverages here as a daily ritual. This space simply involves having a dedicated kitchen corner, a nook or a bar cart designed to prepare and serve cafe-style drinks like matcha, chai, lattes, bubble tea and so much more – all with an aesthetic which suits your own personal preferences, be it chic and dynamic or kitschy and boho.
Read on below to know more about how to go about setting up such a GenZ-style home cafe and all you would need, from aesthetic flourishes to brewing equipment:
Know Your Cafe Persona
The first essential step in curating your own home cafe is knowing your style. This will determine drink preferences, decor options, snack offerings and the overall vibe of the cafe. If you prefer a space which resembles a rustic cottage feel, it would mean going for floral ceramics, matcha in mugs and small wooden or even rattan furniture. For a more luxe and modern feel, pastel cups and sleek coffee-making gear might just do the trick. So, when you dedicate a kitchen nook or window sill to your home cafe, jot down a detailed description of what you would want a personalised cafe to look like and then go about bringing its elements together.
Basic Brewing Tools
What makes GenZ so inspired to go for home cafes are tools for brewing teas and coffees which are readily available at affordable prices. Here’s a look at some of the basic equipment you would need to set up a home cafe:
– French Press/AeroPress/Pour Over as simple coffee making machines
– Coffee scale and grinder for easily measuring and powdering freshly roasted beans
– Loose leaf tea infuser and electric kettle for brewing tea
– Espresso machine or a capsule coffee machine for brewing cappuccinos and lattes
– Manual frother for aesthetic touches
Include Snacks And Basic Ingredients
A home cafe is all about building your repository of beverage ingredients slowly and steadily. This means you can go for a couple of varieties of coffee beans to start with, as well as some varieties of tea and matcha, just about two or three flavoured syrups, regular kitchen spices like cinnamon and nutmeg and sweeteners such as honey and demerara sugar. Expand this gradually as your home cafe takes off to include more complex ingredients for specially curated drinks.
Such a space is incomplete without snacks so make sure you have enough material to prepare basic cafe food like small banana breads, mini croissants, mini cupcakes or muffins and warm chocolate chip cookies. While entertaining guests at your home cafe, savoury options like egg sandwiches or a cream and cucumber bagel can also be suitable for afternoon tea or coffee time hangouts.
Think Sustainably And Creatively
Remember, a GenZ cafe is all about customisation and personalisation which makes a lot of room for creativity. Tailor your cafe experiences to the needs of your guests and offer them beverages like coffee infused with lavender syrup or a whipped cream garnish with sprinkles as more creative options. This suits the purpose of the home cafe, which is all about aesthetics at pocket friendly prices.
As well, GenZ cafes are concerned with sustainability as a marker of slow living. Minimise waste, brew only as much coffee or tea as required and prepare small batch cookies and cakes. Use organic, responsibly sourced produce, repurpose old jars and cups to store cafe materials and always serve in reusable cups and ceramics. Being in tune with this rhythm would invoke a very slowed and calm vibe which has become central to the home cafe movement.
Also Read: With Home Cafes, GenZ Is Brewing Its Own Aesthetic, Here’s Why
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
