Spring Forward with A Coffee Bar
Coffee bars are not just for winter, see how we Spring Forward with A Coffee Bar adding a fresh new twist on the coffee bar for warmer months.
Honestly I had the best of intentions of releasing this post for daylight savings weekend, but there were just too many holidays in March this year. So, this post got pushed until after Easter. I figured that is okay, because people drink coffee year round. Some of us, eh hmmm, Mr. Gainer, still have not acclimated to the spring forward time change. So let us spring forward with a coffee bar.
I have seen so many beautiful set ups for coffee, tea and hot chocolate bars for this winter. I have to say I love them all; from the free standing furniture bars, to the custom built in kitchen bars. I also have gotten a lot of questions about what to do with these spaces for the spring and summer months. Let me just start by saying, while you may not be drinking marshmallow laden hot chocolate year round, at my house coffee is a staple and so is tea. So you keep it out of course! Maybe add in a few ice coffee options or organic teas just to mix things up a bit.
What makes a good coffee bar? My personal coffee bar is set up to be a functional part of my kitchen. I designated a separate cabinet above the coffee maker to house only cups, sweeteners, pods and various other supplies needed for coffee. I actually styled it after my first coffee bar 10 years ago, in our first home. My inspiration came from traveling abroad, and falling in love with elaborate European coffee stations in our hotels. I honestly think my love for a coffee station stemmed from the fact that they used Nespresso machines, which has been on my wishlist for a while now.
In my previous coffee bar, we had a Keurig K-cup coffee maker, which is very convenient to purchase refills for and has a ton of flavor options. I found this great dispenser which can hold 9 types of the K-cups. So, I had plenty of room for regular coffee, decaf, tea, cocoas, cappuccinos, lattes, espressos and even ice coffees. 
Updated: Now we have recently added a new Nespresso Vertuo Coffee and Espresso Machine to our line up and we love it, as far as our coffee goes. Now we have really great blends and rich options that are whipped into a beautiful frothy espresso style cup of coffee. Just like the ones we would have in Europe at those sweet little cafes.
The varieties are really amazing and come from around the world, we decided to invest in one of each flavor to determine our favorites when we bought the machine. Now we know our favorite Variety Pack that we order directly from the company and have them shipped to our door. Plus we get to try the Annual Seasonal Flavors as well. 
As I mentioned, I took my inspiration for my coffee bar from European hotels. Which all had a trash can nearby for the empty pods. I found a super small flip top trash can that I placed on the counter just for this reason. Call me lazy, but I am making the coffee bar for convenience. Plus I want to keep people out of the kitchen on busy mornings, so the last thing I want is someone trying to get to the trash can under the sink.
I also like to add flavors to my coffees. As an avid Starbucks drinker, I took notice one day at the syrups they used for my pumpkin spice latte. Then I went home and looked them up. To my surprise you could order the exact same bottles with dispenser pumps online. Voila, instant coffee bar.
The Almond and Irish Cream are a few of our springtime favorites, which we change out with Pumpkin Spice and Salted Caramel in the Fall. You may also notice that ours are sugar free, they also make regular syrups too, this is just our preference to cut out some additional sugar in our daily in take. 
I personally like a Nutty Irishman which is the 1 pump Hazelnut and 2 pumps Irish Cream, or French Amaretto 2 pumps French Vanilla and 1 pump Almond. My husband is a little more simplistic, and drinks 2 pumps of one flavor at a time, and he prefers Pumpkin Spice year round, lol.
Another fun little addition we have made is adding in a milk frother. This is a nice way to add cream or milk your the top of coffee, cappuccino and espresso. You can also make all those fancy coffee drinks available at your favorite coffee shops but at home.
It has four settings so you can have 3 types of warm whipped milk from thin to thick or a thick cold whipped milk for macchiatos. I have found the warmed milk setting makes great hot cocoa in the winter time, just as a word of advice.
Once your milk is whipped you can just dollop it on top of your choice of coffee or espresso. As you can I am still working of making patterns, which is challenging, but we will get there. 
What would a coffee station be without stir sticks? Yes, you can use spoons, but if you are going for a no wash, toss and go convenience, this is it folks. When I am done stirring in my half a gallon of creamer, the stick gets tossed in that very same countertop trash bin. I like using this old antique french salt box as my stir stick holder, I think it looks cute in my kitchen. 
Finally, make sure that you have easy grab and go muffins or pastries for your coffee bar. Pictured below are some of my favorite chocolate croissants from Trader Joe’s they bake up so nice and are divine when fresh from the oven. They can be found in the freezer section which is perfect for a fresh, easy bake. I also like to keep a section of fresh baked cookies, muffins or coffee cake under a cake dome which makes self service in the mornings very easy.
Feel free to check out a few of my own favorite baked homemade recipes that can be found under my cake dome regularly. Almost Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cheesecake & Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes. The Blueberry Lemon cupcakes actually make an excellent morning muffin, just leave off the frosting.
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Such great ideas! those chocolate croissants look amazing!
Your pod organizer is a great idea, throwing the pods in a small bin right nearby would make it easier to recycle them all at once too. I am going to check out those syrups, like right now!
I’ve been slowly putting my coffee bar together in my house, but my space is so small! I love the concrete container for stir sticks! I’ll have to grab one or two of those syrups to step up my game! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
A coffee shop has to sell great coffee, that goes without saying, but there has to be a good atmosphere too. Chocolate croissants are one of my favourites too! Love the photos!
I didn’t even know coffee bars could be so cute!
This looks so cute, as well as delicious! I have never really thought about setting up a coffee bar in my home. What a lovely idea!
OMG! Jennifer your coffee bar looks fantastic! I’m thinking I need to rearrange my kitchen counter – My husband was just asking me this morning why our coffee mugs are across the kitchen from where our coffee maker is!!
This is such a great set up for functionality especially in the morning before your have your coffee 😛 Love those syrups and the the cute stir sticks.
Love your coffee bar, it looks so classy and elegant, As a coffee lover I want to have this kind of ambiance when I visit a coffee bar. Great post!
This is awesome! I’d love to have something like this in my kitchen and recreate the coffee shop experience. This is definitely going on the dream board 💗
This is so adorable, I love it!
It looks great! I love coffee all year around too! 🙂 I
Whoa this looks like a great coffee collection. I need to step my game up lol.
That’s such a cool idea! Talk about bringing the coffee shop to you. I love that little drawer for your pods. Very organised. Thanks for sharing, x
You had me at coffee. I think I am going to gift myself a coffee maker and some of these awesome products you have highlighted here. Coffee is the perfect compliment to any sweet treat. Saving the recipes for later. Cupcakes and coffee coming up 🙂
Thanks for the response to exactly what the public is looking for my friend!
I really love this idea, I have been seeing a lot of coffee bars lately.
I need a coffee bar in my life with all the writing I do, great tips.
I need to really create a coffee bar the way I like to drink it. Every morning it is a ritual and pretty station would brighten my day. Some really quality posts on this internet site, saved you to my favs, glad I found you again.
Me and my buddy were arguing about add a coffee bar to our homes today! These days I realize that most people have them to save money, lol! Thanks for the information you post.
Good morning sunshine a coffee bar is exactly what I need, perfect idea for any kitchen.
I have been wanting to add a little coffee bar space to our kitchen I like that you just used existing cabinets verses a whole separate space or piece of furniture. It seems more real, like a kitchen should be, not so much like a store or shop.
Wonderful article. Thanks too much for the breakdown you have presented here. I am still sort-of an illiterate on this topic. So this post was really helpful to me personally. My husband just launched his own ebook on this issue and I think some things learned from your post would enable me personally to give him the necessary support. Thanks!
It is wonderful as is all your other content :D, send my best regards, D
Thank you so much for spending some time to line all of this out for people. This posting has been very helpful in my opinion.
I’m impressed, I must say, I’m delighted that we found this site in my book it is the tops.
It is excellent as are your other articles 😀
I do believe I need a coffee bar in my life. I keep seeing so many cute ones on Instagram and think I should create one too, but how, thanks for answering a simple how for me.
Spot on with this write-up, I will be back again to read more, thanks for all the great information!
You have such an awesome coffee bar! I love trying put the variety packs so I’m going to have to grab a few that I saw.
Oh my gosh, I love the idea of a real coffee bar! We have a tiny coffee station in our home, but I’d love to expand it and include some of your organizational ideas there! Not only is it practical, but sooo delicious to have as well! 🙂
Wow. Your coffee bar is so cute! I’ve been trying to find some good inspiration for mine. I never thought about the pods bin. I’m so going to have to get one.
I love this idea! It makes your coffee experience at home just that much more special. Thank you!
I’ve been wanting to set up a tea/coffee bar in my kitchen for a couple of months now. Love the k-cup organizer – don’t use k-cups, but it’s an inspiration to look for a tea organizer. I’ll finally be able to organize all my tea boxes! Love the idea!
It’s awesome for me to see such useful know-how for my home.