The 2 Hot Drinks To Avoid Ordering At A Restaurant For The Server's Sake

Is there anything better than enjoying a hot tea or coffee on a cold, dreary day? Some people claim either brew warms you up and boosts your mood. Some studies go as far as to say coffee may reduce depression and fatigue. Ordering a hot drink at a restaurant might be even better than making one yourself, especially if you have a favorite coffee shop or cafe that you can pop into and get your preferred steaming hot beverage. 

If you are heading to a busy restaurant, though, bustling with customers and waitstaff flying in all directions, you should think twice before you order a hot drink to go with your meal. Hot beverages can be dangerous, and accidents can happen. Your server may get hurt when delivering your warm drink if it spills on them. There are also a few other reasons to reconsider ordering hot drinks at a restaurant, especially two beverages in particular.

Hot tea is one of those beverages that seem easy to make in a restaurant, but it can be frustrating for your server if you order one with your meal. Hot tea can take longer to make than ordering cold tea. It requires more preparation time, such as boiling water and setting up the dishes. The typical setup for hot tea often includes a mug, saucer, and a teapot. 

Then, of course, there are the tea bags — many restaurants have their servers bring various teas to the table for the customer to look through so they can choose the flavor they want. While this may not seem like a huge deal, this can take a lot longer for your server to do than simply filling your glass with ice and a cold drink. This type of beverage order can slow down the restaurant's flow during a busy lunch or dinner rush.

The one downside to ordering a cappuccino at a cafe is they take a long time to make — around 5 minutes for a classic cappuccino. That doesn't seem like it's all that long if you have time to spare or don't mind the wait for an elevated coffee drink, but when you are a server with several orders, five minutes for one drink can slow things down.

Furthermore, not all restaurants have the right equipment to make your cappuccino, so this is an order that you can't always get at your favorite lunch spot. If you want a cappuccino, your best bet is to go to a specialized coffee shop, where that order is expected and easier to fulfill. If you are looking for any kind of caffeine jolt in the middle of the day, stick with regular brewed coffee or even a shot of espresso. Most restaurants have a pot of coffee already made, just waiting to be poured into a coffee mug or to-go cup. This makes it an easy drink for any server to make.