Guides / Cafés
How much milk is your café pouring down the sink?
Litres bought minus litres that reached a cup. The gap is real money every week.
Skip the reading. The tool does this maths for you, free, as you type.
Measure last week's wasteBaristas steam more than the cup holds because a full jug steams better. The rest goes down the sink. Multiply that by every drink, every day, and a café can waste a fifth of the milk it buys without anyone deciding to.
The formula
Litres used = drinks sold × ml that fit in the cup ÷ 1000. Waste = litres bought − litres used. Weekly cost = waste × blended price per litre, weighted for the share of drinks on alternative milk.
What a good number looks like
A tight bar. Smaller jugs, right-sized pours.
Normal and fixable. Buy smaller jugs and steam per drink.
A training problem. Show the team the litres, not the percentage.
What to do about it
- Match jug size to drink size. A 12 oz latte needs a 12 oz jug, not a 20.
- Steam one drink at a time unless two identical drinks are on the ticket.
- Put the weekly litres wasted on the whiteboard. It drops on its own.
Now do it with your numbers.
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Measure last week's waste