How to choose coffee for a new coffee shop

How to choose coffee for a new coffee shop

Small steps for a big decision.

Setting up a coffee shop requires many and careful steps. From choosing the right space and location, to the decor, name and hype, opening a food shop can seem like a marathon until it serves its first cup of coffee. However, one question seems to torment both candidates and even experienced entrepreneurs in the field: "what coffee should I put in my shop?"

The choice of the right company and the right blend, is one of those factors that will judge the success of the new store - therefore, it must be done with careful steps, taking into account various parameters. The answers to the following questions can help any would-be coffee shop owner decide a little more easily about the mix to rely on to win over new patrons.

Five questions to help us decide

- Who is the store aimed at?Determining the target audience of our shop is one of the main factors that will make us choose the coffee we will use. If we are aiming for a shop that offers to-go options for employees, it is better to choose a blend that covers all tastes, but if we have a hip cafe that is expected to gather espresso connoisseurs, it is good to offer options of blends and single varieties of coffee. If our patrons are older, we must be careful to have alternatives such as Greek coffee or instant coffee. The audience we want to attract is what shapes the character of the store we will set up, and the choice of coffee is no exception.

- Where is our shop located? Location, location, location are, according to the Americans, the three reasons for the success of a catering business – and the reason for choosing the coffee to use, we would add. A cafe near a metro station tends to gather a diverse audience, so we need mild blends that work well in all preparations (cappuccino, latte) and cover all tastes. A cafe in the middle of a young or trendy neighborhood full of similar businesses needs originality and character, and this implies the choice of the corresponding cafe.

- What coffee does the competition have? When we say competition, we don't mean in general and vaguely... all the cafes in town, but those that really compete with us. These can be the cafes in the same neighborhood but also the cafes that have a similar profile (and therefore target a similar audience) to us. Contact with the competition will keep us in touch with the pulse of the market, new trends and fashions, and will give us ideas to create our own personal mark, choosing – among other things – the right espresso blend, the one that fits in our business and its character.

- What is the best quantity / quality / price ratio? After the "introductory" questions, those that will determine the type of coffee we will use, this is the most important practical question. After deciding whether we want a blend or single origin, whether we want 100% arabica or an arabica / robusta blend, whether we want a well-known brand or a small roastery, the price, and especially its relationship with quality and quantity, plays an important role. We calculate our monthly consumption as best as possible (in order to achieve better prices), we ask and make our contacts, we examine the alternatives, always keeping in mind that the product we will offer to our customers must always be of quality.

- Is it better to choose a loan or to have our own machine? Every business plan has its strengths and weaknesses. With utilization, we don't have to worry about the really big output of the machine, but the more expensive price of coffee / kg in the long run will eliminate this initial relief. Along with the coffee, usually comes various accessories, which may be attractive for a mass catering business (such as a canteen) but out of place and time for a modern cafe. Still, we have the opportunity to have consistent quality coffee, without "surprises" in availability and quality, but on the other hand, we are captive to specific products, which may not be the best for some restaurants.



Creating a coffee shop that stands out is certainly not an easy task... but by choosing the right coffee, we have taken a decisive step.