Before starting any business, it is advisable that you fully understand (and ideally, enjoy) the product that you intend to offer. The specialty coffee industry has enjoyed such stellar growth in modern times and received so much positive publicity, that sometimes the one thing that the new coffee shop owner seems to overlook is, well, the coffee! Coffee, you say? What could be so difficult to understand about making coffee: it’s a bean, grind it, mix it with hot water and you’ve got a high margin drink… right? Well, perhaps, but only in the sense that wine is “old grape juice in a bottle.” The danger in the specialty coffee industry is that most people do not realize that coffee and its resulting beverages exhibit a similar level of complexity as is found in fine wines, cheeses, olive oils, vinegars and foods; interestingly, many experts in the coffee field have interests in these other areas.
Take, for example, water: water is over 98% of the coffee that you will serve. It is shocking to us how many new coffee shop owners give little or no thought to their water source, specifically, the current and optimal levels of total dissolved solids, mineral hardness, alkalinity (pH), silica, iron and chlorine in their water. Imbalanced water will completely alter the flavor of any coffee or tea and can destroy valuable equipment. When you truly understand coffee, you will recognize all of the elements that are part of coffee and of the beverages that you will serve and give them the due attention that is required.
Just as if you were starting a winery or fine dining restaurant, you should strive to gain a level of competency with coffee such that you have the ability to not only create standard traditional beverages correctly, but can build and abstract upon those recipes and preparation techniques to create signature beverages that will be the unique hallmark of your brand.
We recommend that you start with the basics. Although it would be nice to travel around the country or around the world to sample the best that this industry has to offer, it is not necessary. As suggested back in step #1, immersing yourself into the local and regional coffee culture is a great way to quickly educate yourself on what coffee is truly intended to be; attend conferences, sign up for education classes or events offered by any of a number of outstanding local artisan coffee roasters around the country. Be sure to sample as many different variations as you can as there is a great deal of personal interpretation that goes into drink preparation; do not base your business solely on the offerings of a major chain shop in your region - you have the ability to do better.