How many pounds of coffee are you going through..

[Tophie2]

Ok so that makes sense, you use triple the amount of coffee I use, and I need to triple my business.

So your doing 30k a month Im doing 10-12k. What you pay for coffee if you don't mind me asking?

 

[shadow745]

Guess I'm on the low end of the stick here as we are using about 30 lbs. per month in our mobile espresso van. BUT we have only been in business about 3 months, so I guess that's not too bad. Personally I'm drinking several pounds of that in doubles both in the van and at home.

However I think it's an OK number for the time we're out. Up until 1 week ago we have only been out 4-5 hrs. daily because of propane cost to run the generator. Now we have a nice 220V connection to plug into and can stay 8-10 hrs. daily with much cheaper operating cost.

In our area drip and hot chocolate have been the big sellers, but have noticed a trend lately... most people are buying espresso based drinks and not so much of the other stuff now. Our county is rather hick-like and most say "what is that thar expresso like, some kind of special coffee or sumthin"... so I guess we must be doing something right. Lots of great publicity and no negative comments so far except for the here and there "why is your hot chocolate that high?" Or "why is a cup of coffee $1.75"... Well because we have a van to pay for, we pay a sublease to park here, we pay for propane and now electricity, we have insurance to pay for, we have very fresh beans, we keep this machine on all day, we use Monin chocolate sauce, we use fresh milk that is steamed properly..... Then I tell them if they don't like the taste it's free.... have been paid for every drink so far... Later!

 

[shadow745]

Tophie..... how are you getting beans that cheap BTW? Our wholesale price with a local roaster is in the $6.50-7 range and I thought that was quite good, for our area anyway. Later!

 

[ElPugDiablo]

I roast my own. My green beans various from $2.50 to up to $8.00 (Cup Of Excellence type beans). After roasting, assuming 15% weight lost, minimum gas and electricity usage and relatively low labor cost - I am good at exploiting myself, my roasted cost per pound ranges from $3.50 to $11.00. When I first started I bought beans from a roaster that are in the $6 to $8 range.

 

[shadow745]

Sounds like a great way to increase profit margin... might be something I look to do in the future, but for now I will leave the roasting to those that specialize in it. Have to get our mobile espresso setup as profitable as possible for the time being... Later!

 

[Tophie2]

Gavina. Awesome prices. But at this point it dosen't matter. We are done. Just got back from the bankrupcy attorney. We will liquidate all equipment to settle the business loan. Centro properties has another tenant that wants our space. We tried. Thanks for all the help guys and gals.

Later!

 

[PinkRose]

Hi "Tophie2"

Geez......I was sorry to read your last message! You've mentioned several times that you were leaning towards throwing in the towel, and I've been hoping that business would improve for you as time went on.

Thank you for sharing your adventure and wisdom with us. I've enjoyed reading your postings, and I'm particularly bummed out that things didn't work out for you.


Rose

 

[ElPugDiablo]

Tophie, I am sorry things did not work out for you. Best wishes for you going forward.

 

[Crazy4Coffee]

Bummer!
Think of this as "Tuition" - an expensive lesson at the school of hard knocks.
But you learned so much. So, the question is: what will you do differently next time? And there will be a next time, my friend. Coffee runs in our veins.