i don't mean to ransack the marketing/competition thread, but this conversation is super applicable for me right now. poison, i picked up two bags from royal coffee in oakland, ca, averaging $2.75 a pound (accounting for 15% shrinkage, that's $3.30 a pound, hence my earlier figure). did i choose too inexpensive of beans? the people at royal told me these were great coffee choices, a guat and an ethiopia.
Too inexpensive? Only you can say. It depends on 1) what your skill as a roaster turns it into, and 2) what your intended goals are. Royal is great, but I've have received recommendations from them that I was not happy with; they don't always know what you are doing, and I'd assume most people simply want something shaped like a bean, called coffee, that they can stuff in their roaster and turn brown. Moral? Always cup coffee before you buy. If it doesn't taste good, don't buy it.
There are other suppliers I will buy from without cupping, occasionally.
i guess i just don't think people around here would pay $14-$18 a pound...but if they would, how do i find them? by getting the local atmosphere driven coffee shop to use and sell my coffee? (one business in town is brewing and selling retail, looking hard for more, a website is on it's way, and i gave 12 oz bags to pretty much every serious to semi-serious coffee drinker i could think of, introducing my company, asking them to spread the word)
Yes, that's a huge start. It's a great endorsement, and great publicity. You could also set up a booth at a local farmers market, if you have one. I did that for a while, thinking I would sell whole beans, but people wanted cups of drip, so I bought a cone filter stand and brewed 100-150 cups in 5 hours, to order, and charged $1.50-3/cup. I sold beans too, and found that bringing 1/2lb bags was better than 1lb, as the price of entry was lower, encouraging people to try it. I also found that when i brought my awesome 100% shade grown, bird friendly, organic Kona and sold it for $35, or $3 a cup, I always sold out. That price is cheap, Peets Kona is $25 for 1/2lb, but still, it's interesting to see how price affects perceived value. 'Oh, it's expensive, it MUST be good!'
Sell at other local events. Got a local bike club (cycling or motor)? Invite them to start or end their rides at your place, and give em a 10% discount. That could be 30-50 guys, in LA. You sell, and spread the word.
one more consideration is the reality of my skill set. i've only home roasted on a tiny roaster for about 4 years, and now i am on a new machine, with little formal training. i do plan to take the willem boot on-line course soon.
hungry for suggestions...
Cut the noise: does your coffee taste good? Great? Better than anything else in the area? Do others agree (who are not family, lol)? If the answer is 'yes', then don't be shy. I challenge anyone else to grab the trier and do better than you. Roasting isn't easy, and roaster masters don't grow on trees. It's a very specialized art.
If you aren't aware, the owner of Blue Bottle Coffee started roasting in his kitchen, on a pan in his oven, in the early 2000's. A couple years ago, he got a loan from a venture capital firm in the Silicon Valley for....wait for it...$15-20 million. The company is worth millions, of course, but this guy was a failing musician in his 40's when he started, with zero coffee experience.
See where I'm going? :twisted:
, but because they are my only local option), so I would even consider buying equipment for them if that's what it would take and it made sense/cents (haha).
I'll plan to post on my experience in presenting my coffee offerings. Thanks for your input and advise. Best Regards.