New Coffee Shop - Suggestions for type of Coffee -

[SanFranciscoNative]

I am opening a coffee shop in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year. My only competition in this particular area is Starbucks. This will be a trendy hip little place...a bit funky and a bit european in style. My question is this: I am not a coffee expert at all at this point. I have been told to check Illy, but if anybody out there has any suggestions regarding a good brand of coffee or any related advice let me know..thanks in advance...Cheers

 

[LiftOff]

Hi,
Very exciting time!

My suggestions:

1) Espresso...the cornerstone of any quality cafe'
A) should be able to produce an outstanding straight shot and also
have the "legs" to cut thru lattes, capp's, mocha's etc.

2) House...either a blend or a nice single origin
A) a versatile coffee for drip/brew coffee
B) tasteful, full bodied, mild acidity, chocolate/sweetness
C) in brief, a coffee that is great ANY time of the day or night

3) Decaf...versions of the above
A) don't underestimate the amount of biz a good decaf will generate


After this it's all up to you to decide how many different choices you want to present to your customers. This should be in part dictated by;
need, space and lots and lots of other facors. You came to the right place, lots of industry types here to help!

Good luck!

 

[Sinister703]

Illy is very expensive, check with local roasters that stress thier quality and freshness, I agree with everything liftoff said too!
Your coffee MUST be better than Starbucks.
YOur service MUST be better than Starbuckss (knowledge & friendliness).

Bellissimo has educational videos on espresso training, I think Andrew from Cafemakers (a consulting firm) is nearby also. He has alot of gooo info and it would be wise to consult someone like that.
Good Luck!
PS get your consultant (or a Commercial Real Estate lawyer) to negotiate your lease for you too! DONT try and think you know enough about leases to do this yourself.

 

[cafemakers]

Illy is very expensive, check with local roasters that stress thier quality and freshness, I agree with everything liftoff said too!
Your coffee MUST be better than Starbucks.
YOur service MUST be better than Starbuckss (knowledge & friendliness).

I'm in 100% agreement with you. There are a number of outstanding roasters in your immediate area and if none of them work for you, both Portand and Seattle are 1-2 UPS Ground days away!

Take a look at some of the best in the country right in your own backyard:

Barefoot Coffee - Andy Newborn
Ecco Caffe - Andrew Barnett

(we Andrews have to stick together)

Flying Goat Coffee

Taylor Maid Farms

I would place my bet in a cupping contest on any one of them versus Illy.

I think Andrew from Cafemakers (a consulting firm) is nearby also. He has alot of gooo info and it would be wise to consult someone like that.

Thanks Ron,

In fact, the timing could not be better. I'm flying up to Oakland tomorrow night to judge at the Western Regional Barista Competition at Roshambo Winery in Sonoma this weekend. You may want to come out and see some of the events as it is an excellent learning opportunity for a new barista or shop owner to learn, and representatives from all of the companies I mentioned above will be there (probably with coffee). ...and of course, I'll be there too.

That being said, with United offering $115 fares into OAK from LAX, it's practically less expensive for me to travel to the bay area than to San Diego by car these days.

Good luck,

Andrew

 

[Regina]

Hi,
I can supply you with a few ranges of Coffee, including the very famous & rarest coffee from Sumatra, Bali Coffee and others.

I have the fresh samples. We can arrange a meeting and you are welcome to taste the coffee.
Please call me at (510) 415-3967 for further discussion.

Regards,
Regina Holt



I am opening a coffee shop in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year. My only competition in this particular area is Starbucks. This will be a trendy hip little place...a bit funky and a bit european in style. My question is this: I am not a coffee expert at all at this point. I have been told to check Illy, but if anybody out there has any suggestions regarding a good brand of coffee or any related advice let me know..thanks in advance...Cheers[/quote]

 

[barefoot]

great coffee

For sure you should go to the WRBC this weekend!!!!! It will blow yur mind at the possibilities of great espresso. We (Barefoot Coffee Roasters( will have five Baristas on our Barefoot Barista team competing there. Two of our Baristas and three of our wholesale cafe customers.

Definitely use a local artisan roaster. Andrew listed the best in the Bay Area in my opinion. There are a lot of others but those seem to get the best reviews. make sure that you get advanced Barista training from whomever you use. That will litereally make you live or die business wise. Check here too:
http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/worldregional/uswest

Feel free to call me if you want to chat about coffee and espresso stuff.