Lately it seems like every commercial on television has a latte-art laden cappuccino. Television characters are working at coffee shops like Café Grumpy and Intelligentsia. Intelligentsia’s coffee can even be found on the shelves at Target now. Specialty coffee is becoming a part of popular culture in a big way. As more of specialty coffee shops appear, many try to provide unique coffee experiences to their customers that they can’t find other places. A popular way many specialty coffee businesses approach this is by showcasing unique ways to brew their coffees.
It’s not secret that specialty coffee is in high demand these days. From Seattle to Miami, and Boston to Los Angeles, most major cities and many suburbs have a great local coffee shop serving up the best specialty coffees of the season. Getting a fantastic cup of coffee or a perfectly pulled shot of espresso in cities across America is becoming more common if you know where to look. As more and more consumers become more engaged with great coffee,
Seasonality is a word that is ingrained in the vocabulary of specialty coffee. Coffee is a seasonal crop, just like strawberries and other fruits. Throughout the year, specialty coffee offerings will vary based on harvest schedules in different countries, and many coffees can only be found at specific times of the year. Seasonality is more than just a buzzword though, it signifies freshness, provides transparency and can be utilized to increase variety and add value to your products and your menu.
Despite the period of rapid growth and progression that the specialty coffee industry has been enjoying around the world as of late, much about our industry and our product remains esoteric to the general public. To a person that has lived their entire life thinking that the pre-ground powder in a can at the grocery store brewed through a $20 auto-dripper is the extent of what coffee has to offer (and whose palate has likely adapted to now genuinely enjoy these products),
There are four important questions that help a barista come to understand their role in the world of the coffee house. Who is your guest? Why do they come to your shop? What makes a good cup of coffee? Why is any of this important? Understanding these answers are central to being an impactful barista, not just a coffee shop employee.