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May 13, 2025
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by seodeep


25
Oct
Home Coffee Roasting Classes - NJCS
HOME COFFEE ROASTING GUIDE
October 25, 2024
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HOME COFFEE ROASTING GUIDE

  • BY JAMES CONTI

For coffee enthusiasts, there is nothing more satisfying than enjoying a fresh cup brewed from beans you’ve roasted yourself. Roasting coffee at home not only gives you control over the flavor and freshness of your coffee but also allows you to explore and experiment with different roasting profiles. Not to mention that over a short time, you will save yourself some money! 

If you’re ready to dive into this rewarding process, this home coffee roasting guide will take you through the steps and provide recommendations on the best equipment to get started. Whether you’re interested in a beginner home coffee roasting course or seeking coffee classes in New Jersey, this guide will help you understand the basics of roasting at home, from selecting beans to identifying the different roast levels like light roast, French roast, and Italian roast.

Why Roast Coffee at Home?

Freshness is the biggest advantage when it comes to home coffee roasting. The moment coffee is roasted, it begins to lose its aroma and flavors. By roasting your own beans, you can ensure that your coffee is at its peak every time you brew a cup. Additionally, the ability to customize your roast levels—whether you prefer a light or medium roast or a darker, more robust Italian roast— allows for a truly personalized coffee experience. And it’s ton of fun!

Getting Started

1. Green Coffee Beans

Green, unroasted coffee beans are the raw material you will need. They can be sourced from local coffee roasters, online suppliers, or even specialty coffee roasting certification courses. When purchasing green beans, pay attention to the origin, flavor notes, and processing method to find beans that match your taste preferences.

2. Coffee Roaster

While it’s possible to roast beans in a popcorn popper or a pan on the stove, investing in a dedicated coffee roaster will give you more control and consistency. For beginners, here are a few recommended home roasters:

  • Fresh Roast SR540: This is a great entry-level roaster that allows you to control time, temperature, and fan speed. It’s compact and user-friendly, making it ideal for those who are new to roasting.
  • Behmor 2000AB Plus: This drum roaster offers more capacity, allowing you to roast up to a pound of coffee at a time. It has pre-programmed roast profiles and manual settings for advanced users.
  • Gene Cafe CBR-101: A step up from beginner models, this drum roaster gives you a higher level of control over your roast and allows for even, consistent roasting.
If you are unsure of where to start or want hands-on experience, consider enrolling in a beginner homecoffee roasting course or roasting classes for coffee enthusiasts to get more comfortable with the equipment.

Step-by-Step Home Coffee Roasting Tutorial

1. Understanding the Roast Levels

Before diving into the roasting process, it is essential to understand the different roast levels. The roast level you choose will significantly impact the flavor of your coffee:
  • Light Roast: Beans are roasted until the first crack (explained below). This roast preserves the beans; origin flavors, often featuring fruity and acidic notes.
  • Medium Roast: These beans are roasted past the first crack but not enough to reach the second crack. Medium roasts have a balanced flavor, with more body than light roasts.
  • French Roast: A darker roast level where beans are roasted through the second crack. The flavor
    is bold, with smoky and bittersweet notes.
  • Italian Roast: The darkest roast level, roasted beyond the second crack. These beans have an oily surface, with intense smoky flavors and reduced acidity.

2. First Crack and Second Crack

During the roasting process, you will encounter two audible cues: the first and second crack.
  • First Crack: This occurs when the beans expand and release moisture, making a cracking sound like popcorn popping. For a light roast, you will stop roasting shortly after the first crack.
  • Second Crack: As the beans continue to roast, they will crack again. The second crack signals the beginning of darker roast levels like French roast and Italian roast.

3. The Roasting Process

Here is a basic home coffee roasting tutorial using home roasting equipment:
  • Preheat the Roaster: Start by preheating your coffee roaster to around 400°F.
  • Add the Green Beans: Once preheated, add your green coffee beans to the roaster. Most roasters will come with capacity guidelines, so be sure not to overload them.
  • Adjust Settings: If your roaster allows for manual adjustments, you will want to set the fan speed and temperature. For a beginner home coffee roasting course, stick to the manufacturer recommended settings until you are more comfortable experimenting with temperature changes.
  • Monitor the Roast: As the beans begin to heat up, they will turn from green to yellow and eventually brown. You will need to carefully monitor the beans to avoid over-roasting, especially after the first crack. Always be mindful of safety and your ability to deal with smoke and potentially fire.
  • Listen for the First Crack: Once you hear the first crack, the beans are in the light roast stage. If you prefer a light roast, continue roasting for about 30-60 seconds after the first crack, then stop.
  • Second Crack: If you prefer a darker roast, like French roast or Italian roast, continue roasting until you hear the second crack. This usually happens a few minutes after the first crack, depending on the roast level you want.
  • Cool the Beans: Once your beans reach the desired roast level, remove them from the roaster and cool them quickly. Most roasters have built-in cooling systems, but if yours does not, spread the beans on a baking sheet or use a fan to cool them. There are also separate cooling trays you can purchase should you wish to.

4. Resting and Storing the Coffee

After roasting, coffee beans release carbon dioxide, a process called degassing. Allow the roasted beans to rest for 24-48 hours in a vented container before brewing to ensure optimal flavor. Typically a week after roasting is where we have found coffee tastes reflect their potential taste profile characteristics.
For storage, keep your beans in an airtight container away from light and moisture. Avoid grinding your beans until you are ready to brew, as pre-ground coffee loses its flavor quickly. We use a 15 minute window as a guide. No more than 15 minutes between grinding and brewing.

Equipment Recommendations for Home Coffee Roasting:

  • Roaster: As mentioned earlier, the Fresh Roast SR540 and Behmor 2000AB Plus are great options for beginners. The Behmor is a drum roaster. More advanced users may enjoy the flexibility of the Gene Cafe CBR-101.
  • Grinder: Invest in a good-quality burr grinder, like the Baratza Encore, to ensure an even grind.
  • Storage Containers: Use airtight containers to keep your roasted beans fresh (post degassing).

Tips for Perfecting Your Roast

  • Take Notes: Keep a roasting log where you record the time, temperature, and roast level of each batch. This will help you refine your roasting technique and repeat successful batches.
  • Experiment with Blends: Once you are comfortable with single-origin roasting, try blending different beans to create your own custom blends.
  • Education: If you’re serious about mastering home roasting, consider taking coffee education  courses in Hoboken, NJ or enrolling in a coffee roasting certification course to deepen your knowledge.

Roasting coffee at home can be a fun and rewarding hobby that elevates your coffee experience to new heights. Whether you are just starting with a beginner home coffee roasting course or you’re a seasoned enthusiast looking to perfect your roast, the key is practice, experimentation, and attention to detail.As you embark on this journey, don’t hesitate to seek out resources such as roasting classes for coffee enthusiasts or coffee roasting certification courses to hone your skills. 

By roasting at home, you’ll develop a deep appreciation for the craft of coffee-making and enjoy the freshest, most flavorful coffee imaginable. Best of all, you will cut your coffee costs dramatically.

by new-jersey


11
Apr
Coffee Pouring into the Cups through the machine
Maximum Efficiency: Key to Success in the Coffee World
April 11, 2024
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Maximum Efficiency: Key to Success in the Coffee World

  • BY JAMES CONTI

The food and beverage community knows all too well about the need for efficiency to have a better chance at success and profitability for a business. I know we talk consistently about café bar design and the need for the capacity to make a beverage or engage successfully with a loyal customer without delay. The homework needed upfront before embarking on a new business is so critical and never more so than when it comes to processing orders regardless of what we are selling.

In a café setting for sure, every detail is not to be ignored. Clearly the ability of your equipment to produce desired beverages is something you’ll encounter as you resolve your concept and determine what your location will be able to produce in a “perfect world”. That said, every inch after that on the bar is something to ensure it conforms to what your staff and specifically front of house (FOH) revenue producing staff can exploit for the betterment of your bottom line. 

Placement of a point-of-sale system (POS), cups, ice, dairy and non-dairy products are all things your baristas and staff members can opine on and especially those who have experience. We don’t always have the perfect answers but ask about what ways “DO NOT” work well and you’ll hear the coffee war stories. Hire well, create a great environment, and give your staff a field of play to “do their thing”.

Let’s not forget the back of house issues as on-site managers and owners know all too well how a lack of attention here can dovetail into the FOH. Ordering products and ingredients with a POS to assist is imperative. Managing labor shifts to the hour with all the applications that can help pay for themselves in time saved and keeping staff organized. Payables and accounting tasks can cripple a business with record retention and prepping for tax issues. Organize, stay up to date and utilize technology. 

That’s a must to the extent your budget allows. Reduce the need for paper as a goal and many roles and responsibilities fall into line accordingly. Review everything you need to do and as time allows priorities to avail themselves, make your business about one thing: Producing clients to a better product and experience and growing their population with you. Always ask the question: Isn’t it all about efficiency AND how do I resolve to make it so? Business is business, throughout the café or whatever business you find yourself in.

To Do’s:
* Select the Right Equipment
* Optimize FOH Design
* Prioritize BOH Issues
* Manage Labor Shifts
* Utilize Technology

by new-jersey


07
Feb
Coffee education courses Hoboken NJ
Celebrate Valentine’s Day Event: Unique Floral and Coffee Experience
February 7, 2024
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Celebrate Valentine’s Day Event: Unique Floral and Coffee Experience

  • BY JAMES CONTI

This past Saturday, four words were on everyone’s lips in Hoboken: “New Jersey Coffee School.” As an event planner for the new Hoboken-based “coffee school,” Chelsea Ashe, told me at the company’s first-ever “Bouquet and Brew” Valentine’s Day event, “Coffee brings everyone together. I thought, come try different coffee beans and drinks, learn something new like making latte art on our machines or a bouquet for Valentine’s Day. 

I’m glad so many kinds of people showed up and could take something beautiful home.” For the founder and co-owner of this trade-school-meets-think-tank, Jim Conti, this has been a long time in the making. “I originally wanted to open my own cafe, but my background is in finance, and so a few years ago I started doing research. 

Quickly found out, that there are so few resources out there on how to break into this crazy world of coffee shops. That’s how the “New Jersey Coffee School” was born. “We opened in Hoboken last January. Since then, we’ve had current and future cafe owners, current and future baristas, restaurant industry workers looking to transition to a new career and maximize earning potential with tips, and people who just love coffee all come to take our courses, learn how to elevate their coffee game in life or business. 

” The “Bouquet and Brew” event brought locals together from all over the New Jersey and New York area and even involved small businesses in the area. “It’s so amazing to work with the florists of Hoboken to put together a flower-arranging course at a coffee school,” Chelsea Ashe said. “We said we can trade, I’ll learn flower arranging and they’ll come try latte art.” 

Rizal Adhari, who’s currently pursuing his Masters’s degree from NYU School of Tourism, recently took the Barista course as he expanded the coffee tourism industry in his home country Indonesia. “Was an elegant event, really fun for the whole family.” Cafes first sprang up in modern society as centers of intellectual and cultural exchange. 

Come together, share a cup or a story, and leave feeling refreshed and new. Coffee Specialist Course Instructor Paula, a 10-year veteran in the NYC cafe industry and native of Medellín, Colombia, where some of the world’s best coffee grows, doesn’t miss a beat as she pours a beautiful design of hearts atop a steaming latte and answers my question, “What’s your secret?” “Love,” she says, as she hands me my own cup. Coffee has always been school. Now it’s in New Jersey.

New Jersey coffee school for beginners
New Jersey coffee school for beginners
New Jersey coffee school for beginners
New Jersey coffee school for beginners
by new-jersey


15
Jan
Coffee Shop view
Ultimate Bean-to-Cup Coffee Journey: From Harvest to Your Mug
January 15, 2024
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Ultimate Bean-to-Cup Coffee Journey: From Harvest to Your Mug

  • BY JAMES CONTI

When it comes to coffee and the experience many of us attempt to impart on our loyal customers, our collective goal is to leave customers in a better place at the end of their voyage into our café establishment . Each customer is and has a unique perspective about their vessel and its ability to catalyze a mood, experience, a memory, or just a boost to the moment. 

Think of the Japanese philosophy of “ichigo ichie” and how every moment is such a special “one-time” only opportunity towards a unique treasure. Our hopes and dreams in the coffee business and especially the Specialty Coffee world, are all aimed at the “morning epiphany” that the brew exudes. How special a thought for us all to keep in mind on those days when the morning mattress departure begs the question about our purpose in life?

It is a great storyline for us all and many live for that moment when the “light goes on” for a customer and the fruits of our labor become more than apparent for them. The cliche about art or science plays out during this dynamic. The act of delivering that unique experiential moment and keeping the retail chain of a coffee cup, at a price valued as such by customers is quite the fight or flight moment. While the choice for any manager is the customer’s satisfaction or at least one would suggest it to be, economics usually lurk within ear shot and certainly impact the product.

We talk about the coffee farmers of the world and rightfully so, and their ability to earn a living for themselves and family members. Some reports put the average income of a world coffee farmer at sub $200 per month. Couple that number with the notion that approximately 5% of the world’s coffee farmers are aged 35 or less, and the foundation of a future concern is poured. 

Over many years we have listened to economists and statisticians speak to aging societies and their ability to have a viable labor force given the disproportionate number of older citizens dominating things. The numbers are specifically as challenged in the coffee world. Farmers are already grappling with the receipt of a fair price for their crop. They are typically underpaid for it, relative to the subsequent transactional prices after they relinquish their product to the supply chain. 

Locking prices in with early contracts sounds like a good idea but end users such as roasters are concerned about committing to a product that has so many climate variables effecting it before they can know its something they want. Credit sources for farmers are costly and determining a need for things like fertilizers and pesticides is an unknown much like the climate issues. The world of artificial intelligence and the algorithm’s that are utilized are becoming much more prevalent in coffee. 

A roasters prowess is now being shaped by the algo’s to create that consistent taste profile. That in turn dovetails into an issue at the farm level. The roasting process may seek out a certain moisture profile in a processed bean and the method to obtain that may involve the farm and its farmer needing to intervene with something which if nothing else adds cost at their level. Its all a numbers game and one riddled with many unknowns until the crop leaves a farmer’s hands.

The numbers we speak of have a very explicit relationship with coffee and the shipment from the farm at a certain traded price. A somewhat opaque result of these numbers goes back to the farm and the farming community. Given the low income and extremely difficult labor conditions present during bean harvest, the desire by younger community members to engage with coffee farming continues to dwindle. 

The incoming generations do not see coffee farming as a viable occupation for them. The current farmer, no different than most with children, seeks a better life for their family as well. Who would know best that the current trials of coffee cultivation are just not something they can wish upon someone let alone their children? Finding a way to induce others to work in coffee farming and retain workers sounds like a problem that is consistent with so many parts of our lives in so many industries. 

Given the demand for coffee and its expected growth, the current numbers need to shift and shift sooner than later. If it does not, then expect the answers to come from those with a controlling stake in capital to make all the rules of the game. We can help by focusing on the source of our deliciousness and the catalyst for each “ichigo ichie” day. Make sure the farmer is top of mind as you buy a bean or a cup. The numbers do not and will not ever lie. They become a better story when we influence them. Stay vigilant and be curious about that awesome experience tomorrow with your favorite cup and barista. Ask many questions and let the answers and comments you receive, drive you forward!

by new-jersey


12
Dec
Coffee roasting - Hoboken NJ coffee business education
Know How Coffee Was Discovered: Interesting Kaldi Story
December 12, 2023
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Know How Coffee Was Discovered: Interesting Kaldi Story

  • BY JAMES CONTI

Once upon a time coffee got its start (legend says so) thanks to a herd of goats and a very observant goat herder who saw his flock a bit more excited after eating some coffee cherries on their daily jaunts through the forests of Ethiopia. Those cherries found their way into a process at a monastery full of monks who turned it into a cup of coffee. So goes the legend of coffee’s auspicious start.

It’s doubtful that the goat herder named Kaldi and his connections at the monastery could’ve foreseen the world of coffee as we now know it. In terms of today’s coffee talk, can’t you just hear the abbot at the monastery seeing Kaldi and asking him, “How’s the goat business?” and Kaldi the omniscient herder proceeds to tell him about the cherries and goats’ excitement. There’s always something to discuss when coffee comes up. Today, something caught my eye as I was reading about anything coffee. 

No different than what a barista encounters at the bar when a customer asks about their unique coffee beverage and its origins, we emphasize being an informed and all-encompassing source of information no matter what role we play in the retail coffee business. I found myself reading about the coffee capsule market and the expectations of it significantly growing over the next 10 years. 

Given the proliferation of machines using capsules in corporate offices and the low-cost entry point of this type of a setup, growth shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% from ’23 to ’33 certainly is an “eye catcher”. Now, for a coffee house or bricks and mortar facility emphasizing an “experience”, for which the gurgle of the Keurig machine cannot replicate, talking about capsules may seem blasphemous. 

However, as businesspeople in the business of coffee, we wouldn’t be too effective if we couldn’t handle a “softball” question about the capsule market and its considerable usage. Correlate it to the barista who doesn’t have an answer when asked where today’s brew comes from. As an owner of the establishment, you’d most likely have a chat with said barista with a map in hand.

Think for a few minutes about what the seemingly innocuous capsule question can conversationally lead to. For starters, the capsule market is dominated by the corporate world for convenience and cost reasons. Corporations have an approximate ¾ market share of the capsule world. With this type of majority and the prevalence of this coffee offering, what effect if any, is there with capsule usage. 

Perhaps you want to discuss or think in terms of quality of taste or maybe the health concerns of drinking coffee coming from an aluminum or plastic capsule. No doubt a conversation around health gets attention but questions about sustainability and the environment are prevalent too. Where exactly do all these capsules go? Are they recyclable? If one agrees with the CAGR of 5% then these questions become much more substantive as the discussion evolves.

What about the impact on coffee supply and pricing? Sourcing coffee may be at the top of your questions list now. Whether you are thinking in terms of Arabica or Robusta, or Brazil versus Vietnam, the ultimate question starts with, where are we getting more coffee from? While that question hangs in the balance, the demand for more coffee continues in new markets. 

Further intensifying the need for new players in the coffee world. India continues to evolve as not only a producer and exporter of coffee, but the consumption of coffee grows within the country too. India at last check is the 5 th largest exporter of coffee and 6 th largest producer of coffee. 

As one goes down the pricing “rabbit hole”, its quickly apparent that depending on what reading material you source from, you may think that prices are going up with a lack of supply due to weather events like “El Nino” or the advent of a new rule on the exchange for coffee (ICE) about no longer posting older inventories. Something like this clearly is a supportive component of a stable coffee price. 

What exactly is the price of coffee in the futures market? This futures market is where roasters can price hedge themselves given the dynamics of coffee beans. The “C” price is what its called and it represents Arabica green beans that qualify under a lengthy set of criteria to be met (sourcing and delivery of beans to certain warehouses). Lastly, the farmers, of course, deal with pricing extensively. The “C” price tends to be lower than market pricing for beans. Farmers dealing with the transaction in “C” pricing terms may not reap the full benefit of a market price.

These are just a few thoughts that run through my mind when I think about my day and fielding questions about coffee, capsules and the markets touched by them. For someone in the business of retailing coffee in any type of operation, knowing this transaction flow and the players involved can yield a better return on the business and positioning of your business accordingly. 

I think an intrinsic benefit comes from the fact of asking or being asked the question, “How’s Business?”. While it’s very vague, it can offer an opportunistic answer of choice. Perhaps you too may see the coffee capsule, and its ability to ultimately become a sustainability question or one of a farmer not obtaining true value for their efforts, as a vehicle to explain the experience of your cafe, thus answering the “How’s Business” question. 

If nothing else, your customer will walk away thinking more about the value you and your cafe offer in so many ways. Kaldi had an answer for the monks when they posed that question and thankfully those monks ran with his answer to making a cup of Kaldi. “How’s Business?” is such a great opportunity to change the world. Let’s take advantage of it!

by new-jersey


06
Dec
That Shop | Taller de técnicas de café
How to Attract Best Barista Talent: Guaranteed Success Strategy
December 6, 2023
NJCS  ·  Uncategorized

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How to Attract Best Barista Talent: Guaranteed Success Strategy

The most prevalent discussion points or questions that I encounter when I am with a Café owner or manager is to help find them a barista to work within their café operation. Without fail my all-encompassing question to them about “What’s Going On?” is always met with, “Can you find me some baristas”?

I’d be remiss if I didn’t write that most businesses in food and/or hospitality are generating the same type of sentiment. Labor is and has always been a major component of the bottom line not only in terms of profitability but perhaps equally, in terms of a business’s viability for long-term success and survival. The pressing concern these days, which I don’t seem to hear or see being met by most cafés, is the workforce’s demand for a host of things beyond just the per-hour compensation agreement. 

Would-be coffee workers want to work with people they like and respect, and that are looking out for them in a variety of ways. This isn’t a new concept, but it feels a bit heavier than it used to be.

Study after study, post pandemic, speaks to “must haves” like shift flexibility, mission driven issues, social impact, career growth and a host of career-oriented things typically around personal development. These are all in addition to the compensation schedule. It’s a difficult managerial course to navigate, in an industry typically driven to a seasonal labor force of high school and college age students to fill in the gaps amongst permanent staff members. Shift management is already a yeoman’s effort to complete without factoring in class schedules and holidays with this type of demographic amongst the café’s operation. 

All said, while it is a tough equation for most businesses, it is one that can and must be dealt with. That’s evidenced by the very successful operations we all encounter from time to time. If one was to inquire about a café staff’s average tenure at a successful shop, you’d probably hear it answered in terms of years and not weeks or months. If you then asked, “why so?”, you’d probably hear, coffee related trips to seminars, conventions, great people, educational and managerial opportunities etc. Today’s workforce seeks a fair and honest wage AND to be inspired for the future in a super business environment. 

A café bricks and mortar operation does not have to answer the question of whether one can work there forever but it should be able to succinctly answer the question of “Will you help me each and every day to better myself and prepare me for my promising future”? Think about the student summer jobs of years gone by in an ice cream shop, a bowling alley, or a bakery to name just a few. Now think about the stories told from those places by countless former students who did their respective times there and beam with pride years later when they talk about their own success formulas being shaped there. 

The work ethic they developed shoveling Rocky Road after Chocolate Mint Chip after Sugar Free Cherry Ice cups and cones in the swelter of an August night was second to none.

They all worked at “That Shop” which was managed by an owner who cared or understood the value enough to know his/her workforce sought out a great place to work, with positive energy and an eye on their future skill development. Now, it’s called “culture”! These stores and shops had a battle tested formula for developing the employee’s softer skills to be utilized somewhere down the long road by the employee. The wide-eyed student took a leap of faith on it, as that was all they could do. 

Only a life lived, and more experience would prove it worthwhile. When they went on that first career entry interview post high school or college and were asked about: Leadership, Teamwork, Handling pressure, Problem Solving, Conflict Resolution, and just dealing with people, they all had plenty of experiences to pull from. Experiences that any hiring manager quickly understands how to calibrate them. 

The mom’s and pop’s (so to speak) at “That Shop” had done their instructor job well and in return had a reliable and able-bodied workforce throughout the years. The names and faces changed but the quality of service and work did not. Isn’t that really what a customer craves with each transaction? Isn’t that what your customers implicitly ask for when they get in line at 8am for their cappuccino?

Today’s café operations and their seemingly insatiable need for reliable and quality workers need not deviate from those mom’s and pop’s operational formulas. By offering a competitive wage and driving a culture of teamwork and collaboration emphasizing the need to satisfy a customer, will always be an attractive employer to a discerning employee. 

Combining that with being an instrument for an employee’s personal development and showing them just how much they are an asset to the business and to the team, will not only have the buzz about a café being the success story of the neighborhood, but many will refer to you as that place where all those good and great people work or have worked at. Just become “That Shop” and employees and customers will come looking for you.

by new-jersey


15
Nov
Advanced barista training Hoboken NJ | Taller de técnicas de café
Know The Most Professional Brick & Mortar Retails: More Insights by NJCS
November 15, 2023
NJCS  ·  Uncategorized

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Know The Most Professional Brick & Mortar Retails: More Insights by NJCS

  • BY JAMES CONTI

Offering coffee or establishing a small café bar in a bricks and mortar retail operation (non-café)

Does offering coffee or having a café bar within a retail operation (non-coffee) increase sales and/or your customers’ experience? For us at New Jersey Coffee School (NJCS), it’s a prominent question that is often asked by our students who are budding or existing retail bricks and mortar owners.

Typically, our engagement with Barista and Business students starts with a Q&A session around what goals they may have and how can our classes at New Jersey Business School will accentuate their respective journeys. The Barista sessions focus on things such as; global coffee profiles, roasters influencing taste profiles and of course, extensive hands-on work with our commercial grade espresso machines. A beneficial result of taking this class or obtaining the experience of the class is that it opens people’s peripheral business vision, for how they may incorporate a complementing coffee/cafe offering within their business model.

If you’ve ever shopped in a high-end retail store, you may have noticed a coffee bar within their operation. How does this enhance the sales experience and most importantly the profitability for the store owner?

For starters, let’s understand and agree that most people drink coffee. In some widely available surveys, it’s been recorded that only 11% of consumers admit to never drinking coffee. Safe to say that most shoppers do drink coffee and probably several cups per day. Offering coffee during a shopping experience is advantageous in this regard. 

Coffee clearly has some sensory advantages and may be seen through the lens of “driving” consumer traffic to your store. Think about those Cinnabon purchases in the mall we all made for no other reason than the scent of “deliciousness” permeated the air. I don’t remember ever leaving home seeking a Cinnabon, yet I returned having eaten one and carrying another one “for later”.

Let’s focus on image for a moment and on what coffee may offer in that regard. If you are selling upscale goods and services, a higher end coffee type offering is consistent with that image for your consumer and may even enhance the image further. Conversely, selling discounted goods and services wouldn’t obtain a similar benefit from the upscale coffee operation. 

Selling that upscale image is also a popular tact to undertake with the younger consumer as it represents a validation of sorts that your operation “knows its customer” very well. It also facilitates and extends the brand loyalty foundation all retail businesses crave. A young, engaged consumer eventually can become a long-time loyal customer.

In an experiential sense, a coffee inspired offering within your store enhances your customer’s shopping experience. Potentially your store can become a destination purely for the coffee beverage operation. You’ll also increase the amount of time you retain customers on site with more sales opportunities as the objective. You’d be hard pressed to find a shopper who doesn’t see the value of a casual and cozy place to sit down to enjoy a hand-crafted French coffee drink coupled with a warm buttered croissant. A seat at a café on the Champ Elysees becomes a sensory reality and how memorable can that become!

How can NJCS synthesize all this for you? The things to think about are so numerous and potentially overwhelming. NJCS alleviates much of the learning curve. NJCS’s Barista classes emphasize working on commercial grade espresso machines and their ancillary ones like grinders, which if you decide to offer a high end, and high-sales volume beverage operation, will become a tremendous asset to your bar design and equipment purchase decisions. 

You’ll also be equipped to delve into the ever-challenging world of municipal bureaucracy to determine code and regulation compliance. Remember, if you are selling coffee for money, you most likely will need to know your cities/towns respective zoning rules and regulations. 

Lastly, when it comes to equipment, not only is its placement critical for aesthetic reasons, but you also need to determine many things like efficiency, water supply, filtration, and drainage issues. That said, NJCS classes also emphasize knowing your concept which greatly influences the equipment you will need and purchase. In many cases, you can decide to scale things down and thus create less plumbing and electrical issues for yourself. Better said, “you can save large sums of money and time!”

Coffee is a valuable commodity and can be used as a real asset within your current or proposed retail operation. But like anything else in business, it needs an informed and educated rock-solid foundation from which to put your plan into motion effectively, efficiently and at the optimal value. The NJCS Barista classes as well as coffee Business classes provide all of that and more. Please call us at (201) 367-9586 or visit our website at https://newjerseycoffeeschool.com

by new-jersey




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