September 2016

September 2016 | Vol. XXIX No. 9 www.coffeetalk.com

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HIGHLIGHTS

ROASTER'S ROCK

CONNECT. GROW. PROSPER!

12 TALES FROM ORIGIN Guatemala A Visit With a Saint 14

Understanding Profitability 16

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Lesson 1:

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GETTING PROFITABLE

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Preparing for the

How Effective Is Print Marketing?

T

rying to stand out as a superior business in a fast-paced society of big flashes and white noise can be difficult. Especially for those in the coffee industry, competing against corporate giants like Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf can be daunting. Presentation can make or break your business, which means branding yourself is a major key to success in the coffee world. Aside from traditional advertising techniques, one of the best ways to get your name out there is by branding on printed paper cups and coffee sleeves.

How big of an impact does this kind of print marketing actually have? Let’s break it down for a second. study conducted by GFK (source: http://www.gfk.com/) showed that print advertisements brought in a whopping 120 percent return on investment (ROI), the highest ROI out of any medium. To translate, for every dollar spent, the business made $1.20 in return.

That’s a pretty good return for spending a little bit on some cups and printed material.

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Why does this happen? offee drinkers spend anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes with your coffee cup in hand. During this time they are literally a walking advertisement- anyone who sees them with your cup will recognize your brand.

This is why customized cups or sleeves are so vital in really making your mark on the coffee industry.

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So how do you go about getting those cups and sleeves? And how do you get the help you need to design something that will stand out against your competition? uckily there are people like those at Custom Takeout who are more than willing to assist you with all of your branding needs. They have marketing consultations absolutely free of charge and are happy to go out of their way to make sure your business succeeds. They also have the lowest minimums in the business, with 10-30k pieces per size and design. This allows smaller businesses to get that perfectly labeled cup while getting the most out of their money.

By Alison Rodriguez

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Contents

6

The View

Don't Become the Dinosaur

CONNECT. GROW. PROSPER!

6

Calendar

8

How to Open a Coffee Shop

12

Roaster's Rock

Preparing for the inevitability of Robusta

14

Guatemala - A Visit With a Saint

16

Lesson 1: Understanding Profitability

18

12 Roaster's Rock — Preparing for the inevitability of Robusta

14 Tales From Origin — Guatemala - A Visit With a Saint

Tales From Origin

Getting Profitable

16 Getting Profitable — Lesson 1: Understanding Profitability

Coffee Service Corner

The Significance of Your Route Professional

20

How Café Owners Can Manage Today’s Workforce in the Digital Age

22

Coffee Fest Listings Costa Rica Women Care Certified Producer: Kathia Zamora

22

Cloza Estate | West Valley and Central Valley Regions

24

NewsBites

26

Advertiser Index

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WHO WE ARE

Phone: 206.686.7378, see extensions below Publisher / Advertising Inquiries Kerri Goodman, ext 1 kerri@coffeetalk.com

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Web Design Justin Goodman, ext 6 justin@coffeetalk.com

Mailing Info Mail: HNCT, LLC, 25525 77th Ave SW Vashon, WA 98070 Phone: 206.686.7378 Fax: 866.373.0392 Web: www.coffeetalk.com Disclaimer

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How to Open a Coffee Shop

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Publisher reserves the right to limit the number of free subscriptions. For subscription inquiries, please call 206.686.7378 x1 or subscribe online at www.CoffeeTalk.com.

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4 September 2016

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The View

Kerri Goodman Don't Become the Dinosaur

W

elcome to Fall. While many view this time of year as winding down, nearing the end. I do not! Fall is the season of New Beginnings. Think about it: What happened every fall for almost the first two decades of our lives? New clothes, new books, new teachers, new classes. Everything about Fall to me screams Fresh Start! In fact, September is the month back in 1994 that CoffeeTalk officially launched.

What if we are not launching something new this Fall? Perfect! Instead, this "new beginning" time of year becomes an opportunity for change!

A recent study by SAP revealed one of the biggest concerns of employees everywhere is becoming obsolete or having their positions changed. It does not matter if you are the owner of a small business or an employee at a large corporation, success means you must be expert at reinventing yourself to avoid becoming obsolete.

This is the perfect time to examine both individually and as a business where we are, where we have been, and where we are going. We must engage our customers, empower our employees, and optimize our operations. Though exceptional business leaders have always known this, the difference today is that the pace of changing technology is so fast that if you do not keep up, you can quickly become a dinosaur – and you will not even know it until it is too late.

How do you go about avoiding obsolescence?

First, question everything: are policies and procedures still appropriate in today's changing environment? Put yourself in your customers' shoes. What aspect of their interaction with you feels old fashioned or awkward? What are better ways of doing this? If you were a start-up and looking at things from a fresh perspective, what would you do to disrupt the industry?

Next, are you prepared to succeed?

• Do you stay up to date with industry news?

You need to know what is happening in your marketplace to remain on the cutting edge. It does take considerable time to stay on top of the

overabundance of information out there. So use tools and technology to your advantage! ctNEWS and ctPRESS are free tools to save you precious time WHILE keeping you at the leading edge of what's happening.

• Do you connect with experts in your field?

This could be through networking sessions, email, joining a LinkedIn group, or volunteering on a committee. Are you a member of SCAA, NCA, NAMA? Do you participate in committees? Are you using your membership to its fullest?

• Do you attend industry conferences?

Here you will find new ideas, new products, and the opportunity to be with other forward-minded people who can challenge you and keep you flexible and prepared for changes. Coffee Fest Anaheim, is a great opportunity coming up in a few weeks. After that the NCA Fall Coffee Summit in October and NAMA's Coffee Tea & Water conference in November. Do not miss these incredible opportunities to connect, learn, and thrive!

• Do you engage in life-long learning?

An excellent example of successful "Reinvention" is the SCAA. No longer just a conference and newsletter, SCAA has become the premier educational facility of the global coffee industry. Take a look at their global campus offerings, e-learning, Foundations classes, eExams and other numerous opportunities to stay at the top of your game. And don’t forget the to explore amazing industry educational opportunities from Boot Coffee’s new campus as well! Education is the key to staying young and avoiding the dinosaur effect! In fact a recent article in The Atlantic reported that when individuals learn new tasks, they strengthen the part of their brain used in learning the task. Even better, this process makes the neighboring areas of the brain more resilient as well. This means that learning can make what you already know stronger, too.

Here’s to New Beginnings!

Calendar

6

For complete and updated show information visit our online calendar: http://magazine.coffeetalk.com/industry-calendar/

September 2-4

Berlin Coffee Fest, Berlin Germany

September 21-23

International Coffee Week, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

September 7-9

Coteca, Hamburg, Germay

September 25-26

Canadian Coffee and Tea Show, Toronto, Canada

September 15-17

CAMA Expo 2016, Victoria, BC, Canada

September 26-October 1

Gather Coffee Company Q-Grader Exam Course, Portland, OR

September 15-17

85th PCCA Convention, Olympic Village, CA USA

September 28-30

SCAJ 2016, Tokyo, Japan

September 16-18

New York Coffee Festival, New York, NY USA

Sept 30-Oct 2

Coffee Fest Anaheim, CA USA

Septmber 19-23

117th Session of the ICO, London, UK

October 13-16

Let's Talk Coffee 2016, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

October 25-26

FSMA Training Seminar, Miami Florida

October 26-28

NCA: The Coffee Summit, Miami, FL USA

September 2016

How to Open a Coffee Shop Sara Brown

H

ow can a passionate affinity for coffee (lifeblood), a seeming immunity to caffeine, and a stirring desire to create something of your own manifest into a successful business? After the smell of your favorite dark blend bean brewing drags you out of bed in the morning, you, the advantageous pioneer of a new coffee business, embark on your mission with wide eyes and determination to look past the sea of failed espresso enterprises and into a vision of happy, perhaps glasses-and-beanie wearing customers sipping their favorite beverages on plush loveseats. If you’re overwhelmed by the multitude of initiatives associated with building a new business and are looking for a step-by-step guide that breaks down everything you need to know about starting a coffee shop enterprise, you’ve come to the right place.

Consulting – DIY or Professional?

As with any start-up endeavor, the process of doing extensive research and listening to/absorbing testimonies will be your best friend. There are, of course, professionals that you can look to: a slew of fancy coffee consulting companies (i.e. Bellissimo Coffee Information Group) and consultants (i.e. gurus like Duncan Goodall) can offer a framework of advice on how to overcome the hurdles and which corners to cut, and which ones to definitely NOT cut. However, consulting can be incredibly costly, and ironically, the number one thing that these consultants will all agree upon is that minimizing all costs possible is key. If your funds are severely limited, hiring someone who charges $180/hour (even up to $1,500 a day) to do a job that can really be done internally through internet research and networking makes it an expense that falls into the category of “luxuries.”

That being said, if you don’t hire someone to do the work for you, you need to do the work.

Capitalize on your strengths & narrow your target clientele: Avoid the novice mistake of trying to capitalize on everything: A coffee shop that tries to do everything that a coffee shop can do, will likely crash and burn. It is much more salient to be exceptional at something than mediocre at everything.

Your regular customers will drive your business in the coffee industry: Your regulars, their loyalty, and their referrals will grow and sustain your business.

Differentiate yourself from other caffeine banks by honing in on what made you want to undertake this hefty task in the first place and link your passion to your target clientele.

Location: Using a local broker: When it comes to finding suitable vacancies for your space, you’re likely going to have to outsource to a broker if you want to avoid fruitless hunting.

How much you should expect to pay for rent: Your rent is a function of your budget, whatever your total budget is, and your rent should be around 6-8% of those funds.

The physical location of your business is essential: Choosing a space that was already a cafétype business can alleviate much of the initial hassle of preparing for building renovations and obtaining necessary documentation (and in some cases, could even cut down some of those renovation costs).

The space is the physical manifestation of your dream: Don’t cut corners in making what you built in your head a reality; your brand and your niche need to be clearly reflected here. Work hard to create an environment that will draw in your clientele and keep them coming back for more.

Research, research, and more research: Converse with the pros: The advice of your soon-to-be contemporaries is invaluable, as they have lived your struggle and triumphed.

Immerse yourself in the industry; Sign up for coffee periodicals (Barista Magazine, Coffee Talk, Specialty Coffee Retailer, Fresh Cup, and The Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, are some industry-centric, popular favorites) and attend tradeshows.

Get down to the nitty-gritty: Have a firm handle on the laws, relevant rules & regulations/necessary permits surrounding owning a coffee shop needed in your state.

Create a business plan: This will outline your financial needs, initial and future expenses, and a general timeline (one that includes how you will stay afloat when it could take anywhere from six months- to two years for your business to become profitable.)

When you’ve done so much research that you feel like you could probably become a coffee consultant, take your creative energy and begin to formulate the bones of your vision.

8

Customer service is everything and more: This mentality is exactly what fosters loyal customers who will come back time and time again. You want your customers to know you and to feel both known and cared for. So, work at your shop (if not always, at least at the beginning), learn the names of the customers who are regulars, memorize their orders and build friendships. In the same vein, hire staff who understand the value of customer service and who will bring personality to interactions that would otherwise be mundane. The most well-trained barista is useless without equally fantastic customer ethic, no matter how phenomenal their latte art is.

Consider your costs: Hiring experts you may not realize you need: When you’re imagining the people you need to get your coffee business off of the ground, a lawyer probably isn’t at the forefront of your mind, but spending the money on legal fees now could end up saving you both money and strife later. Not to mention, they can also assist in identifying all the necessary permits and September 2016

cont. on page 10

Open a Coffee Shop documentation needed. An accountant is also someone who will be better at doing their job than you will be at trying to do it yourself.

Renovations: Professionals will get the job done faster and better. You are better off setting yourself back more monetarily by asking for more funding or taking out a larger initial loan than attempting to skimp here.

Barista training school: In training your baristas, it will depend on what exactly you need them to be capable of and your own level of expertise; if the quality of the coffee is the most important thing to you, you’ll likely have to outsource to a training program. However, if it’s simply learning how to use the fancy espresso machine, you might be perfectly qualified to train your own staff (and to train your staff to train new staff).

Choosing your espresso machine: Another dangerous place to skimp on costs lies in the heart of your shop—the aforementioned fancy espresso machine. There are 2 initial decisions you’ll need to make: •

Automatic or semi-automatic: the key difference between the two is that semi-automatic machines will require attention from start to finish and this will affect both how you train your staff and efficiency.

•

How many groups do you need? Commercial espresso machines come with 1-4 groups, 2 usually being sufficient.

Water filtration: It’s no coincidence that both the quality of the tap water and the quality of the bagels in New York are both some of the best in the country—good water filtration is possibly even more essential for making good coffee than it is for making good bagels, so spend the extra dollars on the better filtration system.

Minimize costs by maximizing your efficiency: Streamline your baristas’ brewing processes from manual to automatic, and if you absolutely must maintain some manual brewing methods for reasons of quality (like pourovers), eliminate bottlenecks and customer wait time by changing the process of ordering and receiving or by ensuring that the customer knows their coffee will take longer.

Don’t discount how much you can save by cutting back on the little things: Be purposeful about ALL of your spending, and always look to expenditures that are invisible or irrelevant to the customer experience as smart outlets to cut back on and thus increase your overall efficiency.

Choosing a POS (Point of Sale) System • Breadcrumb: recently purchased by Upserve, there are two available versions of this mobile POS system: Breadcrumb Pro and Breadcrumb Payments. Both systems work exclusively with Apple Ipad 2, but setup and registration are super easy (takes all of 5 minutes).

•

Square: Also a mobile POS system that is compatible with Apple Ipad, Square allows you to swipe payments without an internet connection, print kitchen tickets, receipts, and order stubs, and also lets you customize taxes, tipping and discounts.

•

ShopKeep: ShopKeep offers 3 separate systems: retail, quick serve, and restaurant & bar. It also offers all the necessary bells and whistles of a successful POS system: detailed item modifiers for custom orders, offline payment ability, inventory tracking, analytics tools - you name it.

Choosing your coffee beans: Spending an excessive amount on fancy bigbrand coffee beans might seem like a great place to splurge, but realistically, local beans will often be drastically less expensive. (How much you pay for your beans will depend on whether you’re dealing directly with local farmers for their green beans and then doing your own roasting, or outsourcing to local roasting companies.)

•

How much to charge for your coffee: When deciding how much to charge, return to your clientele. Your strategy for setting your price must, of course, take into account your own bean and overhead costs, but ultimately, you’re not only charging for the cup of coffee, but also for the experience.

Marketing starts now: Networking should predate the existence of your space: If you only start marketing after you open, you’ve already fallen behind. Attend local events and pass out free samples; try setting up a stand at local green markets and promote your grand opening feverishly by word of mouth and through social media marketing. Begin to build your brand as early as possible so that by the time you open, you already have customers who are as excited about being a part of your business as you are about starting it.

Connect with influencers: Reach out to coffee & food blogs and Instagram accounts to start promoting your image; your marketing outlets will, again, need to speak to that ideal niche clientele.

If you’re opening near a college campus, promote student discounts and hang fliers around campus.

Preliminary marketing can even be a way of gaining income if you have your own brand of coffee beans that you can sell at local coffee tradeshows or events.

MAKING ENOUGH MONEY?

(…making any money?)

You can find the full article here: https://bondstreet.com/blog/ how-to-open-a-coffee-shop/ Sara Brown is a writer at Bond Street, a company focused on making small business loans simple, transparent, and fair

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10 September 2016

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Roasters Rock

PREPARING FOR THE INEVITABILITY OF ROBUSTA

“

There is no way I would ever have that crap coffee in my shop!” If this reflects your feeling on the subject of Robusta, you need to read on!

Don’t be a species hater! Maybe you just don’t understand Robusta. It’s also very common to poo-poo what we don’t know. However, you will be adding Robusta to your roasting room eventually, so you might as well get ahead of the curve!

What do we associate with Robusta? If you answer, “Commercial, massproduced, high-caffeine, and tastes like rotting bark,” then it is possible you have a little way to go before acceptance! Every journey starts with a step, so let’s get started.

Introduction to Robusta Robusta was discovered on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda. It is a hearty plant that has a better ability to adapt for survival compared to its cousin Arabica. It still grows wild there today. The yield is higher with Robusta. The caffeine content is higher, but the sugars and acids are lower. It is more resistant to bugs and other plant diseases. It grows in warmer climates. It is easier to maintain a crop. So what about this species makes us so hesitant? In a word: FLAVOR. The most significant NATURAL difference in Robusta pertaining to flavor is that it has double the amount of Chlorogenic Acid and detectable amounts of potassium. You may ask, “What flavor does Chlorogenic acid have?” The answer is, “It tastes like coffee!” If you take any hot beverage, put it to your lips and say, “Hey! That’s coffee!” then you have identified Chlorogenic acid. It is that base coffee flavor. One of the downsides of Chlorogenic acid is that when you add heat, it breaks down into Quinic and Caffeic Acids, which taste bitter and sour respectively.

The potassium in the coffee can turn it brackish and salty-tasting. At its best it becomes savory. At its worst it can be like sea water. It is a flavor component we just don’t run across as much in Arabica. It also affects mouthfeel in both positive and negative ways based on intensity.

How could this POSSIBLY be a good thing to add to my Roastery?!?

A good and fair question. To answer the question, we need to look back about 30 years. Back then, there was this new-fangled concept of ‘specialty coffee’. Some hippie taste-freaks were going to take individual lots of coffee, carefully control the processing and clean the coffee to zero defects in order to celebrate the natural flavors of coffee. This was instead of just taking the whole harvest and putting it into a nice commercial pile that would eventually end up in a can on the grocery store shelf. What they realized is that Specialty Coffee is not GROWN, it is MANUFACTURED. If it is manufactured well, then people will pay an appropriately greater price for the quality.

12

Fast forward 30 years – Robusta coffee is currently being mixed into a big commercial pile and ending up in a can on the grocery store shelf. It stands to reason that if attempts were made to MANUFACTURE a ‘Specialty Robusta,’ it could be done with some simple processing changes that already exist for Arabica. Selectively pick the red, ripe cherries. Wash the coffee to get a nice uniform flavor. Clean it to zero defects. Sort it by density to find the beans that grew higher on the mountain, where some acidity could form. This is

Rocky Rhodes

actually being done and the results have been pretty amazing. How cool would you be if you were offering one of these new-fangled Robusta lots at your slow bar? You would be an innovator and be rewarded appropriately!

How to use Robusta in your shop Maybe the slow bar is a little premature! But if you understand some of the key flavor components of a Fine Robusta, there are plenty of ways to use it.

For years now, several companies have been adding Robusta to espresso blends for two reasons. First is to beef up the body and crema.

Second is to reduce the overall cost of the blend. Both are good reasons. However, it does not fully exploit the possibilities of Fine Robusta.

Consistent blend component. You may have noticed that some lots of Arabica are getting harder and/or more expensive to replace.

Robusta offers an alternative best used for replacing some lower-acid components like a Sumatra or a Brazil. A good, washed Robusta will have similar qualities. Also, it could possibly lower the cost of the blend. You can also get it in larger lots, thereby having to replace it less often.

Stand-alone drip coffee. Robusta can have some nice, delicate flavors. In rare instances, a slow bar application could be really nice. This will be more common as time goes on, but for now there have only been a handful of really nice 87+ Robustas. In contrast, a nice batch-brew as an occasional ‘house coffee’ can yield a completely adequate cup, and even start a conversation about how you are an early adopter of this ‘new’ species.

Roasting Robusta is different!

Give yourself some time to practice and explore your profiling of these different Robustas. Many are of higher density, so it takes longer to get the heat inside the bean. Using a typical Arabica profile will often get the whole bean color right, but the coffee can be way too light when it is ground. This will result in the grassy taste that won’t make anyone happy! Give Robusta a little more time to develop. Even if you end with a slightly darker surface color, when you grind it you might be really happy with the result. Even the Robusta Sample Roast Protocol is different for this reason. When roasted correctly you can bring out the acidity it has without breaking down a lot of the Chlorogenic Acid.

So don’t be a hater; be a current day ‘hippie taste-freak’ and figure out how to manufacture this new ‘Specialty Coffee’ into something wonderful. Thirty years from now we will look back and think about how smart you were! You can change the industry if you take that first step.

Rocky Rhodes is an 18 year coffee veteran, roaster, and Q-Grader Instructor, and his mission now is to transform the coffee supply chain and make sweeping differences in the lives of those that produce the green coffee. Rocky can be reached at rocky@ INTLcoffeeConsulting.com September 2016

Photo by Trish Rothgeb

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13

Tales From Origin Guatemala - A Visit With a Saint

by Dean Cycon, Founder and CEO, Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Co.

O

n an early visit to Guatemala, I was asked to be an election observer on behalf of several indigenous groups. To do so successfully, I was told, I had to visit a very important person. Maximon is the syncretized saint who meshes the Mayan god Mam with the Catholic Saint Simon. His name combines “Simon” with max, the Mayan word for sacred tobacco. Tobacco is used throughout the indigenous world to open a channel between earthly existence and the realm of the spirits. Syncretization is a strange accommodation. It allows colonized peoples to continue their own religious beliefs and practices by wrapping them in the cloak of the colonizer’s religion. At the same time, it affords the colonizer a foothold in the spirit of the community. In Brazil the lusty, busty Yemanja, goddess of the rivers and seas, morphs into the Virgin Mary in many churches. In Wiccan Europe, syncretization gave the nascent Church a chance to overlay its festivals of Christmas and Easter onto earlier ritual celebrations of seasonal change.

We approached the house of Andres, an ak-jun (priest) of Cofradia Santa Cruz (the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross). Since the sixteenth century, the brotherhood (it’s all men) has been in charge of caring for the effigy of Maximon. The house was shrouded in strings of Christmas lights (the intermittent blinking ones), Guatemalan flags, three crucifixes, and little wooden Day of the Dead skeletons. I knew that this was a stage set for getting visitors into the right headspace, but it looked so damned tacky.

I entered the house. Andres and three other ak-jun sat inside. The top half of the room was lost in an acrid fog of cigar smoke and incense. Andres stood and walked toward me, cutting a swirling pattern through the smoke. He greeted me with a firm handshake.

“Have you come to pay respect to the Old Man and seek his help in the election?”

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I shook the smoke and judgment from my head. “Yes.” “You must know the Mam to see into our souls if you wish to help the people here. Maximon is the spiritual heartbeat of our people.”

and his neck and shoulders were covered with woven scarves and modern neckties. Out of this fabric sprawl leapt a Mickey Mouse tie, with the World’s Most Famous Rodent and his sidekick Goofy smiling upward. On his legs, Maximon sported a new pair of blue jeans and a little pair of cowboy boots.

Jimenez, probably the oldest man, offered me a glass of rum to “cleanse” me for the visit. I usually hate the stuff, but I wanted to respect the ritual. Andres stood up and went to the far end of the room. He and another man pulled a rope attached to the ceiling and down came a folding ladder.

“Dean, the Mam wants you to talk to him now. Tell him what you need.

Get closer so he can hear you. He’s old and doesn’t hear so good anymore.”

I leaned forward. “Closer,” implored Andres. My face was inches from that cigar. Maximon, Andres, Mickey, and Goofy waited.

“Come on. The Mam is waiting for you.”

I asked Maximon about the coffee harvest: would he ensure a good one?

Then I moved on to the big issue—the election. Is my role merely to observe?

Is my presence heartening to some who might otherwise be afraid? Is there something more proactive I could be doing?

Whether I was talking to him or myself didn’t matter; it felt good to process my own concerns. I really opened up to the Mam, and I waited. I looked expectantly at the ancient spirit. But all I saw before me was a Pinocchiosized wooden dummy with funny clothes and too many hats.

Andres went ahead, then I climbed up. The low attic of the house was filled with religious icons, statues and paintings.

Candles burned in the four corners of the hot, musty room. Andres took the nearest candle and crawled across the room. As my eyes became used to the shadows and half-light, I saw that Andres was kneeling and chanting next to a prostrate figure. He beckoned me closer.

“Maximon welcomes you,” he intoned. Andres poured another glass of rum for me. I politely declined, telling Andres that I would rather sit respectfully than throw up on a deity.

“How was your visit?” Andres asked at the bottom of the ladder.

“I really appreciate the time Maximon gave me and I am honored to have met him. But to be honest with you, he didn’t really speak to me.”

“That’s okay,” Andres said thoughtfully. “You come to the Old Man with respect. That’s the most important thing. Come closer. He won’t bite you.”

I crawled to the left of the supine saint. Maximon lay there, his wooden face wearing a slight grin that seemed to move in the candle flicker. A big cigar stuck out of his mouth at a jaunty angle. The Mam wore a cowboy hat—no, he wore five cowboy hats. Andres drank more rum, his prayers ratcheting up in intensity. He stroked the Mam’s face imploringly. I saw Andres’s shoulders jerk as he sobbed quietly. I noticed with a start that Maximon was only about three and a half feet tall. He had on a traditional Atiteco red shirt,

Andres laughed. “What were you expecting? The Mam would jump up and dance? I told you, he’s old. He doesn’t do that very often. But he does what spirits do. He takes your prayers up into heaven and finds ways to answer them. So whatever you prayed for, know that the Old Man working on it right now. Of course, you have to be sincere, make your prayer and let it go.

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Getting Profitable Lesson 1: Understanding Profitability

O

ver the next several months we will examine the conditions, variables, and actions that are necessary for generating a profit from your retail Specialty Coffee Business.

While only three factors are important to your customers: 1. product quality, 2. customer service, and 3. store ambiance, you’ll need to control numerous other variables to yield a profit. Before we discuss these variables in future articles, I thought it might prove useful to talk about profitability in general, what it is, and how it is generated.

To put it simply, profit is the money that is left over from your sales after you have subtracted all the costs and expenses related to those sales. When I speak of costs, I’m referring to your “cost of goods” (COG), the dollar value of ingredients and packaging that were used to produce your sales. Most profitable coffee businesses will run a combined cost of goods somewhere between 32% and 38% of total sales. In other words, 32¢ to 38¢ out of every dollar of sales you earn will go back to pay for ingredients & packaging.

After this cost has been subtracted from sales, the income that remains is referred to as you “gross profit on sales.” All other expense must then be subtracted from your gross profit to determine your actual bottom-line profit or loss. Other expenses includes such things as employee and management labor, payroll taxes, rent, insurance, repairs and maintenance, utilities, small wares, bank charges and credit card fees, etc. If there is money left over after subtracting all these expenses, you were profitable! However, if there isn’t enough money to pay all your expenses, and yourself, then you lost money.

So, if you aren’t making any money, then why is profit eluding you? Lack of profitability can be attributed to a couple of reasons: 1. excessive costs and

by Ed Arvidson expenses, and/or 2. lack of sales. While there is always room to tighten-up on spending, lack of sales is the culprit responsible for most business failures.

It’s important to understand that a certain level of sales will be necessary to make money. What that level is, will be determined by the unique conditions associated with your business; i.e. average purchase per customer, the number of customers that visit your business each month, and your cost of goods and expenses. In reality, even an inexperienced owner who is making some mistakes may find that it is impossible to not make a profit if their sales are great enough. And, conversely, a very experienced, seasoned owner may find that it’s impossible to make a profit if sales are anemic. If you own a typical sit-down coffee café, the following chart shows the profitability you might expect at various levels of sales.

Understand that your cost of goods should not change much as a percentage of sales as your sales grow. For example, if you generated $10,000 in sales last month, and used $3,500 in product to produce those sales, then your cost of goods was 35% ($3,500 ÷ $10,000 = .35 or 35%). Therefore, if you generate $100,000 in sales next month, you should expect that your cost of good will remain around 35%, or you should use about $35,000 in ingredients. Obviously, what also increases as sales increase is the gross profit that’s leftover after you subtract your cost of goods from sales. In the above example, your gross profit would increase from $6,500 on $10,000 of sales ($10K - $3,500 COG = $6,500), to $65,000 from $100,000 in sales. This would provide you with a lot more money with which to pay expenses, yourself, and a lot more would be left over as profit. I’m not suggesting that if your current monthly sales are only $10,000 that you should expect to be able to increase them to $100,000, but it does illustrate the effect higher sales has on profitability.

cont. on page 26

16 September 2016

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17

Coffee Service Corner THE SIGNIFICANCE OF YOUR ROUTE PROFESSIONAL

W

e have all heard the slogan “where the rubber meets the road”.

No different than the magnitude of importance of a set of tires on a race car is the route person serving your customer. Integrity, durability, performance, appearance, and specialized are some common descriptors that come to mind both as attributes touted by the rubber companies seeking your business as well as characteristics that serve one well in a route business.

My observation is that while there are some different skill sets and personality predispositions among successful Vending, Bottled Water, and Coffee Service route persons, there are also many commonalities between the human side and route tactical approaches that can affect your business in a profound way. Beginning with the hiring process, you initiate an action that lays the foundation for that route’s success or lack thereof.

As an operator and consultant, I have had the opportunity to participate in the selection process as well as strategic direction and management of route professionals. This article captures some of what I have learned firsthand from failures and successes. Believe me, I’ve had plenty of experiences with both!

Service-Centric DNA In an earlier article I commented that in the world of Coffee Service, good service is the “ante” but great service is what separates the upper echelon of operators from the rest. Coffee Service at its best is a highly interactive event with each client. If your route professional is not engaging, outgoing, or is even anti-social, it will be difficult to establish and build upon relationships.

At the end of the day, it is much easier to fire a service company whose representative is invisible or at the worst, abrasive. I’m not sure who first coined the phrase, “Hire for attitude, train for skills”, but I subscribe to it. I believe most of our character traits are ingrained as we leave the sandbox.

Can anyone actually teach “nice”?

Work Ethic Most successful operators control work habits through effective route management systems and real-time measurement and management tools that minimize self-directed activities which might take the route person off task.

We will still come across the occasional slacker, but effective measurement tools will flush them out for remedial work or something else. These tools should also assist in providing indicators of product consumption changes or pricing aberrations that might identify questionable activity. Make a change and move on. Honesty and integrity are in the DNA, not taught behaviors.

Operators do need to be cautious in creating schedules that are too aggressive, which can result in either missed stops or taking service short cuts to speed up the day. Above all, keep your route pros engaged, feeling and being significant, and having fun with their work. This is your number one customer-facing position. They are the primary owners of the relationships.

The Importance of Multiple Touch Points The worst experience that I had regarding turnover occurred in a major metro market on what was our company’s largest revenue-producing route for many years. The person on the route announced that he was leaving, not sharing where he was headed. Turns out that this individual had been planning his departure for more than a year and lining up “his” customers to sign up for service with his own new coffee service. I won’t get into the litigation to follow, but suffice it to say that my company was being ransacked and this individual wound up with more than $200,000 in annual revenue from those customers who immediately switched, equipped with brew systems whose serial numbers could be traced back to our P.O.’s.

How could this happen? For starters, our field management was intimated by the route person. As a result, they did not do route rides nor create their own

18

Ken Shea

relationships with the customers. Additionally, our management team turned a blind eye to wildly fluctuating sales numbers and other irregularities that began when this person began switching accounts to his personal business.

Yes, a route professional can be your greatest ambassador and personally grow your business by leaps and bounds, but if left on an island outside of traditional management protocol, there is also the potential of great harm.

The multiple customer touch points should come from front line management route rides and account reviews, inside sales support and executive-level contact for key accounts.

I should add that this tale is an exception. The vast majority of route professionals that I supported were high performers of great integrity.

Porperly Servicing the Costomer An efficient route professional will customarily provide the basic service activities including re-stocking, rotating product, equipment system check and cleaning. An exceptional route pro will also merchandise the brew station and upgrade point-of-sale material. I recall a very successful front-line route manager that worked for our company who directed his route team for their final activity on a call to take a few steps, look back at every brew site and ask themselves the question, “When a competitor comes in trying to take this account, will they see an easy opportunity because of a sloppy presentation or instead realize that the incumbent operator is doing a great job and be less inclined to go after their accounts?” His district was always amongst the highest in account retention.

The most exceptional route pros make it a point on every call to connect with the decision maker(s). Again, they make it personal. They upsell through opportunity and relationships. The smartest also recognize that often times there is someone beyond the office manager that can affect decisions. It is often a designate in a less lofty position that takes great pride and ownership in the assisting in managing the coffee service process. Can you say “moat dragon”? Treat them with care and respect!

Parting Thoughts As I stroll through my mental archives regarding route management in my operator life, I recall an HR-driven series of meetings that began with a concern over double-digit percentages turnover of route personnel. Our company had more than 300 routes nationwide, so dealing with this was a major time thief.

We brought in an outside firm that reviewed our hiring process, including developing a collective template of the types of personality profiles that we were seeking out to fill vacated routes. As it turned out, our field generals had a tendency to mostly go after individuals that expressed desires to rapidly advance through the company. Said another way, we were hiring way too many people that had little interest in remaining on a route for long. They rightfully sought management positions which unfortunately were quite limited. We rapidly changed our approach and began seeking individuals that could thrive as career route men or women. We still pursued the upwardly mobile as a part of the mix and did so with some geographic intelligence built in. Over time our turnover dropped to around 6%.

Many other factors impact the success of our operations but I do believe that approaching one’s business as “one route equals one profit center” is a sound approach. And proper staffing, systems and diligence are the foundation.

Until next time - Ken September 2016

Ken is President of Ken Shea and Associates and also serves as V.P. of Coffee Service for G&J Marketing and Sales

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19

How Café Owners Can Manage Today’s Workforce in the Digital Age

by Jason Walker, President of the Americas at Deputy

A

s an industry, cafés and coffee shops have boomed over the last several years. In fact, the number of coffee and snack shops in the U.S. has increased nearly 50 percent from 2002 to a high of 55,246 establishments in 2016.

In return, the growth has enabled numerous entrepreneurs to turn their visions of owning a café into a reality. The challenge? All the behind-the-scene tasks required to operate a successful team and business.

These entrepreneurs are likely first-time business owners who have a passion for food, community, and service; not serial entrepreneurs with experience in employee management, culture cultivation and accounting. And it often doesn’t take long for them to realize they must run internal business operations like inventory, budget management, and financial forecasting; and external business processes including delivering high-quality products and maintaining superior customer satisfaction - all while effectively managing and motivating a team of employees. This means handling hiring and training processes, and maintaining an enjoyable work environment.

Management Mayhem For many café owners, it’s a catch 22 – to run a successful business, they need trustworthy, efficient workers. However, too often, their time is shifted away to handle the challenges of employee management, including: •

•

•

Inefficient Scheduling: Keeping track of employee availability and requests for time off in order to manually compile schedules can be a nightmare. And if owners have more than one location, the process becomes even more daunting.

Disorganized Communication Among Team Members: It’s natural for employees to swap shifts or request someone to fill in for them. However, without a proper system, it’s easy for shifts to fall between the cracks, leaving owners responsible for finding replacements. It’s also hard to keep everyone in the loop on announcements and ensure that required tasks are completed.

Securing Compliance: Whether it’s government regulations like the Department of Labor’s new overtime law, maintaining accurate payroll, or trying to prevent occurrences like “clopening,” it can be stressful for owners to stay in compliance.

The more employees feel these repercussions, the more likely they are to leave. In fact, hospitality turnover rose for the fifth consecutive year in 2015 to 72.1 percent.

The Four Keys to Optimization However, it doesn’t have to remain this way. By making the following simple adjustments, café owners can help employees overcome issues like obstacles to taking sick leave, facing increased overtime, and frequent rejections of requested time off, ultimately decreasing turnover and creating happier work environments.

1. Deliver Frequent, Diverse Communication: Today’s workers prefer to have their personal and work lives at their fingertips. So, rather than phone calls or in-person meetings, provide frequent communication across channels including email, text, and video. According to a survey from TriNet, 85% of millennial employees actually expressed they’d feel more confident if they had more frequent conversations with their manager.

20

2. Offer Flexibility vs. More Money: Recently, work-life balance has become an even more critical component for any job seeker. This means

employees desire flexible work hours, schedules, and the opportunity to easily make adjustments. In fact, it’s been reported that young workers, like Generation Z’ers, appreciate flexibility more than a raise when it comes to benefits and compensation.

3.

Provide Frequent Recognition and Awards: The number one reason Americans leave their jobs is that they don’t feel appreciated. Today’s workers thrive in environments that offer opportunities based on hard work and performance. By giving recognition and rewards, it makes employees not only feel respected and valued, but it also increases their satisfaction, productivity, and motivation.

4. Do Away with Structured Performance Reviews: Managers see structured reviews as a time-consuming process that does little to improve performance. Employees view them as excessively subjective and demotivating. The same TriNet survey even found that 28% of participants have responded to a performance review by searching for a new job. As mentioned above, communicate with employees on a more casual and consistent basis instead. It helps them feel more comfortable and improves company culture.

The Secret Sauce So how can café owners successfully apply these new adjustments when they’re still bogged down with day-to-day tasks? The secret is implementing an employee management solution to fit their needs.

Take a look at Derek Belnap, owner of 3 Cups. Before utilizing a mobile-first employee management technology, Derek would send group texts and emails to his team about tasks and open shifts. He also used pen and paper to tally up changes to timesheets before payroll processing.

Now, by implementing a simple, streamlined solution, Derek can create and update employee timesheets, copy schedules from weeks prior based on staff availability and more, straight from his mobile phone.

The 3 Cups team is also able to stay in constant communication. Whether it’s using their smartphones to post a message about one’s schedule, or asking someone to switch shifts, or using the team’s iPad kiosk to see their assigned tasks for the day, they never miss a beat.

In addition to enhanced team culture, Derek’s solution also provides him with a 360-degree view of business performance. In fact, he is able to see how much revenue 3 Cups is generating in real-time compared to how many employees are on the floor. This provides him an accurate view of business performance and helps him forecast the amount of employees needed during high and low times of business – saving 3 Cups time and money.

Ultimately, by utilizing employee management software, café owners across the globe are finally able to have the best of both worlds. No longer must they sacrifice putting one priority over the other. Instead, they can focus on living their dream of serving their community, building relationships with locals, connecting with visitors, and continuing to create jobs for others.

About Jason Walker A thought leader within the SaaS and retail industries, Jason Walker has more than 20 years of experience, and has worked with some of the biggest brands you know, including Home Depot, HP, Best Buy, Target, Apple, and Nokia. Jason currently serves as president of the Americas at Deputy, a leading global workforce management solution.

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Costa Rica Women Care Certified Producer: Kathia Zamora | Cloza Estate | West Valley and Central Valley Regions

Interesting Fact

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Cloza was one of the founding members of the Costa Rican Chapter of the International Women Coffee Alliance-IWCA 10 years ago.

West Valley and Central Valley Regions

Arabica Variety

About the Producer

Caturra, Catuai, Obata, Geisha and Villa Sarchi

Cloza Estate is a family owned farming and micro mill operation located in Costa Rica. Dedicated to growing and processing coffee since 1970, they operate two farms in Naranjo and Alajuela. Three generations strong, the family is inspired by the passion to produce excellent quality coffee. Guided

by Don Clodoveo Zamora and his wife Doña Jeannette, Kathia’s parents, she began managing the family business in 2000. Each year, the farms produce about 1500 bags (69 kg each) of beans, and the coffee is exported to various countries around the world.

Processing Method Washed, Semi-Washed and Honey

Certifications Women Care Certified

As founding members of the IWCA-Costa Rica Chapter, Kathia has served in the Board of Directors and continues to participate in the chapters’ ongoing initiatives. In 2015, Cloza Estate was awarded the new certification: Women Care Certified. This certification represents a great achievement for a family who is committed to supporting the empowerment of women in the coffee industry.

More Information Kathiaza@gmail.com

Please Make Sure to Visit these Coffee Fest Exhibitors Coffee Fest Trade Show 118 coffeefest.com

(800) 232-0083 Coffee Fest has been fortunate to educate, entertain and serve more than 300,000 specialty coffee pros since its inception in 1992. Your Events www.coffeefest. com See our ad on page 21

iFill Cup United Home Technologies, LLC 455 partner@unitedhometech.com

(360) 574-7737 iFill Cups™ and the iFill Series™ Filling Machines have revolutionized the way single serve coffee/tea is perceived. Easy to operate, fast, and a superior product.

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Coffee Holding Company 428 coffeeholding.com

(800) 458-2233 From one bag to a full truck, Coffee Holding Company provides green coffee solutions to specialty roasters Cafe Design & Architecture 231 including exclusive Daterra Estate and cafe-design.net (877) 223-3707 Organic Certified coffees.

Design and architecture See our ad on page 16 coffee related projects; Curtis 437 operational ergonomics, menu based equipment; current trends wilburcurtis.com

(800) 421-6150 in design; operations; plumbing, electrical design; Health & Building & A leader in the industry for over 70 years, the operational training Wilbur Curtis Company is See our ad on page 23 a premier manufacturer of state-ofCaffe Cagliari 239 the-art specialty coffee and tea brewing espressoilove.ca (403) equipment.

612-0762 See our ad on page 3 "Great Taste Zero Waste" See our ad on page 23

Java Jacket 407 javajacket.com (800) 208-4128 The Original Green Coffee Sleeve. Comes in 100% Recycled Natural Kraft or White. Can be custom printed with your design.

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Aerobie, Inc. 304 aerobie.com (650) 493-3050 Aerobie, Inc. manufactures and sells the AeroPress coffee and espresso maker See our ad on page 21 Brewista 549 mybrewista.com

(307) 222-6086 As a collaboration of engineers, designers, coffee aficionados and roasters with decades of experience, Brewista designs, manufactures and distributes the finest brewed beverage products available.

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JoeTap 129 joetap.com (855) 456-3827 JoeTap is the world’s ONLY on-demand Nitro Cold Brew Coffee solution.

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Kyushu, Japan, world They’re lightweight, have an easy-torenowned for its 400 year clean interior, and one-touch lid. history of highly skilled craftsmanship See our ad on page 23 in porcelain and other fine Tightpac America Inc. 532 kitchenware. The Kyuemon company tightvac.com (888) 428-4448 was established 30 years ago.

Patented coffee closure See our ad on page 23 system that acts exactly Red Bull North America 361 the same way as one-way redbull.com (310) 393-4647 degassing valve, allowing Red Bull introduces a new natural gasses to escape beverage concept that without allowing oxygen in. allows your customers See our ad on page 23 the chance to create their own Vessel Drinkware 405 beverage. "Red Bull Italian Soda" vesseldrinkware.com (855) is highly profitable, easy to execute, grows multiple day parts and provides 833-7735 oneVessel by incremental purchase occasions.

Vessel Drinkware See our ad on page 23 provides retailers with high-quality, reusable drinkware featuring lifestyle driven artwork to capture the attention of your customers. Please visit us at www. vesseldrinkware.com, or call (206) 763-0366 See our ad on page 17

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NewsBites

Cafe Design and Architecture Café Design works remotely on full-service projects and on-site with clients from Orlando, Florida to Portland, Oregon; Brooklyn, New York to Hollywood, California; and all places in between...We often work as the Kitchen Designer or Café Service Consultant with other architects and designers. It is your choice based on scope and budget. We come to you or work remotely to assure the best design and operational solution for your project. With design studio principals on both coasts and the southwest, we have you covered for personal service and on-site collaboration. Ed Viser, the founder of Cafe Design, donates a significant portion of profits and time to Feed My Starving Children, (FMSC) a non-profit organization committed to feeding hungry children: volunteers hand-pack meals specially formulated for malnourished children. These are sent to partners around the world for use in orphanages, schools, clinics and feeding programs to break the cycle of poverty. Visit cafe-design.net for more information.

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The entire system is constructed of stainless steel, finished to sanitary standards, and is rated for wash down. For more information, visit flexicon.com

Tiger Corporation to Showcases Ultra-Light Stainless Steel Beverage Bottles Tiger Corporation will display their stainless steel on-the-go bottles (MMJ, MMZ, Coffee Shop Point of Sale Kyuemon Ceramic Coffee MMY) at CoffeeFest Anaheim, Systems Filter Booth #502. Featuring a oneFinally, a point Sunbridge Innovative Products touch pop-up lid, the MMJ of sale system Ltd. is pleased to announce that bottles make it convenient to that is built the Kyuemon Ceramic Filter drink beverages with one hand. for Coffee Shops. Cash drawer, will soon be available The bottles come in three sizes Coffee Fest, together printer, scanner and credit card to North American (12 oz, 16 oz, and 20 oz) and with founding reader are all included in one customers. The four colors and hold beverages competition sponsors beautiful package. Our favorite Kyuemon Ceramic cold or hot for up to eight hours.

JoeTap and Toddy, are feature is the flip that allows Coffee Filter is a unique The MMJ bottles are 20% lighter proud to announce the customers to select a tip and ceramic product designed to than previous models. Another creation and debut of sign. Receipt choices are text, filter out coffee grounds, dust feature is the Tiger Super Clean America’s Best Cold Brew print or none. Use text numbers and particles, and remove the Plus interior, tough against stains Competition at the 78th later to offer a free cup of coffee bitterness inherent in coffee. and odors. The MMZ bottles Coffee Fest Trade Show. or say thank you. Credit card A coffee without its bitterness have a screw-cap design that is To qualify for America’s rates are competitive, and we presents to the connoisseur easy to drink from and to fill Best Cold Brew can help you transfer your a healthier option for those but resists spilling. The MMZ Competition, merchant account seamlessly. seeking to reduce their sugar bottles come in three sizes and competitor’s “Cold Reporting helps you manage consumption. This eco-friendly five colors. The MMY bottles Brew” must have your business and is available product is engineered to last have a one-push lid and come in been manufactured from any computer or can be a lifetime, given the proper three sizes and four colors. The with only coffee and water. simply viewed in the Datio POS care. Kyuemon is excited to MSRP of the bottles is: 12 oz: The water may not be flavored iPad App. We offer free support announce that we have chosen $35; 16 oz: $40; 20 oz: $45. Please and no additives may be via phone, text and email. Learn Coffee Fest Anaheim 2016 as visit the Tiger Corporation added during the brewing or more by visiting our web site our launchpad into the North website at http://www.usa.tigerdistribution process. Join us at or give us a call. Datio POS, American continental market. corporation.com or contact us at Coffee Fest Anaheim, participate datiopos.com 408-643-0990 (text The Kyuemon Ceramic Filter (310) 787-1985. as an attendee judge and witness or call). Download our Datio is estimated to be available who is determined to have POS App from Apple App Store for commercial and retail Square is in! Stainless America’s Best Cold Brew. and try it for free on your iPad. customer by October 2016. For Steel Square Drip Tray by For more information, visit any information regarding the Service Ideas, Inc. coffeefest.com Sanitary Bulk Bag Weigh coming release and availability Coffee Fest is proud Keep your buffet Batch Unloader of the Kyuemon Ceramic Filter, and countertop to unveil the NEW Caffe’ Cagliari’s Flexicon’s please contact Andrew Camp at clean from coffee Food Integration Lab PurPod100 BULK-OUT® Bulk campad@shaw.ca, or by phone at and other liquids workshops to debut at It was 1909 Bag Weigh Batch (250) 896-0556 Coffee Fest Anaheim that drip from your large that Ambrogio Unloading System September 30thbeverage containers with this Cagliari, after with Manual Red Bull is Giving Wings heavy-duty Stainless Steel Square October 2nd, 2016. many years spent in Brazil and Dumping Station to the Coffee Industry The NEW Food Drip Tray. Use with our Flamereceiving a great number of and Flexible Screw Conveyor Looking for a Integration Lab Free™ Thermo-Urns™ and Round awards for his highly-acclaimed automatically conveys weighed creative and workshops are Beverage Dispensers, or as a coffee blends, opened the first batches of contaminationrefreshing way designed to educate coaster for our Ice Tube Pitchers; coffee roasting and tasting shop sensitive materials to to capture nonattendees about sold separately. The two-piece in Modena, Italy. For more downstream processes and coffee drinker sales in your what it takes to successfully design is easy to take apart and allows rapid sanitizing. coffee establishment? Red Bull add a culinary program to their than 100 years and across four is completely dishwasher safe. generations, the Cagliari family The BFC model discharger frame introduces an innovative, new coffee shop. Each three-hour Made from high-quality 18/8 has passed on their knowledge is equipped with a cantilevered beverage concept that allows workshop will explore what it stainless steel, this two-piece of the origins of coffee and I-beam with electric hoist and your customers the chance takes to be successful. Sessions square drip tray comes apart their production secrets and trolley for positioning of bulk to create their own beverage. will address the business side and is dishwasher safe for easy experience, together with a bags without using a forklift.

"Infused Red Bull" or "Red Bull cleaning. The brushed stainless of creating a menu including profound and sincere adoration A bag dump station with Italian Soda" is: pricing, labor, cost of goods, finish looks great on any buffet for coffee. Today, with a statefolding bag shelf allows manual • Highly profitable initial investment, and how to and is a stylish replacement for dumping of minor additions • Easy to execute identify success in the endeavor. of-the-art company, Cagliari the plastic versions. has remained faithful to its into the hopper from hand-held • Grows multiple day parts Features most important founding value: packaging and containers. The • Provides incremental purchase • Constructed from 18/8 As Coffee Fest prepares hopper is vented to a BAG-VAC® occasions for its 78th show, the first Quality. At Anaheim Coffee stainless steel Fest 2016, Cagliari Coffee is dust collection system that draws This concept has already taken international judge will • 6.25" x 6.25" launching our quality coffee airborne dust from manual the Pacific Northwest by storm be making his debut.

• Separates in 2 pieces for easy in a 100% Compostable single dumping activities away from and has created a whole new Schroeder Hsieh, from cleaning serve coffee pod, Cagliari the operator when the hopper lid segment in the coffee industry.

Milkglider Taiwan, is replacing • Dishwasher safe PurPod 100. “GREAT TASTE is open. Load cells supporting Talk to your local Red Bull Matt Milletto as a permanent View pricing at our website ZERO WASTE!” Join us at the entire system are linked to a distributor at 925-381-1035 and www.serviceideas.com. international judge in the booth# 239/241! We will be PLC that stops the flexible screw ask how Red Bull can energize Latte Art US competitions, your profits!

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Advertisers Index Company........................................................... Phone............................. Web....................................................................................Page..Coffee Fest Booth 3M Purification..........................................................(866) 990-9785...............cunofoodservice.com......................................................................13 Add a Scoop Supplements...................................(415) 382-6535.................addascoop.com................................................................................25 Aerobie, Inc................................................................(650) 493-3050..............aerobie.com.........................................................................................21.............................304 Ahlstrom Chirnside Ltd..........................................(860) 654-8300..............ahlstrom.com.......................................................................................11 Brewista.......................................................................(307) 222-6086...............mybrewista.com...............................................................................23............................. 549 Buhler Inc....................................................................(905) 754-8389...............buhlergroup.com..............................................................................25 Cablevey Conveyors................................................(641) 673-8451..................cablevey.com......................................................................................21 Cafe Design & Architecture..................................(877) 223-3707................cafe-design.net.................................................................................23.............................. 231 Caffe Cagliari.............................................................(403) 612-0762................espressoilove.ca................................................................................23............................. 239 Coffee Fest Trade Show........................................(800) 232-0083..............coffeefest.com...................................................................................21............................... 118 Coffee Holding Company.....................................(800) 458-2233...............coffeeholding.com............................................................................16............................. 428 Curtis.............................................................................(800) 421-6150.................wilburcurtis.com................................................................................. 3............................. 437 Custom Take Out International...........................(877) 515-5311...................customtakeout.com.......................................................................... 2 Datio POS....................................................................(408) 643-0990..............datiopos.com.....................................................................................23 Don Pablo Coffee Roasting Company.............(305) 249-5628...............cafedonpablo.com...........................................................................25 E&C Consulting, Inc.................................................(541) 408-8626................coffeebizhelp.com........................................................................... 10 Flexicon Corporation..............................................(610) 814-2400................flexicon.com........................................................................................14 Follett Corporation..................................................(800) 523-9361................follettice.com.....................................................................................25 Fres-co System USA, Inc.......................................(215) 799-8032.................fresco.com............................................................................................ 9 Grey Fox Pottery......................................................(612) 767-7407.................greyfoxpottery.com.........................................................................25 iFill Cup | United Home Technologies, LLC....(360) 574-7737................partner@unitedhometech.com...................................................23............................. 455 International Coffee Consulting Group............(818) 347-1378..................intlcoffeeconsulting.com...............................................................25 Java Jacket.................................................................(800) 208-4128................javajacket.com....................................................................................17.............................407 JoeTap..........................................................................(855) 456-3827................joetap.com...........................................................................................19.............................. 129 KitchenAid Craft Coffee........................................(800) 541-6390...............kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/coffee-products/...... 5 KYUEMON...................................................................(250) 896-0556...............http://kyuemonfilter.com/index_en.html................................23.............................. 531 Lee Hays & Associates...........................................(712) 246-3301..................n/a..........................................................................................................23 Let's Talk Coffee.......................................................(503) 235-1119, Ext. 31....letstalkcoffee.org.............................................................................27 National Coffee Association Of USA (NCA)..(212) 766-4007................ncausa.org...........................................................................................19 North Atlantic Specialty Bag...............................(773) 504-2593................northatlanticbags.com................................................................... 10 Orleans Coffee..........................................................(504) 827-0878...............orleanscoffee.com............................................................................21 Primera Technology, Inc........................................(800) 797-2772................primeralabel.com.............................................................................25 Red Bull North America.........................................(310) 393-4647................redbull.com.........................................................................................23.............................. 361 Service Ideas, Inc.....................................................(800) 328-4493...............serviceideas.com..............................................................................25 Shore Measuring Systems.....................................(800) 837-0863...............moisturetesters.com.......................................................................25 State Farm Insurance..............................................See Web.............................st8.fm/bizinsurance.com................................................................. 7 Texpak Inc | Scolari Engineering........................(856) 988-5533................scolarieng.com..................................................................................28 The Coffee Trust.......................................................(505) 670-9783...............thecoffeetrust.org............................................................................25 Tiger Corporation U.S.A........................................(310) 787-1985..................usa.tiger-corporation.com............................................................23............................. 502 Tightpac America Inc.............................................(888) 428-4448...............tightvac.com......................................................................................23............................. 532 Vessel Drinkware......................................................(855) 833-7735................vesseldrinkware.com........................................................................17.............................405

Getting Profitable What’s exciting is that as sales grow, profit grows exponentially!

In other words, your profit will grow at a faster rate than sales.

For example, if your sales double, your bottom-line profit might increase by 2 ½ to 3 times. This happens because most expenses won’t increase by the same percentage as your sales growth, and some expenses won’t increase at all. Expenses like labor, payroll taxes, laundry and uniform, employee meals, and credit card fees might increase slightly. However, fixed expenses such as rent, insurance, loan payments, licenses and permits, etc. won’t increase at all. So to put it simply, build sales and profit will blossom!

Ed Arvidson is a 25-year veteran consultant to the Specialty Coffee industry, and President of E&C Consulting. Elements of this article are from his new book, “How to Get Profitable in the Coffee Business.” www.coffeebizhelp.com

Newsbites

26

NCA Coffee Summit 2016: The Business of Coffee Coffee Summit 2016 is a different kind of coffee event from the National Coffee Association.

It blends instruction with interaction to deliver practical business solutions. The innovative, discussion-driven format combines expert presentations with individual perspectives from across the supply chain. Participants will leave with new solutions to daily business challenges.

This year’s topics include

marketing SEO, understanding the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, and attracting (or retaining) talented team members. A FSMA Training Seminar, uniquely tailored to coffee, is available immediately preceding this event (separate registration required). Coffee Summit is the perfect opportunity for industry newcomers, rising professionals, and seasoned executives to get more deeply involved in the coffee community. Come with questions, extra business cards, and an open mind. Visit

http://www.ncausa.org/coffeesummit-2016 to learn more.

October 26-28, 2016, Miami, FL #NCAsummit16 Quality and Convenience in single serve cups. iFill Cup did it!

Are you offering your customers your top-selling and seasonal blends in single serve? Many specialty Roasters have seen a loss in revenue due to not having their blends available in this format. iFill Cups™ and Filling Systems make it incredibly easy to recapture those customers and give them the experience they deserve with your product! DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE. POWERFULLY COMPACT The iFill Series™ of Filling Machines fill and seal pre-assembled, custom-branded iFill Cups™ of your freshly roasted and ground coffee, into retail-ready branded packaging automatically. The iFill Series™ filling systems have production capacities to meet your current and growing needs, take up very little space, and don’t require additional employees. We can set you up and get your business into single-serve for a fraction of the cost of comparable machines September 2016

with the same production capacity. Visit ifillcup.com for more information.

Bold Brands and Quality Cups: Custom Takeout High quality products and superior customer service set disposable cup company Custom Takeout apart from its competitors. Custom Takeout is a trusted source for paper & plastic cups, food containers, and accessories for distributors and small businesses. “Custom Takeout delivers exceptional products that people should expect,” founder of Custom Takeout Robin Tan said. “[we] offer low minimum orders so overhead isn’t tied up.” Robin founded Custom Takeout in 2009 with a vision to offer quality printed disposables at a competitive price for smaller businesses to build their brand. Custom Takeout provides a full service for brands such as Sysco, Marley Coffee, Lavazza, Gordon Foods, Reinhart, and other distributors across the United States. To learn more about what Custom Takeout has to offer visit their website at custometakeout.com or call at 1 (877) 515-5311.

Let’s Talk Coffee Mexico Unites Supply Chain this October The global coffee industry is preparing to come together for Let’s Talk Coffee Mexico, the annual gathering that unites the entire supply chain to discuss pressing issues, forge and strengthen relationships, and collaborate as an industry. Now in its 13th edition, Let’s Talk Coffee is the industry’s collaborative learning platform, with workshops, cuppings, and top speakers shedding light on cutting-edge topics. This year’s speakers will include Todd Carmichael of La Colombe, Helen Russell of Equator Coffees & Teas, and Tracy Ging of The Coffeewoman.

It’s also a premier platform for business, offering an intimate setting where attendees can network and establish lasting business relationships. The event takes place October 13-16 in Puerto Vallarta at the CasaMagna Marriott, an allinclusive hotel where families are welcome to stay and be part of the Let's Talk Coffee experience.

Register today at letstalkcoffee.org.