Ok this is a pretty simple question but it always puzzles me..... A new cafe opened in town so I went to check it out. first I ordered a cappuccino con panna and oh my god! it was burnt to hell not happy with this I went to the "barista" and asked for another but not burnt. she replied with " but mr we do not adjust the machine, it is already setup so we can just put in the coffee . noone else complains" and she is right the place was full and everyone looked happy.

So tell me guys and girls, am I just nuts or am I missing something ? what is to stop me from having a cafe that actually makes good coffee ? is ít automatic that once you have a cafe that your taste buds up and run off so you can save a few bucks to use crap equipment and cheap staff ? or do all of these people have no clue a bout the art that is coffee making ? makes me sad everytime to think that so many people are missing out on such an awesome thing.

Here in the U.S., the coffee shop/coffee house/espresso joint is a popular 'turn-key' business. There are many companies who will find a location, put in automatic equipment so you don't have to actually know anything about coffee, set up your supply chain (i.e. hook you up with the supplier that's giving them a kickback), and provide simple marketing materiel, all for a flat fee. You just pay them, get the keys, open the store, and, hey presto, you're in the thriving coffee business. Same thing happened a few years back with photocopy shops that marketed themselves as printers. When the technology gets to the point that you can get a mediocre product without having to learn anything, there are a lot of people who will jump on it as a business opportunity (and lose their shirts, generally, but that's another rant).

Yeah thats exactly what i mean. but what sort of life do they get out of the business ? surely once the novelty runs out people will just go to whatever is trendy and leave you broke. Why dont they use their brains and have a company that is offering top notch coffee ? if you do it good you will always have customers. I have been to this place once and will never go back, that is bad business.

Plenty of cafes do just fine cranking out bad coffee. Just look at Starbucks. The simple fact is that most people don't know the difference between a good cappuccino or espresso and a bad one, because they've never had a really good one before. Ignorance is bliss. Unfortunately, once you've tasted the difference, it's hard to go back to drinking the same old crummy coffee again. That's why many of us invest so much time and money into making espresso at home; there's no other place where we can count on getting good espresso on a regular basis.

thats exactly what I think. thats why I am seriously thinking of starting up my own cafe or coffee bar I should say. I have always manage to convert people from drinking cheap crap beer into drinking the good stuff and they all say they will never drink cheap beer again. I look at coffee in the same way People will come out of curiosity then once the have tasted an awesome coffee drink they will be hooked

aussietrev wrote:Yeah thats exactly what i mean. but what sort of life do they get out of the business ? surely once the novelty runs out people will just go to whatever is trendy and leave you broke. Why dont they use their brains and have a company that is offering top notch coffee ? if you do it good you will always have customers. I have been to this place once and will never go back, that is bad business.

A lot of folks get into turn-key businesses because they see it as a quick way to make money (and they're certainly marketed as such) not because they love coffee (or whatever the business is). The unfortunate realities of actually owning and running a business are not part of the training package provided. I've noticed a cycle where a place that's obviously (to me, at least) a turn-key shop opens, changes owners several times over the course of a few years, then, ultimately, goes out of business. Along the way there have usually been a couple of bankruptcies, a bitter divorce or two, and, very occasionally, somebody who makes a go of it by actually focusing on turning out good product or service (though this is rare). On the plus side, these places are a good place to pick commercial grinders at a heavy discount when the liquidation sale occurs.

aussietrev wrote:thats exactly what I think. thats why I am seriously thinking of starting up my own cafe or coffee bar I should say. I have always manage to convert people from drinking cheap crap beer into drinking the good stuff and they all say they will never drink cheap beer again. I look at coffee in the same way People will come out of curiosity then once the have tasted an awesome coffee drink they will be hooked

Unfortunately, a business that relies on educating the tastes of the consumer in order to sell their product is one of the harder ones to establish. You're almost immediately at a disadvantage when your message is essentially "Everything you know is wrong."

aussietrev wrote:thats exactly what I think. thats why I am seriously thinking of starting up my own cafe or coffee bar I should say. I have always manage to convert people from drinking cheap crap beer into drinking the good stuff and they all say they will never drink cheap beer again. I look at coffee in the same way People will come out of curiosity then once the have tasted an awesome coffee drink they will be hooked

I would strongly encourage you to do this.

It will not only be likely to result in people around you having a far better chance of getting good coffee - it will also teach you how annoying it is when people on the internet make generalized statements like "all cafes are crap" when you're busting your ass to make great coffee for people who for the most part don't appreciate it.

GVDub wrote:Unfortunately, a business that relies on educating the tastes of the consumer in order to sell their product is one of the harder ones to establish. You're almost immediately at a disadvantage when your message is essentially "Everything you know is wrong."

I dunno mate I am gonna have to disagree with you on that. I am not implying that people are wrong in there knowledge of coffee just that they dont know any difference. im sure it was the same for you before you got interested yourself.

malachi wrote:I would strongly encourage you to do this.

It will not only be likely to result in people around you having a far better chance of getting good coffee - it will also teach you how annoying it is when people on the internet make generalized statements like "all cafes are crap" when you're busting your ass to make great coffee for people who for the most part don't appreciate it.

Im not saying that all cafes are crap thats why I did not write " why are all cafes crap " It just seems like the majority are crap. If the people in the bad ones are working there buts off to make bad coffee then I dont see the point. to the cafe owners that pride themselves on goin the extra mile and making good coffee my hat goes of to them. I just wish there was a cafe anywhere around here I could say that a bout.