Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/139019
PERSPECTIVE #1: THE OWNER The ownerÕs best move when deciding whether or not to move toward single cup is to crunch some numbers and then decide if the change makes monetary sense. One of the biggest financial impacts to account for is labor. Whether you are adding a little bit of manual brew to your offerings or planning to switch to it entirely, your biggest expense will be time. Brewing a batch of coffee takes the barista a few minutes and results in dozens of cups. With single cup, on the other hand, youÕre likely looking at about two minutes per cup. ItÕs a considerable labor increase, meaning youÕll potentially need to add staff. While hiring more baristas can put an owner on edge, there are some ways to minimize the added costs. If youÕre in the position of owner/operator, you can act as the additional person needed on bar. Or, if you employ a salaried manager, you can help that person come up with a strategy to use his or her time to better buffer additional payroll. With a study of hourly sales and a little creativity, all sorts of schedule solutions can present themselves. Price is another financial consideration for single cup. You can often charge more for coffees made to order than you can for brews coming out of an airpot. When buying coffee green from an importer or farmer, different lots of coffee will come in at different prices. Offering single-cup brewing makes it much easier to charge according to what you paid for the coffee, an idea thatÕs similar to what we see with bythe-glass wine at restaurants. At the same time, youÕll be teaching consumers that, yes, different coffees are sold at varying prices to roasters. Once you know the cost of your coffee dose, filter, cup, lid and sleeve, you can project to a fair margin, creating space in your asking price to account for the labor cost increase. And remember, one of the most financially beneficial aspects of manual brew is that waste is virtually eliminated. The owner should also, of course, consider customer opinion when weighing the singlecup moveÑwithout those dedicated patrons, the shop would not exist. CustomersÕ perceptions of manual brew will vary depending on their familiarity with the process, and if theyÕre unclear on the single-cup concept, they may be hesitant to accept the change. If you decide to make the switch, give your existing customers the heads up and have all staff prepared to highlight the benefits that come with by-the-cup service. A few open demonstrations and tastings will help too, especially if you compare batch brew and manual side by side. SKYE MCNEILL P TÕs Coffee in 2000 looked quite a bit different than it does now. When I started, we served exclusively batch-brewed coffee, poured into airpots. Today, the newest PTÕs location in Topeka, Kan.Ñwhich opened in 2011Ñserves exclusively single-cup coffee. We use pour-over, French press and more to handcraft every drink that goes out the door, allowing customers to connect with each cup at a significantly deeper level than in the past. The shift from batch brewing to by-the-cup is one of the most exciting developments in our industry. But incorporating a single-cup program may not be the right choice for every retailerÑactual execution isnÕt as simple as setting a brew bar on your counter and pulling the trigger. Changing from batch brew to single cup requires an adjustment process for everyone involved on the cafŽ side, as well as a shift of expectations from the customer. LetÕs evaluate single cup from each perspective of a cafŽ business while keeping the customer experience in mind: PERSPECTIVE #2: THE MANAGER As a manager, the areas of operations, systemization and training are of particular concern. When incorporating manual brewÑwhether you transition to it slowly or do a clean switch overnightÑequipment selection and placement are key factors in streamlining the process. Decisions can be based on many variables, but the two that come to the forefront are quality of the cup continued on page 38 freshcup.com July 2013 37