New Orleans Café Noir Coffee Recipe

 New Orleans black coffee, otherwise known as Café Noir, is a dark and thick brew. Its secret ingredient, chicory is made out of the dried, roasted roots of a bitter herb. Locals won’t drink anything else

Makes: 4 

Preparation Time: 5mins

 Total Prep Time: 8mins 

Ingredient List:

- 4 tablespoons drip ground coffee 

- 2 tablespoons chicory 

- ¼ teaspoons salt 

- 4 cups water (filtered) 

- Sugar (optional)

Instructions: 

1. Spoon the coffee, followed by the chicory, and finally the salt into the filter of a dry style coffee maker's drip basket. 

2. Bring the water to come to a boil. 

3. Add sufficient water to lightly moisten the ground coffee and chicory. Next, pour approximately ½ a cup of water into the coffee filter. 

4. Wait patiently for the water to drip through, and add another ½ cup of water. Repeat the process until all 4 cups are brewed. 

5. Serve at once 

6. Add sugar to sweeten if necessary.

Swiss Mocha Coffee Recipe

Makes: 6 

Preparation Time: 5mins 

Total Prep Time: 5mins 

Whip up a batch of Swiss mocha mix for your co-workers

Mocha mix: * 

- 1 cup instant coffee 

- 1 cup granulated sugar

 - 2 cups powdered milk 

- 4 teaspoons cocoa

Coffee: 

- 6-12 tablespoons mocha mix 

- 6-10 cups boiling water 

Instructions: 

1. First, prepare the mocha mix. 

2. Add the coffee, sugar, powdered milk, and cocoa to a food blender or processor and process to a powder. Store in an airtight re-sealable container and take to work the following day. 

3. When it’s time for a coffee break, add 1-2 tablespoons of the mix along with 1 cup of boiling water to a mug and stir to combine. 

4. Repeat the process depending on how many cups you intend to make. 

*Store for up to 6 weeks in an airtight, re-sealable container at room temperature.

Ibrik Coffee

Coffee character: Rich, dark and intense, since this coffee isn’t filtered, its texture is a bit on the, well, muddy side 

 Good for: Going back to the roots of coffee brewing 

Grind: Very fine and powder-like 

Brew time: Can take around 10 minutes total

An ibrik (known in Turkey as a cezve) is an ornate little coffee pot with a long handle, the type that you might have been given by your sister that time she went to Istanbul. The coffee is boiled over a flame before being poured straight into a drinking cup. This isn’t exactly specialty coffee territory, but it makes a very distinctive brew with a history as old as coffee itself. And don’t think for a second that ibrik connoisseurs aren’t as serious as espresso or siphon coffee devotees: the World Cezve/Ibrik Championships are held annually in Europe and competition is fierce.

Traditionally, this coffee is drunk on special occasions—unsweetened for sad times, such as funerals, and with sugar for happier occasions, such as weddings. It’s also common for brewers to add a pinch of cardamom for a spicy, woody aroma. For ibrik coffee, the beans need to be pulverized until they’re superfine and powdery. Most grinders aren’t capable of that, so get your coffee as fine as possible then grind it further with a mortar and pestle

To use: 

 - Pour 90g (3 oz) of cold water into the ibrik. 

- Add 10g (about 2 tablespoons) of superfine coffee. 

- If you’re adding sugar or cardamom, do so now and stir (don’t fill the ibrik more than halfway). 

- Put the ibrik over medium heat. 

- When the coffee starts to boil, lower the heat and let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes. 

- Once the coffee has settled, turn the heat back up and repeat the previous step twice more, turning the heat down as soon as the coffee boils. 

- On the third and final boil, take the ibrik off the heat. 

- Slowly and gently pour the coffee into pre-warmed cups. 

Arabic, Turkish, Cypriot, Greek: for the uninitiated these styles of ibrik coffee may seem exactly the same, but keep that opinion to yourself. Follow the cues your hosts give you, and no matter what you do, never ever call a Greek’s brew “Turkish coffee.”

Strategies for Buying

 

Before contacting sellers, potential buyers should prepare a document that outlines for themselves their desired sales price, terms, and conditions. 

You also will need to consider the shop’s investment yield, taxes, and the effect the business will have on your personal life. Basically, buyers should be looking for establishments that will meet their numbers and ones that they are going to be happy working at 12 to 14 hours a day. 

Buyers should prioritize their objectives and consider the trade-offs that must be made to attain them. Buyers generally want to accomplish the flowing objectives:

• • Best possible sales price. Serious buyers and sellers compromise on the sales price, terms, and conditions in order to reach a mutually satisfying end. Buyers are usually willing to trade price for terms and conditions. Most buyers will draw the line at a sales price that exceeds the shop’s replacement cost. 
• • Reasonable down payment. Most serious buyers are willing to maintain a 1:1 debt-to-equity ratio. Many buyers want to lower their down payments to reduce risk, and unfortunately, find themselves with businesses that cannot support their debt load. 
• • Reasonable initial investment. Serious buyers are willing to match dollars of debt equally with dollars of personal equity. Buyers do want most of their equity to go towards the down payment. 
• • Maximum future profits. Buyers are buying a shop’s current financial performance but always are looking for the highest potential revenuegenerating business. 
• • Reduced possibility of failure. Only one out of five established businesses that are purchased go under. That is much better than the four-out-of-five failure rate of new businesses. 
• • Enhancement of borrowing power. Most lenders prefer financing an existing, profitable operation to a new venture. 
• • Minimizing tax liabilities. Buyers need to be aware of the tax consequences of the shop they are buying. Both buyer and seller should work at minimizing taxes. The only way to ensure that this happens is for both parties to hire accountants.

Buyers, too, should develop a purchase plan that lists potential sellers, analyzes their motivations for selling, analyzes the businesses, and develops planned responses to counteroffers. Research into a seller’s motivation is crucial here and can serve the buyer in a number of ways. The following is a list of major seller motivations:

• • Owners who want to retire 
• • Disillusioned owners who do not know how to remedy their problems 
• • Owners with tax problems 
• • Owners with other investment opportunities 
• • Owners with di stressed properties and insufficient cash flow to fund remodeling 
• • Distressed owners with profitable operations, but troubled personal relationships

Once a buyer has responded to a sales solicitation, he or she will receive enough information to determine if the shop meets or exceeds investment requirements. The buyer should do more preliminary work to find out further specifics about whether a shop is a good business opportunity. One of the best indications is the shop’s real property lease payment. If it is less than or equal to 6 percent of the shop’s total sales volume, it is probably worth further investigation. 

When a buyer decides to pursue more research, he or she should tour the facility, learn the lease highlights and other purchase options, and evaluate the neighborhood, competition, customer viewpoint, history of ownership, and the owner’s reason for selling. After doing a deeper analysis of the shop, the buyer must once again determine if it meets his or her investment requirements. If so, an earnest money deposit and offer should be delivered to the seller in return for detailed information on the shop.

HOW DO I KEEP MY COFFEE FRESH?

 

YOU JUST PURCHASED A BAG OF COFFEE AND YOU NOTICE THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THE MIDWAY POINT OF THE BAG THERE IS A SMALL HOLE! IF YOU SQUEEZE THE BAG, YOU HEAR GAS ESCAPE THROUGH THE HOLE AND, HOPEFULLY, YOU SMELL SOMETHING WONDERFUL. 

WHY ON EARTH IS THERE A BELLY BUTTON ON THE BAG? YOU ALREADY KNOW THE SIMPLE ANSWER: TO LET OUT AIR. OF COURSE, IT IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT. THAT HOLE IS PART OF A BIGGER DISCUSSION OF COFFEE FRESHNESS AND HOW BEST TO STORE ROASTED COFFEE TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS.

Presumably, since we know the major factors that cause coffee to stale— gas evolution, high temperatures, oxidation, and humidity—we ought to able to control them to extend the shelf life of the coffee. By teasing some of the data available in the myriad of research on the topic, we can make some general statements that will help. However, without direct research to support our hypotheses, and the ones of the coffee industry at large, some of our conclusions will have to be educated guesses.

Let’s address each staling factor individually, starting with gas evolution. Since smaller coffee pieces allow the release of more gas, keeping the coffee as intact as possible will help. Thus, grinding coffee ahead of time is a poor practice. Rather, grinding should occur just prior to brewing. The other potential way to slow down gas evolution (and all chemical reactions) is to decrease the storage temperature; cooler temperatures slow down chemical reactions and chemical mobility. Thus, storing coffee in the refrigerator or freezer will accomplish this. Unfortunately, I can’t find any sensory data that explores specific taste changes when stored at cooler temperatures. 

Coffee geeks abhor the idea, but, at best, they have some personal, anecdotal evidence to support it. Freezing coffee could run the risk of creating crystals that could shatter cells, much like grinding. Freezing could also lead to freezer burn, which probably isn’t a flavor anyone wants to introduce to a coffee. Arguably, the biggest reason not to store coffee in the freezer is the risk of condensation forming on the beans as the beans come out of the freezer. This water may then lead to a deterioration of the quality by hastening the natural staling of coffee when the coffee is out of the freezer or by allowing ice crystals to form on the coffee if it is returned to the freezer. Refrigeration doesn’t run the risk of crystal formation, but the condensation is still an issue. 

Ultimately, individual drinkers will have to decide this on their own, at least until some new research surfaces. Preventing or minimizing oxidation reactions is as simple as keeping oxygen away from the roasted coffee beans. Of course, with the atmospheric concentration of oxygen at about 21 percent, that isn’t so easy. Simply putting just-roasted coffee in an oxygen-impermeable container and sealing it doesn’t solve the problem since the air trapped in the container is full of oxygen. Besides, even if coffee were sealed up in a container, the container would likely explode as a result of the pressure build-up from all the volatile compounds being released! So, either the air has to be completely sucked out of the container before it is sealed or all the air must be replaced with a gas that is completely inert, like nitrogen.

I have no knowledge that any company packages just-roasted coffee and then evacuates the air before sealing it, though it seems like a worthwhile strategy. Many larger roasters do flush bags with nitrogen before sealing them. Some research supports this as an effective means of extending the acceptability of the coffee farther from the roast date than by using normal air. Lastly, controlling the amount of water coffee is exposed to is fairly simple. If the coffee is packed in an oxygen-impermeable container, then the container is also likely to be water impermeable. After the container in opened, keeping the coffee in an air-tight container that is waterproof should help minimize exposure to any humidity in the air, although, if the air was full of moisture when the coffee was sealed or closed in a container, then the container won’t offer any protection.

So, what’s the story with the bag and its belly button? The bags that have them are made out of oxygen-impermeable materials. Generally, they prevent many gases from passing through. Thus, as mentioned before, if freshly roasted coffee is sealed in a bag, it is liable to explode. The belly button, more formally known as a one-way valve, is a crafty device that allows gas to exit the bag but prevents any gas from entering. It is a release valve; the carbon dioxide and other volatile compounds can escape but oxygen cannot enter. The one-way valve is a fantastic tool but it has its limitations. 

For one thing, unless the air trapped in the bag while sealing it is replaced with something inert, preventing oxygen from entering is irrelevant; the bag is already full of it (though the valve still prevents the bag from exploding). Secondly, once the bag is opened by the consumer, any internal protection is lost and the consumer must repackage the coffee as best as possible. Ultimately, we aren’t able to prevent the staling process from occurring. At best, it can be delayed. However, if coffee is drunk within a few weeks of roasting, the need to delay staling is most likely unnecessary. After all, the freshly roasted coffee will still be pretty fresh!

Determining Price from a Buyer’s Perspective

Potential buyers must do a thorough financial analysis of the shop. They should study its current profitability carefully and use this information to determine its potential capacity for generating revenue. There is a very close relationship between a shop’s current profitability and its likely sales price. Understandably, sellers are not particularly eager to divulge their financial records to buyers. 

However, if a seller is forthcoming with this information, it can signal to the buyer that he or she has nothing to hide. It is a good idea for the buyer to hire an accountant to assist in this financial analysis. This will help determine whether the deal meets the buyer’s investment requirements. Buyers also should consider hiring other specialists to work with contracts, unemployment compensation, insurance, and banking. Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) throughout the country offer free consulting services to businesses with fewer than 500 employees. 

The buyers also should complete at least a rough market and competition survey before performing a financial evaluation. This will ensure the buyer’s familiarity with the shop’s location and will help when estimating future revenues and expenses. If the buyer is unfamiliar with the area, an independent consulting service can be hired to provide a useful survey. A seller expects a written offer with price, terms, conditions, and an earnest money deposit before allowing a potential buyer to review confidential financial information. It must be agreed that the buyer can withdraw if he or she is unhappy with the financial records. This is because the earnest deposit is at risk unless the right to retract the offer is in place. When reviewing the seller’s financial records, the buyer should expect that an independent CPA has never audited them. 

Auditing is a costly process, and most small coffee and tea shops do  not do it unless they absolutely have to. A lucky buyer is one who is given audited financial statements. Buyers need to reconstruct historical financial statements to show what they could have been, had the buyer been operating the business. This is usually done from only the previous year’s statement. Patience is important here; this is a time-consuming process. If errors are made, the estimate of the business’ sales price may be inaccurate. Sellers will tend to overestimate customer counts and check averages and underestimate utilities and other expenses. The inexperienced buyer should be wary when evaluating these numbers and may want to hire professional counsel. 

Also, it is important to be aware that sellers usually will include only the financial details they initially want to reveal. Buyers should evaluate this information carefully, with special attention to the apparent net cash flow, before spending a lot of time and money on detailed analysis. During this analysis, it is important to note that the typical beverage outlet purchase will not appear to generate enough money to provide sufficient cash flow, give the buyer an appropriate salary and ensure a return on the initial investment. Do not be put off too quickly, however. Solid analysis often reveals that a change in ownership can enhance an operation’s profitability considerably. This analysis should examine all relevant tax filings to determine the most likely annual sales volume that the shop will generate. 

The profit figures included in these filings will be used to determine an accurate sales price. Personnel records are crucial in determining if there have been any Department of Labor judgments against the current owner, or if there are any pending judgments that could impede the transfer of ownership. It is a good idea to meet with a Department of Labor representative to find out if the shop is currently under investigation. Cost of equipment, beverages, food, and miscellaneous supplies are a specialty beverage business’s biggest expenses. 

The potential buyer should take a random sample of cancelled invoices and check their consistency with the cost of goods sold and direct operating supplies expenses listed on the current income statement. Cancelled invoices are a good test of the current owner’s purchasing skills. Potential buyers also should analyze balance sheets and income statements carefully. Balance sheets can reveal the anxiety level of a seller. As a buyer, it is important that you keep in mind that you are basing your price on current income, but purchasing the operation’s future revenue-making ability; this is one of the most critical tasks the buyer will perform.

Mint Frosty Recipe

 

Makes: 2 

Preparation Time: 5 mins 

Total Prep Time: 5 mins

A cold and minty coffee, which despite its name is perfect all year round.

Ingredient List: 

- 1¼ cups black coffee  

- 24 ice cubes 

- 1 teaspoon vanilla  

- 1 teaspoon chocolate extract 

- ¼ cup sugar 

- 4 fresh mint leaves 

Instructions: 

1. Combine the black coffee, ice cubes, vanilla, chocolate extract, sugar and mint leaves in a food blender or processor and blitz until frothy. 

2. Serve chilled and enjoy.

All in the Timing (and Weight)

 

Coffee brewing is all about the coffee to water ratio. Too much water and the coffee will be weak and flavorless, too little and you get bitterness. You can play around with the ratio until you get the result you want, particularly if you’re using filter or steeping methods of brewing, but if you want to replicate a coffee, you’ll want to be measuring your ratios. 

Just how finicky you are when it comes to your coffee will inform just how careful you should be with your measurements. “Two tablespoons of coffee, with the water poured up to around here” may be all the measurement you need, but if you want more control, weighing your coffee and your water is the best option. Scales are an important tool for specialty coffee baristas, and to ensure accuracy, they tend to measure out both the coffee and water in weight instead of volume. You can get a trendy, programmable, coffee specific digital scale if you want, but your run-of-the-mill kitchen scale should be enough to ensure you get a consistent brew. 

Similarly, whether or not you feel the need to time your coffee brewing down to the second is totally up to you. There are some great smartphone apps, a lot of them free, which can help you with timing and with planning your ratios for various brewing methods. Embrace technology! 

There’s Something in the Water . .

If you don’t like the taste of your tap water, it’s worth investing in a water filter. This is also important if you live in a hard water area, which is high in alkalinity and can neutralize the acids that give coffee its bright and subtle flavors. Also, don’t forget that water can be too hot and scorch the coffee. Most brewing methods are most successful when the water is about 194 to 200°F (90 to 92°C). If you’re fastidious, use a thermometer, but if you can’t be bothered just wait a minute or two after the kettle boils before you start pourin 

Thai Iced Coffee Recipe

Makes: 4 

Preparation Time: 10 mins 

Total Prep Time: 2 hours 10 mins

It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that condensed milk was first added to the iced coffee. The milk was originally sold to Thai locals by American, military base commissaries.

Ingredient List: 

- 1 cup ground coffee 

- 4 cups water 

- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk 

- ¾ cup milk 

- Ice

Instructions: 

1. Using a coffee making machine, brew the coffee along with 4 cups of water. 

2. Transfer the strong coffee to the fridge until chilled. 

3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the condensed milk along with the whole milk and stir until silky smooth. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill. 

4. When you are ready for a coffee break, fill four glasses with ice and divide the coffee mixture evenly between them. Top up with the milk mixture and serve

Hot Buttered Coffee Recipe

Makes: 1 

Preparation Time: 2mins 

Total Prep Time: 2mins

Buttered coffee, or ‘bulletproof coffee,' was a big food trend in 2017 with expert's believing it helps improve brain function and boost energy thanks to grass-fed butter's healthy fats.

Ingredient List: 

- 1 cup fresh strong brewed coffee  

- 1 tablespoon grass-fed butter 

- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil

Instructions: 

1. Into a blender, add the coffee, butter, and coconut oil. Blitz for 15 seconds and pour into a mug. 

2. Enjoy!

The Daily Grind

It takes two machines to make a great coffee: the coffeemaker and the grinder. Despite what the name suggests, the daily grind of coffee is anything but laborious; it’s here that all those special aromas bust out of each bean, leading you by the nose to get some of that good stuff into you. We know that different brewing methods need different grinds, and that all the alchemical elements of coffee beans start to dissipate as soon as they’re ground, so to get the best from the beans (and the best possible cup of coffee) grind them just before brewing. Think of it as part of the coffee-making process. 

Grinders are distinguished by:

- Consistency: The same size particle, every time 

- Granularity: Ranges from fine to coarse 

- Low temperature: Heat alters the flavor and character of coffee. Speed generates heat, so preference low-speed (hand-cranked) grinders or a motorized grinder with reduction gears 

- Low-noise operation: Because if it sounds like there’s a plane landing in your kitchen every time you grind, that just ain’t right

There are two types of grinders: a blade and a burr. 

A blade grinder looks and works like a propeller. It’s fine for all brewing methods, except espresso. Because its characteristic chopping action can lead to inconsistency (which makes it harder to achieve a smooth brew), the bump-and-grind is recommended when using these grinders: interspersing one-second bursts with little bumps to mix through any beans at the top. Repeat for anywhere from eight to twenty seconds—depending on the coarseness of the grind you want to achieve. 

A burr grinder crushes beans between two burrs (often disc-shaped) that are preset by you. They consistently deliver a precise particle size, and can be used for any coffee brewing method, from plunger to espresso. Most serious coffee drinkers swear by the burr. Recommended for medium to coarse grinds, the Hario Skerton Hand Grinder is cheap and portable. The hand-crank means it’s lowspeed (and doesn’t create heat), it has longlasting ceramic burrs, is completely quiet and has a no-slip rubber base 

Toasted Coconut Mocha Frappuccino Recipe

 

Makes: 1 

Preparation Time: 5mins 

Total Prep Time: 8hours 5mins

Homemade coconut milk ice cubes are a great way to thicken cold coffee drinks and add creaminess without diluting the flavor.

Ingredient List: 

- 1 (14 ounce can) coconut milk (well shaken) 

- 1 cup strongly brewed coffee (chilled) ¼ cup toasted coconut 

- 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 

- 1 tablespoon sweetened cocoa powder

Instructions: 

1. Pour the coconut milk into an ice cube tray and freeze overnight. 

2. The following day, add the coffee, coconut, chocolate syrup, cocoa powder, and  8-9 ice cubes into a blender. Blitz until smooth. Add a couple more ice cubes for a thicker consistency. 

3. Enjoy

Lease vs Own for Coffee Shop

 

You may want to consider leasing rather than buying a location for your restaurant. You may be able to lease a building with less money up front. It will be easier to start your new restaurant, and there may be certain tax advantages to leasing. Additionally, if the time ever comes when you want to move, you would not have all the costs associated with selling the building. 

You should look at the following items in a commercial lease:

• • Length of lease. Many commercial leases go for five or ten years, rather than a single year. 
• • Rent rate and timing of rent increases 
• • Whether the rent includes insurance, property taxes, and maintenance costs (called a gross lease), or whether you will be charged for these items separately (called a net lease). 
• • The amount of the security deposit and conditions for its return 
• • The square footage of the space you are renting 
• • How improvements and modifications will be handled and who will pay for them. Pay specific attention to sign specifications. 
• • Who will maintain and repair the premises?
• • Whether there is an option to renew the lease or expand the space 
• • How the lease may be terminated, including notice requirements, and penalties for early termination

Commercial leases are different from residential leases. If you have rented an apartment, that does not mean you know what you are getting into. Commercial leases do not fall under most consumer protection laws. For example, there are no caps on security deposits or rules protecting a tenant’s privacy. Commercial leases usually are customized to the landlord’s needs, but they can be subject to more negotiation between the business owner and the landlord. Because there is no standard lease form, you must be sure to read each lease agreement you look at carefully. It probably would be wise to have your lawyer look at the lease as well.

• • Lease breaking. Unlike a residential lease where if you break the lease, you simply forfeit your security deposit, commercial leases are contracts, and if you break it, more than your security deposit may be at stake. Pay close attention to these terms in the lease agreement. 
• • Future growth. Think before you enter into a lease agreement, and make sure it fits your current and future business needs. Especially consider where you think your business will be in the future if you are entering into a long term lease agreement. Make sure the lease covers your ability to make the necessary modifications your building may need now or five years down the road. 
• • Signs and competition. Also, make sure you are able to put up a sign. If you lease in a large commercial complex, make sure the lease includes some competition safeguards for you. You do not want to open your coffee shop and see the landlord rent the space next door to another coffee shop two months later! 
• • Leasing broker. You may want to engage a leasing broker to help you locate business leases. A leasing broker works much the same way as a real estate broker: they will do a great deal of the legwork for a fee.

Gingerbread Latte Recipe

 

Makes: 2 

Preparation Time: 5mins 

Total Prep Time: 10mins

Put yourself in the festive spirit with this gingerbread spiced latte. The perfect winter warmer!

Ingredient List: 

- ½ cup whole milk 

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger 

- ⅛ teaspoons nutmeg 

- ½ teaspoons vanilla essence 

- ½ teaspoons maple syrup 

- 1½ tablespoons molasses 

- ¾ cup fresh, strong brewed coffee 

- Whip cream 

- 2 cinnamon sticks

Instructions: 

1. Into a small saucepan, add the milk, simmer while whisking until the mixture is steamy and foamy. Take off the heat. 

2. In a heatproof jug, add the spices, vanilla, maple syrup, molasses, and coffee. Whisk well until totally combined. Pour equally into two mugs. Top each with foamed milk and finish with a dollop of whip cream and a cinnamon stick garnish.

: The Basics of Buying a Coffee, Espresso & Tea Shop

As mentioned in the introduction to this manual on How to Open a Financially Successful Coffee, Espresso & Tea Shop, the consumption of specialty coffees and teas outside the home is at an all-time high, with new European-style coffee and tea shops opening daily across the United States. 

But, as competition is cutthroat in this growing segment of the beverage industry, it is doubly important that you choose a site that offers long-term potential for building your profit margins and staying ahead of the competition.

Choosing the Best Location 

Your choice of location will depend on a number of practical considerations, including available budget and findings from your market research about potential customer profiles, demographics, local competition and traffic patterns. Other, more subjective factors, such as your “vision” and perceived image of your establishment, will also play a part in your final decision. 

One of the most important (and often overlooked) factors to have in mind when selecting the ideal location for your coffee, espresso, and tea shop is the volume of foot traffic that passes by your shop. Retail coffee and tea outlets depend on impulse, “walk-in” trade for their day-to-day survival. Available flow of foot traffic should, therefore, be central to your decision about where to locate your shop. Here are a few possible sites that are likely to generate foot traffic and, thus, potential customers for your coffee, espresso, and tea shop: 

• University campus 

• Shopping mall 

• Supermarket 

• Service station 

• Large office block 

• Hospital or medical center 

• Municipal building  

• Bookstore 

• Transit center 

• Bus stop 

• Train station 

• Airport 

• Busy sidewalk 

• Library 

• Gym or fitness center 

• Concert hall 

• Theater 

• Art gallery 

• Convention center 

Before you start looking at specific sites, you will want to consider what type of operation you want.

Turmeric Coffee Latte Recipe

Makes: 2 

Preparation Time: 5mins 

Total Prep Time: 7mins 

Add a golden twist to an aromatic and spicy latte with turmeric.

Ingredient List: 

- 2 cups almond milk 

- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 

- ⅓ teaspoons ground ginger 

- ⅓ teaspoons ground cinnamon 

- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 

- 1½ teaspoons instant coffee 

- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar 

Instructions: 

1. Add the almond milk, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla bean paste, instant coffee and            coconut sugar to a small pan and on moderate to high, heat and using an                immersion blender of balloon style whisk, whisk until frothy. 

2. Continue to heat, until the coffee is good and hot while taking care not to boil. 

3. Pour the coffee into two cups and serve.

Coconut Water Ice Coffee Recipe

Makes: 1 

Preparation Time: 2mins 

Total Prep Time: 2mins

This naturally sweet and super refreshing ice coffee uses coconut water which is known for its high levels of nutrients and antioxidants.

Ingredient List: 

- 1 cup coconut water 

- ⅓ cup coffee concentrate 

- Ice

Instructions: 

1. Add the coconut water and concentrate into a glass and stir well. 

2. Top with plenty of ice and enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY COFFEE FRESHNESS?

WE ALL WANT THE BEST POSSIBLE EXPERIENCE FROM OUR COFFEE. OBVIOUSLY, THIS MEANS IT OUGHT TO BE FRESH. THAT SOUNDS GOOD, OF COURSE, BUT WHAT EXACTLY DO WE MEAN BY FRESHNESS? 

The implication is that at one point in time, coffee is fresh but it loses that freshness and becomes stale. Ultimately, we’re talking about a taste in the coffee that changes from good to less good because it changes over time. Each coffee drinker probably has a different standard for what level of staleness is unacceptable. That standard is based on their past experience, their level of sensory acuity, and any number of things that might influence their sense of freshness. 

So, for a well-trained coffee geek, staling may be noticeable a week or two after roasting, while for a less discriminating consumer, it may be two to ten months before they notice (or care) about a change in the taste due to staling. 

Thus, there is no absolute definition, so we must discuss the issue with some generalities and wiggle room. The next step is to consider freshness in light of coffee chemistry. We’ve established that roasting has an immense impact on coffee but it actually extends beyond the end of the actual roast. The bean not only passively changes but chemical reactions continue to occur. Some researchers have attempted to correlate these chemical changes to sensory response. 

While some insight has been gained, there are so many factors to account for that we only have a glimmer of the whole picture. During roasting, many gases, or volatile compounds, are released or generated. The end of the roasting process doesn’t mean the volatiles are no longer present. You know this intuitively because anytime you smell coffee, you smell a gas that’s been released and is no longer in the bean. 

In the first twenty-four hours after roasting, the bulk of gases, composed mostly of carbon
dioxide, are released from the bean. Over the course of several months, more and more volatiles escape from the bean structure, which is why coffee smells less intense over time. These volatiles that you smell are volatiles that you won’t be drinking. 

Thus, the loss of these volatiles is a primary cause of staling. Since the volatiles are trapped in the bean and must diffuse out, the size of the bean particles play a significant role on their evolution. Smaller particles, with more surface area relative to their volume, offer much shorter distances for the volatiles to travel. If coffee is ground just after roasting, 26 to 59 percent of the carbon dioxide (and undoubtedly other volatiles) will be released immediately, with the larger value coming from smaller bean particle sizes that have a larger surface area to volume ratio. 

The other primary cause of staling is the oxidation of compounds within the bean. While lipids (fats and oils) have been the main purview of coffee oxidation research, other molecules react as well and are surmised to play a role. Independent of the identification of specific oxidation reactions, the data demonstrate that coffee exposed to oxygen stales quicker than coffee not exposed to oxygen. 

An indirect factor in coffee staling is ambient temperature. Higher temperatures increase the rate of chemical reactions. Thus, the warmer the room, the faster gas evolution and oxidation will occur. Also, higher levels of water activity (essentially, the amount of water available to participate in chemical reactions) hasten staling. In other words, exposure to humidity will allow coffee to absorb moisture, permitting bad things to happen. 

While many a coffee geek suggests light is detrimental to coffee freshness, there is no evidence to support this in the literature. However, as some wavelengths of light contain enough energy to break chemical bonds (think UV and some plastics), it is reasonable to moot that light can play a damaging role. 

Researchers working on coffee staling chemistry have identified a number of volatile compounds that either correlate with negative aromas or with negative aroma experiences. Unfortunately, there is no agreement on any one compound or even the ratio of two compounds that guarantees a successful measure of staleness. Part of the challenge is that the roast profile, roast level, and coffee origin all influence the volatile composition and thus makes finding definitive staling compound proxies difficult. 

Interestingly, very few experiments that test the taste of coffee freshness (without any chemistry component) seem to exist. Some use untrained panelists (i.e, regular consumers) as their assessors while others use trained panelists to collect more refined data. As there are so few studies from which to draw conclusions, there isn’t much of a story to tell. Moreover, each study had a very unique purpose; generating data to help populate this section of the book was not one of them. 

Thus, the next paragraph is going to be a bit vague. Average consumers, it seems, have a hard time telling the difference between coffees that are fresh or just a few weeks old, whether they were stored on the shelf or in the freezer. In other words, sometimes they can tell a difference and sometimes they cannot. This suggests that coffees that are less than a month from the roast date are probably perfectly acceptable to most consumers. 

On the other hand, with coffee far from the roast date (nine or eighteen months), a trained panel can easily describe differences between the coffees. Whether those differences are important (it was descriptive data, not preference data) was not evaluated. 

A trained panel also seems to be able to identify coffees that were stored under different conditions or are of different ages starting around three weeks from the roast date (there was no statistical analyses in these reports, so it is difficult to be definitive here). It is certainly evident that some people can identify the changes in coffee as it ages. 

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer as to what “stale” means in terms of days after roasting, nor do I think there ever will be one. Since the change in taste depends on sensory acuity and personal preference, the answer will always lie with the drinker.

TOOL UP

 

Automated Roasters 

There are basically two types of automated home roasters around: air roasters and drum roasters. If you want to generalize about flavor, air roasters tend to develop the brightness of a coffee, while drum roasters tend to develop the body. Some brewing methods, such as espresso, might be better suited to coffees with more body than brightness, but feel free to throw the rules out the window and play around. The roaster you choose will depend very much on your budget, space and what’s available where you are

Air 

Air roasters, such as Nesco and FreshRoast machines, work much like popcorn makers (see page 98 on how to repurpose an actual popcorn maker for coffee roasting), blowing hot air onto the beans to cook them. They’re generally quite small, can finish a roast in around ten minutes and are relatively cheap, with low-end models retailing for around $100 to $200. Air roasters tend to be more “set and forget,” so if you want to experiment with temperature adjustments these may not be your best option. Also, keep in mind that an air roaster can be affected by line voltage—if it’s sharing an electrical outlet with other appliances, it may lose power and slow down your roast. They might also roast slower, or faster, depending on the ambient temperature

Drum 

Drum roasters tend to be bigger, can roast larger batches of coffee, and allow for a lot more control than air roasters. Behmor, Hottop and Gene Café are some examples of home drum roasters, but there are a lot out there. They’re generally slower than air roasters, taking around fourteen to twenty minutes, which is a bit closer to the commercial beasts you’ll see at cafés and artisan roasters. This means you have more chances to adjust the temperature and roasting profile. Machines start at around a few hundred dollars and go right up to the thousands. Generally, the higher the price, the more control you’ll have. Drum roasters are also known to be more durable than air roasters

Manual (and DIY) roasting 

There are plenty of good home roasters around, but you don’t want to invest in a top-of-the-line roaster only to find out that you find roasting dull and frustrating. Luckily, hobby roasters have established all sorts of creative ways to roast their coffee without resorting to bulky or pricey roasting machines. You might want to try these methods out first to see if roasting does it for you. Manual roasting can take anywhere between ten and twenty minutes, and tends to result in a more full-bodied flavor, though you’re more likely to be left with an uneven roast, where some beans are darker than others

Oven 

This is perhaps the most accessible of all roasting methods: all you need is a flat, perforated pan—the kind you might use to bake pizza or bread—and a conventional oven with reasonably reliable temperatures. If you don’t have a perforated pan you can always just punch some small holes in a regular baking tray. It’s then just a matter of spreading the beans evenly on the tray and popping them in the oven to go through their six roasting stages.

Pan Roast 

This is old-school roasting. The beans are put into a light skillet, which is covered with a lid or some aluminum foil. Then the work starts: you have to shake the pan constantly without taking it off the heat, tossing the beans and listening out for the first and second cracks. Another option is to use a wok (or even a heavy cast-iron pot) and stir the beans constantly with a wooden spoon. You should use an oven thermometer to keep track of the temperature. These methods are harder than the oven method, but if you can master them you’ll most likely get better results. It’s also a good skill to have in case you’re ever stranded in the forest with just a fire, a skillet and some green coffee beans (with your only alternative an ancient can of instant)

Stovetop Coffee 

Roaster or Popcorn Maker You can get your hands on either of these for as little as $30 or less, and it makes for a much more even roast than the oven or skillet method. Just throw in the beans, put it on the stove and turn the handle as the beans roast. This is much like the wok or skillet method, except that the crank makes for an easier and more thorough stirring of the beans. If you use a thermometer to keep an eye on the heat (just drill a small hole in the top where you can place the thermometer) then you should be able to get a good result. These pots often have flip-up lids so you can peek in and judge the color of your beans. Plus, if you don’t like it as a coffee roaster, it still makes darn good popcorn

Hot-Air Popcorn Maker 

The old popcorn maker strikes again, this time in electric form: it’s basically an imitation air roaster. It takes the same amount of coffee beans as it would popcorn kernels, so you’re looking at very small batches. You should only use models where the hot air goes into the chamber through diagonal slots in the chamber wall. If the hot air comes from the bottom of the chamber then it’s a no-go. As with the stovetop version, if you’re a bit handy you can install a thermometer in your popcorn maker by drilling a hole in the top. The hot air even gets rid of a lot of the chaff, which should come floating out of the chute—though you will still need a colander for cooling. 

Heat Gun 

Also known as the “dog bowl” method, this involves aiming a heat gun at a metal bowl of coffee beans while stirring them with a wooden or metal spoon. A heat gun is essentially a hard-core hairdryer (but don’t use it on your hair, trust us), and is available for less than $100 at a hardware store. This process imitates a drum roast, and the heat of the gun can be adjusted at any time, giving you more control over the temperature. If you want to take this method a step further, you can actually use an old bread maker instead of a metal bowl, which spins the beans around for you: there are lots of online guides on how to do this, but be aware that this kind of repurposing can be a hazardous game, so always put safety first. 

Vanilla and Salted Maple Cashew Nut Coffee Recipe

 

Makes: 1 

Preparation Time: 3mins 

Total Prep Time: 3mins

A salty, sweet combination of creamy vanilla and maple syrup with a pinch of sea salt, all blended with a handful of cashews for a hint of nutty flavor

Ingredient List: 

-1½ cups strongly brewed coffee (chilled) 

-½ cup unsalted cashews 

-1½ teaspoons maple syrup 

-⅛ teaspoons vanilla essence 

-Pinch sea salt 

-Ice

Instructions: 

1. In a blender, add the coffee, nuts, syrup, vanilla and sea salt. Start blitzing at a low speed and then gradually increase to a high speed, until smooth, this will take around 40 seconds. 

2. Pour into an ice-filled mug and enjoy.