The rest just go to the first place with seats and a sign saying 'coffee.' That's the nature of the bean. Your job as a cafe owner is to make coffee that pleases everyone and that's no mean feat. Here are a few tips to make sure your coffee passes muster with the masses.
Quality matters
That means 100% quality, 110% if you can find it in both beans and equipment. Before you even think about beans make sure all your equipment is up to the task. For a start it will be visible behind your counter and anyone who knows coffee will know if your equipment is up to standard. Get the basics right, then consider the beans.
Coffee blend or single origin?
Basically it's the difference between a quartet and a soloist. The purist will want to hear the piano or the violin on its own; they'll want to enjoy all the subtle nuances of a single delectable bean. The rest of your customers will want the whole caboodle; bass and cello and whatever else you can throw into your coffee – aromas, aftertastes, acidity and smoothness.
A complex problem
And generally there's only one solution. While Brazilian beans on their own might satisfy the connoisseur with their taste and mouth feel, everyone else will find something missing and, ultimately, go missing. While Mexican beans may give your aficionados the perfect single flavour cuppa with the perfect after taste, your cafe will quickly become an afterthought for those seeking the Full Monty.
A World in Union solution
It all comes down to your bean counters; the ones who focus on arithmetic rather than aromas. They'll tell you that the bulk of your business won't come from connoisseurs; it comes from regular everyday customers. So blend Mexico with Honduras for a great two bean winner. Get Brazil, Ethiopia, India and Timor working together with four beans. Create a five bean sensory summit between Columbia, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Kenya and Papua New Guinea. And create a Seven Nation Aromatic Army between Brazil, Timor, Ethiopia, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
At the end of the day connoisseurs will blend into your blends because very few cafes are geared to make money from such a finicky niche market. And the run-of-the-mill coffee drinkers who really matter to your success will thank you for it with a large pool of reliable regulars.
