Discovering Your Coffee Culture?

cul·ture/ˈkəlCHər/ Noun: The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. 

Coffee nerds know how to taste coffee. We know how to grind the coffee just right, use the perfect amount of water, smell, and slurp the coffee. We know how to pinpoint fine nuances in beans, and detect which flavors point to country of origin, roast degree, and processing method. HOWEVER, often coffee nerds are not very good in detecting what the culture of their coffee shop communicates.

Far too often coffee shops that have the best tools to bring people GREAT coffee have a culture that EXCLUDES those they could be teaching. This is almost never the intention of a coffee shop. After all who wouldn't want more customers? The problem lies in the reality that too often people don't recognize the culture of their coffee shop.

Asking a culture to describe their culture is like asking a fish to describe their bowl. They will point out everything in the bowl EXCEPT the water.

Culture surrounds all we do, and is one of the FIRST thing that someone notices when they walk through the door of your shop, however it's invisible to the people most empowered to change it.This doesn't have to be the case. Although we can never enter our coffee shop as an outsider, what follows are six questions you can ask about how your coffee shop runs that will help you figure out what your culture is screaming to everyone but you.

1.  Do you encourage your staff, and yourself to pay attention? 
   You should have a system in place that encourages people to always look at the culture and setting in your coffee shop critically. Make sure your staff know how to look critically and report honestly, and make sure you pay attention at all times. Talk to people around you, and look for who is sticking around and who isn't coming back. Pay attention to why.
2. What is the reaction to critical incidents?
   When there are problems, or even positive incidents that come up evaluate how are they handled. Make sure you take time for critical thinking about what in your culture may have contributed to the incidents. Put yourself in the shoes of all people involved. Put yourself in the shoes of as many customers as you can. Take note of what they might see in the situation.
3. How do you allocate resources?
   Your wallet speaks volumes about what is valued in your culture. If you spend money on things geared for the coffee elite, but don't invest in things to help the average person understand people will notice. If you don't spend any money on things to make your coffee better people will notice. If you don't spend money on making the space inviting people will notice. Go over everything that you spend, and ask why you bought it. Then think about as many customers as you can and ask what they would think about the purchase.
4. Who is put up as a role model in the culture?
   Create a list of your dream team of people you would love to work with. Figure out what about these people is attractive to you. Are these traits that form a culture that is welcoming to outsiders? Figuring out what you view as impressive will point out what might make people feel they are treated as unimpressive. Evaluate if these are good cultural values.
5. How and why are people rewarded? Do you have any systems of rewards set up for customers? Do you have any systems of reward set up for employees. This is more then just punch card programs. Think about what sorts of things give your patrons and staff social capitol in the shop. What gives people a voice? What gives people power? Are the things that reward people focused on welcoming people in, or do they exclude people?
   
6. Why were people hired?The people you choose to hire are one of the strongest ways culture is formed. What were you looking for in your hires? When you look at applications what things stand out to you? Do these values put the customer first? If they don't your shop might look like the video I have posted at the bottom!

Hopefully these question will have helped you recognize the culture of your coffee shop. Next week we will talk about how to create the culture you want.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

Coffee Snobs from Frankie Shaw

Chosing a Coffee Caterer

This week we continue our series on serving coffee to large groups of people on a budget.  The scenario last week discussed one possible option, where a person was trained to make coffee in conjunction with their role as a greeter, service desk attendant, or a similar role.

This week I would like to explore another option: catering.

Hiring a coffee shop or roaster to make your coffee can be a great option. This is probably the best option for a group that only meets one in a while. A good coffee caterer will allow you to supply great coffee to your event without having to spend thousands on coffee equipment and training staff or volunteers, however there are many coffee caterers out there that won't do a much better job then you would do on your own.

How can you know that your coffee caterer will do a good job?

First: Know your options

There are basically three kinds of coffee catering

1. Coffee Shops that make the coffee in their shop
2. Coffee Shops that make coffee in your context
1. Using their equipment
2. Using your equipment
3. Full espresso bars that create custom espresso drinks at your event

Think about what you will need to have in order to make your event the greatest success.  Having a fully functional espresso bar at your event can be very impressive, but it's also very expensive. Simply picking up coffee from a coffee shop doesn't have the wow factor, but it's the most cost effective option. You will have to make that decision yourself.

Second: Know your coffee

The coffee that is being served can be an indicator of how much your caterer cares about the quality of their coffee. Ask them the following questions:

1. When was the coffee being served roasted? (It shouldn't be served over a week and a half after roasting)
2. Where was the coffee grown? (if they know the country: good. If they know the farm: better. If they know the micro-lot: best)
3. What have you done to assure that the coffee has been bought in an ethical way (it doesn't need to be "fair trade" to be ethical, but they should be able to explain how their coffee buying habits are just.)

 Third: Know their system

There are some things that a caterer can do that are warning flags about the quality of their operation. Here are a few examples of things to look out for:

1. Their coffee should be fairy local. They need to be able to get their coffee shipped to them in enough time for it to still be fresh. This wouldn't be an issue if you use a roaster to cater your coffee. (If they are having it shipped directly from the roaster with 2 day shipping across the country it would still be ok, if it's from Italy or somewhere over-seas it's generally stale).
2. Make sure they are storing their whole bean coffee well.
1. Airtight container
2. Room Temperature
3. No direct sunlight
3. Make sure they are storing their brewed coffee well. If they aren't serving their coffee as they make it, make sure that the coffee is not being stored on a hot pad, burner, or in a percolator. Ideally a preheated "air pot" or another well insulated container.
4. If they are creating espresso drinks at your event make sure they are grinding their coffee individually for each drink, and never resteaming any of the milk

Fourth: Make your expectations clear. The more you communicate with your caterer about the event and your expectations, the better your event will go. Make sure you contact the person who is in charge of managing catering and talk to them about how they do things. Let them know what you are expecting, and make sure you are on the same page.


FYI: If you live in Chicago our partner shop "Ipsento" caters our coffee at many events. Contact them if you're interested call (773) 904-8177.

Making Coffee For Big Groups: Part III

This week we continue our series on how to make coffee for large groups. One way to make better coffee is to turn a greeter or information person into a "barista".

A barista is the person who makes your coffee in a coffee shop. Although technically you would need an espresso machine and an experienced espresso wizard for you to have a "real" barista, having a dedicated coffee person can be a GREAT way to make better coffee and create an environment where people feel welcomed.

Having a dedicated coffee person means you don't have to invest in a huge coffee maker, but can simply be making coffee consistently with quality small coffee brewers. This will guarantee the coffee is always fresh, and will also make sure that people are making connections in your gathering or meeting without the awkwardness of a forced interaction.

If your meeting is happening weekly you can have 4-5 volunteers that rotate once a month in this role.

The total cost of implementing this is very low. All you will need is:

• A Handful of Volunteers
• A Brewing System That Can Make Good Coffee (you may already have this)
• A Place to Brew Coffee 
• Access to water, a trash can,  electricity, and coffee
• Ideally this place would allow for coffee to be made, while still interacting in meanigful ways with people who come to get coffee
• A Kitchen Scale (To Know Why Click Here)
• Some Training to make sure the coffee being made is of the highest quality
• You can get some of that just by reading this blog
• You can take one of the classes we offer HERE

If this idea doesn't appeal to you, don't worry we'll have more ideas next week!

How NOT to serve your group coffee and why

Last week we examined the difficult situation that many leaders find themselves in where there is a large group of people that need coffee, but not a consistant enough need that purchasing a high end commercial system merits the investment that would be required.

I have spent years facing this problem and I can tell you from experience that there are a number of options that people use that are not ideal. The coffee that is used is often poorly made, poorly stored, and poorly obtained.

Cheap coffee reflects a cheap organization. It communicates to those who attend your events that they are not worth the time or the money to offer quality hospitality and can also communicate a lack of ethics since most people now know that the cheapest coffee is often purchased at the expense of poor farmers and laborers.

The amazing thing about coffee is that it doesn't cost very much to improve. Unlike other products you can get some of the best coffees in the world without a huge investment. Taking your coffee from terrible to GREAT doesn't require a lot of money, just a little thought and care.

One of the first things to do, if you want great coffee, is to STOP doing some things that are BAD for your coffee. The following is a simple list of things NOT to do.

1. DON'T use a system the heats the coffee
   There are a lot of systems that keep coffee hot by continually heating the coffee. The longer the coffee is exposed to heat the more the flavors that make your coffee great will be turned into bitter flavors of scorched oils. Avoid percolators or keeping your coffee on a burner. INSTEAD either serve your coffee as soon as it's done brewing OR store it in a preheated themas or air pot. 
2. DON'T buy your coffee in bulkCoffee doesn't stay fresh for very long. If you go out and buy your coffee once a month, EVEN if it were roasted the day you buy it, your coffee will be stale by the end of the month. That doesn't even take into account the fact that most coffee that you can buy in the grocery store are stale before they even make it on the shelf. INSTEAD buy your coffee the morning of your event from a local roaster and only buy as much as you need for the day.
3. DON'T use pre-ground coffeeCoffee starts to oxidize much faster when it's ground. It only lasts a few hours once it's ground. Ideally you should have a quality burr grinder that you can use before you grind every cup or pot. However this is expensive. A cheap way you can get around this is to have the roaster of coffee shop you work with grind the coffee for you right before the event. Having an employee of volunteer pick up the coffee and have it ground on their way to the event is a great way to assure you have fresh ground coffee without spending a bundle.
4. DON'T buy coffee just because it's cheapCheap coffee often reflects loose ethics. The coffee you buy is a moral decision. I am amazed at how many groups I have gone to that talk a lot about social justice but serve coffee that reflects a disregard for ethical buying practices. Do your research, it doesn't cost anything to get informed. Your coffee should be:
1. Bought at a fair wage
2. Environmentally responsible
3. Concerned with the workers who do most of the leg work
4. Sustainable
Anything less then this is irresponsible