I do allot of training both for my company Borogove Coffee and contract work for other roasters and coffee houses. Recently I was doing a training at coffee house for a roaster that was unhappy with the way this coffee house was presenting their coffee. At some point during the training we were talking about why it is important to make the espresso the best that it could be and I reiterated something about making good espresso and macchiato's and short drinks. I was somewhat startled by their response. I don't know why because I have heard this response before especially from busy coffee house's like theirs. She said well we don't make that many straight espresso's and macchiato's. I don't remember how I replied at the time but, the more I thought about her answer the more it bugged me. From my perspective it all starts with a great shot of espresso. If you can't do that you are vulnerable to Starbucks or another company coming in who can make good espresso. I'm not saying that Starbucks makes good espresso but, if they moved in to your neighborhood and you aren't taking care of your coffee you are vulnerable.
Here is a example. When I first started working at Zoka in 1999 they had great coffee but, no training program. A new person would be hired and they would get to make drinks for customers on their first day. The quality of drinks from barista to barista (I use the term barista her very loosely) varied greatly. Their where a couple of really good barista's and allot of mediocre barista's. It was not uncommon for customers to come in and ask for specific barista's to make their drink. At the same time there was a extremely busy bakery a short block away and they where always busy but, they had crappy coffee. I was hired at Zoka to be the manager and my first course of action was to start at least a basic training program. Within a year later the situation was reversed the Zoka started to get busier and busier while this bakery that had been their for fifteen plus years was starting to loose business. Customers started to comment that they used to have their favorite barista's but, now they are all good. The number of straight espresso's and macchiato's and other short drinks grew. I saw the same thing happen when I later moved to Hotwire. The change I made was very easy and simple I made the staff take care the their espresso shot's.
I think if the bakery that was near Zoka had better coffee and took some care with it I don't think Zoka would have had such an easy time stealing their customers. The thing that baffles me is that it is not that hard to make good espresso. It just takes a little knowledge and training and with the internet their is no excuse.
So, pull that espresso with love and take care of it and it will take care of you.
