Recent content by chadao

I agree with eldub. I have joined the barista guild of America through SCAA, and the connections and education opportunities are quite bountiful. Also, hands-on experience is the best you can get. Get a job as a barback/barista at a local coffee shop and work your way up in that company as...

Thanks all for your input and encouragement. I will definitely be serving Seven Cups, Verdant, and Intelligentsia teas and tisanes in my shop, after hearing what you have said. The problem is reaching the customer base and explaining why my prices are at a premium. I am still working out my...

I finally found one. Here is renowned barista Kyle Glanville describing and demonstrating milk foaming and texturing techniques for a cappuccino. Hope this helps: Cappuccino, Intelligentsia - YouTube

It could possibly be one or a combination of any of the things that you mentioned. Could you possibly describe your technique in milk foaming and texturing? I'm currently looking for youtube tutorials for you, but so far I haven't found anyone doing it with proper technique yet. I'll post...

Thanks for sharing your experiences and insights, Mr Shave. I definitely find it very helpful. My business model definitely fits the higher end as far as coffee shops go. My vision entails a much better, consistent, and conscious quality than what my future competitors offer. It seems to me...

Thanks for you input, Scott. I'm actually not looking so much for organic or "fair trade" tea as I am for tea that is sourced in a more direct trade model. It is very difficult to find Chinese tea companies here in the U.S. that is even able to buy their tea with this model, since a Chinese...

Hi Rose, thanks for your welcoming words! To be honest, I prefer tea over coffee for many reasons. I like the wide variety of tastes, cultures, studies, and innovations. That said coffee has similar attributes, so it is a close second.

I went into a coffee shop yesterday, and I asked about their tea. The response that I got from the barista was basically this: "Dude, we're a specialty coffee shop, we focus on coffee here, and tea is just a peripheral offering." I am planning on opening my own coffee shop, and I have a...

So I'm currently doing the arithmetic for a business plan for my dream coffee shop. I have done much research in the past few weeks, and I have most of the numbers straight and on paper. I've hit a sort of snag though, trying to figure out my cost of sales. I thought that this might be a good...

Hi all. My name is Alex, and I live in Colorado. I really love coffee (obviously), and I also love tea and people. I have read a large number of topics on this site and find everything to be very helpful and informative. Thank you all for contributing so wisely and transparently within this...