Recent content by villagejoe

Okay, so I see that no one has posted on this latte art forum in a long time, but just in case... I've started my own latte art blog. Check it out and leave comments if you'd like: http://doublerosetta.blogspot.com

I use baristaworks.com for ordering compostable cups. Their whole deal is that they cater to the smaller independents who may just order a case or two instead of the minimum for most suppliers. They have a full line of biodegradable hot and cold cups. I think they deliver pretty much...

Depends on your expected sales volume for drip coffee. At my shop we have relatively low drip sales, so I went with the 2.2 liter airpots, and even then we brew a lot of half-batches.

I've used several different brands of french presses, and I haven't really seen much of a difference between them. Bodum is one of the most popular... and it's easy to find replacement parts if you break a beaker or something. Probably where you have the most options is size... you can have a...

If you think it's bland and watery, try using two tablespoons instead of just one for 8 ounces of water. Also, try letting it sit for 4 minutes before pressing. The general rule I follow when brewing a French press at home is 1 tablespoon of coarse grounds for every 4 ounces of water, and brew...

Part of the reason it tastes different is because there is no paper filter. A paper filter will soak up some of the coffee's oils... If you look at side-by-side cups of french pressed coffee and drip filtered coffee, you'll notice that the one from the press has an oilier surface. You get a...

For you shop owners out there: About how many hours per day/week do you spend behind the bar? How much time in administrative duties? How much time on promotion/marketing? I'm finding that I am working 30+ hours as a barista, and I fit in managerial stuff during down times and when closing...

I would say buy used equipment as much as possible. It takes more time investment in looking for equipment and checking out to see if it works or if you're buying it from someone who's reliable, but in the end you will save a lot of money. For example, I actually bought most of my cafe...

I also use Ecotainer hot cups, and I have occasionally had complaints about leakage. However, those have mostly come from people who have left cups in hot cars or who have tried to reheat their coffee in the cup in the microwave. The vast majority of my customers have never had a problem with...

Oh, and I definitely work about 50 hrs a week behind the bar, in addition to taking care of managerial duties.

Thanks for your input guys. I would say that one of the major contributing factors to our losses is that my pay as a manager is fixed and is factored in. If we were to exclude my salary completely (putting me in a place similar to an owner who works his own shop) then we would be close to...

I just wanted to put the question out there to owners of independent shops: For those of you who struggled through a first year of business, about how much was your net financial deficit for the year? I ask because we are currently in our fifth month of operation and are predicting quite a...

In my shop we have some built-in dispensers under our front counter for three sizes of our hot cups. For our cold cups and one size of hot cups we just use some plexi-cubes on the counter and stack the cups. A lot of shops use this method, including many Starbucks. The cubes allow for a lot...

I use Monin syrups and Ghirardelli Sauces. Monin seems like it has the most authentic tastes and people love the Ghirardelli chocolate, white chocolate, and caramel.

Update: We are now into our fifth month of operation and things are going quite smoothly. As expected, we have the problem of having a closed customer base, but we've tried to be creative in how to get bodies through the door. We struck a deal with the leasing office and they bring every...