Selecting a roaster

susansaddiction

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Jun 29, 2004
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Well, after months of research and planning, they actually started construction Monday on my 9x14 kiosk!!! I am in the final phase of selecting my source for my wholesale beans and was just wondering if you all have any insiders advice on what, besides a great taste, to consider when choosing my bean provider. I'm fortunate in that I have at least 3-4 local roasters to choose from. Any input is greatly appreciated.
Also, is :lol: it wise to get the greatest number of items from one supplier (e.g. FSA) to get the best price and perhaps sacrafice on 1 or 2 items, or use several different suppliers and get exactly what you want?
Susan
 

Coffee Guy

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Oct 19, 2003
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Hi susansaddiction:

Some of the things to consider other than just great tasting coffee from your roaster is to see what other things they bring to the table. For example, other than just drink preparation what kinds of training do they offer? Are they knowledgable about your business? Can they assist you with operations of your business? Do they offer ongoing consulting? Do they offer after hours support? Can they offer deep discounts on equipment purchases? Can they provide you with private labeling if you decide to do so in the future? Do they have site locating services? These are just a few things off the top of my head :wink: Remember there are a lot of good roasters out here, but in today's industry that's not quite good enough. You must get more value from your relationship. Those are some of the general support we offer our customers.

As for supplies, in the beginning it's best to do all of your own shopping if you have wholesale houses there. A couple of reasons for that include, learning how to control your inventory needs while learning your business. Also controlling your expenses until you become profitable enough to bring on deliveries from an outside source. Also it will teach you to know who your suppliers are, in addition you'll be able to control your cost of goods better. Remember you've already spent the time and effort to get you this far, continue to research your options as your business continues to grow. There are a lot of other things to consider as well, but I'll stop there. If you'd like our help send me a pm and we can go further. But hopefully some of the above has been helpful. :grin:
 

susansaddiction

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Jun 29, 2004
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Thanks Coffee Guy

Thanks so much for taking the time to post a response. Due to the size of my town, SAMs club is the only wholesale place in town and the selection is pretty limited there as far as frozen cookie dough, etc., so I'll have to get those from FSA.
You brought up some good points to look at and ask of my local roaster choices - thanks again! :)
Susan
 

barefoot

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Sep 21, 2004
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always try to go local

I would reccomend always trying to stick witha local roaster. You will almost always get better, faster service and no shipping costs etc. Easier training, faster response times. Buy local if you can. We have many cafes that are long distance and it can work well but it is better to buy local.

That is my opinion anyway.
 

topher

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Aug 14, 2003
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welcome barefoot! How are things going at your shop? I followed your thread on the scaa about your build out to opening....it was fun to follow...getting more traffic? Oh well...welcome again!
 

barefoot

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Sep 21, 2004
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Our one year anniversary is tomorrow! We have been through hell and high water and are coming out roses now. Business is growing very fast and we can barely keep up. We have made tons of mistakes but a few good ones and the god ones tended to be long term positives rather than short term negatives.


One last piece of advice for ANYONE who is thinking serisouly about starting a coffee business. Join the SCAA. It will be the single best thing you did. The online library resources and conferences alone will be more than worth it but the community and connections will astound you. And if that were not enough you can save 30% on workers comp and 33% on fed shipping which will pay for the membership 10x.

gotta plug what works: www.scaa.org
 
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