Maximising Cafe Success: Choosing Great Coffee Beans

A question that’s important to many café owners is: “What are the best coffee beans?” 

You may think that’s simply a matter of your personal preference, but your choice of coffee beans is a key component of what can make or break your café business.

Often people entering the cafe industry for the first time, will assume that what ever coffee style they like is what is best to serve to customers. This can actually be the wrong move, especially when you may be a coffee aficionado and your customers are not.

When considering coffee beans it’s not always the best of the best in coffee beans that you want, sometimes it’s just great coffee beans. Selecting great coffee beans that match what customers enjoy can enhance customer satisfaction, drive repeat business and establish your café as a reputable establishment in the community.

With an expansive variety of options available, ranging from geographical origins to processing methods, today we aim to help you navigate and identify the best coffee beans for your coffee shop.

Understanding Coffee Bean Types

Ideally you are looking to make decisions about the types of coffee beans your barista will use to make coffee for your customers, that suit the flavour profiles for the majority of your customers to enjoy.

Here are three parameters by which a café owner can assess coffee beans to find out what would best match your customers preferences.

Arabica vs. Robusta

Whilst there are four main types of coffee beans (Robusta, Arabica, Liberica, and Excelsa), and over a hundred different varietals, when it comes to the hospitality industry there are two that feature.

These two types of coffee beans dominate the market when it comes to coffee culture due to their desirable ‘cup quality’: Arabica and Robusta. Each has its own distinct characteristics to help cafe owners decide which bean would be best for customers –

Arabica:

• Flavour: known for its smooth, rich taste with a hint of sweetness or acidity.
• Climate: typically grown at high altitudes.
• Price: generally more expensive due to meticulous growth conditions.
• Caffeine Content: lower caffeine content than Robusta.
• Use Case: ideal for gourmet and specialty coffee owing to its nuanced flavours.

Robusta:

• Flavour: characteristically strong, often described as bitter or harsh.
• Climate: can be grown at lower altitudes.
• Price: more affordable and easier to cultivate.
• Caffeine Content: higher caffeine content provides a more potent kick.
• Use Case: often used in espresso blends and instant coffee for its bold taste and crema-producing ability.

Specialty Coffee vs. Commercial Coffee

Choosing between commercial and speciality coffee can set the tone for your café’s brand and ensure that you are doing everything you can to appeal to your customers.

Specialty Coffee:

• Quality: rated 80 or above on a 100-point scale by certified coffee tasters.
• Traceability: often single-origin, providing a unique story behind each cup.
• Costs: higher cost due to meticulous growing, harvesting and processing.
• Value Proposition: appeals to coffee connoisseurs willing to pay a premium.

Commercial Coffee:

• Quality: good for everyday coffee drinking.
• Blend: can be a mix of various origins and grades.
• Costs: lower, allowing for significant profit margins.
• Value Proposition: suitable for everyday people who enjoy a barista made coffee.

Roasting and Processing Methods

The roasting and processing methods of coffee beans have a big impact on their flavour profile. You may have chosen an Arabica specialty bean to wow your coffee connoisseurs, but if you aren’t paying attention to roasting and processing methods, you could end up with something completely unexpected.

Roasting Levels:

• Light Roast: retains the original flavours and acidity of the bean. Ideal for highlighting the bean’s origin.
• Medium Roast: balances flavour, aroma and acidity, suitable for diverse customer preferences.
• Dark Roast: characterised by rich, robust flavours with less acidity, favoured in espresso preparation.

Processing Methods:

• Washed: clean and bright flavour but can retain more acidity.
• Natural: fruity and sweet notes, often with a fuller body.
• Honey: balanced between washed and natural, offering unique complexity and sweetness.

Geographic Origins of Coffee Beans

The origin of coffee beans plays a significant role in their taste profile. Climate, soil, water and cultivation techniques all add up to noticeable differences in harvested coffee beans.

The three continents growing coffee that supply most of the coffee beans used in hospitality and their most popular regions are:

Africa:

• Ethiopia: known for its floral and fruity notes.
• Kenya: offers bold and vibrant flavours with high acidity.

South America:

• Colombia: balanced flavour with a mixture of sweet, fruity and nutty elements.
• Brazil: generally nutty and chocolaty, often with lower acidity.

Asia:

• Indonesia: earthy, spicy flavours, often with a fuller body.
• Vietnam: frequently selected as a source of strong Robusta beans.

Sustainability and Certification in Coffee Cultivation

Modern coffee drinking customers are increasingly concerned about sustainability. The rise in popularity of certifications has ensured that your coffee sourcing practices align with environmentally friendly and ethical standards can be easily communicated to customers.

Key Certifications:

• Fair Trade: ensures fair pricing and ethical treatment for farmers.
• Rainforest Alliance: emphasises sustainable agricultural practices.
• Organic: certifies that beans are produced without synthetic fertilisers or pesticides.

Sourcing certified beans can be particularly appealing to eco-conscious customers, such as university students and mum’s with primary school age children.

Making a Decision About Your Best Coffee Beans

Choosing the best coffee beans for your café is a process that involves consideration of bean types, quality levels, roasting methods, geographic origins and sustainability certifications.

Each decision point can drastically affect your coffee’s flavour, cost and overall customer satisfaction. By understanding and leveraging these factors, you can strategically position your café as a premium destination for local coffee drinkers.

Checklist: Steps to Choose the Best Coffee Beans

1. Know Your Customers by defining what types of coffee drinkers your customers and locals are helps you understand what they can afford, cup quality and taste profile that will be the most popular.
2. Create a Customer Coffee Profile by creating a flavour profile for your customers (using something like a sensory lexicon or using a coffee taster’s flavour wheel) you can quickly match that to coffee beans your suppliers have.
3. Select Great Coffee Beans even when coffee beans match the flavour profile ‘on paper’, that doesn’t mean you’ve got the right beans; so taste tests with customers and your staff to find the best coffee beans for your cafe.
4. Sample Brew Your Beans to check that the different styles of coffee you serve (espresso, latte, cappuccino, etc) are benefiting from your coffee bean selection.
5. Barista Test Your Beans by getting your barista is run tests to check for consistency in blended beans and to check for flavour stability with storage (air, light and temperature).
6. Explore Different Suppliers, especially if you’re having issues with consistency and stability; to discover what else might be a better coffee bean for your cafe customers.

There are so many roasters, so many suppliers and so many coffee bean options available to baristas and cafe owners these days, that it has become easier to find the best coffee beans for your specific cafe. By setting aside a little time to really consider what your customers enjoy and the coffee beans that would match that well, you can make an informed decision that enhances both customer satisfaction and ultimately, your business’ success.