Hi everyone,

I've been dreaming of opening my own coffee shop i, and I've been doing a lot of research over the past several months. However, I don't personally know anyone who owns a cafe or has experience starting one from scratch.

I'd really love to learn from people who have actually been through the process.

Some of the things I'm struggling to understand are:

• How did you find your location?
• What should I look for in a commercial lease?
• What lease terms would you never agree to again?
• Who did you hire first (architect, contractor, designer, plumber, electrician, etc.)?
• If you rented an empty retail space, how did you turn it into a functioning coffee shop?
• What permits, licenses, inspections, and paperwork surprised you?
• What mistakes cost you the most money?

• If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?

  My goal is to do things the right way from the beginning instead of making expensive mistakes.

I know every business is different, but I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences good or bad. Even small pieces of advice could save me a lot of time and money.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

I am not quite the coffee afficionado that some are but i do enjoy a nice espresso and a good pour over. I'm right at the elevation where the plants grow big and thick, and am surrounded by coffee farms and the knowhow to pull this off.

What books/courses would you all recommend on growing out here?

What I mean by “ so expensive” is that the price is disproportionate compared to other things. For example: you can eat for 2/3 euros a full meal but your latte is going to cost 5 euros, which I have a hard time making sense of. Same, a t-shirt is going to cost you 3 euros but your coffee can be 6 euros. You know what I mean?

Hi everyone,
My first post here! I’m currently debating which espresso machine to upgrade to. I’ve narrowed it down to the ECM Technika VI, Synchronika II or La Marzocco Linea Mini. I predominantly make milk drinks, usually 2 at a time. I saw the Whole Latte Love videos for the ECM machines which included tests to find the percentage increase in weight of milk after steaming. Each came out between 10-11% using 142g milk before steaming. It would be great to know the number for the Mini if anyone has it please! :D

Cheers!
Ben

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

I’ve tried a lot of brewing methods and after a short visit to Vietnam I started using a Vietnamese phin for its simplicity and flavor.

Whenever I see tier lists or people talking about brewing methods I see literally EVERY method besides a Vietnamese phin. Why don’t people acknowledge it?

​

Hi everyone,

I've been thinking about something recently and wanted to get some honest feedback from people with experience in the coffee industry.

My uncle owns a coffee farm in Ethiopia and has been exporting green coffee primarily to customers in the Middle East for several years. After talking with him more about the business, it got me wondering whether bringing Ethiopian coffee into the U.S. market is something worth exploring.

A little about me: I live in Raleigh, North Carolina, and work full-time as a mechanical engineer. I have no professional background in coffee, importing, or running a coffee business. That said, I'm a quick learner, genuinely enjoy learning new industries, and don't mind putting in the work if it's something with long-term potential.

I'm not looking for someone to validate the idea, I actually want to understand what I don't know.

For those of you who have experience in coffee, importing, roasting, wholesale, or retail:

- Is this a realistic path for someone starting with no coffee industry experience?

- What are the biggest challenges that newcomers usually underestimate?

- If you already had access to a reliable coffee source in Ethiopia, how would you approach getting started?

- Would you focus on importing green coffee, building a retail brand, selling wholesale to roasters, or something else?

- What would you learn first before investing any significant time or money?

I'm fully aware that having access to coffee is only one small piece of the puzzle. Logistics, regulations, quality control, relationships, sales, and marketing are all things I'd need to learn.

I'd really appreciate any advice, whether it's encouraging or brutally honest. If you were in my position, what would your first few steps be, and what mistakes would you try to avoid?

Thanks in advance!

To my knowledge it's just a watered down espresso. Literally why??

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

Hey everyone. I’ve been deep into specialty as a home brewer since 2024, mostly V60 and pour-over, chasing lighter roasts with fruity and floral profiles from all over the world. I’ve also attended World of Coffee Dubai twice and built out a proper home setup. So I know coffee as a drinker, I’m just new to the roasting craft specifically. I want to start a coffee business in Pakistan, but not another café. New shops open here every week, and almost all of them serve sugary lattes and frappes with barely any real coffee in the cup. I don’t want to replicate that. My goal is to help shift the specialty culture here, introduce people to naturally sweet, clean coffees like Colombian and Ethiopian lots, and brew methods that aren’t common here yet, like V60, Chemex, and cold brew. That’s why I’m going the roastery route. My plan runs in two parts: import quality roasted beans from good origins to sell while I learn, and start training on an Ikawa Pro 100X for sample roasting. We’ll also be repacking beans from some established vendors in the early phase to keep product on the shelf. A few questions I’d really appreciate honest input on, because every person and every AI tool I ask says something different:

One. Is the Ikawa Pro 100X a good machine to actually learn on, dial in small batches, and build recipes I can later scale to production? Do the profiles really translate when you scale up?

Two. Where’s the best place to go and learn roasting properly, preferably taught in English? I’ve been looking at Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. Any courses, roasteries, or people worth learning from?

Three. How does the Bellwether hold up for specialty roasting at around 1.5 kg batches? My total budget also has to cover green inventory and setup, so realistically I’m looking at a roaster in the mid-range rather than top-tier. What else should I consider?

Four. How do you control the roasting environment, humidity, airflow, ambient temp, especially in a hot, humid climate?

Five. What’s the right progression when scaling from a sample roaster to production, and any pitfalls to avoid?

Six. What’s the realistic shelf life I should plan around, for green beans, and for roasted coffee (espresso versus filter separately)? This matters since we’ll also be repacking from other vendors, so I want to manage freshness properly. Any advice appreciated, and happy to answer questions about the Pakistan market too if anyone’s curious.

I like the taste of coffee but can't stand the way it smells while it's brewing. It there anything like non-,smelling coffer?

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

My boyfriend recently got way more into coffee. Loves a V60 pour over. I’m trying to upgrade his set up for his birthday (he’s got a very sh** grinder and a terrible kettle)I would like to spend under 350. Ideally would like to get him a nice grinder, a kettle with a gooseneck, and maybeeee a cheap scale. I’m okay with getting something used.

I’m having an impossible time deciding how to spend my money on the setup. Should I dish out and get the fellow ode 2 and nothing else? Should I get his a less fancy grinder and more things? I’m feeling overwhelmed with internet promotion and AI slop.

He’s an engineer so I want him to really geek out o something without absolutely demolishing my bank account. Any advice would be helpful!

Thanks in advance

Hi! I'm new to the craft coffee scene as of this winter. I'm finding I love the V60 the most, and French press is clutch for the dark roasts I occasionally enjoy.

I'm currently using a Timemore C3esp hand grinder, and from what I can tell it does the job! But I'm wondering if anyone has owned this previously, "upgraded," and could share what is better than this grinder.

Also, what "non-obvious" gear do you have that elevates your pour over or French press experience?

Thanks!

TLDR: Local Micro-Roaster underweighting bags. Should I inquire with Roaster and share proof?

I'ma bit torn... We have a small batch roaster in our community that I'm happy to support, especially because I've been REALLY enjoying the roasts. Some of my favorite coffee I've had, ever. With that, given the micro-lots and small batches, these bags are priced at a high premium: $26-36 per 10oz bag. I noticed a bag felt a little light in my last shipment and was slightly underweight. I ordered another 3 bags recently and each un-opened bag weight in almost a whole 1oz less than advertised (9.15, 9.24, 9.26). This leaves me with ~1.5 less cups per bag. At this high price point and this weighting consistency, I'm feeling like this isn't accidental. How should I proceed? This roaster is a local to my community who I'm happy to support and a friend of a friend. I've only recently started purchasing from him and don't want to come off as someone who isn't a big fan, but do want to understand why I'm seeing this level of consistent underweighting (which also includes the weight of the bag itself!).

Additional Detail:

1. Bags measured across two different food and coffee scales, and calibrated with a scale weight before measurement
2. Bag weight is included in the weights above, which means net coffee weight is even less than the reported values.
3. I have a video that I can send to the owner, showing bags are unaltered and measured against two calibrated scales
4. Roaster is a sole proprietor - 1 person show, and contract roasts from another local roaster in the area is also very good. Small niche community here and I don't want to be "one of those" customers

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

Mostly after pourovers, but open to any light roast specialty places.

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

Hi, i do not have deep knowledge about coffee. I mostly drink iced black coffee or iced americano
Im poor and cannot afford to buy expensive equipments yet and just want to drink good coffee everyday, is there anyway to improve it? What i do is grind coffee beans > put it on coffee press > add hot water > wait for a bit to cooldown then add ice and drink. Thats it. I dont measure or weigh since i dont know how.

Is there anyway to improve with what i currently have:
Coffee beans from Baguio
Generic cheap coffee grinder from Simplus
Generic coffee press

Any tips, advice and guidance will be highly appreciated

Used to have a Gevi all-in-one, didn't pay much attention. Used to drink with half & half. Now getting into coffee more with a new xBlook studio. Three-way comparo, all brewed according to card, no cream, all at 135F using Ember cups:

Was genuinely surprised at how much better the Legacy was vs the Southern Weather. Sweeter, less sour or bitter. Hunky Dory (decaf) somewhere in the middle. Realized I would enjoy Legacy black routinely. A new thing for me.

Interestingly, although Southern Weather not advertised as such AFAICT, the recipe shows up on the app as for "iced".

Will be trying different roasts to zero in, then different beans.

Fun!

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!