Running a profitable coffee shop is an exercise in speed and efficiency. You need speed to keep your customer line moving, efficiency to manage inventory, and a little of both to handle hiccups like equipment repairs.

The faster you can do these things (and do them well), the more product you’ll sell in less time—and without overstaffing. With any luck, you’ll have time leftover for things like planning your next location and keeping up with specialty coffee trends. Maybe even traveling to origin!

Your coffee shop concept, which includes your aesthetic and menu, is what makes people choose your business over other options. It’s what draws them in, brings them back and gets them to tell their friends that they have to try your lattes or chill on your patio. 

But how do you assure that your coffee shop concept resonates with people who live or work near your location? The answer: know your customers first and build your coffee shop strategy around their preferences.

The quality of an espresso shot is determined by myriad factors. Most people focus on the espresso machine and/or the quality of the coffee being used —both important, of course. However, the quality of the espresso grinder used in preparing a perfect shot of espresso is equally important.

Espresso requires a very fine, consistent coffee grind in order to brew correctly, and thus a specifically designed and engineered professional grinder. Other factors: choosing the correct size and model for speed, efficiency and consistent quality to keep up with your espresso machine during busy hours at your coffee shop or restaurant.

Cold brew coffee and iced coffee are the superstar summer drinks in coffeehouses around the world — but they don't disappear in the winter. A Dunkin Donuts poll showed that 56% of folks believe it's never too cold for an iced coffee. Maybe they just wear gloves?

Still, some are torn between the two brewing methods. Here we’ll break down the differences between cold brew and iced coffee.

Syrup can be tricky. On one hand, you want to serve customers memorable, delicious drinks that bring them back again and again. On the other hand, you want your drinks to be profitable -- and that means keeping ingredient costs, including syrup, under a reasonable threshold.

While balancing cost and quality is a perennial coffee shop problem, every cafe owner can cut syrup costs by applying precision management techniques to their purchase and use. Wondering how? Here are three practical strategies.

Someone once said that employee reviews are like fruitcakes: They come around once a year whether you want them to or not. But to alleviate the stress of it all and to help your staff grow, human resource experts say employees should be reviewed twice per year — a midyear meeting as well as an end-of-year review that covers bonuses or raises.

Serving espresso is a great way to increase sales, but there is a lot to consider when choosing an espresso machine that will meet your operation’s specific needs. The type of food service you do is probably the most important factor, followed by your daily customer traffic.