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Permalink Reply by Ron Ingber on December 12, 2009 at 5:52am

My first reaction is that there are lots of relatively short (1 printed page or so) articles all over the web. They are mostly concentrated on websites sponsored by equipment, coffee and syrup companies, as well as their wholesale distributors. However, all of these articles are copyrighted. They are free to read (and even download) for personal use. Once you start putting together a primer (I am assuming printed copies of materials) in a business or even a non-profit organization environment, you would be legally required to get permission and probably pay a fee.

As a relatively new cafe owner (approximately one year), I would recommend that you arrange for a group purchase of Bean Business Basics from Bellissimo. They offer volume discounts.

http://espresso101.com/books_dvds/top_sellers/bean_business

I have no connection with the company other than as a satisfied customer.

Ron, the Country Guy

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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on December 12, 2009 at 7:29am

Great collection of articles by David Schomers

Vivace

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Permalink Reply by Jared Rutledge on December 12, 2009 at 10:31am

feel free to use my little cheat sheet i wrote, if you give credit, here: http://www.wakinglifeespresso.com/cheatsheet.pdf

if you see anything wrong or misleading on there, let me know!

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Permalink Reply by Mike M on December 13, 2009 at 4:32pm

I thought the Espresso 101 DVD with the accompanying quiz was a solid training tool. A lot of the same information is explained in greater detail in Bean Business Basics (another Bellissimo product), but for the sake of training, I thought the aforementioned DVD was very well-rounded. I bought both not long ago and each has been a great investment!

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Permalink Reply by Mike M on December 13, 2009 at 5:59pm

Thank you for sharing this link. Certainly some well-written articles. I especially enjoyed the following passage from David's article titled, "How to Compete with Starbucks":

A corporate coffee bar, despite armies of architects, has no soul. It has no presence that will focus and imbue the place with a personality over time, it has no spark no anima. The staff will be a rotating ensemble of people who are not from here and have no real commitment to the place. This is the great hammer of the independent - you have a soul and you can infuse your little coffee shop with that soul. And, the American
people want to know a place and be part of a real scene, not some cookie cutter clone that reeks of all the other clones fallen from the business school womb in a pastel pile of blonde wood and green logos.

A lot of graphic elaboration, but I think the message is clear and it articulates the need to develop a culture and identity amongst the baristas and patrons alike. The next logical question concerns instilling that sense of culture. Wouldn't be a bad article in and of itself!


Jason Shipley said:

Great collection of articles by David Schomers

Vivace

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