Coffee Drinker Opinions NEEDED!!!!

rainshadow1

rainshadow1

Custom Call Maker
I'm not a coffee drinker. Nothing religious or dietary, I just haven't been able to acquire a taste for it. So I don't know enough about it... I need your help!

We're starting up a big box hardware store, outside food concession stand. We're going to do quality hot dogs, specialty style hotdogs, gourmet sausages, and gyros. A hot dog stand, but with a gourmet twist. Brand name and Premium soft drinks, Brand name and Premium chips, quality local and national brand fresh bakery desserts, etc.

For our coffee, I have a simple, but fun question for you coffee drinkers:

Would you prefer a large national brand, canned, pre-ground, fresh brewed, plain old standard cup of coffee...
12oz for $.75?

Or,

Would you prefer a specialty, premium roast, fresh ground, fresh brewed, "gourmet" cup of plain coffee...
12oz for $2.25?

What do you think? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?


Please give me your opinions, as well as any thoughts you have along this line too. All input is hugely appreciated!


THANK YOU!!!
 
You might contact Gevalia Coffee Co as they sell a lot by mail order but might stock you plus allow you to offer their very fine offer of a really good FREE 12 cup coffee maker for those who order more coffee from them after a minimum order!

Real good coffee! Real good coffee makers! And lots of different flavors and brews under one roof or by mail order! Love their stuff and the second good coffee maker we have from them!

Good hunting!
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Steve, I am a big coffee drinker.. I have tried the Starbucks stuff and I'm really not impressed, but I will drink it in a pinch. My wife loves the Starbucks and gourmet coffee's.. I just like a good old cup or "pot" of Folgers in the morning LOL.. I think if you have a good quality Coffee you will do well.. In the morning, I would gladly pay just about any reasonable price for a good old cup of Coffee to kick the day off right..Best of luck to ya in the new venture..
 
Thanks Kerry!

We're trying to go as smart as we can, it's kind of a different situation... We're in Starbucks central. There's a Starbucks 200 yards away, and our McDonalds carry Seattle's Best which is owned by Starbucks. But we're locating at a hardware store...

Really appreciate the comments, guys.
 
To me, starbucks tastes burnt.

mcdonalds & duncan donuts coffees are more to my taste.

I also have acid reflux. This means that a lot of coffees are too high in acid & kill me, Gavalia being one of them. They make top quality stuff, it just no longer agrees with my gut, LOL

I prefer to NOT spend a fortune on a cup, so the drive throughs for me are treats, not the rule.
 
This is just my thoughts---most people who frequent the hardware store are do-it-yourselfers or common construction or carpentry types. People who must live on a budget I would guess. I would pass on the $3.00 latte mocha foo foo and sell a good quality working man's cup of joe. I would buy a cup for $2.25, but I would have to be in one heck of a bind.
 
I think if you sell any of the Folgers or MAX house blends ..the med to darker roasts for $.75-$1 you will be fine..don't let it set on the warming pad; put in an insulated carafe after it is brewed. Should be good.
 
I would definitly offer the national brand at the cheaper price, I don't think people at a lumber yard/ hardware store want to spend $2.25 for a cup of joe. That being said, as you are in Washington state I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a small up and coming roaster to give you a deal to offer their product. I like Duncan Donuts brand alot, Ravens brew (180091raven) has a roaster in Tumwater WA. is another of my favorites. As far as canned coffee I prefer Yuban. But the taste of coffee is all about using enough of it to make a pot not too much not too little. Starbucks tries to pass off mediocre beans by over roasting them making it too strong.

Stu, If your coffee is acidic try adding a pinch of salt to the grounds before brewing, it will cut the acid. Not too much now just a pinch.
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

I'm talking to Java on Facebook...
I'd heard the salt one before, interesting...
The food service salesmen say Starbucks controls the beans, they actually do get the best beans...
The also own Seattles Best, and a buch of other higher end companies...


Really appreciate input, guys, Thanks!
 
I opt for plain jane coffee, along with varying creamer packets. Customer then can add their own flavor additive = specialty coffee @ a cheaper price.
 
Steve,

I just wanted to get into a little more depth than I was able to before.

If your focus is on quality brands at your concession then I would urge you to sell a high quality arabica coffee, too. In fact, I'd also suggest you put in an espresso machine, but that is just because I try to turn everything into an espresso cafe, lol!

Your space is at a premium and I am guessing your rent also includes a percentage of sales in addition to a flat monthly fee, so everything you sell has to have a good margin.

Like most of the Northwest, Sequim is a very sophisticated coffee market. People, even those patronizing a big box hardware store, like quality coffee here and they expect to pay for it.

I do not think in this market you will have a lot of added sales by featuring Big Green (Starbucks) so the extra cost there isn't helping you. In fact, the Northwest is somewhat anti-Starbucks and the nickname "Charbucks" originated here because of its preference for overroasting coffee to suit national taste standards--Northwest people tend to not adulterate coffee the way folks do in many other parts of the country, so darker, flavor-killing roasts are not preferred here.

I would look at a premium local brand like a Caffe D'arte or, better yet, find a quality local micro-roaster and negotiate a good per pound price. Part of your leverage would be that you will put his brand out in a high traffic area and that fact will appeal to him.

(BTW, I would avoid flavored creamers because those just mess with your food costs, thus cutting into your margins. Get 6-7 common flavoring syrups, like Torani brand or something similar, and charge ~.35 per flavor shot).

I also urge you to exercise caution in determining your brewing equipment. Consider brewing into airpots. You really need to avoid old-style brewing systems that keep the brewed coffee over direct heat. This method degrades (carbonizes) the brewed coffee VERY quickly and you really want to make sure you are not ever selling people carbonized coffee. I also recommend you get a grinder and grind FRESH each airpot you brew. Try to get your roaster to supply your equipment, I used to supply my clients with brewing equipment if they did a minimum pounds per month and used my coffee exclusivily. This is common industry practice.

Whatever you do, best of luck on your new venture, this sounds like an exciting opportunity!
 
Steve, I prefer my coffee to be Dark Roast with a full body taste, even with an extra shot of espresso in it...If the coffee is of good quality, the cost is generally not relevant...

For some reason the flavored coffees or the Latte's tend to sour my stomach....My wife, on the other hand, loves here flavored brews and we have two coffee pots for those situations...

The only coffee that I can drink with cream and sugar is good old Southern Chicory with real (off the farm) cream and raw sugar...

Keep in mind that I'm somewhat of a "Coffeeholic" to the point that I go to bed with a thermal cup on the bedside table...and I will brew a pot, without the warmer on and nuke it as needed throughout the day...
 
Originally Posted By: Stu Farish
I also have acid reflux. This means that a lot of coffees are too high in acid & kill me, Gavalia being one of them. They make top quality stuff, it just no longer agrees with my gut, LOL

I had the same problem. Coffee would eat me alive. Went to the Dr. and he prescribed Prilosec a few years ago. Thank goodness it's now available OTC. I buy the generic brand, OMEPRAZOLE which saves me a few bucks and works as well as Prilosec.

I haven't had any acid reflux for years. Great to be able to eat spicy, sweet stuff, and anything else that causes acid reflux.

My advice is to take care of the acid reflux before it causes cancer.
 
Thanks again, Guys, I'm taking everything in...

Matt, I really appreciate it.

It's funny, I knew NOTHING of micro-roasters, but I've been researching, and come to find out there's about 5 on the NOP, and one is about 600 yards from my house!

I saw, and really liked the brewers that drip right into the air pots. Almost planned on that, and probably will now.

Just for the consideration of Time/Motion Economy, I was going to grind at home, daily, the night before. But I might go with the grinding on site. We really have to determine how busy our staff (my wife) is going to be! How much difference 12 hours in a sealed tupper vs 1 minute??

I really have to balance, I want the coffee self-serve, and I want the staff (my wife) slinging food. The site is literally 200 yards from a Starbucks outlet, so we're not trying to compete with them (espresso machine), I just want GOOD coffee for a GOOD price on the fly-by.

OT, I think you're in a little bit of the minority. You'd probably like "Charbucks!" I'm hearing "medium roast" in alot of the response I'm getting... except for the 2 pots per day guys, most of whom seem to like it slightly weak (with only a handful of exceptions.)


Just trying to do ONE coffee, but as smart as I can!
 
I only go to sta-ba(what it's called here) when other people want to go, or we need to waste some time. The coffee is strong, and takes alot of other stuff to bring it down.

Thanks for the salt comment, I really appreciate it. I will try it out at school.

As for which to choose. I would start with the cheaper stuff, because people who go to a hardware store, with a sta-ba right down the street, aren't probably going to want to buy "premium" coffee from a stand if there is a national change down the street.
 


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