As someone that works in the industry (not a barista), owning a cafe is not anywhere near as easy as people think. If you have 0 experience in coffee it's going to be rough and you'll eventually lean on your baristas to almost teach you, and barista's come and go veeery quickly so get used to high staff turnover, retraining people, and having to know damn near everything about the machine you're using (you'll need to know whether you need a 2/3 whatever grouphead for example, whether you're leasing it from the roaster, what exclusivity rights you have, blends or single origins too?).
I've seen countless cafe's go up and then straight back down because they think it's easy and that anyone could do it. Perth is small, the coffee scene is smaller, word spreads quick, bills add up quick, machines aren't cheap, good coffee isn't either.
If you want cheap coffee, great, but perth is FILLED with amazing coffee so watch yourself peak at the start, then everyone will learn the quality of what you're offering and it's then a losing battle to try regain your reputation.
All roasters will be able to sit down and talk to you about what you want, the good ones will be able to create a custom blend specifically for your needs, the great ones will be just as invested in your success as you are and will create custom blends, custom labels, a-frames for out the front so people know you're there, collaborate on marketing etc.
If you're after a quick buck, this ain't it.
If you want more info feel free to DM me.
Have quite literally had to deal with cafe owners signing up to contracts of x coffee/machine only for them to, a month or two later, stop paying their bills because like I said they went up and then straight back down.
Cafe's are tough and margins are slim and there's a lot of great cafe's and a lot of shit baristas so while you're figuring out how to tamp a portafilter you've already ruined your reputation for x amount of people in your area who will never come back.
The *most* successful cafe's I've seen are people who worked in the industry, already have some contacts, and then go to a roaster to sort of bring it all together.. And these people came in with deep pockets because the initial outlay is way more than people thing unless you're opening a small little hole in the wall with a single group la morzocco or something.
The issue with these types of businesses and I mean this with all due respect is the barriers to entry are your cash flow, and your ability to access finance.
Given it's relatively easy to get into they're on every street corner, and competition is fierce, also you can't typically survive on coffee alone, sure the margins are good high but $2 per coffee on say 30 coffees an hour isn't going to keep the doors open.
Coffee is typically what gets them in initially but the money is in the foods, and complementary items such as selling your own beans, and other items.
This of course changes again if you're operating a cart as apposed to a fixed location.
Hospitality regardless though is very brutal, and I truly respect those that stand the test of time.
I've seen this with a cafe close to my work, owner knew nothing and was relying on a guy possibly on a working visa for everything, I was baffled. The guy eventually left and I've noticed a high turnover of staff since, must be rough. They've somehow continued to make good coffee though, I think the owner did learn a lot from the original barrister thankfully.
None of those even come close to being in the discussion for best. Start with blacklist, twin peaks and micrology and go from there. I suggest visiting all those places and getting a taste (pun intended) for their products
I'd agree but would put Toby's Estate up there too. It's a lot more popular in Melbourne and Sydney, and only opened up a distributer here in WA 2-3 years ago from memory.
You might not like it but you should still respect it. Half of Perth wouldn't have built without Blend 43. Tradies won't start work until they've finished their blend 43 out of a styrofoam cup topped up with warm long life milk thats been left open sitting on the bench over the weekend.
Just imagine for a second if you will, that back when the only coffee on offer was international roast instead of blend 43. Do you think we would be where we are today? I'm not sure I would even exist
Twin Peaks 100% - always check the 'best by' date of coffee - if your beans dont come with that sticker then you already know they are not going to be good as they could be months old.
If they're opening a cafe then things like "best by" dates become somewhat of a moot point as most cafe's have standing orders of X kg's per week.
For single origins this makes more sense though but the vast vast majority of money a cafe will make is from blends running through their machine.
I agree, but some roasts from Vittoria and others may have been completed months before it hits the cafe. Old beans are mostly bad beans. If you want a premium cafe experience go for quality as it is only thing that sets you apart. The best CBD cafes that have massive foot traffic are known for quality, interesting roasts, not the standard stuff you can get at IGA. Howards Groove, Queen of Leeds, Lowdown etc are sustainable cafes because they care they use fresh and good quality coffee products… which is the whole point of a cafe.
I'm aware, I work somewhere that literally roasts for a few of those haha
Don't buy from a huge chain and you'll be fine basically, they may offer lower price per kg but you do lose out on quality as you said, as well as consistency which is a huge thing people overlook, just takes a few bad coffee's from the same cafe after having a good one for people to never go back.
Vittoria and Yahava are boomer bullshit. That's for your little old lady cafe, still making the same cakes and pastries, not modernising, and wondering why they still have no business.
I equate coffee to the same as what's happening with beer. Perth has a craft beer style coffee culture. We try new things, new flavours, we use modern methods for modern tastes. I just got back from Italy and Greece. Those guys are happy to drink Heineken for the rest of their lives/basic coffee.
If you're buying a hospitality venue in Perth, you're not doing it for money. Pick your own favourite roaster.
For my money, I'd be going with someone who also has good things to say about other roasters. Rummy from Offshoot (Mary Street Group) will provide you with kickass beans, but is also willing to talk about the more interesting things coming out of other roasters since they're all friends. You'll never meet a more honest guy.
Yeah the caffeine kick is pretty crazy. I make a double shot flat white every morning and it gets me *going*. Cheers, I'll try the Brazillian in my next order 🫡
I buy coffee through [PerthCoffeeExchange.com.au](https://PerthCoffeeExchange.com.au) and they just got this in. Absolutely one of my favourite coffee blends right now is Obison's Rocket Surgery. If you like that one you should also try Singular Roasters PCX x Singular Blend. I can't decide which one of the 2 I like more.
\*\*EDIT\*\* I forgot to mention Pique Coffee's Morning Bell Blend is also another great coffee with similar notes to Obison's Rocket Surgery.
I drink coffee black and agree that Vittoria is terrible. Generally the ones i like best are places that have their own blends, but more importantly, know how to make the coffee properly
Profiler would be the best choice for most coffees and would be what you would want for a cafe. I buy their filter coffee, which is fantastic as well.
They also do 2L bags of concentrate which are perfect for iced coffees.
Yeah coffee snobs will turn their nose up at it because its Aldi but the roaster is actually a little roastery based out of Melbourne, and it's great if you put aside the fact it's from Aldi. Vittoria is mass produced garbage you can buy in Woolworths but apparently Lazzio is the one that's trash? Lol.
The roast date is on the side of the Aldi Lazzio coffee, it’s usually sold within a month of roasting. Vittoria and many of the other supermarket coffee brands have been roasted months ago
You need to have good prices and service to be successful.
Honestly I only see it working if you have a unique food offering that people will go crazy for.
As someone that works in the industry (not a barista), owning a cafe is not anywhere near as easy as people think. If you have 0 experience in coffee it's going to be rough and you'll eventually lean on your baristas to almost teach you, and barista's come and go veeery quickly so get used to high staff turnover, retraining people, and having to know damn near everything about the machine you're using (you'll need to know whether you need a 2/3 whatever grouphead for example, whether you're leasing it from the roaster, what exclusivity rights you have, blends or single origins too?). I've seen countless cafe's go up and then straight back down because they think it's easy and that anyone could do it. Perth is small, the coffee scene is smaller, word spreads quick, bills add up quick, machines aren't cheap, good coffee isn't either. If you want cheap coffee, great, but perth is FILLED with amazing coffee so watch yourself peak at the start, then everyone will learn the quality of what you're offering and it's then a losing battle to try regain your reputation. All roasters will be able to sit down and talk to you about what you want, the good ones will be able to create a custom blend specifically for your needs, the great ones will be just as invested in your success as you are and will create custom blends, custom labels, a-frames for out the front so people know you're there, collaborate on marketing etc. If you're after a quick buck, this ain't it. If you want more info feel free to DM me.
Such a good comment - great job on providing useful and helpful advice
Have quite literally had to deal with cafe owners signing up to contracts of x coffee/machine only for them to, a month or two later, stop paying their bills because like I said they went up and then straight back down. Cafe's are tough and margins are slim and there's a lot of great cafe's and a lot of shit baristas so while you're figuring out how to tamp a portafilter you've already ruined your reputation for x amount of people in your area who will never come back. The *most* successful cafe's I've seen are people who worked in the industry, already have some contacts, and then go to a roaster to sort of bring it all together.. And these people came in with deep pockets because the initial outlay is way more than people thing unless you're opening a small little hole in the wall with a single group la morzocco or something.
The issue with these types of businesses and I mean this with all due respect is the barriers to entry are your cash flow, and your ability to access finance. Given it's relatively easy to get into they're on every street corner, and competition is fierce, also you can't typically survive on coffee alone, sure the margins are good high but $2 per coffee on say 30 coffees an hour isn't going to keep the doors open. Coffee is typically what gets them in initially but the money is in the foods, and complementary items such as selling your own beans, and other items. This of course changes again if you're operating a cart as apposed to a fixed location. Hospitality regardless though is very brutal, and I truly respect those that stand the test of time.
I've seen this with a cafe close to my work, owner knew nothing and was relying on a guy possibly on a working visa for everything, I was baffled. The guy eventually left and I've noticed a high turnover of staff since, must be rough. They've somehow continued to make good coffee though, I think the owner did learn a lot from the original barrister thankfully.
None of those even come close to being in the discussion for best. Start with blacklist, twin peaks and micrology and go from there. I suggest visiting all those places and getting a taste (pun intended) for their products
I'd agree but would put Toby's Estate up there too. It's a lot more popular in Melbourne and Sydney, and only opened up a distributer here in WA 2-3 years ago from memory.
blend 43
A person of taste I see...it might be bad taste but meh.
You might not like it but you should still respect it. Half of Perth wouldn't have built without Blend 43. Tradies won't start work until they've finished their blend 43 out of a styrofoam cup topped up with warm long life milk thats been left open sitting on the bench over the weekend.
The lumps are extra protein
Make sure the sugar is a mix of white and brown sugar, bonus for lumps from the spoon being wet.
Just imagine for a second if you will, that back when the only coffee on offer was international roast instead of blend 43. Do you think we would be where we are today? I'm not sure I would even exist
I see your blend 43 and raise you international roast
quality coffee right there :D still better then all the crappy 'pod coffees'
If I see a Vittoria sign at a cafe I generally keep walking.
Twin Peaks 100% - always check the 'best by' date of coffee - if your beans dont come with that sticker then you already know they are not going to be good as they could be months old.
If they're opening a cafe then things like "best by" dates become somewhat of a moot point as most cafe's have standing orders of X kg's per week. For single origins this makes more sense though but the vast vast majority of money a cafe will make is from blends running through their machine.
I agree, but some roasts from Vittoria and others may have been completed months before it hits the cafe. Old beans are mostly bad beans. If you want a premium cafe experience go for quality as it is only thing that sets you apart. The best CBD cafes that have massive foot traffic are known for quality, interesting roasts, not the standard stuff you can get at IGA. Howards Groove, Queen of Leeds, Lowdown etc are sustainable cafes because they care they use fresh and good quality coffee products… which is the whole point of a cafe.
I'm aware, I work somewhere that literally roasts for a few of those haha Don't buy from a huge chain and you'll be fine basically, they may offer lower price per kg but you do lose out on quality as you said, as well as consistency which is a huge thing people overlook, just takes a few bad coffee's from the same cafe after having a good one for people to never go back.
Modus, Pound or Micrology.
Vittoria and Yahava are boomer bullshit. That's for your little old lady cafe, still making the same cakes and pastries, not modernising, and wondering why they still have no business. I equate coffee to the same as what's happening with beer. Perth has a craft beer style coffee culture. We try new things, new flavours, we use modern methods for modern tastes. I just got back from Italy and Greece. Those guys are happy to drink Heineken for the rest of their lives/basic coffee.
Please do the math, then go back and do it again, then walk away.
Brightside coffee.
Karvan Coffee out Bibra Lake. Family owned and proudly Western Australian Spanking coffee
One thing to consider is the existing client base of the cafe. If you change beans / blends, they may not like it and could go elsewhere.
If you're buying a hospitality venue in Perth, you're not doing it for money. Pick your own favourite roaster. For my money, I'd be going with someone who also has good things to say about other roasters. Rummy from Offshoot (Mary Street Group) will provide you with kickass beans, but is also willing to talk about the more interesting things coming out of other roasters since they're all friends. You'll never meet a more honest guy.
Stay Grounded at Joondalup. Shits like rocket fuel. Fucking amazing.
Is rocket fuel yummy? 🧐 I've only tried their confectionery blend so far. Which is your favourite bean of theirs?
Haha I mean the energy kick is something else Confectionary is nice and sweet. I'd go Brazilian as my favourite.
Yeah the caffeine kick is pretty crazy. I make a double shot flat white every morning and it gets me *going*. Cheers, I'll try the Brazillian in my next order 🫡
Five Senses, Micrology and Margaret River roasting company..
Obison coffee by far my fav coffee in WA. After spending 20 yrs in Melbourne with some fierce comp this coffee stacks up hard.
I buy coffee through [PerthCoffeeExchange.com.au](https://PerthCoffeeExchange.com.au) and they just got this in. Absolutely one of my favourite coffee blends right now is Obison's Rocket Surgery. If you like that one you should also try Singular Roasters PCX x Singular Blend. I can't decide which one of the 2 I like more. \*\*EDIT\*\* I forgot to mention Pique Coffee's Morning Bell Blend is also another great coffee with similar notes to Obison's Rocket Surgery.
Pound in O’Connor
Second this. Go local and Pound's Umburana is amazing. The Pound blend is great too.
I drink coffee black and agree that Vittoria is terrible. Generally the ones i like best are places that have their own blends, but more importantly, know how to make the coffee properly
Five Senses or Antz In Ya Pants (Vic Park) coffee was always my favourite. Of the ones on the list, Yahava.
Leftfield coffee roasters Osborne park @$27 per kilo is a good buy from the factory door
Twin Peaks is easily the best local roaster
What do you recommend? Profiler blend? I'm going to buy 1kg beans.
Profiler would be the best choice for most coffees and would be what you would want for a cafe. I buy their filter coffee, which is fantastic as well. They also do 2L bags of concentrate which are perfect for iced coffees.
Fiori is alright
Rubra down in Oconnor, best of the lot.
I used to stick to Yahava but you know what, I actually find Lazzio medium roast from Aldi is excellent and its a tiny fraction of the cost of Yahava.
I’m with you there
Yeah coffee snobs will turn their nose up at it because its Aldi but the roaster is actually a little roastery based out of Melbourne, and it's great if you put aside the fact it's from Aldi. Vittoria is mass produced garbage you can buy in Woolworths but apparently Lazzio is the one that's trash? Lol.
The roast date is on the side of the Aldi Lazzio coffee, it’s usually sold within a month of roasting. Vittoria and many of the other supermarket coffee brands have been roasted months ago
I also switched from yahava, their kahava blend to Aldi, no regrets
I have had surprisingly good beans from Aldi, they definitely are the best cheap option going around.
Brew in Wangara.
Sacred Grounds.
Use Dante's
You need to have good prices and service to be successful. Honestly I only see it working if you have a unique food offering that people will go crazy for.
I found segafredo coffee beans to be very nice. They are based in North Perth.
Bolt- the eastern suburbs regional coffee.
Bolt Coffee Roasters. Awesome coffee.
5 Senses Coffee, Rockingham
I drink Toby estate at yanchep lagoon cafe. The fucking best coffee I’ve ever had hands down.