Teresa, we don't do the roasting ourselves, but we do bring in green coffee and outsource the roasting to a local guy. Then we do our own blend. I'd really like to roast in house, but don't want to personally be incharge of that aspect of the business.

Thanks! And cheers to you! It's all about the coffee!

Ah! Merci beaucoup, madame!
c'etais une grande plaisir.
~OR~
thank you very much, it was a great pleasure.
hope to see you in our neck of the woods again sometime!

Hola teresa! Well im glad you had a good time at the barista jam, it was lots of fun. Well hopefully you do get in the coffee industry full time soon, so you can pratice all the latte art you want, well it was very nice to meet yoo. If you ever in holland, make sure you stop by jps.

Hey teresa,
It was good to meet you at Barista jam as well!
I hope that your journey as a barista continues to be amazing!

Hey Teresa,

Good to see you in Holland. Cathy is with a "C." Feel free to stop out sometime when you are cruising up US-23. We are at the Fenton exit (Silver Lake Rd.) make a left and head west for about 4-5 miles. We are in downtown Linden just north on the corner in town. I work mornings during the week and Saturday afternoons usually after noon. Cathy does the lunch weekdays and mornings on the weekends. Keep the dream alive and stay in touch. - Dan

Hi Teresa,

We would love for you to visit sometime. Like I posted we are open from 10 am- 3 pm every saturday.

But if your in or near Grand Rapids during the week feel free to call most weekdays we are roasting.

Cya soon

hey teresa..please keep in touch! It sounds like you are doing things the right way. I don't regret getting into this slowly and soaking up as much as I could beforehand. I think you are so smart to do it that way, too. You will do great when you are ready to go!

we do simple, fresh lunches...panini with creative ingredients, several mixed green salads. soup, and quiche. We are trying to keep it simple and fresh. We add things to the menu as specials and if the people like them, we keep them, if not, they're gone the next week! Lunch is a big thing at our place, we get the downtown business people and the ladies.

hey teresa! The coffeehouse thing has been a longtime dream of mine, and is a second (or third or fourth) career for me. I am so happy I went for it. Honestly, my employees and I practiced for a good 2 months before even opening our doors steaming milk and making shots. I wanted to be sure we were serving the best product from the start. It wasnt until we were open for a few weeks and I was standing behind the bar serving drink after drink that I found that elusive sweet spot with milk steaming and have been able to get it right pretty consistently since then. ANd then the latte art stuff comes naturally with proper steaming. Its practice and learning from people who are good. I have trained at our roaster's (intelligentsia) and at ABC School in portland. I am planning a trip in Feb to new york for more training with some staff just to keep up with it. Its addictive, and my manager and i have discovered our competitive natures and really try to one up each other, in a good way of course, so that keeps us both driven to succeed!! Go for it, you will be great, you seem very interested and excited about it! Please feel free to ask anything, anytime.

More profitable would be the Espresso Catering because its less of a startup & better profit plus when you book an event, you are guaranteed that amount you quote. When you book a festival with your concession trailer, you never know what you are going to sell...although usually you do sell alot more but sometimes weather can kill you. Or fees. But also, you have to basically have at least 1 catering gig every weekend to make any money since you dont usually get more than 1 wedding a week (sometimes timing works out that you can cater 2 weddings in 1 day & occasionally you do have weekday business catering). The hardest thing about both, is booking gigs. If you dont find a festival or party to cater this weekend, you dont make a penny. So I spend alot of time looking for festivals to book & trying to figure out if they are worth doing. I have done shows that I've actually lost money after paying the booth fees, product & payroll. But I've also done festivals that have done 5000.00 in 2 or 3 days. But, you do have alot more money to put into a Concessions business (although you can start easy & build your way up). I would actually suggest starting out with a single head espresso machine on a cart. Find something simple that looks good & can handle the crowds. Then get a good blender (of course, we're getting into colder weather so you might be able to hold off till warmer weather for that). Get a coffee maker & some good signage (banners, etc). Spend some money on a good 10x10 tent (not an EZup. Try to get something good) And start finding some festivals that you can sell coffee & cappuccinos at. Grow your menu from there. You've got the cart & espresso machine so make sure you let people know they can hire you for catering weddings, parties, etc. I once did a festival and had someone come up to me asking about catering a dinner party. A week later I found myself setup at a State Representatives house serving Cappuccinos to politicians, VIPs, & watching President Bush 50 feet in front of me give a speech for the 100 people in the house. You never know what you will get out of a festival. But make sure they know you offer catering. Then try to book into some local Bridal Shows & sample your drinks to future brides & try to book some weddings. Weddings are the biggest parties for coffee bars. Id be glad to help you out any way I can.

Sorry for the delay - We don't have a system that runs on a mac but the OS should not matter. Really you are looking at how well the software works for you. Carts are kind of tricky - sometimes POS makes a ton of sense and for other people, it can be overkill - it depends on your volume and some other factors. When you have a chance, give me a call and I can explain in more depth!

Hi Teresa,
I thought I'd say hi! When you get around to looking at POS systems, give me a call.
Mike@SelbySoft.com
800-454-4434

Sounds quite a trip you have planned! I am looking forward to seeing the photos and hearing the stories that you will bring back with you. The beauty of bx is it brings like minded coffee people together so we can share these experiences almost as easily as if we sitting around a table in a cafe exchanging ideas.

It is for sure still on the books. I have a visit to HK as well as Italy lined up in November, just depends on how a number of other things pan out in the interim. Would love to meet up and have the chance to experience an insiders expertise into the best coffee in MI. Lets keep in touch over the next 5 weeks, by which time I think I will know for sure if I can make it or not.

Hey Teresa, thanks for the comment. Yes we do it all... pretty from tree to cup! Actually in many cases we are involved even before the trees are there. Its hard work, but super rewarding. Might be over your way around Christmas time. My bro-in-law works just outside Detroit, I owe him a visit.

It's a trade off. You don't have to work a permanent job with him when you're done, but you do pay. I think ABC costs similar but it's 6 days.

One thing to note about Mike, he is extremely generous. When he says 20 days, he means a month (if you think four five day work weeks. But you'll work 6 or 7 days a week). I did the barista and roaster apprenticeship together for "20 days" and was there 6 weeks. I'm almost positive you could negotiate for lower though, just don't tell him I said that. They also feed you breakfast and lunch if you want it, his wife Adele is a great cook.

Just send Mike (the owner) an email at havecoffee@gmail.com and tell him what you're looking for. You can also see his website and what he offers. http://www.crossroadscafepana.com/
I was there about 6 weeks. It was an incredible experience well worth the time and money.