Opening a Coffee Shop - 8 Weeks On!

It's been a whirlwind couple of months since we opened our coffee shop on November 11th! We've had a busy Christmas and New Year's, and now that things have calmed down a bit in January, we're excited to share an update on everything that's been happening both at the Brew Bar and the Roastery. If you've not seen our YouTube channel yet then head over and subscribe to follow our journey each step of the way!

Dialling In the Perfect Cup

Every morning at the Brew Bar, we start by "dialling in" our coffees. We're passionate about specialty coffee, both in the beans we roast and the drinks we serve. Our coffee shop serves as our showroom, and we strive to offer the absolute best representation of our coffee.

Dialling in involves a few key steps. We weigh the coffee coming out of the grinder to ensure accuracy, then pull shots and check not only the weight but, more importantly, the taste. We also use a refractometer to measure the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and calculate the extraction percentage (you can use an online tool like this one for the calculation). We aim for the sweet spot of 18-22% extraction, as recommended by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). This ensures a perfectly balanced and flavourful cup.

Brew Bar Buzz

Since opening, the Brew Bar has been doing better than we'd hoped for, we've just been absolutely thrilled by the positive reception from the community.

One of the biggest surprises has been the volume of coffee beans we've sold. In just eight and a half weeks, we've sold approximately 170 bags of coffee in the coffee shop alone!

We've also served around 6,575 coffee drinks, averaging 774 per week. Our most popular choices are lattes (37%), cappuccinos (18%), flat whites (18%), and long blacks/Americanos (14%). Interestingly, tea sales have been lower than expected, making up only a small percentage of our orders.

Roastery Growth

The roastery has also seen significant growth. Our online orders have increased dramatically since opening the coffee shop.

We've processed 109 online orders in the past eight weeks, a 203% increase compared to the same period last year, and a 49% increase compared to the eight weeks leading up to our coffee shop opening. This clearly demonstrates the positive impact of having a physical location and showroom for our brand.

We're excited to see what the future holds, especially in January and February, which were challenging months for us last year. We're hopeful that the momentum from the coffee shop and online growth will carry us through.

We'd love to hear from you! What questions do you have about our coffee shop, roastery, or our coffee? Let us know in the comments below, and we'll do our best to answer them. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to sharing more updates with you soon!