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7 Tips For Selling More Merchandise At Your Coffee Shop

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Running a coffee shop isn’t your typical retail business. Everyone involved in owning or managing their own cafe knows the struggles of inventory, marketing, staff, overhead… the list goes on. Merchandising isn’t a core part of the cafe business, but it can really add some revenue to your balance sheet if done the right way. We’ve discovered a few secrets along the way that we wanted to share with you, the aspiring or current cafe owner/manager!

Know your Customer Base

This is arguably the most important part of the entire equation. Coffee shops can sell a lot of different merchandise, but what will your specific customers want to buy? Will it be CDs near the register, Starbucks-style? Perhaps some custom mugs with your brand on them? You need to know what your customers are interested in purchasing before you can narrow down which merchandise to sell.

Define Your Identify

Every coffee shop has a bit of local flavor that ends up influencing the vibe that customers perceive. Defining this unique identify and owning it is the next step towards taking your merchandising efforts to the next level. At Derby Joe, we love music. Our customers love music. Random passerby love music. So we set up a record shop in store for guests to browse an amazing selection of vinyls while enjoying their coffee or cold brew. You have to know who you are before you can sell yourself to someone else.

Come Up With a Plan

Making money selling merchandise is not something that happens overnight. You need to have a plan and know the basics before you even start stocking product. Do your research, come up with your business plan, pick out your first products to sell, estimate your costs/revenue/profits, and only then can you really move forward successfully.

Small and Cheap Up Front

Take a hint from all the retail and big box stores and display small items like candy, mints, cookies, cds, books, etc. up front on the counter. Guests love to pick up these small items and they usually are a cheap/easy way to make a few extra bucks!

Variety is the Spice of Life

Don’t be afraid to try out different products during your merchandising journey. There are so many to test out, including bags of branded coffee, t-shirts, hoodies, decals, travel mugs, ceramic mugs, etc. You never know what might become a hit with your loyal fan base.

Watch Out For the Sales

Some companies try to make money by constantly advertising sales. But that usually just makes customers wait to buy until the price is even lower. Don’t have extended sale periods or gimmicky price schemes. Set a price that you can make revenue from and stick to it.

Keep Things Fresh

Customers get used to seeing the same thing when they come into your cafe. Vary the display/positioning of your merchandise in order to slip past their blind spots and back into their minds! If you are selling high-quality merchandise, your customers won’t mind seeing it displayed prominently.

What tips do you have for other cafe owners or managers? Share with the rest of us in the comments!

5 Reasons We Can’t Get Enough Cold Brew Coffee

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Cold brew coffee is everywhere right now. Every single coffee shop, cafe, and coffee-serving restaurant seems to have cold brew on their list of offerings Derby Joe has been serving cold brew for as long as any of them because we’re totally hooked to the stuff. This is one of the rare occasions where the popularity actually matches the quality of the product. Don’t believe us? Come in and try some for yourself!

Here are the 9 reasons the staff of Derby Joe can’t get enough cold brew.

It’s Not Just Expensive Iced Coffee

Way too many people will try to tell you that cold brew is the same thing as iced coffee. To that, we say FALSE! Cold brew is completely different from iced coffee, starting in the way that it’s brewed. Cold brew is (you guessed it) brewed cold, or at least brewed at room temperature. Either way, there is no heat involved. Iced coffee, on the other hand, is typically brewed hot, and then refrigerated or poured over ice.

It Tastes Better

The main benefit of drinking cold brew over iced coffee is in the taste. Cold brew is never heated to the extreme temperatures it takes to make coffee the traditional way. This process retains the flavor profile of the coffee beans while preventing the development of a bitterness or burnt taste that some coffees may take on.

Easy and Cheap to Make at Home

All you need to make cold brew is coarse ground coffee, a container with a proper filter, water, and around 18-24 hours. It’s not the quickest process but it takes zero effort beyond dumping coffee in a filter and pouring water over it. Store it in the fridge and you’ll have a fresh batch of cold brew in a day (or sooner if you prefer a lighter brew). Once brewed, remove the coffee and filter to enjoy over ice. Cold brew will stay fresh in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

It Has More of the Good Stuff

Cold brew has more caffeine than regular coffee because it’s never subject to extreme heat. The typical brewing process cooks off some of that life-saving caffeine. By brewing your coffee at low temperatures for an extended period of time, you’ll get all the caffeine that your favorite coffee has to offer.

No More Stomach Pains

Coffee is highly acidic and can cause some people to have serious stomach problems. Cold brew has a lower acid content due to the gentle brewing process. It is more gentle on your stomach, especially if you have a tasty pastry or bialy at the same time.

There’s no reason to stick to drinking iced coffee now that you can get cold brew almost anywhere. Come by Derby Joe if you are looking to try the best cold brew and we guarantee you’ll be asking for more! The extra caffeine kick alone makes it worth it, so the smooth, full flavor is just a cherry on top. Let us know what you think of our cold brew next time you’re at Derby Joe – we’re pretty proud of everything we serve to our loyal Salem community.

Know Your Roasts: From Light to Dark and Every Shade in Between

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The Different Types of Coffee Roasts: A Guide

Everyone has a favorite coffee roast. Perhaps you prefer the tangy and floral flavors of light roast, or maybe you’re more into the bold and toasty flavors of dark roast. Or maybe you like to keep it basic and fill up on the classic, balanced medium roast (no judgement, it’s popular for a reason).  Whatever your preference, there’s a perfect cup of joe out there for you and everyone else. All you have to do is try out a few to find your favorite and that’s definitely the best part – because who doesn’t love having yet another excuse to drink some coffee?

The amount of roasting that a coffee bean undergoes prior to grinding affects every aspect of a its flavor, texture, and appearance. Prior to roasting, coffee beans are soft, light green morsels extracted from the red cherries of the coffee plant (yes, coffee beans are actually seeds). Once they have been washed, dried, and removed from their parchment-like hull, the green beans are roasted and become, well, coffee.

The Color of Success

Coffee beans are typically described in terms of their color. Lighter beans have a lighter brown color, and darker beans, well, you probably get the picture. To get a batch of coffee beans to a specific level of roast relies on two factors: temperature and time. Coffee roasters are experts at knowing when to “drop” their roast, which stops the process completely once the coffee has been roasted to the desired level.

Identifying roast by color alone is almost impossible for all but the most experienced coffee aficionado.This is the kind of information that an expert coffee roaster might be less inclined to share because it really makes all of the difference in the end. Once a roaster discovers the perfect temperature and time for a particular bean, they are going to hold onto that combination like a bar of gold. Because for them, it’s just as valuable!

Light Roasts

Light roast coffees are the lightest in color compared to other roasts, as you probably could have guessed. They have little to no oil on the surface of the bean, leaving them more dull-looking than their darker counterparts.

Light roasts tend to have a brighter taste than other coffees, with a higher level of acidity. Many people aren’t aware of this, but light roasts have the highest caffeine content due to the shorter roasting process. If you want to roast your own coffee to a perfect light flavor, aim for an internal temperature of 356°F – 401°F. The “first crack” happens when the beans split and expand, which should happen right around 401°F ( a roast dropped at the first crack is also known as a New England Roast).

Some other common light roast coffees include Light City, Half City, and Cinnamon Roast, all of which occur before the first crack.

Medium Roasts

Medium roasted coffee is roasted to an internal temperature of 410°F and 428°F. Medium roasts also have no oil on the surface, but provide a more balanced flavor and richer aroma than light roast coffee. The longer roasting time allows more flavor to develop in the beans, bringing out more tasting notes specific to the regions in which the beans are grown. The caffeine content in medium roasts is slightly decreased, but retains more than dark roast coffee.

Examples of medium roasts include After Dinner Roast, Vienna Roast, and Full-City Roast.

Dark Roast

Dark roast coffees are definitely more hyped up compared to medium and light roasts. The beans themselves appear dark and oily, and they retain less of the original flavors of that particular coffee bean. Due to a high roasting temperature (,464°F to 480°F) dark roast coffee can taste especially bitter, smoky, and sometimes even burnt. Contrary to popular belief, dark roasts have the least amount of caffeine.

The most popular types of dark roast you can find on the store shelves include Espresso Roast, Continental Roast, Spanish Roast, Italian Roast, and French Roast.

What’s your favorite coffee roast? Let us know next time you stop by Derby Joe and don’t forget to leave a review if you love our coffee!

How To Make Cold Brew Coffee at Home

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With the summer in full swing, it’s time to break out the iced drinks are get our refreshment on. There’s no better way to perk up and get your daily caffeine kick than with a chilled cup of cold brew coffee. The first time I had cold brew, I was hooked right away. It’s not watery or bitter like regular iced coffee can be because the coffee is never heated. It is literally brewed cold, hence the name! It’s a simple technique that coffee shops across the world are now using to serve up this tasty beverage to their coffee-loving customers.

Did you know that you can also make cold brew at home? If you don’t have time to stop by Derby Joe for a cup of our fantastic cold brew, making your own is the next best option. It’s a basic formula and just a few easy steps. It all starts with cold, filtered water, coarse coffee grounds, and 18-24 hours of brewing time.

There are several “home cold brew coffee makers” out there. They are all variations on the same theme. The coarsely-ground coffee is left to brew in cold water for a long period of time. Each invention provides a way to strain out the ground coffee at the end, and each promises to be more convenient than the last. Luckily, you don’t have to worry about all that. All you really need are some coffee filters, a bowl, a large mason jar or glass container with a lid, ground coffee, and cold, filtered water.

  1. Grind your coffee on the coarsest setting, whether using a home grinder or at the store. You don’t want anything too fine or you’ll end up with swirls of grimy coffee clouds in your delicious iced beverage.
  2. Grab a large mason jar or glass receptacle (make sure it has a lid!). Add your coffee grinds into the bottom, using an 1:8 ratio of coffee-to-water. Cover with your cold water and fill to the top.
  3. Stir the mixture gently until the grounds are well-combined with the water. Leave it on the counter or stick it in the fridge for approximately 18-24 hours.
  4. Once your coffee is brewed, use coffee strainers to sift out the larger grounds. You can use the leftovers for mulch, compost, or dozens of other things. Strain back into the jar, now free of all those coarse coffee grinds.
  5. Repeat the straining process a few times to remove any solids from your home-brewed coffee. Don’t worry if a small amount of coffee is left at the bottom – simply grind it more coarsely next time.
  6. Add some ice and milk/sugar if you like and your homemade cold brew is ready for you and your family to enjoy!

What’s your favorite icy beverage to quench your thirst in the summer heat? Share with us and stop by Derby Joe to try out all of our delicious iced coffee and cold brew drinks!

What Does Fair Trade Actually Mean?

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Organic, Non-GMO, Sustainable, Farm-Raised, Free-Range… terms like these can often be pretty confusing for the average consumer. Some of these are simply marketing buzzwords, meant to entice you into buying a specific product, and some are legitimate designations that carry weight in the food industry. So let’s consider one designation imperative to the coffee industry: Fair Trade.

The Benefits

Fair trade products must be produced without the use of forced labor, and with wellness checks on the actual working conditions. No genetically modified crops or those raised through unsustainable methods may be labeled as Fair Trade. In order to entice farmers to grow their crops in this manner, there is a set floor price for Fair Trade goods. This means that the farmers are guaranteed to sell them for a certain amount of money, no matter what.

The most common Fair Trade goods are cocoa, bananas, tea, sugar, and of course – coffee.

Fair Trade is also good for the environment because the goods cannot be made using harmful agricultural techniques that have become common in some countries. Farmers that want to be certified must follow the proper guidelines in disposing of waste, reforesting, and conserving as much water as possible.

The Relationship Between Grower and Consumer

Fair Trade also ensures that the consumers of the coffee have a connection to the growers. Any coffee shop serving Fair Trade coffee also tend to know the countries and regions their coffee is coming from. Small farms are able to succeed and expand because of these key relationships, and Fair Trade ensures that the product is second-to-none.

These days we are seeing more certified Fair Trade coffee than ever before. But the U.S. still lags behind on overall money spent on Fair Trade goods (which is definitely something we need to work on). Individuals can up their own Fair Trade purchases, but larger businesses and corporations also need to embrace it for Fair Trade to really scale up.

Starbucks now sells a few Fair Trade coffees, and soon they hope to add even more to the menu. Companies like this that serve millions of cups of coffee a day can really make a difference in the lives of these Fair Trade farmers.

The Difficulties

Fair Trade is an amazing system, but not a perfect one. In order to facilitate the Fair Trade certification process, farms are allowed to submit themselves as a “producer network.” They are then analyzed together, rather than as separate farms so some less-than-perfect producers may slip under the ropes. The vast majority of Fair Trade coffee comes from reputable, hard-working farmers in the proper climates across the globe. So you don’t have to worry about getting a subpar product when buying something labeled Fair Trade.

What do you think about Fair Trade certified products? Do you think it’s worth trying to go out of your way to buy them? Let us know in the comments!