Do you ever stop to think about the factors involved in something you do everyday? I’m a self-diagnosed coffee addict and it’s taken me far too long to come up with a list.
When Sean posed the question "what do you look for in a new local coffee establishment" I started brewing my thoughts on this.
As fate would have it, I have recently moved and had to search for my new local.
The factors that play into my deciding where I get my coffee are (in order of most important to least):
Great Coffee
This is most oblivious and most important element - Is the coffee good? Nothing will redeem an average or poor coffee. I don't care about the rest of the items on this list, if you can't pass the basic hurdle of a coffee that makes me smile - it's not likely I'll be back. What goes into a good/great coffee? Beans, Machine, Barista. These are what I think are the core elements that make a great coffee.
Speed of making Coffee
The second element that will often make me decide if I'll go to a cafe or not is how long the baristas take to make a coffee. I'm going to sound like a wanker for this, but if your cafe makes coffees one at a time, and/or gets overwhelmed when 3 people have ordered - then I'm usually going to think twice about going there. Good baristas know how to efficiently churn our coffees, and good cafes know that during rush times it'll pay to have one staff working the beans/coffee and another doing milk & completing orders. I've noticed that the best cafes in Sydney have two staff making coffees when it's peak hour.
Almond Milk brand
This seems trivial at first, but my wife will only have Milk Lab almond milk. Almond Breeze is too sweet for her. This plays a deciding factor because I'm never going to make two trips to different cafes if I'm grabbing both of us coffee.
Perhaps it's a little jaded to say - but I find that cafes that take their coffee seriously stock Milk Lab.
Ability to order via App?
This'll be a bit of contentious view, but I LOVE when a cafe has online ordering via HEY YOU or some other mechanism. There are days where I don't have the time to hang around waiting for a possible delay in my coffee coming out - and in those mornings, when minutes matter, I desperately need a coffee to start my day. Ordering ahead means I can swoop in, grab my coffee, and race off. I'll preference an APP cafe over a non-app cafe often.
Great Service
Friendly and attentive staff are always a draw. It doesn't have to be complex, a simple smile and polite manners (basic customer service) are easy wins. Cafes that stand out to me often have staff that know my name, & usual order.
How busy they are
Whenever you are looking in a new area I gravitate to where the queues and patrons are. Granted, this might be a symptom of a slow barista, but often busy/popular cafes are packed for a good reason (it’s good).
Appearance/Tidiness of cafe
Not as overly important, but plays a factor. If the coffee area is a disaster, looks chaotic, then I'm going to question what’s going on.
Reviews/Ratings
If I'm completely out of my element or in a brand new place, I'll resort to checking online reviews (google review, bean hunter, yelp/zomato maybe).
Remote Work Friendly (Powerpoints/Wifi).
As a remote worker/someone who works from the road a lot, I really appreciate when a cafe has power outlets, enough space to allow for people to work. I'm always aware of amount of seating and how busy the cafe is, you never sit at a spot for too long if it's packed or there are customers that will likely order a larger meal. I always ask the staff when I'm ordering a coffee if it's ok to work. Free Wifi is a bonus.
I’d be curious to see if any of these resonated with other people.
Also, flattery via Coffee Art was a heart warming surprise!