Chapter 2 – The Initial Approach

The Coffee Experience Chapter 2: The Initial Approach One common theme of the Branch Street Method™ is attention to detail.  If all of the details are not considered it can be difficult, if not impossible, to form a cohesive experience.  Every stage of this experience is made up of these elements, and with careful planning…

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Chapter 1 – First Impressions

The Coffee Experience Chapter 1: First Impressions In order to completely follow through with this guide, you first need to determine the spirit and personality that you are trying to project.  Is your coffeehouse modern, retro, fun, loud, classy, industrial, or quirky?  The design of your storefront is directly related to the experience you are…

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The Coffee Experience Introduction

The Coffee Experience at Branch Street Coffee Roasters At Branch Street Coffee Roasters, we believe that coffee can be so much more than an enjoyable drink.  We have gone through great lengths to design every aspect of our operation around the experience of the end user. Although having amazing coffee is important to any coffee…

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The True Beauty of Latte Art

When I first embarked on my career in coffee, my mentor had a deep aversion to latte art and the culture that promoted it.  His view was that he was no good at it, and the flavor of his coffee and milk was the most important part.  The drawing on the top of the drink…

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Interview with Matt the Owner

BIO OF YOUR UNIQUE LIFE Name  MATTHEW CAMPBELL   How you got into coffee I was first introduced to specialty coffee when a co-worker brought me a cup of freshly roasted Costa Rican from a newly opened shop near our job.  It was kind of an “aha” moment for me, realizing that coffee could be…

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How Does Your Coffee Rate?

Coffee is everywhere.  It is ingrained in our culture, and our daily lives.  From fast-food drive-through to your kitchen, chances are that you aren’t far from it. As part of Coffee Props, our main focus is on that small percentage of coffee that is considered “Specialty Coffee.” Specialty coffee is defined as the best of…

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Coffee Shop Water Chemistry

Branch Street Coffee Roasters Water Specs: Calcium: 80ppm Magnesium 25ppm Carbonate (KH) 55ppm This falls into the “Ideal” brew zone according to the “Water For Coffee” book. Making these changes to our water allowed us to dial in our roasts to the ideal water chemistry and make our offerings more approachable to our target market…

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Catching Waves

For the most part, as humans, we like to have structure and organization in our lives.  We categorize ourselves, each other and just about everything around us.  From periodic tables and flow charts, to filing cabinets and libraries, we keep it tidy.  Why would our coffee be any different? Third wave coffee.  We’ve all heard…

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Barista as a Career

Working in coffee as a barista has a certain romance to it.  Crafting drinks, getting to know regulars and hanging out in a cool, hip environment certainly has its draw.  As a barista, you are the center of attention, you orchestrate the experience of the guest, and you (hopefully) do it all in a cool…

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Automatic Home Brewers

One of the most frequent requests that we get involve recommendations for home auto-brewer machines. There are several things that go into a question like this, and many of them involve budget, desired features, size, and style. Many of our other blog posts deal with the components of making a great cup of coffee (grind,…

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