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Starting a Coffee Business
I keep bees and sell the honey at farmers markets, and I am saving to open a shop. This is the homework for the stage before the shop: a small coffee stall that one person can run from a ten-foot canopy. The Michigan rules, the roaster, the green coffee, hot water with no outlet, samples, iced coffee, honey in the cup, prices across mid-Michigan, the kit, the arithmetic, and nine printable reference cards.
The Plan From a honey table to a coffee stall: what it sells, the three stages, and what the research changed. Explore →
The Michigan Rules Bagged coffee needs no licence; a cup does. What that licence takes away, and the questions to ask before spending money. Explore →
Choosing a Roaster The Behmor is a learning machine by its own manual. The Bullet R2 and R2 Pro, compared in pounds per week and in volts. Explore →
Green Coffee and the Line-Up Which coffees forgive a beginner, what they cost today, how much to buy, and how long to rest a roast. Explore →
Bags, Labels and What a Bag Costs Valve bags, labels and the arithmetic: about $6 to $8 to make a bag that sells for $16 to $19. Explore →
Packaging Roasted Coffee What makes coffee go stale, what the one-way valve does, and plain answers on vacuum sealing, desiccant packs, oxygen absorbers, foil against kraft, ground coffee and the freezer. Explore →
Prices and Customers Twenty-five markets, thirteen roasters, twelve counties, and a starting price list for three kinds of market. Explore →
Sampling Brew ahead or brew live? Coffee holds three hours in a sealed airpot. Cups, a cupping table, and the rules. Explore →
Hot Water and Power An 858 Wh battery heats seven litres from cold, or keeps forty-eight hot. Propane, generators and the plan that needs no permission. Explore →
The Drinks Pour-over, press, phin and egg coffee, judged by what one person can make with a line waiting. And condensed milk cooked in the can. Explore →
Iced Coffee and Ice Home-made ice is not allowed; a big cube melts in warm coffee. Flash brew, and what to do with cold brew after the steep. Explore →
Honey in Coffee Why honey sinks in a cold drink, the syrup that fixes it, which honey suits which coffee, and drinks to test. Explore →
Cups, and Standing Out What every cup costs, and the cheapest way to make one the stall's own: a stamp and a wooden honey dipper. Explore →
Grinders For the stall, for customers and for a shop — and whether each coffee needs its own. Explore →
Gift Baskets Three baskets for someone buying a first grinder, and seven built on beans, honey and cups — with what Michigan allows in one. Explore →
The Stall Layout, kit and checklist for a ten-foot canopy, with the cookies, scones and jam that go beside the coffee. Explore →
The Numbers Start-up costs by stage, what a cup and a bag earn, and why the kind of licence decides whether cups pay. Explore →
The Equipment List Everything from scales to roasters: price, where to buy, and whether to buy it used. Explore →
Reference Cards Nine printable one-page charts: ratios, methods, roasts, beans, grinders, add-ins, syrups, honey and pastry pairings. Explore →
A Truck or Trailer The other way to sell at a market: what a vehicle changes, what it does not, what it costs, and where it fits in the plan. Explore →
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