Which pays off more for a cafe - a killer espresso machine or a top notch coffee roaster relationship?

I'm 6 months into running my little shop in Silver Lake and I'm at a fork in the road. I scraped together about $8k from savings. Option A is upgrading from my entry level machine to something like a La Marzocco that'll pull shots way more consistent. Option B is flying out to meet a specialty roaster in Portland that I've been buying beans from online, locking in a wholesale deal that might give me better pricing and exclusivity. I already went with Option A and dropped the cash on the machine. Shots are smoother now, but my regulars aren't really noticing the difference as much as I hoped. Meanwhile, my bean cost is still eating my margins. Did I make the wrong move here? Anyone else had to pick between gear and supply chain and regret it?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan_roberts491mo ago

You said "my regulars aren't really noticing the difference as much as I hoped" which pretty much answers your own question. A top notch roaster relationship gives you lower costs and something unique to sell, while a shiny machine only helps if your customers actually care about tiny shot quality changes. Your margin problem is still your margin problem, and that Portland trip probably would have paid for itself by the end of the year.

blair_dixon1mo ago

Oh yeah @rowan_roberts49 hit it on the head right there. I spent way too much on a fancy espresso setup last year and my regulars literally could not tell the difference (they just said "tastes good" like always). That trip to meet roasters or attend a workshop would have been way more useful in the long run, both for costs and for something interesting to talk about with customers.

danielr941mo ago

Wait, you actually dropped serious cash on a machine and nobody even noticed?