Programme overview
Introduction:
Specialty coffee shop management, with barista standards, cost per cup and cafe P&L, is a 5-day course for cafe owners, coffee shop managers and bar supervisors, ending with a costed Cafe Concept and Operating Plan. Many cafes buy good coffee yet serve uneven cups, price drinks without knowing their cost and lose margin to bean waste, machine downtime and untrained shifts. Nominees already run or supervise a coffee bar, and the course is taught as a modelling build of recipes, cup costs and a cafe P&L. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this specialty coffee shop course.
Course Objectives:
- Assess green and roasted coffee quality using defect counts, cupping forms and roast date freshness windows
- Set espresso and filter brew recipes by dose, yield, time and brew ratio and check baristas against them
- Train and sign off baristas with a skills matrix, milk texturing standards and a zoned bar workflow
- Calculate cost per cup and structure the beverage menu by cup size, milk option and margin
- Maintain grinders, espresso machines and water treatment and control bean stock, freshness and waste
- Build a cafe P&L, KPI dashboard and operating plan covering guest experience, loyalty and delivery channels
Target Audience:
- Owners and partners responsible for the results of specialty cafes and small coffee chains
- Managers accountable for daily quality, staffing and stock in coffee shops
- Supervisors who lead barista shifts, opening and closing routines and bar standards
- Managers who run coffee counters in hotels, offices, campuses and retail sites
- Founders responsible for opening or reformatting a specialty coffee concept
Course Outline:
Day 1: Specialty Coffee Value Chain, Origins and Cafe Landscape
- Seed-to-Cup Value Chain Map from Farm to Cafe Bar
- Origin, Variety and Processing Method Effects on Cup Flavour
- Green Coffee Grading by Defect Count and Screen Size
- 100-Point Cupping Protocol and Cupping Form Scoring Practice
- Cafe Current-State Assessment of Cup Quality, Speed and Margin
Day 2: Roasting Basics, Brew Recipes and Extraction Standards
- Roast Profile Curve Reading from Drying to First Crack
- Roaster Selection Criteria and Roast Date Freshness Windows
- Espresso Recipe Card Setting Dose, Yield and Shot Time
- Brew Ratio and Extraction Yield Measurement with a Refractometer
- Filter Brew Recipes for Batch Brewer and Pour-Over Bars
Day 3: Barista Standards, Bar Workflow and Beverage Menu Costing
- Barista Skills Matrix and Station Sign-Off Checklist
- Milk Texturing and Latte Art Consistency Standards for Service
- Espresso Bar Layout Zoning for Order, Grind, Brew and Handoff
- Beverage Menu Architecture by Cup Size and Milk Options
- Cost per Cup Sheet Covering Coffee, Milk, Cup and Lid
Day 4: Equipment Care, Freshness Control and Cafe Channel Risks
- Grinder Burr Wear Checks and Daily Calibration Routine
- Espresso Machine Backflush, Gasket and Preventive Maintenance Log
- Water Treatment Hardness Testing and Filter Replacement Schedule
- Coffee Bean Stock Rotation, Open-Bag Freshness and Waste Log
- Delivery App, Mobile Ordering and Loyalty Stamp Card Economics
Day 5: Modelling Build of a Cafe Concept and Operating Plan
- Case Cafe Briefing with Site, Seats and Footfall Data
- Cafe P&L Model with Cost of Goods and Labour Ratios
- Cafe KPI Dashboard Tracking Average Ticket and Cups per Hour
- Guest Experience Standards and Feedback Loop for the Case Cafe
- Cafe Concept and Operating Plan Completion and Peer Review
Skills You Will Gain:
- Green Coffee Grading
- Cupping Evaluation
- Espresso Recipe Calibration
- Barista Skills Assessment
- Coffee Bar Workflow Design
- Cost per Cup Calculation
- Coffee Equipment Maintenance Planning
- Cafe P&L Modelling
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver a Cafe Concept and Operating Plan, with a costed beverage menu, to the owner or operations head who approves the cafe budget
- Judge when a shot, a grinder setting or a new coffee lot falls short of the recipe and decide whether to adjust, replace or withdraw it
- Avoid lost margin, wasted beans and machine downtime through cup cost sheets, freshness rules and maintenance logs
- Pass on recipe cards, a barista skills matrix and station checklists to the shift supervisors and baristas on the bar
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant hands the owner or operations head a Cafe Concept and Operating Plan containing recipe cards, a barista skills matrix, a bar layout, a costed beverage menu, a maintenance and freshness schedule and a cafe P&L with KPI targets. The unit uses it to approve drink prices, barista staffing by daypart and equipment spending. After the first month of trading under the plan, the unit should review cost per cup against actual coffee and milk usage, recipe adherence checks and guest feedback before changing prices or the menu.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before the specialty coffee shop management course?
Participants should already run, supervise or plan a coffee bar and know its core drinks. No roasting or competition experience is needed. Bringing current drink prices, supplier invoices and a week of sales data helps them build cup costs and a P&L for their own cafe.
How does specialty coffee shop management differ from a general food and beverage management course?
It is built around coffee itself: green coffee grading, cupping, brew recipes, extraction checks, barista sign-off, grinder and water care and cost per cup. General food and beverage courses cover restaurant kitchens, menus and banqueting and treat coffee as a single beverage topic.
What makes coffee specialty grade for a specialty coffee shop?
Coffee is generally treated as specialty grade when it scores 80 or more on a 100-point cupping scale and shows very few defects in a graded green sample. For a cafe, it also means traceable origin, fresh roast dates and recipes that keep that quality in the cup.
What does a participant take back from the specialty coffee shop management course?
Each participant takes back a Cafe Concept and Operating Plan with espresso and filter recipe cards, a barista skills matrix, a bar layout, a cost per cup sheet for the beverage menu, a maintenance and freshness schedule and a cafe P&L with KPI targets.