Andrew Tolley — Coffee shop economics

We're so thrilled: Barista Camp took place a little over a month ago, and we can already share the first recorded lecture. All Barista Camp 'coffeetalks' - by speakers such as Scott Rao, Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood and Rina Paguaga - were recorded by our media partner European Coffee Trip. We'll be releasing the videos of these talks over the next months so we keep fuelling discussion and building an inventory of knowledge. Don't hesitate to add your comments here, or on our Youtube channel.

Kicking-off our Barista Camp videos, as well as the Camp itself, we have the pleasure to introduce you to Andrew Tolley. Co-Founder of Taylor st Baristas & Harris + Hoole, Andrew currently works as the Director of Coffee with Taylor st Baristas. He has been a head judge of the UKBCs for 4 years, a sensory judge in the WBC's for 3 years and a World Brewer's cup judge in 2015. He is also a Q grader, UK cup tasting champion 2015, and the UK tea brewer's cup champion 2015. Over the last 2 years Andrew has been on the working group of the BGE and on the SCAE membership committee.

In his talk, Andrew takes a closer look at the economics of running a cafe and doesn't shy away from the harsh reality: How sustainable is the prevalent cafe model? Is your business truly profitable? How can you align profitability with your own vision and believes? Built on his years of experience, he presents these as questions each cafe owner should ask him/herself and provides advice on how to build a successful and profitable business. Don't miss this talk if you're looking to open your own cafe!