Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

You should sell panninis, theyr like long toasted sanwiches, as for music should be soft acoustic guitar maybe cat stevens album tea for the tillerman

GardenersCardiff answers:

I think a lot of answers are going to depend on where you are. For instance, if you have a lot of coffee shops in your area, you might try setting yourself apart by offering unusual alternatives, like white coffee. But if you will in an area without a lot of competition, I would start with the basics and add on as customers make suggestions… And they will.

As to a theme, again it would depend, but this would depend more on you and your interests because you would know enough about those interests to really make a special place around them. For instance, if you love reading and literature, you might want to start a coffee shop based around a library theme. Then you could have authors come in and do signings and readings or you could offer your shop on certain evenings for book clubs.

Tea is a must. Not everyone drinks coffee, but they might want to hang out with their friends who do. We offer many different teas in black, green, and herbal, even a few white and red teas. Some other good alternatives are juices, chai, hot cocoa, and cold drinks, like iced teas.

Smoothies willl probably depend on where you are located. We are right next to a couple of schools and smoothies and frozen shake type drinks are among our best sellers. Starbucks number 1 seller, winter and summer, is their frappuccinos.

Having great coffee will be your biggest asset. Do some research on the net and ask for samples. Our customers really like coffees that are locally roasted, so you might want to go that route. It also allows quick delivery of coffee, the day after roasting, which really improves quality. We also have triple certification fo our coffee, organic, fair trade, and shade grown, and we have customers comment every day on that. But we are also in a big city with a lot of awareness of ecological concerns and a lot of other coffee shops around, so we have to stand out.

Good luck!

GardenersCardiff answers:

If you have ever tasted under-roasted (or even green) coffee, you would find that it has an extremely sour, acrid, flat, and unpleasant flavor.

During the roasting process, several chemical reactions (including the Maillard process, Strecker degredation, and caramelization) take place between the sugars and amino acids in the beans. These reactions are responsible for developing the flavors, aromatics, and sweetness within a coffee. Through extensive tasting, smelling (during and after the roast), and science, an excellent roaster should be able to find the best balance of flavors within a bean.

When coffee is initially tasted (before purchasing from the farm), it is always done so with a light roast. This amplifies the flavors of the beans themselves, but it also amplifies the defects. Many roasters will choose a darker roast in order to mask any of these defects and create their own consistent “signature roast” flavor. It is impossible for a large coffee company to achieve consistency between batches with a light roast – coffee is a seasonal crop and varies far too much, even from hillside to hillside on the very same farm. Even with the world’s best roasters, when consistency is more important than quality, the end product quality suffers.

If all the coffees you have tasted have a burnt taste, I would wager that you have never had the opportunity to taste exceptional coffee. If you are interested, I would recommend searching for local roasters on www.coffeegeek.com. Look for high quality coffees from farms who have won awards such as the Cup of Excellence. Look for a shop that advertises the roast date, not expiration date. Coffee is generally best between 4 and 10 days after roasting. Look for lighter roasted beans that do not appear black or show visible oils. Ask questions! A passionate roaster will be willing to tell you way more than you ever wanted to know about his or her coffee. Many smaller “third wave” coffee shops will focus on quality above all else, even if it means that the flavor of their coffee is constantly changing with the seasons and growing conditions.

By the way, you might have just opened Pandora’s box of coffee – enjoy your journey.