Managing Coffee Shops
Articles
Running a coffee shop can be challenging, but is ultimately a rewarding job. This collection compiles articles for managers and owners.
Articles
Exploring & explaining the trends shaping coffee
Get up-to-speed on key issues and topics, in less time than it takes to drink a coffee
Research, legislative and indsutry updates summarised for coffee people.
Tips for coffee people and businesses
Proposals for tackling industry challenges
Perspectives and opinion from across the community
Archive of all articles from across United Baristas
Ideas
One page summaries of key information on important topics from across United Baristas.
Collections
Coffee businesses are people businesses. Managing people is a learnt set of skills. This collection compiles tips for hiring and managing coffee people.
Coffee is both contributes to global warming and is impacted by climate change. This collection compiles articles exploring causes and impacts from crop to cup.
Working in coffee is dynamic, engaging and full of possibilities. This collection compiles articles to help people navigate life and work in coffee.
Running a coffee shop can be challenging, but is ultimately a rewarding job. This collection compiles articles for managers and owners.
Coffee’s scale, reach and connections enables us to play an important role in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.
Explore articles from across United Baristas by theme.
Series
Exploring how the industry can better communicate speciality coffee’s distinct and vibrant flavours.
Exploring how specialty coffee can cut its carbon emissions, from crop to cup. We want to understand how the industry can play its part in reaching net zero.
Exploring how coffee become more sustainable. We want to understand how specialty coffee can better align itself with the Sustainable Development Goals.
What is coffee’s carbon footprint? What are the most significant contributors? We want to understand the industry’s emissions from crop to cup.
Mini-series exploring the challenges specialty chains face as they grow. We want to understand why some coffee shop businesses survive when others fail.
Follow the development of topics across articles with Series.
News
Latest news from United Baristas.
Ideas into action
Let’s meet for coffee at Ensemble
United Baristas is transforming a coffee shop in King's Cross, London. It'll host our events and be a testbed for ideas.
Collection
Ending the sugar rush
Coffee, no sugar please
Unlike the chains, specialty coffee has dramatically reduced the sugar intake of its customers. Further reductions can increase margins, reduce emissions and enhance health.
Inflation abates, but cup prices will continue to rise
The inevitable £5 Flat White
The prospect of a Flat White costing £5 has caused much frothy comment across industry and media.
Make financially prudent decisions
How to value used coffee equipment
Just how much is an espresso machine worth? We explain how to identify the price of used coffee equipment.
Latest Articles
Ideas into action
Let’s meet for coffee at Ensemble
United Baristas is transforming a coffee shop in King's Cross, London. It'll host our events and be a testbed for ideas.
Tasty, tasty coffee
Introducing the Coffee Tasting Framework
United Baristas wants to kickstart a community-wide conversation on how we can better communicate coffee’s distinctive flavours. Better tasting notes are fundamental for the industry’s viable future. More accurate communication can empower consumers and support specialty coffee’s price premium.
Make a practical choice
Tips for buying an espresso machine
There are hundreds of commercial espresso machines available, finding the right one can be a challenge. Follow these tips to get the right machine for your business.
Scaling Specialty Chains - Part 3
Specialty Coffee Chains: Small is beautiful, but can big be better?
In the final article of this mini-series we share reflections from people that have scaled specialty coffee chains, plus add some ideas of our own.
Audio
Scaling Specialty Chains - Part 2
Specialty Coffee Chains: The profitability chasm
The profitability chasm starts when headquarters’ costs become greater than the profit generated by the shops. Many operators experience the edge of the chasm at three or four sites.
Audio
Scaling Specialty Chains - Part 1
Specialty Coffee Chains: Are specialty chains too big to succeed?
With The Gentlemen Baristas recently entering administration, we start a new mini-series identifying the challenges facing specialty chains. This first article explores the hurdles founders must surmount when expanding from one shop to two.
Audio
Introducing United Baristas Finance
Boost your quality and productivity now, pay later with United Baristas
You can now pay for new coffee equipment over 3, 6 or 12 months.
Cup prices must go up
Increasing coffee prices makes sense
Why increasing coffee cup prices is necessary. Plus United Baristas explains how to successfully implement a price rise.
Audio
Planning reform creates new opportunities
A Slight Change of Plans
The updated use class regime creates new opportunities for coffee businesses.
Audio
There are multiple coffee shop formats
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
A way to understand different types of retail coffee business.
Audio
Coffee Tasting
Coffee Tasting Framework
Identify & communicate each coffee's distinctive flavours
Discover how to identify a coffee's defining characteristic, understand why some coffees are tastier than others, and recognise the coffee drinkers that will find it appealing.