Daily Demitasse

The bridge between coffee consumers and the Specialty Coffee Industry

10 Things to Look for in a Great Cafe’

February 28, 2010 by Jennifer | 8 Comments

Today is a collective post day among some of us coffee bloggers. We decided to use the same theme: What makes a great cafe? 

I’ve pulled this post from the archives, from Feb. 2010, and updated it for this occasion. Below, are links to the other bloggers posts.

From atmosphere and customer service to presentation and the first sip, there are many things that create a great customer experience. Here is my list of what I look for in a café’ to become a regular, which is mainly about customer service.

10 things to look for in a great cafe’

  1. Greeted when you walk in
  2. Cashier or barista walks you through the menu and provides recommendations
  3. Cafe’ offers traditional espresso drinks and makes them correctly
  4. Milk being steamed does not sound like a plane is taking off
  5. Knowledgeable staff about products and educates customers without being pretentious
  6. The café is so clean you could eat off the floor (although I don’t recommend it)
  7. High quality beans
  8. Friendly, hard-working staff
  9. Events going on each week (anything from open mic to throwdowns )
  10. Not only is the espresso great, the Latte Art is beautiful

If a café’ has at least half of the listed items then you have found your new “third home”. If on the rare occasion a café’ has every one of these, you have found a “diamond in the rough”.

Discussion: What makes a cafe’ special for you to become a loyal customer?

_____

Coffee Blogger Compilation

SnobCoffery – 4 Habits of Highly Awesome Cafe’s

smdlr – “it wasn’t all just a dream” rapped  by biggie smalls

DailyShotofCoffee – How to tell a Good Cafe From a Bad One

Boise Coffee – 5 Things that Make Good Coffee Shops Great

Corner of the Cafe’ – What makes a café great?

 

Jennifer Vaaler is the writer of Daily Demitasse. Her fuel is also her passion as a Barista by day and freelance copywriter by night and was in trade Industry Journal, Coffee Talk. She specializes in Consulting and writing copy for the Specialty Coffee Industry. When she’s not wielding a portafilter or pen, Jennifer enjoys a great book, crafts and good movie.

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Author: Jennifer

Coffee Advocate, Barista, Freelance Copy Writer. Bridging the gap between coffee enthusiasts and the specialty coffee industry.

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  • http://dailydemitasse.com Daily Demitasse

    I had to add my #11, which is an extension of #7. They work directly with the farmers and do Fair Trade.

  • WI-FI Squatting is dumb

    FREE WI-FI is not a good sign you’ve found a great cafe. It’s a sign that you won’t have a place to sit or a good place to see if APPLE still has control of the hipster/student market or some other laptop is the cat’s meow.

  • penelopitsaldari

    Dear Jennifer, Excellent post and you have hit all the high notes. The first thing I “want” to experience when I walk into a cafe is the smell! Ah! it is so wonderful, so relaxing and such a comfort to me. All the rest falls (for me) comes in second place. I've subscribed and look forward to our exchange. Take care, Penelopi

  • http://confessionsofacoffeejunkie.wordpress.com/ Kaye Brow aka CoffeeKween

    I TOTALLY agree with every one of these! Too often, we stumble upon cafés that merely “exist” for the sake of saying that they serve coffee. And often, cafés lack the passion and education behind what they are selling/serving to their customers. I def attach myself to #1 – customer service is KEY anywhere, but it def enhances the experience of a coffee shop. #3 is a big one for me – rarely do people “offer” a great espresso choice, but it would be lovely to have it as a “normal” operation just to get a feel of the art and story behind the café. #5 & #7 are BIG ones, because as you know, I'm a HUGE advocate for fresh roasted coffee and for sharing the knowledge of the bean and the industry.#9 says “This café's got a little flair…style!” Local shops are the best!

  • http://enlightenedbean.com/ David Dexter

    Good requirements for a great cafe~I am really not a big fan of events like open mic, music, etc. but that's me. :) If I was to add an '11' I would add that the cafe must be easily unique. My favorite cafes are the cafes that clearly have their own character (artwork, layout, lighting, mood, etc)

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