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On the competition stage, competitors make an effort time and money in the training and technology of this
to draw attention to each step in their drink making pro- pathway requires when there are so many other things
cess, but the reality is that most of these steps are not that need our attention?
interesting to the average onlooker without the thorough
explanation provided during a competition routine. Look- Why Innovation Matters
ing again at the world of high end cocktail bars, we bor-
rowed the theory of batching, combining many drink el- The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the
ements into a single bottle to simplify service at time of world of specialty coffee, and led to an unprecedented
order. For each drink that features multiple touches, we surge in the sale of home espresso machines and special-
perform an internal analysis to identify “Magic Moments”, ty coffee equipment. Whole bean coffee sales have in-
or the moments that we feel will have the highest impact creased 14% by volume since 2021, and Peet’s recently
when observed by the guest. Things like powders, bitters, announced that they would step up their coffee pod
fire and smoke. Everything else is deemed non-essential production by 60% to meet growing demand. In July 2021,
and batched to accelerate service at time of order. By De’Longhi, a famed Italian home appliance manufacturer,
using this method, we’ve cut our experimental drink reported an ‘extraordinary’ 319.5% profit growth amid
service time from 3-5 minutes per drink to under 90 sec- surging demand for their home espresso machines (World
onds, just a touch longer than it takes to serve the vanilla, Coffee Portal, 2023).
lavender, and pumpkin spice lattes you may be serving While this is all tremendous news for coffee roasters
currently, while adding tremendous amounts of value to and equipment manufacturers, it places the traditional
the guest experience by drawing attention to the moments cafe in a precarious position. As we progress into the
that matter most. future where coffee drinkers are increasingly self-reliant,
Using the Magic Moments method, we’ve served and have the ability to brew extremely personalized, in-
drinks consisting of three to just short of a dozen ingre- tentional, and convenient coffee from their homes, cafe
dients with no perceivable difference in service time. owners need to plan for how they will remain relevant
Starting slow, building trust, and identifying magic part of the lives of their guests. Though I don’t believe
moments as drink complexity increases is a proven path- there is a single “right” answer, I think there are several
way to unlock narratives based innovation in your cafe, potential paths forward.
but what is all of this really for anyways? Why invest the While a devout focus on relationship building and
community engagement can serve to create a sustainable
stream of guests, this is largely dependent on your staff,
and can falter should you part ways with your most be-
loved team members. After all, in this model, your cus-
tomer base are your barista’s guests, not yours, and they
will likely migrate along with the barista should they move
to a cafe nearby.

Feet on the Ground, Head in the

Clouds: a constant reminder to

never forget where we are on the
Ryan Castelaz(left) and
his business partner Sean Liu(right)
way to where we’re going.
Photo / Kevin Miyazaki

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