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Chain

King Chan: Barista Coach from Hong Kong
King Chan-Barista Championship Coach and Profes-
sional Brand Consultant
We had this conversation with King right in Mel-
lower Xintiandi Store. As a key player for building the
Mellower brand, King also has great expertise for standard-
ization and systematic operation management. We could
feel his unique way to see things as a manager right in the
beginning of the conversation.
King said frankly that rather than running a simple
coffee house, what Mellower Coffee wants to be is a chain
coffee brand with professional Specialty Coffee charac-
teristic. “We not only focus on coffee itself, but the whole
service chain surround it, including lighting, music, service
and products. ” The key success factor for a chain business
is the brand. Only by building the whole system of service,
operation, guidelines and supporting roles completely could
we offer customers premium and consistent experience.
“I hope customers come to our store because of the
love for everything we offer, rather than a special someone
who works here. ”
To King, the key for running a successful chain busi-
ness is attention to detail. It might not needed to take care
of every tiny detail if we just open a small shop, however Yan Huang (left): Chinese Latte Art Champion
for a chain business, we need to rely on data and use data
to make decisions, managing cost and deliver operation Yan Huang - Latte Art Champion and his creative
excellence. As the operation head of the company, he needs training concept.
to consistently invest time training his crew, to teach them As the director of training, Yan is the backbone of
how to fish rather than giving them fish. the company. He takes care of both the internal technique
Before joining Mellower, King mainly works in Hong training and coffee classes. Internally, he’s trying to build
Kong, he suggests that the coffee and café culture in China the best Mellower Barista team; Externally, he always
are just getting started, and the coming 2 years would be brings the best learning experience for professionals and
a great period for Specialty Coffee to boom. King never coffee lovers.
thought that to combine Specialty Coffee with chain busi- In addition, Yan has a passion for menu creation.
ness would be an easy take. However, no pain no gain, he As perfectionism, he would pursue the best of the product
sees it as a great opportunity for this new brand to grow, in terms of visual look and quality. Yan said, Mellower
starting from Shanghai to a beautiful future. Baristas are a team full of potential and energy, with great
technique and top-gears in coffee, they could offer every
single customer a wonderful coffee experience.

Mellower Future –“In me the tiger sniff the rose”
Since the founding year 2010, Mellower Coffee has
been marching steadily. With best gears like Lamarzocco,
EK43 and best All-star barista team, Mellower Coffee has
always been trying to offer customers an experience beyond
coffee. Their top priority in 2015 is to expand the market
share in Eastern China and further enhance brand aware-
ness. With the quality of being bold and thoughtful at the
same time, they could achieve anything, could’t they?
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