United Baristas Audio Articles

Tasting notes are simultaneously marketing copy to encourage sales, a promise to the consumer and a translation of a sensory experience into a narrative. Good tasting notes typically combine factual information, accurate descriptors combined and evocative descriptions. You can download the latest version of the Coffee Tasting Sheet at https://unitedbaristas.com/coffee-tasting/#assessment-sheet Hos...

Coffee tasting notes are broken because the SCA’s Flavour Wheel is incoherent. We need a new framework that’s accurate, intuitive and grounded in how people actually perceive flavour. Tasting notes should help coffee drinkers identify beans and brews they like. Unfortunately, flavour descriptions often confuse consumers more than they help. Poor quality tasting notes give the impression that tasti...

Specialty coffee has made notable progress reducing customers’ sugar intake. That’s good news for business, our customers and the planet. The new year is an opportune moment to refine the role of added sugar in your business. So, here's three ideas to further reduce your customers’ sugar consumption in 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

50 years on, specialty coffee’s founding ambitions have been realised. As the industry identifies new goals, it stands at a crossroads. Better market data would illuminate the path forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. View the full mini-series at https://unitedbaristas.com/articles/series/specialty-coffee-chains/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. This audio article is part of a mini-series exploring why specialty coffee chains fail. View the fill series: https://unitedbaristas.com/articles/series/specialty-coffee-chains/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

In a new mini-series exploring why specialty chains keep failing, we start by identifying the hurdles that must be surmounted when expanding from one shop to two. View the full mini-series at https://unitedbaristas.com/articles/series/specialty-coffee-chains/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Science, industry research and carbon calculators agree that coffee production is a key cause of coffee’s carbon footprint. However, the carbon footprint of green coffee production varies depending on the specific farming and production methods. Some studies calculate emissions to be as low as 0.5 Kg per kilogram of green coffee at milling. Other researchers estimate the carbon footprint of green...

In the latest United Baristas managing people and building teams newsletter we look at the skills required to help the people on your team progress from the shop floor to taking on management responsibility – whether that's better managing themselves on the job, or beginning to manage their colleagues, a project or even a business unit. These four steps are based on Zarvana's Critical Th...

Today we announce the first sessions of our new talks programme, Total Coffee.  We’re bringing together a range of practitioners, experts and industry leaders to empower coffee people. Join us at any of the dozen sessions taking place at Cafè Culture this October for powerful insights plus actionable ideas. You can find out more about Total Coffee and register: • unitedbaristas.com/events/tot...

When workplace disagreements arise, it's tempting to smooth things over or rush to compromise. But strong opinions – when harnessed – can lead to better decision-making. Plus, disagreements are a sign that people care. This audio article is from our latest Managing People & Building Teams newsletter, especially for coffee people who manage other coffee people. Subscribe and get a tip every oth...

In the first managing people and building teams for 2023, we explore how company culture is a practical tool that explains what gets prioritised, how things get done and what the rewards and penalties are. Many owners and managers have attempted to delegate the creation and maintenance of their company culture to shop managers or HR. We explain why this approach isn't working – and what you c...

You can offset a tonne of carbon dioxide more easily than buying a bag of coffee. Offsetting websites are online shops, it costs just £9 to offset a tonne of CO2e.  In this episode we explore why offsetting is fraught with challenge and absolutely not a substitute for carbon reduction. You can read the original article, and view the relevant references, at unitedbaristas.com/articles/think-pi...

We start a new series by explaining how coffee’s scale, reach and connections enable us to play an important role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The new series explores how we can make specialty coffee more sustainable. You can read the original article on United Baristas https://unitedbaristas.com/articles/insights/how-can-we-make-specialty-coffee-more-sustainable/ and if you wou...

The Brexit debate was hotter than a steam boiler. Now, six years after the referendum, the conversation has cooled. And, like when cupping coffee, that makes it easier to grade. United Baristas explores what Brexit has served up to the coffee community. We’ve spoken with dozens of people including importers, business owners, baristas and brokers. There was a range of political opinion, but wh...

United Baristas explores why increasing coffee cup prices is necessary with current rising costs. And explains how to successfully implement a price rise in your coffee shop. We refer to several previous articles in this audio article. You can read them on United Baristas: One Size Doesn’t Fit All - on segmenting coffee businesses by size and focus Insights from the Iron Triangle - exploring why c...

United Baristas starts a new series exploring the carbon footprint of coffee businesses. We want to equip the industry to reduce its impacts and build a more sustainable future. Many of the coffee businesses in our community are retail coffee businesses, such as coffee shops, coffee bars and cafés. You can read more about how we define and segment these businesses in our recent article One Size Do...

We’ve introduced a completely new version of the Coffee Events Calendar to United Baristas. It’s now easier to find the events you want to attend, more straightforward to add your coffee event and much better looking. Here’s the upcoming events . Basic event listings on the Coffee Events Calendar are  free  thanks to the support of Midnight Oil. You can discover a variety of drink recipe...

We have updated the payment escrow service on United Baristas Market to  Trustshare . You can learn more about Trustshare on their website and learn more about buying and selling safely on United Baristas Market . We are delighted that so many coffee people and businesses find United Baristas Market useful and want to thank you for being a part of our journey. Make sure you  update your...

In recent months we’ve made many improvements to United Baristas Market. As phase I comes to an end, here’s what you need to know. You can read more about phase I updates to United Baristas Market on United Baristas News and get information on specific changes to our services on United Baristas Updates. Baristas and coffee businesses use United Baristas Market to buy and sell new, used and refurbi...

This latest audio article from United Baristas explores the updated use class regime and the opportunities it creates for coffee businesses. Westminster recently introduced changes to planning with the express intent of permitting a greater range of commerical propositions on the High Street. It creates new opportunities for coffee businesses. You can read the full article and view a summary of th...

As United Baristas grows, coffee people and businesses use our services in increasingly different ways. We've had to create ways to segment coffee businesses to identify their needs and serve them better. Using them can help you too. Originally published in our Insights newsletter, we're releasing this Audio Article version as some of our forthcoming articles build upon these concepts. You can sub...

Working in coffee is fulfilling, but not without challenge. Everyday essentials are becoming more expensive. Your electricity and gas bills are going up, food costs are rising and most things you buy (from phones to pizza) will cost more too. This year, you’ll need a pay rise.  Learn why prices are going up and get five tips to talk about pay rises with your boss in our new Newsletter explori...

Many coffee people are wondering how to better manage their team this year. This audio article contains ideas based on Frederick Herzberg's research and his article in Harvard Business Review applied to coffee managers working in 2022's unique context. We want to help coffee people managers even better manage their teams this year. If you find this interesting, subscribe to our new newsletter spec...

It might have been a good year for climate change negotiations, but in 2021 the world still emitted record levels of greenhouse gases. In this latest article United Baristas plots UK temperature increases since 1900. And shows the world is running out of headroom to limit temperature increases to peak at no more than 1.5 degrees. The chart and the original article are available at: https://unitedb...