United Baristas Audio Articles

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 tasting coffee is difficult, subjective or even a hoax. This is an unpardonable position for an industry that defines itself on the basis of flavour.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.This is the first in a series of three articles equipping baristas to write better tasting notes. Explore more at https://unitedbaristas.com/article-series/coffee-tasting-framework/Plus start using the coffee tasting tools at https://unitedbaristas.com/coffee-tasting/

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.

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.

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/

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/

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 athttps://unitedbaristas.com/articles/series/specialty-coffee-chains/