"You gotta know your customers. Coffee is a very localized business." - Chris Nguyen, Co-F
According to you, what makes a coffee great?
As we market ourselves as award winning coffee, we strive for in our approach in coffee. We work with award winning trainers, we work with national latte art champions, 2nd place barista champions, and we use effective equipment. We just surround ourselves with very progressive people in the industry that are doing great things. So if they are pushing the boundaries, we are able to push the boundaries with them. So we can increase the knowledge of our organization.
Why did you choose to have your items direct?
We work under direct trade model. The roasters we work with, work under direct trade. So fair trade is a certification of fair trade within the industry. Direct trade goes a step further in the level of control that roasters can work with. It is the roasters going in the farm, and making sure certain standards are being put into place.
The maintenance of sustainability practices: child labor, or if they are destroying the crops, if there’s fair labor practices, if there’s safe pesticide for consumptions, and if they reinvest in the community for schools. So it isn’t like the same type of control as right trade. For direct trade, you actually 20% to 30% more for the coffee beans, and that incentivize the farmers to work under this model. Even if our cost is greater, $0.20cents to $0,30 cents more for coffee.
But in the end of the day, I’ll be gladly paying more for the premium coffee when there’s a certain level of care taken growing the coffee. And know the people are being treated well and ethical practices are being put into place. It is helping with crops with coffees, or farmers in vulnerable regions like Brazil, Ethiopia where economic incentive are life and death matters at times.
What is the challenge of in the coffee business?
I find staffing is a more difficult challenge. We are trying to recreate baristas that aren’t just line cooks. We are trying to take the physical labor of what a barista does, and labor them into a chef. I think many people in the transitional jobs, go for baristas job so they can make easy money. But we are looking for barista looking to grow along within the organization, and eventually go down in certain management tracks. I think employment retention is easier, than constantly retraining a new staff. Good people that are talented about coffee, and realize there is fields of career opening up for them in the coffee business.
What kind of advice if you wish to provide to the future professionals that wish to own their coffee shop businesses?
You gotta know your customers. Coffee is a very localized business.
Strange Love Coffee is located at: 101 Spadina Ave. Toronto, ON
Strange Love Coffee just opened its 2nd store in collaboration with Freshii, close to Rosedale TTC Station. 1055 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W 2L2
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