If you want to hit it off with someone you’ve never met before, you’ll want to leave a good first impression… right? We think it’s a pretty solid mantra that applies across most (if not all!) walks of life, no? And, with coffee, it’s no different. If you run a coffee shop business – or are thinking about making it your latest venture – there are plenty of factors that can help you make a great first impression. It can be the welcome, the location or ambience. But more important than all of those factors is – without doubt – the quality of the coffee you serve.

Let’s put it like this – if your coffee isn’t much cop, your customers aren’t going to return. Coffee – as Black Sheep Coffee‘s Gabe Shohet told The Guardian – “should taste great every time. It’s that simple”. It sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But trying to offer barista quality coffee might seem daunting – not least if you’ve never seen yourself as a barista or feel confident using a barista coffee machine. But it’s not actually as hard as you think. By taking a few simple steps, you too can master the perfect espresso. After that, you’re up and away…

Your espresso is at the heart of all those different types of coffee drinks that’ll be on your menu. Americano, Cappuccino, Latte – a shot (or two) espresso is at the base of all these and more. So, what about those few simple steps we mentioned? Well, we’ve created a free guide to making espresso that you can use to take you through the process – and at the end, you’ll have all the skills you need to make the perfect espresso.

To run a successful coffee shop business, you don’t need piles of money like some of the more renowned high street chains. You don’t even really need much more than a high quality barista coffee machine and a counter to put it on if space is at a premium. What you do need is a quality product to offer customers. It’s not just coffee shops either. It’s true too if you serve coffee in a salon, office or other place of business. Let our free guide to making espresso help you raise the bar and make a great first impression with your cup of joe…