Coffee is one of those easy-to-make beverages that has gotten a lot easier to make nearly anywhere in the last decade. The technology behind brewing has gotten so good that many new gadgets make it possible to make difficult beverages including espresso a cinch to make with access to hot water and good coffee grounds. But if you’re looking to make a mobile coffee business, here are some great tips to brew coffee on the go for everyone.
It’s Coffee Time!
Starting a mobile coffee business is very simple since you really need a few decent gadgets to pull off great-tasting coffee. Unlike a hot dog stand, you’re not really dealing with perishable food in a literal sense. Coffee stands can be set up nearly anywhere as long as you have the equipment to make hot water and the means to make coffee drinks ready to go in minutes.
If you have access to electricity, this will make it faster to make hot water using a portable hot plate. You can don’t always need access to water since you can carry bottled water containers that give you enough water to work with all throughout the day. One item that you’ll want to add to your list is an absolute necessity to get customers to return each day. This is where the right coffee beans will be your best business tip of the day.
It’s all about the beans
Good coffee beans are the whole point that customers are drawn like bees to coffee stands or mobile coffee carts. Even if you’re planning on making a bigger coffee and snack food truck idea come to life, you’ll want to focus on finding a great coffee bean supplier. Luckily, you can buy coffee beans at a lower cost if they’re unroasted. This ultimately means you’ll want to learn how to roast them at home to get the best results.
Buying freshly roasted coffee beans can be costly to new businesses, so you want to spare as much as you can for buying high-quality green coffee beans. Now, just like home brewers will often do, finding your equipment is a matter of how much you want to spend. If you’re starting out with no coffee brewing equipment at all, you should certainly stick to affordable and not cheap and flimsy.
Looking for green coffee beans is pretty simple if you search online for webshops through Amazon. This gives you a good idea of how good the beans are by reading the customer reviews. Don’t buy green coffee beans that are more than 1-year old, since flavors will fade and start to taste stale. If you can find a local importer, this can work to your benefit too if they aren’t charging a lot for unroasted coffee beans.
Buy a reliable brewing method
The secret to making great coffee is having the right roasted coffee and grinding it using a conical coffee grinder. This keeps your coffee grounds from being assorted sizes and will give better results when it’s brewed. But brewing coffee at a coffee stand needs to be so foolproof that you just can’t make mistakes. This is where you can use proven coffee gadgets such as a French Press or Aeropress coffee maker.
Aeropress is the easiest to master since it was designed by a guy who used to design control panels for nuclear submarines! It uses pressure that’s similar to espresso machines to brew the perfect cup of coffee. The Aeropress only comes in a single-size serving, so you might want to have a couple of these presses to make coffee making go faster. This is where you can always consider a large French Press that can make 12 cups at a time, see a few good options here.
If you’re considering gourmet coffee that is made in single cups, one at a time, then the pourover method is your best bet. These devices can brew an excellent cup of coffee that is ready in less than 4 minutes. But you will want to have some experience learning how to use this method if you intend to make brewed coffee at a stand.
Consider making target coffee blends
Lots of people like going to Starbucks to get those fancy frappe coffee drinks. Everyone knows that Starbucks has terrible burnt coffee, which is why plenty of flavored syrup, milk, and ice make an excellent mixed coffee drink for any coffee stand. If your coffee skills are pretty good, you can make a frappe that will sell to younger customers who love flavored versions just as much as regular coffee drinkers.
There are many syrup flavors that you can buy from cheap chain stores like Trader Joe’s or Costco. You’ll do a lot better if you find a cooler that keeps your ice colder by adding dry ice packs next to your ice cubes. You’ll want to find a double insulated cooler that is designed to keep stuff that’s cold inside -staying cold!
You can also consider freezing cold brew coffee in plastic bottles that will help insulate ice cubes longer throughout the day. You can sell your cold brew coffee as you need, once it stops being frozen or sell them as a to-go item.
Whatever types of coffees you decided to sell, its not as important as having a unique feel or niche that makes you’re joint separate from the rest.
Use leftover coffee as soon as possible
If you’ve made too much coffee that just isn’t moving, don’t waste it one single bit. Find a way to sell this fresh coffee as a mixed coffee drink once it reaches room temperature. Attract people by giving out samples in little disposable cups. This is where you can freeze leftover coffee into ice cubes to make chilled coffee drinks that never get watered down. As a rule, always use what you have to make the most of what could be sold at your coffee stand.