November/December 2025

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6 Key Qualities of a Great Speciality Coffee Retailer

22 March 2017, 04:08 AM
  • Damian Blackburn from Dark Woods Coffee identities the key attributes coffee-selling shops should offer their customers
6 Key Qualities of a Great Speciality Coffee Retailer

• The desire to engage with and learn from the roaster and pass that enthusiasm on to their customers

• Freshness is key in speciality coffee - it should be treated more as a grocery item with a short shelf life and rotated quickly

• Offer a varied choice that’s carefully curated

• Balancing the seasonally new with keeping those week-on-week customer favourites

• Engage further with customers with tastings, strong shelf information, supplier events and having well-informed staff that can comfortably chat about coffee

• Stocking coffee making equipment, like coffee grinders or brewing equipment, to add value for the customer

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