Recommended Reading

The Daily Grind: How to open & run a coffee shop that makes money

This is our book, a number one best seller and highly rated, it comes with a host of extra online resources as well.

We wrote it from the point of view of someone starting out and the chapters are in a logical order that fit the process of opening.

Coffee Art: Creative Coffee Designs for the Home Barista

A personal friend of ours Dhan is one top guy.

Over 128 pages of 60 stunning designs from Britain’s champion latte artist.

From free pouring to etching, stencilling and more complicated designs for the black belt barista, you’ll have fun emulating innovative designs such as The Swan, The Unicorn, and frothy 3-D babyccino animals. The book even includes 9 stencil patterns for you to trace and try.

The World Atlas of Coffee: From beans to brewing - coffees explored, explained and enjoyed

Champion barista and coffee expert James Hoffmann examines key factors, looking at varieties of coffee, the influence of terroir, how it is harvested and processed, the roasting methods used, through to the way in which the beans are brewed.

Country by country – from Bolivia to Zambia – he then identifies key characteristics and the methods that determine the quality of that country’s output. Along the way we learn about everything from the development of the espresso machine, to why strength guides on supermarket coffee are really not good news.
For everyone who wants to understand more about coffee and its wonderful nuances and possibilities, this is the book to have.

Coffee Gives Me Superpowers: An Illustrated Book about the Most Awesome Beverage on Earth

Coffee Gives Me Superpowers is overflowing with infographics and fun, interesting facts about the most awesome beverage on earth written by Ryoko, a Japanese coffee-lover living in Seattle. The book includes the most popular pieces on the site, such as “Your Brain on Beer vs. Coffee,” “10 Coffee Myths,” “The 15 Most Caffeinated Cities in the U.S.

Start and Run a Sandwich and coffee shop (Small Business Start-Ups)

Lots of checklists in this book, published in 2009.

What I Know About Running Coffee Shops

Written by the award winning coffee shop owner Colin Harmon.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

The must buy book for any small business owner. Michael Gerber is the master of small business advice, this timeless classic will help you understand the difference between you being an entrepreneur and a technician in your business.

Anyone Can Do It: Building Coffee Republic from Our Kitchen Table

The story of the founders of Coffee Republic, working through the thought processes and challenges of building a coffee shop chain in the 90’s.

Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time

Written by Howard Shultz the long time CEO of Starbucks. How he developed the business and his leadership style.

Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald's

OK it’s not about coffee shops but there is much to learn from this book.

Coffee: A Global History

Professor Jonathan Morris is Research Professor at University of Hertfordshire.

His latest book explains how the world acquired a taste for coffee, yet why coffee tastes so different throughout the world.

Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating

The psychology of why things taste like they do, very useful in developing your menu.

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business

Danny Meyer sets the standard for modern hospitality.

The Great Good Place

Ray Oldenberg’s coins the phrase, ‘The Third Place’ – not home, not work but a place of community. Read it to get a clear understanding of what makes a coffee shop or cafe truly great.

Coffee: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry

‘One of the very best coffee books to be released in a very long time.’ – Barista Magazine Blog

It’s the comprehensive guide to the coffee bean and the beverage itself.