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What is to create and grow a cafe. |
In recent years, we have often seen third wave cafe being introduced in various media. It's quite delightful for me that more and more teenagers have gotten interested in coffee through those media. However, I feel discontent that many third wave cafe are mainly focused on its design or style rather than the essential part - service - since I have seen the flourishment and decline of cafe culture in 1960's.
One day, I have visited a private cafe, which I have often seen in magazines, of a famous barista in Tokyo. They served me a technically brilliant quality cup, but to be frank, I didn't feel comfortable in the cafe at all. They just kept working without smiling, and no one said "Hello." nor "Thank you." while I was there. The owner seemed to be busy chatting with his friend. The chair was too hard and uncomfortable, and the menu was all written in English. Although I don't mean to object to their policy, I don't think I will visit there again as a customer.
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The position of cafe in the service industry is completely different from that of other business. For example, a Chinese noodle restaurant can be flourishing if they serve finest dish even if the owner is unfriendly or the restaurant is inconveniently located. On the other hand, a cafe cannot flourish if its servise doesn't go with or it is cheaply built even if they can serve a great cup.
Even if the taste is "so-so", some cafe are florishing because of their outstanding service. I don't mean that the taste doesn't matter, but the percentage of "hospitality" is far bigger in the customers' demand for a cafe than that of other industry. |
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The streets looks fascinating with the vestige of British rule era.
Starbucks Co. - they've been sccessful as the world top coffee company since their establishment in Seattle. They have a goal to become the "Third Place" in our daily lives except home, work place, and school. They assert that cafe should be a place where people can have a great experience by great cup of coffee, comfortable room, and excellent hospitality there. Although there are lots of aspects which we can learn from Starbucks and they look globally florishing everywhere, there seem to be a country which they have been suffering - Australia, which has its long history of coffee culture.
Starbucks made a revolutional change into American coffee culture by bringing espresso from Europe. However, because there already had been European cafe culture in Australia when Starbucks opened stores there, they ended up closing almost three forth of their branch. |
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"Associate Professor Nick Wailes, a strategic management expert at the University of Sydney, said Starbucks had failed to understand the Australian market. "Starbucks' original success had a lot to do with the fact that it introduced European coffee culture to a market that didn't have this tradition. Australia has a fantastic and rich coffee culture and companies like Starbucks' really struggle to compete with that."
Nick Wales, expert in strategic management in the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Sydney, commented that "Starbucks failed to truly understand Australia's cafe culture." "The point of Starbucks' success is that they have brought European cafe culture into those countrys where it hadn't really taken root yet, but they couldn't compete in other countrys which had fantastic cafe cultures like Australia." |
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Although some cafes have a variety of food menu, the main star is coffee everywhere. Most of the cafes have a gorgeous coffee counter at the center.
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Popular local cafes are always florishing with people. |
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Some cafes are often made from remodeling of a office or a warehouse.
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There are various cafes everywhere on the street in Melbourne, as it is said they have more cafes than Paris does. It is not only Melbourne but also other cities in Australia have lots of cafes, and some of them are often Esropean stylish open-air cafe. Cafe culture takes a big part in Aussies' lives, and people always use a cafe for relaxing time with their friends, with a cup of coffee. |
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A long queue in a quiet residential area often leads to a cafe.
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Although tea culture used to be more popular than cafe culture since Australia belonged British cultural area, but the more people have immigrated from abroad, the more Australian food culture have gotten changed. It is said that present Australian wine culture has been prospered by Italian and German immigrants after the war. This culture couldn't be made without the immigrants - at least I have never heard of "English wine" before. |
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| There is a overwhelming popularity in coffee beverages in Australia, and most of the cafes have a variety menu of "arranged coffee". Some English people call it "caffeine culture", with a bit of irony. |
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Even a general cafe has various arranged coffees on the menu board:
Flat Whit, Cappucino, Cafe Latte, Long Black, Short Black, Espresso Double Espresso, Macchiato, Macchiatone, Mocha, Mochacino, Vienna Coffee, Skinicino, Babycino, Iced Coffee, etc...
・Flat White＝an espresso based coffee beverage by pouring microfoam
・Cappucino＝an Italian coffee drink that is traditionally prepared with double espresso, hot milk, and steamed milk foam
・Cafe Latte＝a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk
・Long Black＝made by pouring a double-shot of espresso or ristretto over hot water
・Short Black＝Espresso
・Espresso＝same as Short Black
・Double Espresso＝a double shot
・Caffe Macchiato＝an espresso coffee drink with a small amount of milk, usually foamed
・Latte Macchiato＝steamed milk marked with a little espresso
・Mocha＝beverage also incorporating chocolate and milk
・Mochaccino＝Mocha with steamed milk
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Not only the variety of menu, but also the high quality of services there inspired us - wonderful smile of staffs, admiring performance of barista, and perfect material selection for the performance. Most of the cafes are serve both wonderfil hospitality and a high quality cup of coffee.
Owe to this florishing coffee culture, the recent expansion of third wave cafe is also prominent, and it's now at the climax with the World Barista Championship, the World Brewers Cup, and Melbourne International Coffee Expo 2013).
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At the World Brewers Cup.
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The booth of local roasters. |
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That was quite delightful that the booth of local roasters which had only a half size of that of major companies' was further crowded than the latter at the EXPO.
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Have you ever heard of the word "leisure business"? - this word origins the global success of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Nintendo used to be marketing a playing card game called Hanafuda. However, since they had a concept that the company was to help people enjoy more of their leisure time, they have developed video gming equipment as Nintendo Entertainment System and globally expanded.
Thus, "leisure business" has a limitless possibility of florishment by anticipating customers' demand, with a pursuit of "more enjoyable leisure". In the same way, Australian cafe culture has puisued higher quality of the taste and space with the logic. |
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| When we were looking for a cafe in a big market, a passing-by woman kindly took us there despite the long distance (with telling us how much the cafe was fascinating!). She looked pretty delightful that they had visitors of their cafe from abroad. As soon as we arrived, she just said "Enjoy!" and proudly left there. |
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Most of the Australian cafes think their "space (service)" is important as much as the taste of coffee, and sharing new places where people can enjoy much of their leisure time. They might have been fighting for protecting their spaces when the big American coffee company inroaded.
No one wants to lose own shop (space). A shop is created by people (staffs), and also grown by people (customers). |
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Hiro Coffee Co., Ltd.
Mitsuhiro Yamamoto, Representative Director |
UP▲ |
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