A shelf of old bags and an empty hopper
The house espresso is nearly gone on Wednesday, and the roaster roasts on Mondays and Thursdays. Someone messages the roaster to ask for an extra bag, which arrives on Friday. Meanwhile there are four bags of the guest filter from three weeks ago at the back of the shelf, past the point where they taste their best, and a stack of retail bags that did not sell. The decaf, which nobody orders much, keeps running out because it is ordered in the same quantity every time.
You care about how your coffee tastes. That is why you chose this roaster. Getting the order right should not rely on who remembers to look at the shelf.
Why bean ordering goes wrong
- Espresso usage is hidden in drink sales, and double or triple shots change the amount per drink.
- Filter, batch brew and retail bags have their own rhythms.
- Roasters roast on set days, with order cut-offs, so a late order means a long wait.
- Beans have a window when they taste best, so overstocking is not a safe buffer.
- Nobody records roast dates on the shelf, so older bags are not used first.
What getting it wrong costs
Running out of the house espresso means switching to something else, which changes the taste regulars expect, or paying for rush delivery. Old beans mean coffee that tastes flat, which you notice even if customers do not say. Retail bags that sit too long cannot be sold as fresh. And someone spends time every week working out what to order.
How we build bean ordering
- We read drink sales from your till, including extra shots, and convert them to grams of espresso using your recipe dose.
- Filter and batch brew are recorded as brews made, with a quick tap, or from till sales where each cup is recorded.
- Staff log bags as they arrive, with roast date, and mark them as opened, so stock and age are known.
- Before the roaster's cut-off, the system suggests an order for each coffee to cover usage until the next roast day, without pushing stock past the freshness window you set.
- Retail bag sales are read from the till, so shelf bags are reordered on their own schedule.
- You confirm the order, and it goes to your roaster by email or through their wholesale portal.
| Coffee | What drives usage | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| House espresso | Espresso-based drink sales and extra shots | Freshness window, roast days |
| Decaf | Low, irregular sales | Running out on the odd busy day |
| Guest or filter | Brews made, changes with the offer | Bags going past their best |
| Retail bags | Shelf sales | Stock age on display |
Your recipe dose and freshness preferences are your choice. The system uses them; it does not set them.
Ordering on roast day
The day before the roaster's cut-off, you get a message with a suggested order: this much house espresso, a smaller decaf bag, no guest filter this time because there is still enough within its window. The shelf shows bags in roast date order, so the oldest are opened first. You approve the order on your phone between customers.
Over a few months you can also see how usage of each coffee changes through the year, which helps when you talk to the roaster about a new blend or a seasonal guest.
Is this your bean shelf?
- The house espresso runs out between roast days.
- Old bags sit at the back of the shelf.
- Decaf is either overstocked or missing.
- Retail bags stay on display too long.
- Nobody knows how many grams of espresso you use a week.