Opening Your First Coffee Shop
Like Duolingo, but for Opening Your First Coffee Shop. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
24 levels across 3 sections, about 48 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The First Cup, The Espresso Bar, and Opening the Doors. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Opening Your First Coffee Shop
- Espresso, Latte, and Drip coffee are the high-volume staples of a standard shop
- Standard sizes allow for consistent milk and bean usage calculations
- Most other menu items are simply variations of these three core components
- Uniform sizing prevents customer confusion regarding value and price points
- Focusing on these three ensures the shop can handle 90% of typical morning rushes
- Baristas work faster when they don't have to memorize unique volumes for every specific drink type
- Identifying the core drinks that drive the majority of shop revenue
- Understanding the impact of standardized sizing on shop operations
- Signature drinks use unique house-made syrups or presentation to stand out
- Espresso, Latte, and Drip coffee are the high-volume staples
- Customers are willing to pay a premium for a drink they can't get at a competitor
- Tea and hot cocoa are the primary alternatives for non-coffee drinkers
- Standard sizes allow for consistent milk and bean usage
- Inclusivity prevents 'veto votes' where a group leaves
- Unique drinks serve as a primary marketing tool for the shop's identity
- Fewer choices reduce the time customers spend staring at the menu (decision fatigue)
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Opening Your First Coffee Shop the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If you want to satisfy the vast majority of your morning rush, which three drinks should you perfect first?
Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.
Where Opening Your First Coffee Shop takes you
Turn your passion for caffeine into a thriving business by mastering the art of the brew and the logistics of the bar.
- 1
The First Cup
- The Essential Drink Menu
- Mastering the Batch Brew
- 2
The Espresso Bar
- Pulling the Perfect Shot
- The Art of Steaming Milk
- Choosing Your Equipment
- 3
Opening the Doors
- Health, Safety, and Legal
- Designing a Fast Workflow
- Sourcing and Inventory
3 sections · 8 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Opening Your First Coffee Shop is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Business on Tomo
7 Brew Barista: Your First Job Guide
Master the fast-paced world of 7 Brew, from nailing your first interview to crafting the 'Original 7' with confidence and speed.
The High-Energy Hustle: Being a Shot Girl
Master the fast-paced world of nightlife sales by learning how to navigate crowds, maximize your tips, and stay safe on the floor.
The Dubai Chocolate Business Blueprint
Turn the viral pistachio-kunafa chocolate trend into a thriving business. Learn to craft the perfect bar, navigate food laws, and scale from a home kitchen to your very own storefront.
Coffee Shop Business: The First Steps
Move beyond the dream of owning a cafe and master the hard numbers and operational realities required to keep the doors open.
The Professional Cafe
Transition from home enthusiast to industry professional by mastering the science of extraction, the economics of the bar, and the art of sensory calibration.
The Coffee Shop Founder's Blueprint
A comprehensive guide to launching a profitable specialty coffee business, from securing six-figure lending to engineering a high-margin menu and training a world-class team.
Start Opening Your First Coffee Shop today.
Download Tomo, search Opening Your First Coffee Shop, and play your first lesson in under a minute.