Pu’er Coffee

  Everyone Pays for Their Own Perception People who run coffee shops love doing the math. They calculate rent, labor, cup cost, gross profit—everything that can be quantified ends up in their Excel sheet. But what truly drags a shop down is often not those “measurable” numbers. I’ve seen countless shops where the rent isn’t high and labor is well controlled, yet the longer they operate, the tighter and more exhausting things become. Eventually, you realize what really drains them is another kind of invisible cost— Being self-opinionated. Not the arrogant kind, but the more common and subtle one: “I think this is the right way.” 01. Many shops aren’t defeated by the market, but by the owner’s own taste I’ve seen plenty of new shops where the moment you open the menu, you can feel it: The owner is creating “what they like,” not what “customers are willing to pay for.” For example: The owner doesn’t drink sweet drinks, so the menu has almost no sweet options The ow...

 Before opening a coffee shop, the first thing you need to figure out isn’t the menu—it’s who you want to drink your coffee . When it comes to starting a café, the most overlooked factor isn’t cost, location, or even the menu. It’s a simple question that ends up determining 80% of your shop’s future: Who do you hope will walk in? Or to put it more directly— Who are you brewing for? In many owners’ workflow, this step barely exists. They start with equipment, roast levels, interior style, or screenshots of café aesthetics from Instagram. But here’s the problem: You can do everything well and still have no one willing to drink your coffee. Not because you’re not good enough— but because you don’t even know who you’re making it for. 01. A café “without users” becomes nothing more than the owner’s personal portfolio I’ve seen many shops where, the moment you walk in, you can sense one thing: This café is made for the owner , not the customer . He loves dark roasts, so eve...