Quality is about more than coffee: Why company culture is also key

Since its inception, coffee quality has been a hallmark of the specialty market. Cafés and roasters pride themselves on serving exceptional coffee, with many emphasising their commitment to sourcing lots that score a minimum of 84 points.

Maintaining these high standards naturally requires ongoing investment in roast profile development and barista training. But if specialty coffee shops and roasters want their drive for quality to encompass all aspects of their businesses, they need to embrace a bottom-up approach that involves all staff members.

Cultivating a positive working environment that encourages baristas, roasters, managers, and decision-makers to align on brand values is essential to scaling a focus on quality.

To learn more, I spoke to several people at specialty coffee roaster Maru Coffee in Los Angeles, US.

You may also like our article on how specialty coffee is improving standards for quality more widely. 

Coffee quality is central to the specialty market

The term “specialty-grade” refers to coffee that meets a minimum of 80 out of 100 points after undergoing a strict evaluation process. Q graders and green coffee buyers cup multiple lots at a time to score them based on several attributes, including aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, and defects.

The Specialty Coffee Association’s new Coffee Value Assessment, which builds on its 100-point scale, also allows industry professionals to evaluate lots based on a combination of physical, extrinsic (such as “identity”, certification, and origin), affective, and descriptive factors.

This means quality is inextricably linked to specialty coffee, defining its baseline requirements and establishing green buyers’ expectations for what these coffees offer in terms of flavour profiles.

Quality, however, must extend beyond cup score alone. Throughout the supply chain, producers, exporters, importers, roasters, and baristas work meticulously to maintain and improve quality, ranging from how the coffee is processed to the conditions during transportation to how it’s prepared in a café.

Ultimately, this more holistic concept of quality better resonates with the end consumer. Explaining industry terms like cup scores or cupping forms often doesn’t translate, so roasters and coffee shops need to find ways to showcase their brand ethos and values in more accessible and approachable ways.

“The coffee experience we offer customers is not about definitions or evaluations but rather providing them with a great moment to start the day. This can’t be achieved on cup score alone,” says Jacob Park, a co-founder of specialty coffee roaster Maru Coffee in Los Angeles, California. The company operates three cafés and a roastery in the city.

“Adopting a hands-on approach is the most effective way to improve and showcase quality,” he adds. “Customers become aware of the care that is put into the business, giving them a reason to choose one over another.”

Maintaining standards is a shared responsibility

Roasters and baristas invest time and effort in developing their skills, striving to achieve levels of excellence that preserve and highlight a coffee’s inherent quality. Individual staff naturally play a key role in this, but the duty and commitment are shared.

“The high standards of quality in the product and overall experience are only achieved through the team’s collective effort; it’s never just one person’s job,” says Joonmo Kim, a co-founder of Maru Coffee. He explains that the roaster’s name is inspired by a native Korean language, “San Ma Ru”, which means “mountaintop” in English, encompassing how exceptional coffees are grown at high altitudes.

“All team members add value to the process, and having a shared mindset and responsibility around quality pushes out a message about what we care about as a company,” he adds. “We value teamwork and collectivism over individual talent.”

Maintaining such high standards of quality across a business can’t be restricted to one person, however. Instead, coffee shop owners and operators must invest in every barista and staff member to build a quality-focused team that helps steer the culture of a company. While this starts at the hiring stage, it’s also an ongoing process that requires consistent effort.

“We don’t force or teach our staff to focus on quality; we encourage the gathering of quality-focused, skilled baristas,” Jacob explains. “To achieve that, we must work to high standards in all aspects of our operations, including coffee preparation, customer service and experience, cleanliness, and efficiency.

“It’s the small details that matter,” he adds. “These are what attract quality-oriented people, and they will naturally create a high-quality coffee and quality experience.”

Why quality must encompass multiple areas of a coffee business

Offering exceptional quality coffee that is meticulously roasted and brewed is a key selling point for any specialty coffee roaster and café. But to stand out in an increasingly competitive market, especially as coffee prices and business costs increase, roasters and cafés need to communicate how quality pervades every aspect of their brand, not just what happens behind the bar or in the roastery.

“When I joined Maru as a barista in 2022, the first thing I noticed were the particular choices made at every corner: staff aprons and uniforms, the music in the cafés, the handmade furniture, the nice hand soap in the bathroom,” says Lindsey Han, the lead designer at Maru Coffee. “These seemingly small choices create a cohesive experience for not just the customers but for the employees as well.”

The decision to visit and return to a coffee shop is largely dependent on coffee quality and customer service; however, finer details can enhance the overall experience and reaffirm a company’s commitment to maintaining high standards.

From the moment a customer arrives, roasters and coffee shops have endless opportunities to curate an exceptional experience and leave a lasting impression. But for this to be successful and cohesive, all staff need to be aligned with brand values and company culture.

“When a coffee business has a strong, consistent identity that it takes pride in, it’s clear how it sets itself apart from others,” Lindsey says. “A quality-driven mindset is essential for consistency across the board because, without that common goal, everyone at Maru would be striving for something different.”

This approach also means all members of staff – ranging from owners to part-time baristas – need to coordinate on a shared sense of purpose to achieve a common goal. From the interior design of a coffee shop to the equipment used to the simple act of greeting customers, every decision made will play a role in shaping customer perceptions of the brand and influencing whether they return.

Setting standards requires a collective effort

Adopting a more holistic approach to quality, one where all facets of a business elevate standards and the customer experience, requires consistent top-down efforts. The responsibility to drive innovation and foster a shared sense of responsibility predominantly lies with owners, operators, managers, and decision-makers.

“Most discussions in our office are primarily about how to improve an area of the company,” Joonmo says. “Every year, we draw up a list so we can build a better brand for both the team and the customers.”

But at the same time, all staff members need to feel respected and considered for these efforts to prove effective. According to a 2023 World Coffee Portal study, 56% of US hospitality workers felt burnt out, and 27% of respondents didn’t plan on working in the hospitality industry in the long term – citing feeling overworked and under-compensated. This makes it crucial to involve all staff members, no matter their level of responsibility, in collective efforts to reaffirm brand values and ethos, ensuring their voices and opinions are heard.

“A sense of shared responsibility, plenty of communication, and an all-hands-on-deck approach allows practical improvements,” Joonmo tells me. “It’s about bringing together like-minded people who have the same ideas about quality and progress; Maru Coffee tries to curate an environment that encourages this.”

Inevitably, this starts in the hiring process. While the focus is often on baristas’ skills and knowledge – reassuring coffee shop operators that their new hires are capable of serving quality drinks – it’s also crucial that staff members showcase their passion and drive for achieving excellence and continued improvement.

“Authenticity and sincerity are more important than coffee knowledge,” Jacob says. “Because no matter how good your skills are, if you don’t adhere to procedures or stray from the shared goals and vision, you can never maintain the consistency needed for quality.”

Investing in staff training and support then becomes essential. According to research from management software platform Deputy, the UK hospitality industry alone has an employee turnover rate of 30% – double the national average. To combat these issues, an appreciation of a barista’s soft and personal skills is paramount, ensuring they feel supported and encouraged to grow in their roles.

“An employee’s authenticity is the foundation of quality control, and by ensuring they can perform this well, all customers receive a consistently quality experience,” Jacob adds.

Scaling with quality in mind

The ultimate goal of most specialty coffee businesses is to grow and attract new customers. Whether the focus is on scaling volumes of roasted coffee or opening a new café, most companies will inevitably want to expand when the timing is right.

The challenge, however, is to preserve the quality-driven mindset for both products and services. Investing in training, customer service, and ambience becomes crucial in maintaining brand differentiation if companies choose to scale.

“When we opened our Arts District location, the main idea was to create a facility that could accommodate our roasting operations,” Lindsey says. “The café was designed around our roaster so customers could see their coffee being made at all stages. 

“Although the cafe is located in a large industrial building, we made use of the natural light from skylights and large windows along with handcrafted wood accents to create a warm, inviting atmosphere that harmonises with the building’s unique character,” she adds, highlighting how interior design played a crucial role in maintaining Maru Coffee’s quality standards and brand ethos.

Preserving the authenticity, craftsmanship, and community spirit that define specialty coffee while expanding reach requires a strategic approach that values both the product and the people behind it.

“This past year, we have placed an even greater emphasis on quality control to strive for consistency between all three of our locations,” Lindsey tells me. “As we grow as a company, we are figuring out new ways to maintain standards and keep connections with our baristas who work at different locations.

“With our new roasting facility, we plan to use the space to educate and connect with our employees through routine cuppings led by our Q graders, as well as various team-building events.”

Emphasis on quality in the specialty market extends beyond just coffee, permeating into all aspects of a business. Owners and operators need to invest in company culture to scale their focus on quality successfully.

This means developing recipes and organising workflow is an essential yet minimum requirement. For specialty coffee roasters and cafés to communicate their values, passion, and ethos effectively and consistently, cultivating a shared sense of responsibility across all staff is key.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why coffee shops need to focus more on milk quality.

Photo credits: Maru Coffee

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: Maru Coffee is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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