“Black Week” Successful in Norway Coffee Shop

Two weeks ago a coffee roaster from Norway had an idea. Tim Wendleboe was excited about the newest crops which had just come in, and really wanted to get his customers to try them in their “native” state–no cream, no sugar, just the characteristics of the coffees themselves. But how to get the casual coffee drinker, set in his ways with lattes and cappuccinos, to give them a chance? Simple: “Black Week”, a week where Wendleboe’s shop sold only various forms of black coffee. French presses, straight espresso, or drip coffee pulled from the shop’s brand-new (and quite expensive) Clover machine.

The idea was both great and terrifying, from a retail perspective. On one hand it was a chance to turn customers on to new and different products, on the other milk-based drinks comprise the majority of a small shop’s business and Tim risked losing out on a week’s worth of needed revenue. Would customers turn around and walk out upon learning that lattes were off the menu for a while?

Well, according to Tim’s blog it turned out to be a success–including having the shop’s biggest-ever Monday in terms of traffic and sales. I’m glad to hear it; I’m a dedicated black coffee drinker and love that a shop took a chance on turning customers who don’t normally drink coffee straight on to the pleasures of single-origin varietals. Getting the year’s new coffee crops in is always an exciting time for a roaster, but I know that when I received them it was sometimes hard to translate that enthusiasm to the bulk of my regular customers, who take their coffee with steamed milk and flavoring syrups that prevent them from telling the subtle differences. I wouldn’t blame any customer for being frustrated at walking into a shop and not being able to get what they want, but “Black Week” had far more positive feedback then negative and I’d love to see other shops try it out–maybe even just for a day–when bringing in a new varietal or crop shipment.

(Image by Chris Kolbu via Tim Wendelboe’s blog)

PS. Don’t be put off by the non-English on Tim’s blog–simply scroll down for each post’s English translation.