Guiyang releases coffee industry group standards

The Guiyang Coffee Industry Association released two group standards on Feb 6: "Specifications for the Management and Service of Coffee Shop" and "Coffee Cupping", which cover business management, service procedures, and quality evaluation.

This marks the first systematic establishment of comprehensive industry standards for Guiyang's coffee sector, signifying that the city's coffee industry has entered a new stage of development. The standards also empower efforts to shape the city's new "Cool Guiyang・Aroma of Coffee" identity and promote the industry's shift toward refinement, quality, and branding.

Despite not producing any coffee beans, Guiyang has one of China's highest concentrations of coffee shops. It has also nurtured numerous "coffee champions", forming a unique landscape for the local coffee industry.

Guiyang's coffee market has grown rapidly in recent years and now includes over 1,600 registered businesses with names containing "coffee" or operating in the coffee service industry.

The "Specifications for Management and Service of Coffee Shop" systematically standardize coffee shop operations and management, addressing venue requirements, management protocols, and service procedures. It outlines requirements for health, hygiene, professional competence, and service etiquette for staff members, specifying that baristas must complete professional training and possess knowledge of coffee beans, roasting, tasting, and various brewing techniques. Additionally, the service process is divided into six stages, each with clear operational standards, providing a framework for improving service quality.

The "Coffee Cupping" standard focuses on the sensory evaluation of coffee quality, regulating the entire process from roasting, grinding, and water pouring to tasting, establishing a unified methodology for coffee quality assessment. It offers quantitative criteria to distinguish between "boutique coffee" and "commercial coffee", providing technical support for coffee quality grading and management.

The two group standards provide systematic, actionable guidelines for coffee shop management and service enhancement, thereby improving the customer experience. They also establish a unified coffee quality evaluation system, shifting market assessments from subjective descriptions to objective quantification. This encourages industry competition to focus more on quality and value, while also providing clear benchmarks for training and skill assessment for coffee professionals, supporting the development of a skilled workforce.