I spoke to the guy at my coffee/donut shop. He said he's has 10-cents in the cup and lid, and about another 13 cents in the coffee that goes in it. He said as far as the coffee goes, there are all kinds of blends...he said his customers prefer one that's a couple notches down from the top of the line. He said he's tried from the bottom of the line to the top of the line and people prefer the one he uses. He said every now and then he'll switch out for another without telling anyone but he said they pick it up right away.

Something that might be of help...he did say that the suppliers will provide you most of the equipment free as long as you're purchasing from them. He said when it breaks he just calls them and they deliver a new one or a repair guy. This should save you alot in startup costs as the equipment is quite expensive. I repaired his bagel toaster when it got tired...I did it free gratis as it's not my business...just handy, and I thought it was ridiculous that a new one was $700.

He also said not to skimp on pastries. He said people complain at the prices of the good ones, and complain and quit buying the cheaper ones...so he lets them complain about the price...at least they're buying them.

He was really quite willing to answer questions...I told him I didn't care what things cost him and what he charges...I'm in business and know he has to mark things up...so if you have any other specific questions I'll be happy to ask.

I have one of the busier Starbucks near me...a guy that worked there told me a couple years ago they were doing about $10k/day. That's a helleva lot of coffee.
Hope this helps....