Barabica NYC Consulting
The Research Is the Service.
Barabica NYC applies specialty coffee R&D to real cafe and bar environments. What we build on this site, we build for you in yours.
We are not a branding agency. We are not a training company. We build programs that survive a real Friday night service and we have got the research, the scars, and the tools to back it up.
Methodology
We Test Before We Teach
Most consultants in this space have opinions. We have instruments. The Acid Calculator and Resting Calculator are live and public on this site. The same tools we use in every client engagement. We are not precious about the methodology. If it works, it should be shareable.
The Problem We Solve
The Gap Nobody Fills
Most cafes were built by baristas. Most bars were built by bartenders. Very few were built by someone who understands both. That gap shows up in your menu, your training, your margins, and your guest experience. We close it.
Cafes adding cocktails with no cocktail knowledge
Bars adding coffee with no infrastructure to support it
New concepts that need both from day one
Services
What We Do
Menu Development
Original coffee and cocktail menus designed around flavor logic, cost margin, and team execution. Concept to costed recipe card. Original recipes developed where needed.
Deliverables
Recipe cards, menu copy, cost analysis, implementation notes
Staff Training
Hands-on training built around your actual workflow. Baristas who need bar skills, bartenders who need to understand extraction without going to school for it. We meet people where they are.
Deliverables
Training plan, session guide, SOPs, competency checklist
Operations and Workflow
Bar and cafe setup, equipment specification, service flow design, and SOPs. Built for your team size and volume.
Deliverables
Workflow audit, equipment spec sheet, SOP suite
Full Concept Development
Complete builds for new venues and full resets. Concept through launch. Menu, training, operations, and opening support.
Deliverables
Full documentation package, trained staff, launch-ready program
Private events and Barabica-branded experiences available. Inquire separately.
How It Works
The Process
Discovery Call
We learn the space, the team, the goals, and the actual problem underneath the stated one.
Scope and Proposal
Clear deliverables, timeline, and fee.
Engagement
On-site for training and operations. Remote for menu development where appropriate.
Handoff
Documented systems, trained staff, menus your team can execute without us in the room.
Retainer (optional)
Ongoing R&D support, seasonal updates, continued training.
Who We Are
Joshua Thompson
Barabica NYC is run by Joshua Thompson, a CIA-trained hospitality professional with an Introductory Sommelier certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers. His career spans some of New York's most recognized openings: head bartender at Metropolis by Marcus Samuelsson at the World Trade Center, opening team at Bar Contra with Dave Arnold, opening team at The Corner Store by Catch Hospitality Group, and head of bar production at Al Coro.
Thompson is a 2026 Black Coat in the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation's Cocktail Apprentice Program, one of the most selective professional development programs in the global drinks industry, and a recipient of the CAP BAR 5-Day Scholarship. Barabica is the research practice he built at the intersection of specialty coffee and craft cocktails.
Why Barabica
Both worlds. Neither as a hobby.
Specialty coffee and craft cocktails at the same level of seriousness.
We test it before we teach it.
The tools are live on this site. The testing is documented. What we bring you has already been proven.
Built for your concept, not borrowed from someone else's.
Every menu starts from zero. We have never once pulled a spec from a previous client and renamed it.
New York City based. Everywhere else when the work calls for it.
Remote-first where scope allows. On-site for training, operations, and openings.
R&D Tools
Our Work Is Public
The tools we use to develop client programs are available on the site. The Acid Calculator and Resting Calculator are the same instruments we apply in active engagements. That transparency is intentional.
Get In Touch
Let's Talk
We work with a small number of clients at a time. If it is a good fit, you will know quickly. If it is not, we will tell you that too. No runaround.
Or email directly at josh@barabicanyc.com