diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e1989418..ff42dcdb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ cd coffee
 poetry install
 ```
 
+At this point you may optionally do `poetry shell` which will put you in a virtual environment that uses the installed packages
+for everything. If you do that, you don't have to explictly say `poetry run` in the commands below.
+
 ## Running Tests
 To run all tests, cd into the `coffee` directory and run `pytest`.