Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Retail Professionals: Recent Episodes
Chris Deferio
Keys to the Shop is a podcast designed to provide the coffee retail professional, with insights, inspiration, and the tools you will need to grow and advance your coffee career or coffee business. Together we learn from experts both in and outside the coffee industry as they deliver specific, practical, and actionable advice about barista work, management, leadership, personal development, and anything else that will help you achieve success.
"If you're not growing, your dying", phrases like this tend to drive us pursue a path of growth that often prevents us from slowing down or finding margin in which we can see that something, or even we ourselves, need to stop.
Today on Shift Break we are going to be talking about how to see entrepreneurship as not just a one time thing, but as a cyclical practice that helps you enter into needed change to either maintain, add, or take away.
Related Episodes:
399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Have you ever walked into a shop and noticed right away, this place is different. The hospitality, the quality, the feel, the energy, and the comfort and confidence you and the staff feel together is a synergy born from purposeful work behind the scenes. It is a work not just to assemble people and equipment under one roof and call it done, but work to tend to the things that animate, sustain, and breathe life into it. In today's episode we are going to be exploring some of the ways you can bring your coffee shop to life in a way that is truly a singular thing. Not born from R+D around trends, financial management, or logistical prowess, (although you do need those) but from an embrace and pursuit of the relationships between people, their work, and the place the work is done that creates remarkable moments and experiences for all.
Listen to these related episodes!
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
KEYS TO THE SHOP OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Signature beverages and seasonal drinks are a huge part of what rounds out the cafe menu and, if done well, can make you stand out for all the right reason.
Of course, it stands to reason, that if they are done not so well, you stand out for the wrong reasons. How can you go beyond TikTok trends and the latest viral sensations and create something that is both good for your culture and good for business?
Today on Shift Break we are talking about how you can approach creative drink making in a way that is fun, sustainable, and meaningful. Your customers want excellence and excellence is born from intentionality. Let's make some great drinks!
Related episodes:
- 274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster”
- 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
- 276 : Six Ideas for Increasing your Revenue
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Coffee. We love it so much! However, in spite of our love for coffee, we have all been burned by taking in just a little too much caffeine as we sip, cup, and enjoy. As technology and methods around decaf coffee have improved and evolved, so too has the demand for having more control over the stimulating effects of the beverage.
This is where Caffeine Control Coffee comes in to educate us on caffeine and provide options for people who want to love coffee but stave off the less desirable impacts of it.
Beginning in 2003 as a barista in college, Pete Licata fell in love with both coffee and the industry behind it. As he worked in various cafes he took on leadership positions as well as roasting he also became deeply involved in competitions leading to his 2x US Championship titles and finally winning WBC in 2013.
Pete is a longtime coach and mentor for world class baristas and founder of Licata Coffee Consulting. In 2019 he took on R+D and eventually the role of Head of Coffee work in Australia for Nomad Coffee Group
In 2025 Pete, along with his wife Maria, opened Caffeine Control Coffee. A business focused on bringing clarity on caffeine in coffee with a focus on wellness to the masses with products designed to control how much and when their customers drink caffeine.
We discuss:
- The Evolution of Decaf Coffee
- Quality and Consumer / Professional Perception of Decaf
- Intentionality in Coffee Blending
- The Rise of Conscious Consumption and Health
- The Issue of Traceability in Decaf Coffee
- Exploring Caffeine's Impact on Health
- Navigating Caffeine Levels
- Brewing Techniques for Decaf
- Eye Opening Caffeine Content Myths
- What The Future Holds For Caffeine Awareness
Links:
https://caffeinecontrol.coffee/
@caffeinecontrol.coffee
Related episodes:
- 154: Decoding Decaf w/ Mike Stumpf of Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee
- 168 : How to get the Best from your Coffee w/ WBC 2013 Champ, Pete Licata
- 350 : The Physics of Filter Coffee w/ Jonathan Gagné
- 003: The Role of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee w/ Pete Licata
- 452: Championing the Customer Experience in Coffee w/ 3x SA Barista Champion, Winston Douglas Thomas of Cedar Coffee
KEYS TO THE SHOP OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
In the busy cafe we tend to want to power through the work and in the process we rush the customer. The average cafe guest can feel as though they are simply being handled or herded instead of welcomed and served.
Today on Shift Break we are talking about how and why we need to fight against the urge to rush the customer and what it looks like to help them truly connect with and experience our unique offerings and hospitality.
Related episodes:
- 340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
- Ignoring the Customer
- Are You Open?
- Slow is Fast?
- Speed is not the Goal
HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Everybody leaves. That is the constant of working in coffee shops. How they leave and how you respond to their absence for their good, the team that remains and for your business is a question of how much intentionality you bring to the inevitable departure of staff.
Today we are going to explain how we can view turn-over and use it to better our leadership, to streamline and make more effective operations, and to improve our hiring practices in the future.
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Related Episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK! Bottling Your Best Barista
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
It's Founder Friday! And this one is quite special. Nori and Tin Burmudez founded Corridor Flow in the Fall of 2019 with community and relationship as their central mission. I was lucky enough to work with them in their beginning stages and for the last almost six years, their commitment to their vision have shown itself in their deeply rooted and instantly resonant presence in their Lomita community.
Nori comes from the world of healthcare and nursing, and Tin from the world of engineering and construction. Mix this together with their heart for service and passion for coffee as a vehicle to inspire gathering, and you have all the right components to build what is the perfect combination of function and hospitality in Corridor Flow.
Today we explore their 6 year journey cultivating their business and growing themselves in the process. Using coffee, radical hospitality, and a steady focus on serving people, Corridor Flow has embodied so many of the things that make a coffee shop more than just a sum of its parts. Something that opens doors for many possibilities through he flow of people and coffee.
Please enjoy this wonderful Founder Friday episode!
Links:
Instagram: @corridor_flow
www.corridorflow.com
Related episodes:
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 225: Encore Founder Friday! Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC
- 177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Great things happen when we plug into community and open ourselves up to the learning process. This is especially true when you begin your own business and apply those things you have learned from your experiences. It opens up entirely new levels.
Today on this 36th episode of Rate of Rise, brought to you by our friends at Mill City Roasters, we are talking with Alex Jacob of Vital Coffee Roasters.
Alex Jacob is the founder of Vital Coffee Roasters, Head Roaster for Ascension Coffee Roasters, and a 2025 Fellow with The Chain Collaborative. He holds two master's degrees in Public Health and Public Administration and is a licensed Q Grader. His passion for coffee began as a hobby and developed into positions as a barista and roasting assistant during graduate school. It was a desire to combine his passions of community impact and coffee that eventually led him to change careers, leaving the world of healthcare. Alex's aspirations had him seeking ways to better understand the coffee supply chain and how to use coffee as a method of impact. This path of continuous learning and community-focused development is what fuels his work today. We learn:
- Alex' start as a hobbyist during graduate school
- How his background in biochemistry influenced his approach to coffee roasting
- Why building confidence in roasting comes from positive reinforcement and experience
- Why community interaction is crucial for business success in the coffee industry.
- Behind Vital Coffee Roasters: a mission to impact the community positively
- Importance of being open to learning and new ideas.
- How he adapted his roasting style to meet consumer preferences
- Why networking and face-to-face interactions are key to building relationships in business
- The importance of continuous growth and learning are essential for success in entrepreneurship.
Links:
https://vitalcoffeeroasters.coffee/ https://www.instagram.com/vitalcoffeeroasters/ Related episodes:
- Founder Friday! w/ Rachel Lehman of Crema Coffee Roasters in Nashville, TN
- 452: Championing the Customer Experience in Coffee w/ 3x SA Barista Champion, Winston Douglas Thomas of Cedar Coffee
- RoR #25 : Training Up the Next Generation of Roasters w/ Steve Lee of Pocket Knife Consulting + Linea Caffe
- ROR #24 : Perspectives on Roasting for Espresso w/ Jaroslav Tuček of Doubleshot, Czech Republic
Our Sponsor for Rate of Rise!
www.millcityroasters.com
Training employees remains one of the central tasks of cafe ownership and management. Rather than training from a central standard and source that has been thoughtfully crafted to onboard and develop the skills of the barista to meet specific standards, there is a temptation to want to lean on training by osmosis or by committee where the new hire is simply assigned a shift schedule and told they will learn from the other experienced employees. What you end up with is a lot of mixed messages, confusion, disengagement and inconsistencies.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why training by committee, or by simply having the existing staff "show them the ropes" is a bad idea and what we should be doing instead.
Related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK! Holding Baristas (and Yourself!) Accountable
- 533: Principles of Quality Control
- SHIFT BREAK! The Necessary Death of the Superstar Barista
- SHIFT BREAK: The Best Way for Every Shop to Train Baristas
HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
If you are like a lot of owners or managers you might find the idea of reminding and repeating yourself to be at the top of the "most annoying things I should not have to do" list. To a degree you are right. But only partly. It really depends on how those tools are used and how you approach your own role in the cafe
Today we are going to explore how the tools of repetition and reminders are actually forms of guidance that, in their right place, can bring about the kind of change and excellence you want to see in the coffee shop.
In fact, it seems that the key to leadership in the cafe starts with reminding and repeating to ourselves the truth that we are using our position to serve and facilitate. These elements are critical a solid coffee business.
Related Episodes:
- Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
- Being the Point of Clarity
- Don't Waste Problems
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
We talk about how we want to provide an experience for the guest, to connect with them, to make a positive impact. The way to get there though is through embracing what may seem like the opposite of what we want, the transactional. Gasp!
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why the transaction between you and the customer, the ordinary exchange of money for goods, is the gateway and foundation to building a truly remarkable business and hospitality experience!
Related episodes:
In Praise of the "Transactional"
518: How to Run a Coffee Shop w/ Meaningful Hospitality
505: Maintaining Excellence in the Everyday Work of Coffee Shops w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
SHIFT BREAK: Back to the Basics
SHIFT BREAK: Is Your Love for Coffee Sabotaging Your Success?
HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
On average, when I look into a cafe's operational materials and systems, one of the main things that is either not developed well, developed but not updated, or just not there at all, are job descriptions.
For many coffee businesses, there is a default to describing their growth and thus operation as "organic" and as a result, while some progress is made, they can tend to find themselves hitting a wall where everyone feels a constant sense of uncertainty that impact the business.
Today we will be talking about the good and the bad ways we create and utilize job descriptions in the cafe and how you can approach the use of them to serve your staff and customers well.
As always, I hope you gain one or a few insight from this episodes that you put into practice to make a positive difference in the shop!
Related Episodes:
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Who we are when nobody s looking is really who we are. There are variations of this phrase and for most it is convicting and motivates us to increase the integrity of how we move in life and work. In the cafe, we talk a lot about hospitality regarding guests and more recently we have talked about hospitality for the staff. But what about the people that support and are vested in your businesses through services and products?
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the importance of extending our hospitality to vendors like delivery drivers, bakeries, service companies, and others. Whether in-person or over the phone, how we treat people matters and either builds relationships or erodes them.
As goes the relationships, so goes the business.
Related episodes:
Service, Spite, and Compromise
133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond
Are We Giving our Best to the Least?
HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
"Customers are already dialed in." This is one of my favorite quotes from the interview I had with today's guest. The industry has largely been focused on educating customers about coffee but not very good about educating themselves about the customer, and even less concerned about meeting people where they are or even celebrating their tastes. How can we approach the regular people that make up most of our customer base in a way that edifies instead of discourages? That's what Matthew Bryce of Seven Sleepers Coffee Labs is here to talk about! Matthew Bryce is a results-driven leader with over a decade of experience enhancing customer service, retail and food service operations. A specialist in elevating customer experiences, optimizing processes, and driving measurable improvements in sales, team productivity and quality of engagement. With his extensive industry experience and people-first communal focus, his company Seven Sleepers Coffee Labs has been able to excite people about coffee through experiences and conversation. I am grateful for this discussion and hope you all are encouraged to take action on the insights Matthew shares. Link: https://www.instagram.com/sscoffeelabs/ Related Episodes: * 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab * 216 : Helping your Customers Brew at Home w/ Brian Beyke , I Brew my own Coffee Podcast * 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee * Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer * 360: Encore Episode! Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes: 7 Tips for Success
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Being a manager in a coffee shop is not just about extra administrative tasks, its about leading and guiding people well through the work of the cafe. Many managers in bars around the world are kept buried in tasks and don't have a clear view of the landscape in front of them. This leads to avoiding essential conversations and a lack of growth in both the manager and the staff.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about a great tool developed by Bruce Tulgan in his book "It's OK to be the Boss" called "The Manager's Landscape". I will go through the framework and show how you can utilize it to know how to effectively lead and manage the people you have best tasked with serving.
It only takes a moment to get this started so I would encourage you to take action after this episode and start applying these principles today!
Related episodes:
- 435 : Encore! It’s OK to be the Boss, w/ Bruce Tulgan
- 378: 5 Areas to Develop in Managers
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- 483: Encore: 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
KEYS TO THE SHOP®
CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Coffee shops are dynamic places that require a ton of focus on what seems like an endless sea of urgent things. Some are actually more important than others and learning what they are and training yourself and your staff to focus on and cultivate them from the start can help set the next years of your businesses life up for healthy operation and growth.
Today we are going to explore what areas you need to be focused on int he first year in order to make best use of your time. Areas that, if given serious investment, will make everything else work together.
This is not just for new businesses though. If you have been open a while and want to recalibrate, simplify, focus, and refine, this one is for you too.
Related Episodes:
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- 436: Stop Burn Out! and Make Work Effortless w/ Greg McKeown | Best Selling Author “Effortless”
- 269 : What to Focus on after you Launch
- 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
- 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
- 173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Once we get a little bit of authority as a trainer, manager, or leader in the coffee shop we tend to dream about and focus on all the things we want to change. Unfortunately the projects that we know will improve things often do not get the reception we want from the boss and we feel dejected and frustrated.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the need to have patience and to prioritize the right work and projects in order to gain trust so the good things you want to do in the future are better received.
Related episodes:
SHIFT BREAK: Setting Staff Up For Success
SHIFT BREAK: Making Minimum Viable Changes
SHIFT BREAK: Managers, You Don't Need To Do It All
Flexibility for Owners and Managers
HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
We are back with anew round of show floor interviews from Coffee Fest! This time we were in NYC at the Keys to the Shop booth and got four wonderful presenters and experts to chat about training, entrepreneurship, and trademarking law!
First up to talk about effective barista training strategies we have our friend Antoine Franklin!
Antoine Franklin (better known as “Twizz”) born and raised in Cleveland, OH has 19 years of experience working in the coffee industry. Having many different job titles from barista to operations partner, to wholesale manager, LAWCO judging panel he’s got a ton of experience and knowledge doing almost everything in the industry.
Instagram: @Twizz_3seas
Next we are chatting about training across multiple cafes with Mo Hashmi!
Mo Hashmi works at Hidden Grounds Coffee as their Director of Coffee & Education. Since beginning his career in coffee, Mo has trained countless baristas in advanced coffee brewing techniques across New Jersey and New York. Currently Mo leads the roasting operation of Hidden Grounds Coffee and is in charge of sourcing, profiling, and quality control. In 2023, Mo received his SCA Roasting certification.
https://www.instagram.com/momakescoffee/
https://thehiddengrounds.com/
Now we get to dive into the history and lessons learned from one of the founders of famed NYC coffee company, Cafe Grumpy!
Caroline Bell is the Co-Founder and CEO of Café Grumpy, a specialty coffee company founded in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in 2005. A Certified Q Grader and PCQI, Caroline leads the green coffee buying and fosters relationships with coffee producers, with a focus on Central America. Since its launch, Café Grumpy has expanded to 11 locations across New York City, Miami, and New Jersey. Passionate about quality, sustainability, and community, Caroline is dedicated to building a supportive team and fostering a positive work environment. Through her continued work, she is helping to shape the specialty coffee industry—one cup at a time.
https://cafegrumpy.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cafegrumpy
Lastly we get into the land of trademarks and the legal protections your brand needs with Maria Sinatra!
Maria Sinatra focuses her practice on offensive and defensive Lanham Act and Copyright Act litigation in federal courts throughout the country. Maria has experience with disputes involving anti-counterfeiting actions, trademark and trade dress infringement actions, trademark dilution claims, false advertising issues, and copyright infringement litigation. She regularly advises clients on brand management issues, including how to secure, protect, and police trademark rights.
Reach out to and follow Maria on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-sinatra-86b851163/
All these interviews took place at Coffee Fest and you should a trade sho you should seriously consider attending!
www.coffeefest.com
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Maintaining the functionality of your equipment is one of the main tasks involved in running a shop. You yourself may wan to be trained in machine tech, you may want to hire a teach or tech company to service your cafe's equipment, or you might want to raise up an internal technician.
Today on the show we are goping to talk about training technicians and how to coffee techs and owners alike should approach the relationship that helps keeping things working the way they should.
To do this I am talking with one of the best educators in the world of coffee technician training, Brady Butler of Trail Blaze Coffee Academy!
Brady Butler is an Authorized SCA Trainer who has been leading barista, brewing, and coffee technician training classes since 2009. Over his coffee career, Brady has also worked as a barista, a coffee equipment technician, and in wholesale customer support. He was co-lead for the SCA's Brewing Content Creator Group, a Lead Author for the Coffee Technicians Program, and a member of the Service Layer Education Committee. He currently owns Trail Blaze Coffee Academy, an independent training company based in Charlotte, NC.
We learn about:
- Brady Butler has a background in engineering and coffee tech.
- Why understanding the function of coffee equipment is crucial for technicians.
- Training should focus on understanding systems rather than memorizing components.
- Building relationships with technicians is essential for cafe success.
- How you should see mistakes in training environments as opportunities for learning.
- Explaining his role in the Coffee Technicians Program and its aim to provide a global standard for technician training.
- Preventive maintenance
- Understanding water treatment is essential for coffee quality.
- Why Brady thinks techs should have foundational barista training.
- How techs can help stabilize the churn in the coffee industry.
- Techs as trainers themselves: Why simplifying complex topics for clients is important.
- Advice for in-house techs: in-house tech services require careful planning and resources.
- Contextualizing recommendations based on coffee types is vital.
- Why an eyes wide open approach is necessary for tech decisions.
Links:
VISIT THE TRAIL BLAZE WEBSITE! https://trailblazecoffee.com/courses/
Related Episodes:
- 446: Building a People-First Coffee Tech Culture w/ Jason “Double J” Johnson, Black Rabbit Service Co.
- 445: Evolution of the Machine-Barista Relationship w/ Ryan Willbur of Synesso Coffee Systems
- 312 : How to Choose the Right Machine for Your Shop w/ Chad little of La Marzocco
- 238 : Leading, Hiring, and working with your Coffee Tech w/ Hylan Joseph
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
There are an incredible number of tasks associated with running a coffee roastery. The busy work of keeping things going often gets in the way of working on the main areas that will actually move the needle and build a successful operation.
Today's guest comes to us with a lot of experience working in roasteries and consulting operators in the areas that he has identified as "The Core 7" essential areas of roastery operations. I fact, he has written a whol book about it!
Today on this 34th episode of Rate of Rise, brought to you by our friends at Mill City Roasters, we are talking with Luke Waite of Pomelo Coffee Consulting!
Luke Waite is the founder and principal consultant of Pomelo Coffee Consulting and the creator of the Core 7, a framework designed to help coffee roasters achieve lasting success. His background includes transforming struggling cafés, cold brew companies, and coffee roasters into efficient, profitable, and sustainable businesses. In 2024, he launched Junto, a peer-driven coaching group for roastery owners that fosters growth through camaraderie, feedback, and accountability. Luke is a seasoned public speaker, regularly presenting at the Specialty Coffee Expo, regional coffee festivals, and to groups of international coffee professionals. He also serves on the management committee for the Coffee Writers Guild, advocating for writers' ethics and journalistic integrity in coffee writing. His book on the Core 7, offers a practical guide to help roastery owners effectively manage their businesses. Endorsed by industry veterans, the book is set for a summer 2025 release and is available for pre-order!
Links:
https://www.pomelocoffeeconsulting.com/ Related episodes:
- 416 : People-First Principles for Growing Your Shop w/ Mike McFall of Biggby Coffee
- 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
- 328 : Relationships and Resiliency w/ Xavier Alexander of Metric Coffee
Our Sponsor for Rate of Rise!
www.millcityroasters.com
When you onboard baristas, the work is just beginning. Part of the privilege of leadership is to provide ongoing coaching and training to all staff. This creates the kind of quality and excellence we want customers to experience and the kind of ongoing education you give to staff will determine if they are well equipped to serve.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the two kinds of ongoing training and education and why having the proper order and emphasis on each is critical.
Related episodes:
536: What It Means to Set Up Staff For Success
SHIFT BREAK! The Necessary Death of the Superstar Barista
SHIFT BREAK! How Not To Be a Jerk When Training Baristas
HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The world of cafe management is full of great ideas that, if applied well, would indeed change things for the better. The idea around leader ship role being primarily about "setting people up for success" is one of those principles. The trouble is it often stops with just the idea and is not as often applied in a tangible way.
Today we are going to explore what it really means to set your staff up for success in the daily operations of the café in a way that is helpful for the business, customer service, and the barista themselves.
Related Episodes:
- 437 : The New Age of the Barista: Mindsets + Habits for Success
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Simplicity, focus, community, and legacy. These are some words that I feel apply to the steady and excellent service of Hyperion Espresso these last 30 years of operation. When you can measure your business in decades and look back with pride and a full heart, you now you have crafted something lasting and valuable. Today we are going to explore the story of Hyperion Espresso in Fredricksburg, VA w/ co-founder Ana Brugos
Born in Madrid, Spain Ana got a degree in Advertising at Universidad Complutense. Moved to Seattle, WA to study art in 1992. She met Dan Peterson and, with his friend Steve Sollien, decided to move to Fredericksburg, VA to open a coffee shop, Hyperion Espresso, in 1994.
Dan and Ana married that fall. After 5 years, Steve moved west while Dan and Ana continued and grew with the business.
Over the years they expanded the seating and serving area, tried a satellite location that didn’t work, increased revenue as the area developed. In the last 20 years they were able to detach somewhat from the business thanks to GM, Amanda Jones. In 2024, after successfully overcoming set backs like lack of employees and economic downturns, particularly COVID 19, they sold Hyperion Espresso to Jack Scholl owner of Roadmap Coffee.
I am thrilled to get to look back in time with Ana and Amanda and learn what great things can be accomplished when you have clear focus and a simple goal to serve you community well!
We discuss:
- How Hyperion was born
- Cultural Influences on Coffee
- Community Building and Customer Engagement
- Transitioning Roles and Responsibilities
- Core Values and Business Ethos
- Navigating Industry Trends and Changes
- Creating a Unique Customer Experience
- Focusing on Core Offerings
- Building a Strong Team Culture
- Navigating Employee Dynamics
- Sustaining Passion and Community Engagement
Links:
www.hyperionespresso.com
Related episodes:
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 320 Founder Friday! w/ Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale, Florence, Italy
- 081 : Founder Friday w/ David Schomer of Espresso Vivace
- 205 : Inside Caffe Florian, the World’s Oldest Coffee Shop ! | Venice, Italy
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
It is a common weakness of hiring managers and desperate owners alike. We hire people that are not the right fit and spend most of our time trying to get them to change once they are working in the cafe. This leaves us burned out, it leaves the employee frustrated, and the business suffers in the process.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how e can avoid hiring the wrong people for the shop by focusing our effort away from trying to conform people that should not have been hired to begin with, and instead spend our energy identifying what is needed and who the right fits are before hiring.
If we could just solve this one thing, coffee shops would drastically change for the better.
Related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK! Adding Value in the Cafe
- 496: Hard Decisions and High Standards
- SHIFT BREAK: Why You Need Exit Interviews
- SHIFT BREAK: Respecting Your Barista's Professional Boundaries
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Once you hire the right people for your cafe you move on to the next decision, how to work with them to give them to set them and the business up for success. Too often the way we place and lead people is based on their job description and not so much based on their individual characteristics. How much better would your shop run if your team was given the opportunity to work in areas where they were strong and their weaknesses were not our dominant pre-occupation?
Today we are goin to dive into this subject with a re-airing of a classic episode for 2019 all about working through strengths with my friend, Lisa Cummings!
Lisa Cummings is the founder of Lead Through Strengths, a firm dedicated to helping people use their strengths at work. Lisa and her team serve large teams and organizations to help them leverage the results of the CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) assessment. She is also the host of the popular Lead Through Strengths podcast.
In this episode we are going to talk about the ways in which we can focus on and utilize our own strengths and facilitate the same opportunity for those we lead in the coffee shop.
Related episodes:
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
- 415: The Best Lessons On How to Listen w/ Listening Expert, Oscar Trimboli
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Why does it feel so awkward and difficult to take action the way we know we need to as leaders in the coffee shop? If you are human, you feel a kind of resistance when it comes to making decisions, having those conversations, and generally taking decisive steps into leadership. What are we worried about? Well, there surely are some things we can fall prey to and need to guard against when using the authority of the role to serve others, but unless we get over the awkward first steps, we cannot truly serve well.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how you can plan on this awkwardness and how you can overcome it so you can be the effective owner, manager, trainer, and leader your baristas and customers need you to be.
Related episodes:
- 368 : Walking the Line Between Leadership and Friendship
- 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
- 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The quality of your product matters. Some might get the idea that if only we are kind and hospitable then all will be forgiven or overlooked when it comes to quality fumbles. Actually, quality and the delivery of excellence in the product is part of how you show kindness and hospitality. Therefore how we approach it must be with a mindset that starts with the customer and ends with a structure of applied standards that respects the person, the coffee, and ourselves.
Today we will be talking about some principles you tips you can apply in your cafe that will help improve the quality and consistency of your product as well as the skills and confidence of your staff.
Related episodes:
- 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality
- RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
- 030 : Casey Underkofler : Matching Your Service to Your Quality : How to Manage and Control the critical details of service so both the experience and product are excellent
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
"I cannot open a coffee shop because my market is too saturated!" Does this sound like something you have heard or even said yourself?
Today there are indeed a LOT of coffee shops. Way more than there ever have been. But does that mean the market is really saturated?
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about a different way to view market saturation that will challenge you and open you up to the possibilities that are all around your community. There are more opportunities than meet the eye.
Related episodes:
- 523: Encore: How We Ruin Specialty Coffee Experience
- SHIFT BREAK! Every Customer is a Judge
- 518: How to Run a Coffee Shop w/ Meaningful Hospitality
- SHIFT BREAK: Back to the Basics
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The question we sometimes ask interviewees is, "What is more important, quality, or hospitality?" Spoiler, it's a trick question and the answer we like to hear usually is "Both".
Well, today on the show we will dive into why the answer should actually be hospitality and how our approach to this question and the order in which we pursue things actually can limit our potential or set us up for massive impact and growth.
Related episodes:
- Embracing Unreasonable Hospitality w/ Will Guidara
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Roasting coffee sets the stage for how much potential enjoyment a customer has in drinking it. In order to truly bring out the best in a particular coffee, you need to consider details about the coffee that impact its behavior and development. One of the big ones of course is the cultivar you are roasting and being able to start determine a profile from a place of understanding based on what that cultivar generally likes.
Today on this 33rd episode of Rate of Rise, brought to you by our friends at Mill City Roasters, we are sitting down with Rob Hoos to discuss his NEW book, "Cultivar: A Practical Guide for Coffee Roasters".
For Decades now Rob Hoos has been an industry leading roaster, consultant, and author whose work is is born from patient and thorough exploration and experimentation. We had him on the show a while back to talk about his first book, "Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee", and now we explore Rob's NEW book and talk about the insights and findings from his research around roasting the various cultivars of coffee a roaster in today's marketplace is likely to come across.
This is a great episode for anyone interested in roasting their coffee as well as that coffee can be roasted. Respecting the cultivar will open up a lot more both in the coffee and in your customers enjoyment of it!
Links:
www.hoos.coffee
Related episodes:
- RoR #26 : How to Approach Roasting Fine Robusta w/ Cleia Junqueira | Consultant + Q-Robusta Grader
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- 063 : What Your Roaster Wants you to Know w/ Rob Hoos, Author, Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee
- RoR #18 : Expert Tips on Avoiding Tipping w/ Rob Hoos
Our Sponsor for Rate of Rise!
www.millcityroasters.com
In order to assure our staff that we are listening and want to provide them solutions for issues they bring up we will often promise things in the moment, but then life gets in the way. In the moment it does not feel like a big deal, but slowly trust is eroded, and we see less engagement and loss opportunity for growth.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how a commitment and discipline of following through is often the the missing piece in your cafe operations. It is that discipline that unlocks a better culture and an over all better experience for the customers as we work to create an environment of confidence.
Related episodes:
SHIFT BREAK: Owners, It's OK to Make Mistakes Resentment in the Cafe SHIFT BREAK: Detail Oriented Staff Starts With You Are YOU Using Your Manual? Four Steps to Inspiring Your Staff Reasonable Expectations ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
It is easy to get caught up into the vortex of convenience in automation in the industry today. Whether it's the giant chain drive-through's popping up across America- or super automatic promises that aren't kept, or ready to drink products that promise profitability, but rob us of energy, we could be spending in more sustainable things - the current wave of convenience is also an opportunity for coffee houses to reclaim value in the marketplace.
On today's episode, we are going to be discussing this opportunity to lean into relationships and deliver great value with the in person experiences that a coffeehouse has always been known and loved for.
Hear on the show, we are believers in the coffee house, the café, the in person experience of people making coffee for people, and now is the time to go deep and lean into the relationships that the coffee bar fosters.
Related episodes:
- 253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- 318 : Why Your Shop is Key to the Success of Coffee
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Creating a coffee shop that is not only for the community but built with the community is a pretty magical thing. It requires a deft balance between decisiveness, confidence, and openness to collaboration with others to make it truly sing.
Today we are talking with someone who has taken this challenge on and in the process set the tone for what a coffee shop experience can look like in a region that is steeped in tradition and poised for growth in the coffee sector.
I am thrilled to talk with Aisha Bullard, Fouder of Original Drip in Dakar, Senegal, as well as the cafe's Art Director Modou (MAD) Diongue!
An irresistible sense of wanderlust is how US attorney and Original Drip Founder, Aisha Bullard, first found herself captivated by the beauty of Dakar, Senegal’s largest city. After traveling to nearly 40 countries around the globe, her heart fell in love with this bustling metropolis. She relocated her family and life to the area and soon worked remotely from a space she rented in Virage. It wasn’t long before Aisha felt compelled to open the space to the public for working and connecting. In her quest to secure the perfect beans, she discovered Rwandan coffee expert Smayah Uwajeneza. Aisha’s request for help to materialize her dream was met with this caffeine queen’s bubbling excitement. Before they knew it, a plan unfolded to create an inviting setting for socialization while finessing a deeper African bond with this hot beverage. As you can see, even the very origins of Original Drip lie within the enchantment of connection.
Passionate about the arts, Mad in Pixel has always shown a talent for creative expression. His artistic journey began when he learned to draw on the walls of his family home. Although he initially took a path towards theological studies, the desire to communicate through visual forms remained a constant companion. By interacting with professionals, he developed a solid expertise in the visual arts and other traditional disciplines, enriched by influences from literature, pop culture, fantasy literature and urban art. The introduction of computer technology in 2004 further broadened the horizons of his creative endeavors. As a self-taught artist, he uses creativity as a bridge to connect and unify communities. He has held positions of responsibility such as art director, illustrator and director in various communications agencies.In 2019, he took a major step forward by setting up his own creative studio, PIXELS SQUAD. Driven by the desire to create and inspire works he relies on collaboration with artists, organizations and brands.
We Discuss:
- The Birth of Original Drip
- Building a Community Hub
- Cultural Significance of Coffee in Senegal
- What is Cafe Touba?
- Training and Empowering Baristas
- The Future of Coffee Culture in Senegal
- Women Empowerment and Community Building
- Art and Identity of Dakar
- Navigating Business Challenges in Year Two
- Artisan Collaboration and Local Culture and Support
- Inspiring Future Baristas and Career Opportunities
- Customer Feedback and Expectations
- Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Links:
Instagram: @theoriginaldrip_
Related episodes:
- 488: Founder Friday! Honoring Coffee’s Root w/ Bartholomew Jones of Cxffee Black!
- 452: Championing the Customer Experience in Coffee w/ 3x SA Barista Champion, Winston Douglas Thomas of Cedar Coffee
- 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
- 377 : Coffee, Mindfulness, and the Art of Observation w/ Rob Sykes
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Whether it is a trade show, local business event, online or in-person summit, or a local throw down, coffee events are a way to connect and offer a lot of opportunities to grow and gain value for your career and business. That opportunity is there, but only if you know how to really take advantage of it.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how you can really get the most from a coffee event, and how to avoid the pitfalls of leaving a ton of value on the table due to a lack of planning and forethought.
Related episodes:
- 250 : Planning better Events w/ Steven Moloney of The Barista League
- 395: Connecting Roasters and Producers w/ Henry Wilson of Perfect Daily Grind and The Producer Roaster Forum!
- 324 : Encore Episode! Organizing the Community w/ Espresso State of Mind Founders, Javier Alvarez and Joseph Gonzalez
- 146 : How to Host a Throwdown w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY
- 100! Why YOU are the Key
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Coffee has always been about connection. The coffee shop brings people together inspiring conversations and playing a role in developing relationships that promote growth in a community.
Within the industry we have events and we also have various forms of media that also bring us together around ideas and inspire conversations around topic both directly and indirectly related to coffee. Among the many publications and sources facilitating these conversations there is one that has consistently endeavored to challenge, enlighten, and enhance the life of the reader through their print only magazine.
I am thrilled to welcome back to the show, Luke Adams, Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning print-only Standart Magazine. In this conversation we will be talking with Luke about the recent book Standart produced looking back on 10 years of coffee journalism and what themes, lessons, and insights are the most salient for us in today's coffee community.
I love the depth Standart brings and the format that together promotes a thoughtful dialogue around issues that deserve our best attention.
We discuss:
- Balancing Challenge and Comfort in Content
- How Coffee Communication has Evolved
- Empowering Producers
- The Role of Baristas
- Optimism in the Coffee Industry
- Maturation of Perspectives
- Diversity and Transparency
- Fair Compensation in Coffee
- The Ripple Effect of Thoughtful Journalism
Links: https://standartmag.com/ Related Episodes:
- 041 : Standing for the Art of Coffee w/ Luke Adams, Standart Magazine
- 376: Career, Coffee Quality, and Advancing the Industry w/ Mat North, of Raw Material
- 008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
- 451: Business Growth, Integrity, and Coffee Farmer Equity w/ Martin Mayorga of Mayorga Coffee
- 394 : Happy Coffee People w/ Wendelien van Bunnik
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
At a certain point a manager or owner will need to have a difficult conversation with a staff member that ultimately is about accountability. This conversation is often done with a lot of pent up emotion and the stard being applied may or may not have been very well communicated or trained. On top of this we rarely see a structure put in place AND followed that helps guide the process.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why you need an accountability process, how it should be approached and thought of vs how it is usually conceived, and why it is a useful tool to help both parties succeed in the cafe.
Related episodes:
- Why You Need to Back up Your Policies
- 528 : Growing Yourself and Your Cafe Through Delegation
- SHIFT BREAK : Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
- 355: Baristas! 6 Essential Qualities to Get Yourself Hired
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- Reasonable Expectations
- SHIFT BREAK: Evil Owners and Lazy Baristas
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
When you start a coffee shop you find yourself doing a lot of the jobs yourself. Scheduling, inventory, event management, training and onboarding, meetings, shift coverage, developing SOPs, hiring etc.
Initially these tasks and others like them are things you want to be involved with, but as time goes on, instead of delegating, we keep the same tasks year after year, and in so doing hold back ourselves, others, and the business from growing the way it needs to.
Today we are going to be chatting about the need for delegation in the cafe and how to overcome the hesitation and fear that keeps many owners on the hamster wheel of endless tasks, too many hats, and inevitable burn out.
Related Episodes:
- Don't Just Do it: Shift break on Delegation
- 267 : The Power of Delegation
- 362: How to Handle Growth in Your Coffee Shop
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- 475: Essential Tools for Cafe Management
THERE IS STILL TIME!!!
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
These days a lot of coffee shop owners are thinking about how they can add value for the customer. Of course this is a question that should be asked and right now with costs and competition the desire to add value is at an all time high as we seek to attract and retain customers.
But are we going about it the right way?
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why you might not need to add any more value than you already offer, and then if you decide you want to add something to your program, what approach should you take to delight your guests.
Related episodes:
- BLOG: Soul Searching in the New Landscape of Retail
- 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
- 173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
- 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
- 340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
- 443: Want Impactful Messaging? Keep it Simple! w/ Author Ben Guttmann
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 016: Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth
- 453 : The Craft of Operations
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Besides hiring the right person for the role in your coffee shop, onboarding and training is the most important thing to get right so those you bring on and the customers who trust you brand, are set up for success. It is therefore little wonder why, when training and on-barding are skimped on, the hospitality, quality, and then sales go down as customers lose trust.
Today we are going to be discussing how to approach the development and execution of onboarding and training in a way that creates the best chance for success. I would emphasis that this episode is one among many listed below that I feel need to be listened to in order to bring about an understanding of what tips, steps, and insight make sense to apply to your cafe.
When it comes to operations and building these kinds of programs and systems, the engagement of leadership in curating them to serve their people is a never ending task. It helps to embrace the "always" nature of this part of running a cafe just as much as a barista will always be expected and hopefully take joy in, making and serving drinks.
Related Episodes:
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
- 271 : Why the Cash Register Controls Everything
THERE IS STILL TIME!!!
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
When we talk about the virtues of hospitality, one of the ones that comes up a lot is kindness. The extension of this grace to others in spite of our mood is a discipline that requires us to find motivation beyond receiving thanks.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why, if we are serious about kindness becoming what we are known for amongst other hospitality virtues, we need to support those intentions with consistent and excellent work supported by systems to make that work something people can count on.
Related episodes:
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 293 : Thoughts on Defining Professionalism
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Creating and maintaining an elevated standard of hospitality is no easy task. It not only requires strategies and systems, but it requires that those providing the hospitality also experience it themselves. That people-first focus on employee satisfaction and sustainability matched with a high standard of training and a structure of operations to support and nurture the culture is exactly what today's guests have created in their cafe.
Today we get to talk with the owners of Fount Coffee and Kitchen in Morrisville, NC!
Fount Coffee + Kitchen is owned by two husband and wife teams in Morrisville, North Carolina: Shawn and Kristen Preissner and George and Katie Kilgore. They are two local families that came together with a shared vision and passion for great coffee, food, and hospitality. They initially met in 2015, became great friends, put together a business plan, and opened the doors of Fount in December of 2018. Recognizing the need that existed in the Morrisville/Research Triangle Park community for both specialty coffee and a community gathering space, they sought to meet this need with premium menu offerings, elevated guest experience, and intentional workplace culture on the forefront of their mission.
We discuss:
- The Founding Story of Fount
- Integration of corporate strategies that benefit small biz
- Why feedback from team members is crucial for continuous improvement.
- Fount Coffee's mission: to serve intentionally, excellently, and joyfully.
- Why the owners hold each other accountable to maintain discipline in operations.
- Prioritizing team morale and sustainability in the workplace.
- Celebrating team members' contributions.
- Why you should focus on financial health to allow for team investments.
- Efficient scheduling as a key to staff satisfaction.
- Barista work is more demanding than perceived.
- Why future growth must align with your values.
Links:
www.fountcoffee.com
Instagram : @fountcoffee
Related episodes:
- 391 : Founder Friday! w/ Megan Wilson of Spuds Coffee in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- 343 : Founder Friday! “Curated Edition” | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 446: Building a People-First Coffee Tech Culture w/ Jason “Double J” Johnson, Black Rabbit Service Co.
- 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
As we continue to navigate costs and the increasing competitive landscape of running a coffee shop, focusing on what is essential in your business has never been more crucial. Few guests have given us as salient and focused a treatment on how to prioritize than when we interviewed author and speaker Greg McKeown on his best selling book Essentialism.
Greg is the CEO of McKeown Inc. His writing has appeared or been covered by The New York Times, Fast Company, Fortune, HuffPost, Politico, and Inc. Magazine. He is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review and he has been interviewed on numerous television and radio shows including NPR, NBC, FOX, and as a regular guest on The Steve Harvey Show. Entrepreneur voted his interview at Stanford University the #1 Must-See Video on Business, Creativity and Success.
McKeown is an world renowned public speaker and hosts "The Essentialism Podcast" where he interviews amazing people from all over the world about their experiences practicing essentialism in work and in life.
In today’s conversation we will be discovering how we can take the first steps in spending our time on the vital few -vs- the trivial many.
www.gregmckeown.com
Related Episodes:
- 436: Stop Burn Out! and Make Work Effortless w/ Greg McKeown | Best Selling Author “Effortless”
- 318 : Why Your Shop is Key to the Success of Coffee
- 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Feedback. It is all too common to use this word. But do many of us actively pursue it as if it is foundational to the success of our businesses? Chances are not really. And in so doing we lose out on connection, relevancy , and have a harder time delivering value that creates momentum with our coffee. All because when we talk about relationship coffee, we tend to leave out the consumer.
Today on this 32nd episode of Rate of Rise, brought to you by our friends at Mill City Roasters, we are sitting down with cofounder of Mirror Coffee Roasters in Bellingham Washington, Mark Kutrovski!
Over the last 10 years, Mark has been running a small creative agency out of Bellingham, WA that helps clients grow their online presence on social media through engaging video and photo content. During that time, he had his coffee enlightenment that peaked my interest in coffee. He picked up a few part time jobs ranging from working at a local roastery to working behind bar just to learn more about the craft. His growing curiosity in coffee paired with his brother's experience in managing several cafes, they decided to join forces to start Mirror Coffee Roasters.
In today's episode we explore the need for all roasters to pursue feedback in how they source, roast, and communicate value to their customers and why it is of particular importance right now!
Links:
https://mirrorcoffeeroasters.com/
Instagram: @mirrorcoffeeroasters
Related episodes:
- RoR #25 : Training Up the Next Generation of Roasters w/ Steve Lee of Pocket Knife Consulting + Linea Caffe
- ROR #23 : How to Close the Industry-Consumer Flavor Gap w/ Phil Beattie, Dillanos Coffee Roasters
- RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
- 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
- 340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
Our Sponsor for Rate of Rise!
www.millcityroasters.com
Sorry to break it to you, but literally nobody who matters cares how you define yourself. In our quest to find belonging and quell the voice of our imposter syndrome, we tend to over define ourselves and posture in a way that limits our ability to run an effective and thriving coffee shop.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how our assumptions about where we stand in the industry are not nearly as important to focus on as who we are serving and how we listen to what they and our business needs. Maybe this is just semantics, maybe this will actually open up a new way of thinking for you that bring about a healthier shop. In either case it is worth thinking about if only for the purpose of developing a habit of reflection and understanding.
Related episodes:
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
- 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- Your peers are not your Customers
- Who do we Serve?
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
In order to move to the next level of maturity and capacity, both as people and as a company, a coffee shop and its staff but be pursuing more than just checking off the day's work. Pursuing professional development is essential to bring efficiency, effectiveness, fulfillment, and even abundance into the conversation when we look at our operations. But what might that look like?
Today we are going to be exploring how we can embrace professional development and provide consistent opportunities for growth to our staff as a way of investing both in them and the health of the coffee shop.
In th midst of the price increases across the industry, this is yet another way to lean into relationships that will yield higher returns for all involved.
We cover:
- Why professional development is essential for the growth of coffee shops
- How a leaner, well-trained team can provide better service
- How raising prices requires raising standards in quality and service
- Investing in staff training for better customer experience
- Why baristas should be treated as professionals, not just workers
- Systematic training as a crucial component for consistency and quality
- Business skills are just as important as coffee skills for success
- Leadership development is necessary for effective management
- Why we need to pursue a culture of excellence that benefits both staff and customers
- Remaining committed to developing profesionalization programs
Related episodes:
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
- Leaner Teams, Better Results
- 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
- 426: Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 489: Tips for Creating a Resilient Cafe
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Now is the time to start redirecting our gaze from competitions and accomplishing greatness on a stage serving judges that do not matter to our shops, and refocusing our attention on the judges that truly matter. Our customers.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the phrase "Every customer is a judge". I used to hear it being spoken when I was involved in competitions in the early 2000s. How can we use the same energy we would put into a championship performance on behalf of of the customer and the experience they have in our shop?
Related episodes:
- 340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
- 298 : A Trophy, or Atrophy?
- 151 : How to Respond and React to Negative Feedback : 5 Step Process
- 259 : Solving Toxic Customer Service Culture
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- Icing on the Cake: Competitions vs. the Shop
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
We suck at fulfilling the implied or explicit promises we make through our coffee shop marketing. Smiling faces with beautiful drinks and a clean environment with plenty of verbiage about values and mission. Lots of good vibes. That all tends to fall away once the customer gets in the space and experiences the reality of our operations. This disconnect and over promise/underdeliver cycle is why customer lose trust in brands. The good news though is that we don't have to continue playing this well branded, poorly executed game.
Today we are re-airing an episode from way back that is just as relevant as ever. We talking about how we ruin the specialty experience and what can be done to fix this so you can build trust back with customers and have more confidence in your self and your cafes ability to deliver what our marketing says we are about.
Related episodes:
- 321 : Marketing and Moral Injury w/ Josh Tarlo of Kiss the Hippo
- 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
- 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality
- Curbing their Enthusiasm : How we put a damper on the customer's experience and what to do instead
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
The search for a "superstar" barista seems to never die. It is a desire born from our tendency to attribute success and power to one person in-spite of the evidence around us that pretty obviously points to the opposite. But oh if we just hire a champion, a coffee person, a lightning rod of a personality, then all will be well!
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why this idea should die a quick and unceremonious death, and in its place we need to build a system of collective accountability to high standards that, unlike the weak and faltering light of the superstar, equips our whole team and allows us to actually shine.
Related episodes:
Bottling Your Best Barista
SHIFT BREAK! With or Without Experience? Hiring the Best Baristas
Icing on the Cake: Competitions vs. the Shop
Curse of the Favorite Barista?
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Over the years, our collective philosophy and approach to coffee has taken many forms as we learn more about what the industry needs to thrive. We as individuals evolve our thoughts and views of coffee often starting with hubris and a strict puritanical view, then opening up to a wider, simpler, generous, and maybe even humble stance on the various ways coffee can be enjoyed and communicated.
Today we are talking about one such journey with the Founder of Fieldwork Coffee and Director of the World Aeropress Championships, Tim Williams!
Tim Williams is the director of the World AeroPress Championship, and founder of Melbourne’s Fieldwork Coffee.
Since the early 2000's, Tim’s worked across a range of roles, including Workshop Coffee and Square Mile Coffee Roasters in London, and Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea in Los Angeles.
On the sidelines, Tim’s collaborated on a number of coffee initiatives including helping to develop Maison Kitsuné’s ’Cafe Kitsuné, launching the Gitesi Project, and as a founding member of Coffee Common.
Today, Tim lives in Melbourne and divides his time between Fieldwork Coffee, the World AeroPress Championship, running a small charity in rural Rwanda, and raising three kids with his partner, Leah.
We talk about:
- Tim's journey into coffee
- The exploding London coffee scene
- The shaping forces of competitions and camaraderie
- Absolutism in coffee culture and its pitfalls.
- Understanding coffee requires recognizing its agricultural nuances.
- Tim emphasizes the importance of hands-on experience in coffee roasting.
- Cupping coffee critically is essential for quality control.
- Tim's philosophical shift from conquering coffee to celebrating its complexities.
- Why specialization allows for deeper expertise in coffee.
- Innovative approaches can streamline coffee release processes.
- Customer expectations are shaped by consistent quality.
- Why critical feedback is s necessary for growth in the coffee industry.
- How the World Areopress Championships champion fundamentals.
- The argument for taste as the most important aspect of coffee.
- Understanding brewing variables enhances coffee quality.
- How nuance in coffee brewing leads to better results.
Links:
www.worldaeropresschamionship.com
@aero.press
@fieldworkcoffee
Related episodes:
- 242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
- 448: Founder Friday! Part 1 “Switching Gears” | w/ Doug Zell of Intelligentsia and The Meteor!
- 448: Founder Friday! Part 2 “Switching Gears” | w/ Doug Zell of Intelligentsia and The Meteor!
- 365 : Spilling the Beans on Global Coffee Culture w/ Lani Kingston
- 309 : A Conversation w/ Sarah Allen and Ken Olson of Barista Magazine
- 306 : A Conversation w/ 2004 U.S. Barista Champion, Bronwen Serna!
- 092 : Tony “Tonx” Konecny of Yes Plz : Consumer Accessibility, roasting, 3rd wave, subscription
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Coffee shops are created through intention and reflect the values and often the personality of first the ones who begin them, and then those who work in them and the community that makes it their regular destination. There is a mix of service and transaction, with various layers of relationship built on trust.
Today on Founder Friday we explore the story of one coffee shop and roastery that does a great job embodying these elements to serve both the locals and tourists with warmth and provide a sustainable and fulfilling vocation for their staff.
Thrilled to welcome to the show, Bow Smith of Rowan Coffee!
Bow Smith is a coffee professional in Asheville, NC with nearly a decade of experience of barista work, roasting, and cafe management. Smith founded Rowan Coffee in 2020 with the goal of building a cafe and roastery grounded in integrity, hospitality, and creativity, while fostering fulfilling and lasting coffee careers.
In this conversation we talk about:
- Bow's Experience as a Coffee Pro and Teaching Coffee
- The Ephemeral Nature of Coffee
- The Collaborative Efforts in Establishing Rowan
- Trust Is Crucial and Leadership in Coffee Shops
- Why Empathy in hiring is crucial for enhancing customer experiences
- Why Consistency in product is important, but experience is equally vital.
- Creating a Unique Cafe Experience
- Resilience in Community After Helene
- Building Culture in Business
Links:
www.rowancoffee.com
Instagram: @rowancoffee
Related and recommended episodes:
- 420: Design Meaningful Roles in the Cafe
- 483: Encore: 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 492: How to be The Best Coffee Shop
- SHIFT BREAK! Building Trust Credit
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
We all know that in order for a business to be sustainable, it has to be profitable. We need financial margin in order to deal with the unexpected expenses and events, provide opportunities for others, fund growth as needed, and yes, pay ourselves! But what other kinds of margin are there in the cafe that can be just as important?
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why you need to maintain margin both in you finances and also with your energy and focus. In order to even begin benefiting from a thriving coffee shop, you and your people need to personally thrive.
Be sure to listen to the episodes linked below...
Related episodes:
- 436: Stop Burn Out! and Make Work Effortless w/ Greg McKeown | Best Selling Author “Effortless”
- 258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
- 341: How to Think About Success
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Workflow and bar presence are the necessary foundation on which coffee shines.
Lately I have been doing a lot of cafe design and training work. One of the central themes of training and design is that both the space and the people using it are effective in their role. Once the bar is built, it falls on us to bring it to life with our actions. Having a great bar presence and workflow is not just about efficiency, it is part of the substance of what our businesses are built on and without it, we are frustrated and held back in our ability to receive and give a great experience in the coffee shop.
Today I want to share with you some tips on how you can conduct yourself and train your team to have workflow that works and a presence behind the bar that keeps you in control, confident, and able to communicate to the customer what you intend to communicate, not the desperate and frenetic feeling we tend to broadcast when or shops are busy.
Coffee and coffee people's success both rely on professionals to dial in their tools AND themselves to produce something of worth that grows in demand and sustains the whole.
How we work matters and I hope today's episode helps!
Related episodes:
- 002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
- 084 : Crushing the Rush : Tips and Best Practices for Busy Times
- 167 : Handing off the Shift : 4 Tips to Avoid Chaos
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
As most of you know, Starbucks has once again coopted a traditional drink and introduced it to their menu as a part of their "Back to Starbucks" campaign. The cortado, a 4 oz espresso and milk drink originating in Spain, has been a staple menu item in specialty coffee for decades. Only now it appears on the Starbucks menu as an 8oz drink. Of course we are all bracing for the wave of customers requesting a Starbucks fun-house- mirror version of this drink, much like the macchiato. But there is a whole lot more to discuss than just the bizarro versions of drinks we have to navigate.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why this attempt at winning back trust with new drinks and branding efforts is a hollow but very familiar practice not reserved only for corporate giants who have lost their way. We too engage in this activity more than we'd care to admit. Let's go beyond the commiseration and talk about what we can learn from this moment in coffee and use it for the greater good
Related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK! Should You Up-Charge for Alternative Milks?
- 502: Creating Meaningful Coffee Experiences
- Building Trust-Credit
- 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in March 2025!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Many, dare I say, all of us, who fell in love with coffee can trace our beginnings to a moment when something we experienced in the cup surprised us with its depth and character. It was a catalyst that set us off in the pursuit of understanding and experiencing that kind of moment again and again.
People are the same.
Ubiquitous en mass, until you get to know the individual and through relating their stories and experiencing their character, we are often surprised by a depth that begins to teach us that there is more to them and we can, if we allow ourselves, begin to pursue that experience again and again in our own conversations, or by providing a platform for those conversations to take place. Like a coffee house. Or in the case of today's guest, a podcast.
Ryan Woldt is a Wisconsin-born author, entrepreneur, and creative maker. He is currently the producer and host of the Coffee People and Coffee Smarter podcasts and a brand ambassador for Roastar, Inc., a coffee packaging company.
Ryan is a self-described creative raccoon, always reaching for the next shiny creative project to add to his current collection. Having grown up in a family restaurant, he has continued to keep a foot in the door of the hospitality space for more than three decades.
His passion for collaboration overlaps with his desire to make things. He is particularly drawn to projects in the hospitality space and recently launched a coffee collaboration celebrating the language of the Midwest called Yeah, No...Yeah Coffee with Minneapolis-based roaster Relative Coffee Company.
(Ryan currently lives with his wife and dog in Southern California, where he procrastinates before deadlines by drinking coffee, riding his bicycle, or reading a book.)
Today we get to hear Ryan's story of hospitality, creative pursuits, personal challenge and victory, and what he has learn creating a platform for the story behind the people of coffee.
Links:
Roast! West Coast Newsletter* - Signing up is the best way to support our effort.
R!WC Youtube - video podcasts coming soon. 1st release 1/22/2025
Coffee People on Spotify
Coffee People on Apple Podcasts
Yeah, No...Yeah Coffee (Direct Link on Relative shop)
Coffee + Cactus Coloring Book
One Wild Life Co.
Roastar
Related episodes:
- 112 : The Power of Story w/ James Harper of Filter Stories Podcast
- 391 : Founder Friday! w/ Megan Wilson of Spuds Coffee in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
ATTENTION CAFE OWNERS w/ 2+ Years of running your brick and mortar....
-
LOOKING FOR A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORT, ACCOUNTABILITY, INSIGHT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT?
-
The Key Holder Coaching Group master-mind are now taking new applicants for our 4th cohort launching in march!
Click below to fill out your application now!
KEY HOLDER COACHING APPLICATION
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Whether it started purely as a quest for efficiency, or as a way to achieve consistency in a blend, pre-blending green coffee is a pretty staple practice for coffee roasters. The alternative, and perhaps original way of blending is the classic post-roast blend whose adherents tout its ability to give them ulitmate control of each coffee and thus better quality.
Whether you do one or both of these methods of blending in your roastery, it always helps to explore the why behind them, and talk about the possible benefits and drawbacks of each.
To help us understand this more I am thrilled to bring on to the show roasting educator extraordinaire and founder of Relative Coffee Co., Bryant Banker-Scannell!
Bryant has helped launch the coffee careers of hundreds of new roasters through his work as lead roasting instructor and the heart of the in-house roastery at Mill City Roasters®. He also owns and operates Relative Coffee Co. which combines his passion of roasting, design, and photography to create a fun and tasty coffee brand. Based in Minneapolis, Bryant has worked in cafe and roasting positions since 2011. With over a decade of roasting experience, he believes coffee should be approachable, fun, and unique to your experience in the industry.
We discuss: * Bryant's Beginning in Coffee * Education Based in Reality * The Art and Science of Coffee Roasting * The State of Blending Coffee * Omni-Roasting vs. Individual Characteristics * Pre-Blending vs. Post-Roast Blending * The importance of Quality Balanced with Efficiency * The Importance of Heat Management in Roasting * Post-Roast Blending: Advantages and Considerations
Links:
www.relativecoffeeco.com
Instagram: @relativecoffeeco
Related episodes:
- ROR #24 : Perspectives on Roasting for Espresso w/ Jaroslav Tuček of Doubleshot, Czech Republic
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
- RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
Our Sponsor for Rate of Rise!
www.millcityroasters.com
Does this sound familiar? "You should shop here because we are local! ...or we support this cause! ...or we have this association!"?
While our identity and associations in the community are beautiful and add depth to what customers might love about you, too often we can use these things as means to solicit support in ways that are as though we are guilt trip on people. There are many issues that arise from this that could damage not only your business but the thing you may want to support or represent.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why no matter the nuances of your unique business, your success and value proposition needs first be the quality of how you serve in the cafe, then the nuances and details of the why will be best represented.
When you get the order correct, this leads to a better chance of serving that cause and the community you want to support or reach.
Related episodes:
- "Local" does not Equal Quality
- Make Your Problems More Specific
- 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality
- 502: Creating Meaningful Coffee Experiences
- Differentiation Takes Time!
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Even with all the conversations and tools available to us around the subject of hospitality, it is easy to engage in the pursuit of it in a way that ends up not resonating and lacks meaning. We can go through the motions, inspired as we are by the example of others, and not see the magic we assumed would follow our efforts. So, what does running a coffee shop with meaningful hospitality look like?
Today we are going to deep dive into this subject and breakdown for you in detail the areas, levels, and methods for engaging in and cultivating meaningful hospitality both across the bar and behind it.
We cover:
- How meaningful hospitality as a lifestyle and conviction.
- Why aligning business values with operations is crucial
- Recognizing and rewarding positive actions
- How building trust takes time and consistent effort
- Every interaction should validate the customer's significance.
- Why protection and accountability is important in meaningful hospitality
- Where patience and understanding human needs is fit in effective hospitality
- Understanding individual needs is crucial for effective service
- Why systems should support the values of the business
- Consistent application of standards is essential for fairness
- Mutuality and co-creation enhance the hospitality experience
- Why emotional metrics are as important as numerical ones
- Continuous learning is vital for hospitality providers
- Letting go of outdated practices is necessary for growth
This was originally a talk developed for a webinar put on by our coffee friend, Sarah Naylor of Day Break Coffee cart.
See the link below to learn more about what she does!
Link:
www.daybreakcoffeecart.com
Related episodes:
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
- 343 : Founder Friday! “Curated Edition” | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are
- Spiders and Customer Service
- 271 : Why the Cash Register Controls Everything
- The Broken Chair
- The Difference of Deference to your Staff
- Systems as Care
INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
The value proposition of a coffee shop is not a complicated one. Kind service and hospitality in a clean and well organized space serving consistently great coffee. Boooring! At least that what it seems like we must be thinking. Why else would we be so obsessed with the new and novel at the expense of mastering the basics?
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why we should always focus our best energies and focus on the basics that effectively provide guest and staff with a fulfilling experience.
It's not about entertaining ourselves with novelty and complexity as though we are too cool for the basics, its about hosting and serving others through the basics.
Related episodes:
- 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
- 500! Reflections and The Role of the Coffee Shop in the Industry
- 485: Your Shop vs The Industry - How to Free Yourself From Dependency
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The act of creating a space is the core existence of the coffee shop operator. The way we set our minds to the task of serving through selecting colors, textures, material, ingredients, and of course our words and actions. This all creates a singular experience we call a cafe. Today's guest has a deep appreciation for and experience helping people build these spaces, quite literally one brick at a time.
I am so pleased to welcome to the show, Armen Alajian of Arto Brick!
Armen Alajian is a self-described dreamer and maker with a passion for making and merchandising products that help others create spaces of hospitality and warmth.
He co-owns and operates Arto, a handcrafted tile business based in Gardena, California, part of the greater Los Angeles area, alongside his brother, Varoujan (Vod). Through his work, Armen aims to inspire and support the creation of beautiful, welcoming environments that bring people together.
An Armenian-American with roots in Egypt, Armen draws on his rich cultural heritage and lifelong dedication to faith, family, and craftsmanship. Together with his wife, Sally, he is raising eight children, attempting to instill in them a sense of responsibility, creativity, and an ownership mindset. Sally is Armen’s steadfast partner in both life and purpose, supporting his vision of building meaningful connections through his work.
Guided by the principle to “Set and surpass expectations”, Armen combines his love for making with an unwavering focus on service. His goal is not just to build products but to build connections—creating tools for others to design spaces where people can gather, share, and thrive.
In this conversation we learn about:
- Arto Brick's history of craftsmanship.
- Why we should look to create unique spaces
- Why commerce is an integral part of culture and community building.
- How intentional design can create peaceful and inviting spaces.
- Material choices significantly impact the overall experience of a space.
- The idea that he people involved in a space contribute to its atmosphere.
- The importance of every element in a space working together harmoniously.
- How understanding customer intentions leads to better design outcomes.
- Unique manufacturing processes can create a sense of magic in products.
- Company culture and employee satisfaction / retention.
- Why we need gratitude in our hospitality
- Creating spaces of peace enhances customer experiences.
- Why community and connection are vital in the workplace.
- Striving for high aspirations and key learnings for leaders
Links:
www.arto.com
Instagram @artobrick
Related and recommended episodes:
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 511: The Art of Designing Unique Coffee Bars w/ Scott Magic of Magic Architecture
- SHIFT BREAK: Embrace Your Space
- SHIFT BREAK : 2 Tips for Bar Design
- 275 : The Changing Landscape of Cafe Spaces w/ Dr. Jennifer Ferreira
- 206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 375 : Founder Friday! w/ Roland Horne of WatchHouse
- 205 : Inside Caffe Florian, the World’s Oldest Coffee Shop ! | Venice, Italy
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Delegation is a difficult, but necessary part of growing your coffee business. It is critical in helping you grow as well. Delegation of responsibility and authority is a response to the growth of the business that, while promising to expand your organizations capacity to steward that growth, tests your resolve. That is because of what we will call the "delegation dip".
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how you can (and must!) navigate the initial dip in performance associated with delegation in order to push through to the other side where it creates higher performance, capacity, and stability in the cafe.
Related episodes:
-
267 : The Power of Delegation
-
SHIFT BREAK: Don't Just Do It
-
475: Essential Tools for Cafe Management
-
Messy Can Be Beautiful
-
362: How to Handle Growth in Your Coffee Shop
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
How do you brew great coffee at home? That question is probably one of the most searched and asked questions that has unleashed what seems like a never ending stream of educational platforms, curated lists, videos, and blogs. It is honestly both exciting and overwhelming. The new question might actually be, "how do I make sense of all my options to make great coffee at home?" That is where today's guest, Justin Piercy of Daddy Got Coffee steps in to help.
Justin Piercy is the former sound engineer, family man, coffee enthusiast, and now full time home coffee education professional behind the popular, fun, and approachable platform, Daddy Got Coffee. His work has a lot to do with creating clarity for viewers to find what works for them to enjoy the coffee they buy at our roasteries and, in turn, this helps those home enthusiast become more discerning customers of the cafe.
In this interview we explore not only Justin's own story of how he came to champion home coffee education, but also how home coffee as a category has influenced cafe culture and why it has been a force for good.
We discuss:
- The Spark of the Coffee Enthusiast
- Navigating the Learning Curve
- The Intersection of Creativity and Logic
- Understanding the Coffee Enthusiast's Mindset
- The Impact of Home Brewing on Cafes
- Understanding Your Audience's Needs
- Defining Success in Coffee Business
- Intentionality in Coffee Choices
Links:
-
360: Encore Episode! Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes: 7 Tips for Success
-
035 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
-
333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab
-
322 : A Conversation w/ LaNisa Williams of Barista Life L.A.
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
Let's face it, the look, feel, and functionality of the physical coffee shop will always be an important part of showing hospitality to our guests. The issues we are faced with is one as old as time. We meticulously set up our spaces when we first open, get busy, and then slowly allow them to fall apart. We don't notice it so much because we are busy with other things, but the customers notices, and taken together, it has a dramatic impact on everything we put our hands to.
Today on Shift Break we will be discussing the importance of taking very good care of your coffee shop. The space itself is a sacred one. The first place we encounter the truth of marketing claims about quality, community, specialty, excellence etc.
In this new year lets determine to focus on keeping our shop as a way of keeping our promises and the first basic step in showing the hospitality we say we want to offer.
Related episodes:
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- SHIFT BREAK: Focusing on the Whole, Not the Part
- The Impact of Absence
- 2nd First Impression : Tips for Welcoming Customers Back
- Working Clean : Tips for keeping the bar looking and working well while you work
- The Currency of Urgency
- 498: 10 Small Things to Fix in Your Coffee Shop This Week
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
It's that time of year where we are collectively setting our sights on both the past and the future. What will this next year of 2025 hold for you and your coffee shop? The answer to that question is that your tends to be made up of the things you focus on most. So if we want to increase our chances of experiencing good things, we need to increase our focus on what good things we would like to see.
Today you and I are spending some time together to focus on 7 words / areas that I believe are worthy of your focus in the New Year. Take these words and think on them, ponder and meditate on how to bring them into your personal practice, your communication and training of staff, and your cafes operations.
If you can meaningfully integrate these things into the fabric of your organization in 2025, you will definitely have a good year.
We discuss and explore:
- Presence
- Iteration
- Resource
- Discovery
- Joy
- Communication
- Quality
Links:
- 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
- 173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
- 489: Tips for Creating a Resilient Cafe
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- 453 : The Craft of Operations
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
Every Coffee Fest we get to sit down with some very cool presenters to chat about their businesses, area, of expertise, and insights that will help you run a better cafe. The last show of the year took place in Minneapolis, MN and was a wonderful time of sharing, community, and value. Even though my equipment decided (after 8 years of service) to die on the spot of my first interview, we got to catch up with two presenters over Zoom and have some very helpful conversations.
Today we are presenting to you my interview with Jaime Becker-Finn of Makwa Coffee and Frederick Dubose of Sun Bean Coffee!
We start with Jaime Becker-Finn
Jamie Becker-Finn is the founder and owner of Makwa Coffee, a community centered craft coffee shop that opened in Roseville, MN in 2022. Jamie is a descendant of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and named the shop after her clan - "makwa" is the Ojibwe word for black bear (pronounced "muck-wuh"). In a sea of suburban chain stores, Makwa Coffee is proud to be a unique and values-driven space where queer folks, Native folks, and the entire community is welcomed.
In addition to running the shop, Jamie is an attorney and is also wrapping up eight years of service in the Minnesota House of Representatives, where she chaired the House Judiciary Committee. Jamie grew up on the rez near Cass Lake and goes home often. She loves her people, her dogs, live music, books and soccer.
Links
Instagram: @makwacoffee
https://www.makwacoffee.com/
Next up we have Fredrick Dubose
After dedicating over 20 years to mentoring and supporting young people, Fredrick recognized that creating a physical space where the community could gather and engage was the next step in his mission to foster connection and growth. This vision became a reality when he opened SunBean Coffee Shop.
His experience in youth work taught him the value of creating safe, inclusive environments where people can thrive. SunBean became that space for not only young people but for the entire neighborhood. Fredrick saw an opportunity to continue his mentorship by hiring local youth, offering them not just employment but life skills, a sense of responsibility, and a platform to contribute to their community.
SunBean is a local institution known for its welcoming atmosphere and positive impact.
His coffee shop has become a space for conversation, creativity, and collaboration, hosting community events and offering a venue where people from all walks of life can connect.
Fredrick’s transition from youth work to business ownership is a testament to his belief that community service and entrepreneurship can go hand in hand, each reinforcing the other to create lasting change."
Links
https://sunbeancoffeemn.com/
Instagram: @sunbeancoffeemn
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
For this last Founder Friday of 2024 we are featuring a story that I believe really embodies the spirit of entrepreneurship that fuels so many coffee shops. From a cart in the pandemic, to a thriving cafe and catering business, Thrd Coffee, Lead by Raoul Adwan, has shown what is possible when you build with passion and focus.
Raoul Adwan is a Chicago native of Mexican and Bolivian descent who turned a passion for coffee into a thriving business.
Raoul launched his venture during the pandemic with the help of a stimulus check, starting off with a single coffee cart offering street-side brews.
What began as a humble pop-up operation quickly gained traction, and within four years, Raoul’s business expanded to a brick-and-mortar location (currently in the works for his second shop) , complemented by multiple carts equipped with top-tier coffee gear.
Today, Raoul leads one of Chicago’s top coffee catering operations, serving corporate spaces and buildings across downtown with full-service coffee bars.
His innovative approach and commitment to quality have positioned his business for rapid growth, with projected 2024 sales of over $600K and total gross revenue (starting from 2020 to now) hitting $1.15M. Raoul’s journey is a testament to entrepreneurial spirit and community-driven success.
Links:
https://www.thrdcoffee.com/
@THRDCOFFEECO
Related episodes:
-
453 : The Craft of Operations
-
432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
-
Creative Avoidance : Thoughts on Long-game Management
-
169 : Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
-
115 : Finding Success in Mobile Coffee w/ Tim Cox / Communion Coffee
-
422: Coffee Truck Success w/ Vincent LaVolpa of Green Joe Coffee School
-
384 : How to Run a Successful Coffee Cart w/ Sarah Naylor of Daybreak Coffee Cart
-
385 : Founder Friday! w/ Arick Davis and Sarah Laman of Last Mile Cafe, Grand Rapids, MI
-
187 : A Conversation with Nikki Outlaw of Anecho Coffee
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
Labor cost is probably the number one most worried over metric in the cafe. Of course, like any other metric that signifies the health of the business, your labor cost needs to be something you pay attention to and control. But the way many cafes approach labor cost can be akin to sawing off the branch they sit on. Short term gain, long term detriment. In a time where the need for talent acquisition and wages are on the rise, it is time we take a fresh look at ways to grow and maintain profitability.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about ways to view your labor cost in light of the whole business, how to prioritize your focus and energy, and why your investment into labor may not need to be as tightly controlled as you have been led to believe.
Related episodes:
-
341: How to Think About Success
-
009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk : Simon shows us how we should be thinking of numbers and their relation to our shops, baristas, and businesses
-
302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube
-
244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Music and coffee seem to just go together. If you are into one, the other is not far behind. Both coffee and music inspire and create community that fuel's our lives.
Today's guest began his coffee journey as a full time touring musician and was immediately hooked. His journey took him from e-commerce and pop-ups, to now his own brick and mortar store. Today we are chatting with Acey Slade of the weird and wonderful, Cat Fight Coffee!
Catfight Coffee was formed in 2020 by career musician Acey Slade (Dope, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Til Lindemann of Rammstein) and his wife Meiling (a Taiwanese native) when both saw their respective careers put on hold due to Covid Lockdown. Acey, having had a previous background in the coffee industry and Meiling having a successful career in beauty industry.
They put their experience to work and Catfight Coffee was born as e-commerce business.
Today Catfight Coffee is available in over 80 retail outlets across North America. Roasting and distribution in the UK will begin in early 2023 as will the first retail outlet in Asia.
We cover:
- From Music to Coffee: The Birth of Catfight Coffee
- Pop-Ups and Community Engagement
- Balancing Personal Taste with Customer Preferences
- Branding and Marketing Strategies
- Creating a Welcoming Coffee Shop Environment
- Building the Brick and Mortar: Challenges and Insights
- The Importance of Customer Experience
- Learning from the First Week of Operations
- Hiring for Success in the Coffee Business
- Personal Growth as a Business Owner
- Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Links:
https://www.catfightcoffee.com/
IG : @catfightcoffee
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
There is no doubt about it, having a training lab is a wonderful asset to have for elevating the quality of your training...until it isn't. Truthfully, much like any tool, it depends on how it is used and whether it is part of a bigger picture.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the good and the bad of training labs. You don't necessarily need one, but if you do have a lab or are wanting to create one, then this episode will help you create it and use it in a way that produces more than just classroom knowledge, but real world skill.
Related episodes:
505: Maintaining Excellence in the Everyday Work of Coffee Shops w/ Maxwell Dashwood
SHIFT BREAK: Minding Our Business
SHIFT BREAK: Detail Oriented Staff Starts With You
You Need to Prioritize In-House Training!
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Ideas are like green coffee seeds. They are bundles potential cultivated by earnest hands that are then received by others who take them and develop them further. The final rendering of that seed can and does often result in something beautiful.
This is how I think of mediums like podcasts, videos, and, of course, books.
Today I want to share with you 5 books that I believe speak to areas of our lives and businesses that will bring inspiration, perspective, comfort, and growth. They are all special and I hope you take the time to dive into one or all of them sometime soon so you can see what grows from the seed of those ideas in your life.
Links:
- Celebrating the Third Place
- Shopkeeping
- What to Remember When Waking
- Unreasonable Hospitality
- The Art of being Indispensable at Work
- The Practicing Mind
Related episodes:
- 083: 6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth
- 137 : Essential Books for your Professional Development vol.2 : Five books to help you grow
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Visit @artobrick
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
The title of today's episode sounds like a no brainer, but you may or may not be surprised to know that it is way easier than you think to be this way when traIning baristas. It is not something that we set out to do, but is born from a confluence of insecurities, myopic focus, passion, and assumption. I say this as someone who has certainly lived it and wants to help you avoid making the same mistake.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how you can approach training in a way that lessens or avoids entirely the things where you are perceived as a jerk, in favor of being seen as an advocate and resource for success. It can be done!
Related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK! How Long Should it Take To Train a Barista?
- You Need to Prioritize In-House Training!
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
- 074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
I feel as though this question is constantly on the mind of owners. It is a question born from a desire to have a well trained staff that makes the quality of the work more consistently great, as well as a desire to be an effective trainer and have the staff "get it" quickly. Throw in a little bit of owner insecurity as they are learning all this stuff themselves too, and you get a recipe for miscommunication, assumption, and frustration that seems to be in the background of the question.
Trouble is we often will default to assuming that the manor and amount of training we are doing is surely not the issue, and instead the issue lies with the staff. Truth is a little less straight forward.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how long you should expect to train staff, and how to know that you have truly put in a good and appropriate amount of planning, structure, and effort before seeking to address the one being trained.
Related episodes:
- Insecurity in Management
- SHIFT BREAK: Evil Owners and Lazy Baristas
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 506 : Critical Workflows Every Coffee Shop Needs
- 496: Hard Decisions and High Standards
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- SHIFT BREAK: Respecting Your Barista's Professional Boundaries
- Reasonable Expectations
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Creating a cafe space is about finding a fitting home for the equipment and people behind the counter who will use it. It is about finding a synthesis, a flow, and a feeling that is functional and remarkable all at once. The life of the business is either helped or hampered by the decisions we make in designing the space. In the many choices and acts of creation we engage in, both in opening, and then in tending to our shops, we bring forth something unique for us and our guests to partake in.
Today's guest has designed some of the most unique spaces and coffee shops and is here to share his wisdom!
Scott Magic is an award-winning and published architect whose principles lie in strong detailing, room making and using materials to bridge the past with present. While primarily working in the Hospitality and Beverage sector, his expertise includes retail, office spaces, historic renovations, adaptive reuse projects and unique single-family homes.
Prior to founding MAGIC, he helped grow the acclaimed architecture firm, Michael Hsu Office of Architecture and the worked for architect-developer Jonathan Segal.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon. His Austin-based firm is purposely kept small, to maintain quality and engagement in all aspects of the work. The firm’s current projects are scattered throughout Texas, California and the Saudi Arabia.
He has designed many amazing cafe spaces including the groundbreaking, Meteor Cafe, Fox Trot, Intelligentsia Austin, and Proud Mary Portland, Congress
In this episode you will learn about:
- The Journey into Architecture
- Understanding Coffee Shop Functionality
- How flow and layout impact customer experience.
- Designing Unique and Memorable Spaces
- How lighting plays a crucial role in the ambiance of a coffee shop.
- The Importance of Human Connection in Design
- Creating Iconic Spaces with Intentionality
- Future Trends in Coffee Shop Design
Links:
www.scottmagic.com
Related episodes:
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 169 : Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 448: Founder Friday! Part 1 “Switching Gears” | w/ Doug Zell of Intelligentsia and The Meteor!
- 448: Founder Friday! Part 2 “Switching Gears” | w/ Doug Zell of Intelligentsia and The Meteor!
- 240 : What to do before your Build your Bar
- Embrace Your Space
- SHIFT BREAK : 2 Tips for Bar Design
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
One of the beautiful things about working in coffee today is the connectivity that is available to players in the value stream. Those who want to make the biggest difference, both use and innovate better versions of these various avenues for connection to build trusting and generous relationships that bring thriving and understanding.
Today's guest live and breaths this mission. I am so honored to welcome to the show, Beamlak Bekele!
Beamlak has experience working as a Green Coffee Export Manager, Logistics and Documentation Supervisor, and Coffee Quality Control Specialist. She is the 2nd-place national barista champion, and currently working as the project coordinator for IWCA Ethiopia. Being raised in a family that has worked in the Ethiopian Coffee industry for decades, Beamlak is interested in learning how to bring origin country perspectives to international coffee dialogues and how to design gender-inclusive and sustainable operational systems in coffee businesses.
Beamlak has also just returned from a tour in the United States after participating in the Cxffee Black barista exchange progam and being a guest at Nossa Familia
In this conversation we explore her upbringing in coffee, career, perspectives on trade, and the importance of better systems and trust in coffee relationships.
You will learn about:
- Family Legacy in Coffee Production
- Education and Its Impact on Coffee Understanding
- Transitioning into Professional Coffee Roles
- Ethics in Coffee Trade and Farmer Benefits
- Empowering Women in the Coffee Industry
- Building Sustainable Relationships in Coffee Trade
- Ethiopian Coffee's Unique Value Proposition
- Connecting Trade and Consumer Experience
- The Role of Baristas in Coffee Culture
- Transforming Consumer Perceptions of Coffee
- Community and Collaboration in the Coffee Industry
Links:
Beamlak on IG @HUMANS_OF_COFFEE
Related episodes:
- 488: Founder Friday! Honoring Coffee's Root w/ Bartholomew Jones of Cxffee Black!
- 451: Business Growth, Integrity, and Coffee Farmer Equity w/ Martin Mayorga of Mayorga Coffee
- 397: Diversity and The Color of Coffee w/ Keith Hawkins, The Color of Coffee Collective
- 413 : Coffee Education and Training at Origin w/ Fabiola Solano of Soy Barista
- 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
It's Founder Friday! I am so thrilled to feature people who have become friends through getting to know them at coffee vents over the years. They have launched their own coffee house and made something as unique as they are themselves.
Nicolas and Krystal Tanaka are siblings and the proud owners of Kohiko Coffee House, located in Sugar Land, Texas. They’ve combined their unique backgrounds and extensive experience in the coffee and food & beverage industries to create a space that brings quality coffee and Japanese hospitality to the Houston community.
Nic, the visionary behind Kohiko, shared his passion and vision for the coffee house after his first trip to Japan. He had already begun his journey as a barista in a specialty coffee shop in Sugar Land. He approached Krystal with the idea during her time pursuing her MBA, which led to them working together on an entrepreneurial project in her final semester. This is where they saw that their passions and strengths complemented each other.
As Peruvian and Japanese Americans, they felt particularly connected to bringing something unique and special to Sugar Land. They honed in on the idea of bringing quality coffee with Japanese hospitality to Houston. After Nic became a two-time Coffee Fest World Latte Art Champion and Krystal graduated from her program, they chose to pursue this endeavor together.
Their family has always inspired and motivated their journey. Their grandfather, Roy Tanaka, an entrepreneur who instilled Japanese values and compassion, played a key role in shaping their vision. Their youngest brother, Kenji, continues to inspire them as he makes a name for himself in the coffee world. They are grateful for their community who helped motivate and encourage them to turn their dream into a reality!
Today we are exploring their story in 2 parts.
- First we talk with them on their first day being open.
- Next we catch up with Nic and Krystal after five months of operation.
These conversations presented back-to-back give us deep insight into the values, vision, plans, and life of the business from conception to full open and growing.
I love the whole Tanka family and after you listen to today's episode I think you will too!
Enjoy!
We discuss:
- The journey to deciding to open a shop
- The Challenges of Being Your Own General Contractor
- Embracing Japanese Hospitality and Quality
- The Importance of Transparency and Openness in Service
- Building a Positive Work Environment through Communication
- Exceeding Expectations on the First Day
- Navigating Personal and Professional Life
- The Impact of Viral Success
- Adapting to Demand and Building a Team
- Why transparency and openness are key aspects of service
- Scaling Operations: The Ice Dilemma
- Strategic Growth: Balancing Innovation and Stability
- Resilience in Entrepreneurship: Staying Grounded
Links:
www.kohikocoffeehouse.com
Instagram: @kohikocoffeehouse
Related and Recommended Episodes:
- 396 : Founder Friday: Before + After Edition! w/ Jonathan Pascual of the Newly Opened Opo Coffee.
- Founder Friday! w/ Adam Obrátil of Industra Coffee, Brno, Czech Republic'
- 150 : Founder Friday w/ Kyle Wells of Torpedo Coffee, Denver, CO : Before & After Episode
- 489: Tips for Creating a Resilient Cafe
- 240 : What to do before your Build your Bar
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
Did you know that, in spite of all the work you do for others, the sacrifices you make to run your business and do what you can for your staff, plus the positive impact on your community, the you are ACTUALLY evil and/or complicit in the demise of coffee and the people in coffee?
Well, if you listen to the conversations, articles, and headlines being created about you by people who don't know you and the details and nuances of the work you do, you'd be tempted to take on that accusation and guilt as statement of fact and forget about the good work and proof to the contrary in a bid to chase social standing among people whose job it is to find fault above all else. Not a great idea.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why it is critical that you choose to participate in and give energy to the right conversations so we can create virtuous cycles instead of downward spirals.
I am thankful for you all and the good you do for people through coffee everyday!
Related episodes:
- Faithfulness and Honesty
- SHIFT BREAK: Minding Our Business
- Thankfulness and Giving Energy to the Positive
- Your Peers are not Your Customers
- Priorities and Deep Thankfulness
- 485: Your Shop vs The Industry - How to Free Yourself From Dependency
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Coffee brings people together for all sorts of reasons. One of the beautiful ways coffee is used is as a vehicle for change in areas of our world that desperately need it. Nowhere is change more needed than in the realm of human trafficking and exploitation.
I am thrilled to talk with a couple of professionals on the front lines of this fight. We are talking with Jenny Barber and Jake Jiron of Talitha Coffee Roasters!
Jenny Barber, Cofounder of Talitha Coffee Roaster has spent the past 14 years becoming an expert on the topic of Human Trafficking. Determined to make a positive difference after witnessing the devastating, intergenerational impact of the issue from a young age Jenny founded Talitha Coffee Roasters.
Their mission is to end Human trafficking and support survivors, one sip at a time. They do this By creating job opportunities, providing support for survivors of human trafficking, and partnering with experts as well as individuals and organizations seeking to benefit others.
Jenny herself is a survivor of childhood exploitation. Today, she’s a mother of 6, college graduate, business and non-profit leader, and tireless advocate.
Jake Jiron, originally from Bakersfield, CA, began his journey in specialty coffee in 2016 after graduating from San Diego State University. Starting as a farmer's market pop-up coordinator, he quickly expanded his roles to include admin tasks, invoicing, delivery driving, and ultimately transitioned into sales. Over the past seven years, Jake's focus has been on selling coffee and managing wholesale customers, turning his passion into a dedicated career.
Inspired by the mission and vision of the company, he knew he wanted to be part of something bigger that made a tangible difference in people's lives. Believing he could use his skills to support those in need of employment and opportunity, he made the decision to join Talitha Coffee.
In this conversation we discuss:
- Building a Business with Purpose: The Talitha Model
- Creating Employment Opportunities for Survivors
- The Importance of Quality in Coffee and Mission Alignment
- Navigating Relationships with Wholesale Accounts
- Training and Supporting Survivors in the Workplace
- Empowering Survivors Through Care Plans
- Onboarding and Workforce Readiness
- Celebrating Growth and Skills Development
- Fostering Long-Term Relationships
- Partnerships for Impact and Support
Links:
www.talitha.com
Instagram: @talithacoffeeroasters
Related episodes:
- 106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
- Founder Friday! Youth, Foster Care, and Human Connections Through Coffee | w/ Miah Sommer of Astute Coffee in Omaha, NE
- 334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace
- 180 : A Conversation with Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale
- 192 : Freedom through Coffee w/ Esther Hope-Gibbs of Manumit Coffee
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
Ah the age old debate.
Should you hire someone who is experienced working in coffee? On onhand they have skills that may be helpful and on the other they might have bad habits you need to address.
Or should you hire someone without experience? Their first exposure to coffee will be at your shop and you get to train them up on your standards from the start. At the same time they ma take longer to train and could experience bore inertia getting used to the work a coffee shop requires
Today on Shift Break we will be talking all about how to decide between potential employees with varied experience backgrounds so you have the best chance of hiring the right person for the role.
Related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK: Minding Our Business
- SHIFT BREAK: Hiring based on Staff Preference vs Business Needs
- SHIFT BREAK: Wrong Fit For the Role, or Wrong Fit For Your Business?
- Raising Your Hiring Standard
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
When you think about the things that make the biggest difference in culture, hospitality experience, staff morale and the profitability of your coffee shop, you would be forgiven for being overwhelmed. There are so many moving parts in food and beverage operations it's hard to know what lever to pull to make a difference.
Well the good news is that, according to today's guest, when you apply focus and systems to the most critical 30% of those areas that make up you cafe, you will transform the business and go from striving, to thriving!
I am very pleased to welcome to the show, Preston Lee of The 30% Rule!
With over 20 years in the business and being a part of 25 restaurant openings, Preston is on a mission to help independent restaurant owners gain the knowledge and best practices on how to best train, lead, and nurture their staff to build a robust culture. Ultimately leading to the highest level of consistency and customer retention.
Today we talk with Preston all about how some hard lessons learned early on in his carrier shaped him and what he does now to help hospitality businesses with their culture, sales, training, and quality.
This is a really motivating talk that I hope focuses you on the right areas to make the biggest difference in your coffee shop.
In this conversation we layout the plan for:
- The Importance of Training and Development
- Systems and Structure in Hospitality
- Setting Expectations and Accountability
- The Importance of Systems for Job Security
- Focusing on the 30% That Matters
- Expectations for Turning Around Operations
- Training as the Key to Change
Links:
Instagram: @the30rule
Instagram: @the_30_rule
www.the30percentrule.com
Related episodes:
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 453 : The Craft of Operations
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop?
All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
In recent weeks Starbucks has announced it will no longer charge for plant-base alternative milks. This comes after efforts from activists claiming discrimination. Starbucks aside, the conversation about up-charging for alt milk has been going on for a while now with people who feel strongly on either side of the topic.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about whether or not you should be charging for alternative plant based milk options, how to approach this from a practical business perspective, why it's not a great idea to be so obsessed with what major retailers do, and how not to be bullied or guilted into conforming but rather make sound decisions.
Related episodes:
- 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 136 : Nourishing the Barista’s Soul: A conversation w/ Deb Kaminski of Pacific Natural Foods
- 485: Your Shop vs The Industry - How to Free Yourself From Dependency
INTERESTED IN CONSULTING AND COACHING?
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email
chris@keystothshop.com
of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The way customers and staff experience our cafes is based many experiences and moments taken together to form what they know as our culture or brand. Each experience can be broken down into many different parts that happen within even one visit and the smart operator knows that unless there is a plan set up ahead of time for how we want those moments to go, then we will provide less than stellar service. The customer loses out on experiencing our best, and we lose out on keeping good customers and good staff.
Today we are going to be talking about a few critical workflows I believe every coffee bar needs to have detailed nd trained on in order to serve people very well every day. Take this episode as an assignment and go create these for your shop as soon as you can! Include the staff and launch these as guiding processes so your coffee shop will thrive.
In this conversation we layout the plan for:
- Menu Workflows
- Change workflows
- Customer Experience workflows
Related episodes:
- 399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
- 058 : Holiday Hospitality
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop?
All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
Training your staff is easily one of the most important things to get right if you want to set them up for success and make sure your customers are getting a great experience every time. Every place has their own way of doing training and most of it is cobbled together from different sources in a desperate bid for a positive outcome. The result if all to often a staff that is under prepared, frustrated leadership, and guest experiences inconsistent standards.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the absolute best way that every coffee bar should be training their staff in order to bring provide excellence day in, and day out.
I know that seems like a big statement. All coffee shops? Yes, I truly believe and have seen time and again, that if you apply this approach in your shop you will see a real and substantial improvement in morale, consistency, and quality
Related episodes:
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 178 : Training Masterclass w/ Emma Haines of London School of Coffee and Caffeina Consulting
- 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
- SHIFT BREAK: Detail Oriented Staff Starts With You
- You Need to Prioritize In-House Training!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Innovation and an obsession with what is "new" has long been a primary force capturing the imagination of coffee pros and entrepreneurs. Trouble is that the novel and new, while it may be good at grabbing or capturing attention, is not great at keeping and sustaining us, or our businesses for that matter. In fact, innovation and constantly looking for something have the opposite effect than what it seems to promise.
Enter the idea of maintenance over innovation and everyday excellence. I recently came across a post from today's guest on linkedIn detailing his thoughts on this and I knew immediately we needed to bring him back on the show to talk this out!
I am thrilled to welcome back to the show Maxwell Colonna- Dashwood!
This will be a very conversation that will illuminate the path that I believe all of us need to be walking in the coffee shop space. As always, Maxwell's keen insights serve as a guide and a resource to better shops and better coffee.
In this conversation we discuss:
- Innovation vs. Maintenance in Coffee
- The Importance of Hospitality in Coffee Shops
- Understanding the Value of Consistency
- Important Shifts in Innovation Perspectives
- The Role of Personal Identity in Coffee Innovation
- Why we need to focus on the fundamentals in coffee shops
- Navigating Staff Dynamics + Customer Experience
- Balancing Innovation and Consistency in Coffee Shops
- Customer Engagement in Hospitality
- Long-Term Vision in Coffee Shop Operations
Links:
www.maxwelldashwood.com
@mcolonnadashwood
Related episodes:
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- SHIFT BREAK: Defining Excellence and Success
- SHIFT BREAK: Pull Out The Fridge
- 480: Focus on What Your Customers Love
- Three Questions for Better Cafe Decisions
- SHIFT BREAK: Don't Focus on Coffee
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
Today on Founder Friday we go to Azerbaijan to talk with the founder of a coffee shop and roastery that is at the heart of the national specialty coffee movement, Parvix Dadashov, of Untied Coffee Beans!
Parviz is Founder and CEO of United Coffee Beans project, a trailblazing coffee business in the realm of specialty coffee in Azerbaijan. Parviz graduated from Tourism and Management University and has accumulated invaluable experience in the dynamic Food & Beverage sector.
As a visionary entrepreneur, his journey with United Coffee Beans began in April 2017, where he set out to redefine coffee experiences in Azerbaijan. United Coffee Beans is a community, an experience, and a journey. The business revolves around the meticulous import, roasting, and distribution of specialty coffee beans in Azerbaijan. As pioneers of the Third Wave Coffee Movement in Azerbaijan, they are committed to delivering freshly roasted specialty coffee that consistently delights the senses. They do coffee equipment distribution, importing top-tier products for our local market. AND they run United Coffee Academy where they share knowledge and expertise, contributing to the growth of the local industry and fostering the skills of aspiring baristas.
This was a really cool conversation hearing his evolution in the world of hospitality and how he built this business to create community and unite people through coffee!
We cover
- Parviz's journey into coffee from a summer job and evolution through tourism and hospitality
- Founding United Coffee Beans to introduce specialty coffee to Azerbaijan.
- Overcoming skepticism due to his country's strong tea culture.
- Education and community engagement as keys to building a coffee culture.
- Creating a welcoming environment for customer experience.
- The importance of storytelling in coffee.
- Bridging tradition and innovation in coffee culture.
- The potential of the coffee community of Azerbaijan
Links: Instagram: @unitedcoffeebeans Website: https://www.ucb.az/az Related Episodes:
- 434 : Founder Friday | Leo Ferreira | Puzzle Coffee Shop, Tanzania!
- 364 Founder Friday w/ Sarah Alakeel of Hjeen Coffee in Saudi Arabia
- 332: Founder Friday! w/ Iman Kusumaputra & Putri Yulandari of Kopikalyan, Jakarta, Indonesia
- 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
Well, kind of...Coffee is great! Keeping it consistently great in the shop is a challenge and there are many tactics and tools to apply in learning more about coffee and applying what we learn in the shop. But what happens when we allow our pursuit of more coffee knowledge become a distraction from focusing on needed areas of improvement and maintenance in the cafe?
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how our focus on coffee, while needed to a degree, can become an escape from confronting, focusing on, and growing in other very important areas of the business and the relationship with people we manage in the shop.
Stay tuned for a new episode next week with returning guest Maxwell Dashwood talking about the need for maintenance of excellence in contrast to our pursuit of innovation and novelty.
Related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK : Trends You Can Ignore
- 502: Creating Meaningful Coffee Experiences
- 469: Unremarkable Hospitality and Cafe Terroir
- SHIFT BREAK: Reassessing Growth
- 390 : 7 Ways to be Consciously Competitive
- 275 : The Changing Landscape of Cafe Spaces w/ Dr. Jennifer Ferreira
- 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The coffee industry, specifically the coffee shop, has been changing. Trends and fads come and go, but movements are born from a collective need to evolve and mature toward a better way of operating professionally. It is not the trends that you need to worry about not getting in line with, but the movements.
Today we will be covering five areas that have been changing in the coffee shop sector that I believe every owner and operator needs to embrace. These areas cover a virtually all corners of your business from the coffee itself, to the people making it, and how you lead and grow as a leader.
In this conversation we discuss:
- Embracing the Five Movements in Coffee
- Prioritizing Hospitality in Coffee Shops
- Building Social Identity and Online Presence
- Creating Accessible Coffee Products
- Focusing on Customer Success
- Reforming Leadership in the Coffee Industry
Related episodes:
- 502: Creating Meaningful Coffee Experiences
- 430 : Embracing "Unreasonable Hospitality" w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Marrocco
- 6 Truths About Power
- 069: Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Follow on Instagram! @Artobrick ....
and tell them Chris sent you!
So many great ideas come from conversations, trade shows, podcasts, books, and videos. Ideas and epiphanies that will make your coffee shop better and solve problems that have plagued you and your team for too long. But how do you take the first step to apply those ideas why you feel you don't have the time.
On today's episode of Shift Break we will answer frequent question I get asked when I am speaking at a conferences and with clients, how do I find the time to do these things when I am already as busy as I am?
Good news, it is simpler than you think.
Related Episodes:
- 399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe
- 489: Tips for Creating a Resilient Cafe
- 498: 10 Small Things to Fix in Your Coffee Shop This Week
- SHIFT BREAK : Evolution Through Small Steps
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
We all say that guest experience is the most important thing. I would agree, but exactly what do we mean by this? In today's marketplace we are hyper focused on efficiency over effectiveness. The result is that what passes for what we believe makes a great coffee experience, is something unsustainable, ineffective, but flashy and largely based on a trend instead of truly fulfilling the core needs of a customer in our coffee shop.
Today we will be discussing what a truly meaningful guest experience needs to get right before skipping to the bells and whistles that are poor replacements for the basics done well.
In this conversation we discuss:
- Customer desire for something that can fit into the fabric of their lives.
- Why the word 'experience' can mean many things, often leading to confusion.
- Meeting baseline expectations is crucial for customer satisfaction.
- Innovation and focusing on people, not just technology.
- How trust is built through consistent service and quality.
- Basic beverages should be executed with excellence.
- Hyper branding does not compensate for poor service.
- Unique experiences should come after mastering the basics.
- Customer experience is about hospitality and care.
- Why doing basics well transforms businesses
Related episodes:
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 489: Tips for Creating a Resilient Cafe
- 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
Every coffee shop hosts within its walls countless stories. The life that happens on the pltform of a cafe is just breath taking. This includes stories that showcase you and your team's values in action. Wil Guidara talks about these as legends that embody the and illustrate what we are all about. Be this as it may, stories somehow do not take up very much, if any, time or attention when we onboard, train, and talk about the work with our staff
On today's episode of Shift Break we will be talking about why you need to be paying attention to the moments in your cafe that demonstrate the real life applications of the t and values you espouse. Doing this as a discipline and rhythm will both deepen your appreciation for what your cafe creates in the lives of others and make it more likely those stories continue to unfold well into your shop's future.
Related Episodes:
Your Employee Handbook is Worthless
165: The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
476: Founder Friday! The Story of Story Coffee w/ Don Niemyer of Story Coffee Co.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Translating coffee from one form to the next, and serving it in a way that further translates the value of that coffee into a rewarding experience for the drinker, is what the craft of coffee is all about. Today's guest has gone from translating languages to working full time in roasting and serving coffee and has some critically important insights to share from her journey.
We are talking with 2024 Brewers Cup Champion from Turkey, Nida Fetullahoğlu !
Nida has been in the coffee industry since 2017. From Ankara, Turkey, Nida had a different career before coffee where she studied english translation and interpreting in college and has translated 4 books into Turkish on different subjects. Nida started as a barista in a boutique coffee shop in Ankara and fell in love with it thanks to the people she met along her career. She has been roasting since 2020 and is currently working in Tetra N Roastery as a junior roaster. This year (2024) Nida became the Brewers' Cup Champion of Turkey this year and placed 18th in the world championship! In this conversation we discuss:
- From Barista to Roaster and gaining deeper understanding
- The Challenges of Roasting and Retail
- Navigating Criticism and Building Resilience
- The Role of Teamwork in Competition Success
- Integrating Experience into Competition Routines
- Future Focus: Sustainability and Team Building in Coffee
- Bridging Traditional and Specialty Coffee Cultures together
- The Art of Translation in Coffee and Communication
Related episodes:
- 003: The Role of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee w/ Pete Licata
- 484: Demystifying Mentorship w/ Dr. Ruth Gotian, Author of "The Financial Times guide to Mentorship
- 382 : Hospitality, Innovation, and the Birth of a Brewer w/ Etkin Design Co-founders, Michael Butterworth and Özgür Jerdan.
- SPECIAL! | Coffee Fest NOLA 2024 w/ Turgay Yildizli of Specialty Turkish Coffee, Doron Petersan of Sticky Fingers Sweets and Eats, and Jonathan Riethmaier of Mammoth Coffee
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, and brick needs!
www.arto.com
The allure of easily producing documents and processes for your coffee shop through AI is strong. Using tools to support your business in a thoughtful way is one thing, but too many times I hear about people all but completely outsourcing the task that should be taken on by those who can create with nuance, to software.
On today's episode of Shift Break we will talk about what we lose when we use these to-good-to-be-true "solutions" and why the difficulty of creating effective systems, policies, and structures are a necessary part of growing a sustainable people-first business.
Related Episodes:
SHIFT BREAK: When Numbers Lie
SHIFT BREAK: Quality Still Matters
The Myth of Hands Off / Automated Leadership
You Can't Automate Quality
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The impact of the coffee shop on the entire industry is astounding. The beauty and transcendence of a well run cafe offers excellence and care to staff and guests alike, and provides an accurate reflection and consistent channel through which people get to experience the work of farmers and all hands in the value stream. It is this idea, that the cafe is hugely consequential element in the thriving of people in coffee, that drive this podcast.
On today's episode we are reflecting on the podcasts last few years leading up to main episode 500 (actual count of all episodes is 900+!) and giving some insight and guidance into the role of cafe, how leaders need to pursue growth, and what it looks like to develop a business with integrity and relationships at the core.
Designing, planting, and cultivating a great cafe is a craft in and of itself. KTTS is here to help you along the way as you learn and grow with it.
Thank you for your support!!!
Related episodes:
- 100! Why YOU are the Key
- 483: Encore: 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- 485: Your Shop vs The Industry - How to Free Yourself From Dependency
- SHIFT BREAK : Trends You Can Ignore
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
All your hard surface needs! Masters of brick, tile, and stonework for your cafe!
https://www.arto.com/
https://www.instagram.com/artobrick/
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Today on Founder Friday are exploring the story of Three Keys Coffee in a wonderful conversation with the founders, Kenzel and Tio Fallen!
Kenzel Fallen is Co-Founder and CEO of Three Keys Coffee. Originally from Cincinnati, OH, Kenzel received a BA in Economics from Duke University and an MBA in Finance from Rice University. After building a career as a management consultant and corporate risk manager within the banking and energy industries, she co-founded Three Keys Coffee in 2019 along with her husband, Tio Fallen. Kenzel is a Q-Arabica Grader and wears many hats for Three Keys, primarily focused on business & financial operations as well as strategic planning and growth initiatives.
Tio Fallen is Co-Founder and Director of Coffee for Three Keys Coffee. Originally from Decatur GA, Tio has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Florida A&M University and MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. While working as an engineer in the energy industry, he began roasting coffee at home which soon expanded into a commercial venture that he started with his wife, Kenzel. His background in playing the trumpet for 15+ years influenced the branding and name of Three Keys, an homage to the valves of the instrument he picked up at the age of 8. He is a licensed Q-Arabica Grader and a licensed Professional Engineer (PE). Tio placed 9th overall in the 2023 US Roaster Championship Finals and 5th overall in the 2024 Finals.
Three Keys offers a more approachable and inclusive coffee experience through the sights and sounds of jazz culture, while remaining steadfastly committed to creating products that represent excellence and superior quality.
They are also focused on providing professional development opportunities for their staff and have recently opened up their first brick and mortar store, taking another step into caring for their coffee, and local community.
You are in for a treat!
We cover
- The Convergence of Life Stories
- From Side Gig to Full-Time Passion
- Elevating the Familiar: The Story of Three Keys Coffee
- Balancing Science and Creativity in Roasting
- Receiving Feedback and Staying True to Vision
- Creating Range and Accessibility
- Transforming Employment and Developing Thought Leaders
- Nurturing Growth and Aspirations
- Building a Local Presence through a Cafe
- The Power of Authenticity in Business
- Maximizing Energy
Links: * www.threekeyscoffee.com * https://www.instagram.com/threekeyscoffee/
Related Episodes:
- 423 : Founder Friday! w/ Danny and Michelle Quiroz of Reserva Coffee Roasters | McAllen, TX
- 310 : Founder Friday w/ Jelynn Malone and Beverly Magtanong of Mostra Coffee
- 156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe, Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Fransisco
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Workflow on the coffee bar is one of the most important things to design when considering how we will deliver excellent service and quality to our customers. Not only is it important to design your menu first and make the café design prioritize the production of that menu but you must also create clarity of responsibility within each station of that bar.
On today's episode of Shift Break, we will be talking about some principles for setting up effective station responsibilities behind the bar so that your staff not only have the have the best chance of success in serving the customer but also in helping on another during service.
Related Episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK: Wrong Fit For the Role, or Wrong Fit For Your Business?
- 420: Design Meaningful Roles in the Cafe
- Leaner Teams, Better Results
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Small things make a big difference in the coffee shop. Trouble is, that we tend to procrastinate addressing the natural falling away of doing small things well as we get busier, and those little actions and habits that create excellence end up atrophying causing big problems that are almost untraceable back to their small source.
On today's episode I am going to be giving you 1 small things to challenge yourself to fix in 7 days. That's right, one week to fix of begin the process of fixing 10 things that, when taken care of will help customers love your business more, or when not cared for will sow seeds of doubt and resentment in your customer's minds.
Will you and your team take on the 10 things in 7 days challenge? If you do I want to hear from you. How did it go? What kinds of positive change did it create?
I'd love to shout out you and your cafe on the show.
Have fun and don't forget to listen to the below related episodes as well.
Related episodes:
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- 399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality
- The Counterbalanced Barista
- SHIFT BREAK : Evolution Through Small Steps
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
We all work hard and face challenges in the cafe. The way we interpret the effort put in to the work of running a coffee shop will determine both the quality of the shop and our own ability to sustain our energy and effort. The truth is consistent effort is a normal and necessary investment that keeps life flowing through the business.
On today's addition of shift break we are going to follow up on our previous episode from a couple years back and add more detail and perspectives.The goal is to help clarify the difference between dysfunction and needed effort and how leaders and employees alike can embrace this work to better themselves and the shop to provide the next level of experience for the customer. This all ultimately helps the whole supply chain as we become resilient and energized to give consistent excellence in our coffee shops.
Related episodes:
- Hard Work is Hard
- When Patience is not a Virtue
- In Praise of Long Term Imperfect Employment
- 355: Baristas! 6 Essential Qualities to Get Yourself Hired
- 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
- Long-game Management
- Reasonable Expectations
- 135 : Stay Motivated in the midst of Difficulty
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
- 253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The first place you're going to see burn out in the coffee bar is in the position of management. These lucky people are not only given the task to lead the team and serve them with their role, but they are also accountable to their bosses, creating a feeling of being caught between two different groups that they have to please in their work.
Almost without fail I am asked by managers over email or at conferences some version of the same question related to being frustrated at the lack of action from their boss, or that their boss is taking actions that are frustrating to them and to the team. These folks want to figure out how to navigate these situations that can often be demoralizing and creates tension in the café.
On today's episode, I am going to answer a few questions that have been sent to me that are related to this topic in hopes of creating some clarity and giving you some insights and next steps to take if you happen to find yourself in that place.
Questions we address:
-
How can a lead barista or shift lead effectively navigate a situation where an owner consistently undermines their authority? What strategies can help build trust between the owner and the staff?”
-
What are some effective ways to communicate with an owner who is very particular about small details, to help them see the bigger picture and trust their team
-
What are some constructive ways to address conflicts with an owner, especially when it feels like their approach is demotivating or causing unnecessary stress among the team?
Related episodes:
- 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
- 475: Essential Tools for Cafe Management
- 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
- 483: Encore: 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- Study the Rules
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Welcome to Part 2 of this special Coffee Fest live on the show floor episode! Interviews from Los Angeles 2024!
Los Angeles was so amazing and we got to sit down with 4 amazing coffee professionals who were presenting at this show.
Today we will be focusing on improving your coffee and training skills with two experts! Anna Gutierrez and Sandra Elisa Loofbourow!
Anna Gutierrez
Beginning her coffee career in 1997 as a barista, Anna currently manages the Barista 22 line of syrups, sauces and powders. Having extensive experience working with distributors and national coffee chains, she’s an expert in product selection, marketing and branding, R + D of specialty coffee products, training and has a consistent passion for beverage development. Anna has presented at Coffee Fest shows since 2005, has been a certified United States Barista Championships and former Coffee Fest latte art judge, can be seen emceeing a variety of coffee events nationally and holds several Signature Drink Competition titles. She has also authored multiple coffee publication articles, is a Barista Guild of America member, is an SCA Level 1 Certified barista and was also co-featured on Barista Magazine’s April, 2012 cover.
Anna and got to talk on the show floor about barista basics. What has changed? What is the same? What is most effective? Anna is incredibly gifted and skilled in teaching so I know this will be a great value.
Link:
https://www.barista22.com/
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/annagutierrez/
Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
Sandra Elisa Loofbourow is a certified Q Instructor through CQI, a seasoned green buyer, roaster, barista, and published author. She was a founding Director of The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room, and am co-host of the bilingual podcast Cafetera Intelectual. Sandra is dedicated to creating a sustainable, ethical, and quality-focused coffee supply chain and offers numerous classes and workshops to help you learn to assess and describe coffee.
At Coffee Fest she taught a class on expanding your coffee vocabulary and we got chat on the show floor all about how you can take steps to do that very thing in your coffee business.
Links:
https://www.sandraloofbourow.com/
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-elisa-loofbourow-b8979333/
Related episodes:
- 048 : How to taste coffee w/ U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Steve Cuevas!
- RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee
Sponsor:
www.coffeefest.com
Welcome to Part 1 of this special Coffee Fest live on the show floor episode! Interviews from Los Angeles 2024!
Los Angeles was so amazing and we got to sit down with 4 amazing coffee professionals who were presenting at this show.
Today we will be focusing on what amounts to a couple of mini-Founder Fridays with 2 cafe owners in the LA area providing ground breaking spaces and service!
Shanita Nicholas
While practicing law at the same law firm, Amanda-Jane Thomas and Shanita Nicholas became friends. Eventually, the two women also became business partners, their dreams and passions converging into the creation of Sip & Sonder.
Shanita’s law practice has focused on general corporate start-up and venture capital financing work. She holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science and a J.D./M.B.A. from Columbia Law and Business Schools. She became a Certified Q Grader for Arabica Coffee summer 2023.
Established in 2017 in Inglewood, CA, Sip & Sonder is a global Black women-owned coffee brand with a portfolio of coffeehouses, a coffee roastery, and digital content spaces.
Link:
www.sipandsonder.com
Elisa Hoyos and Leo Abularch
Picaresca Barra de Cafe opened its doors inside of a mini mall complex located on the far south corner of Boyle Heights right in the middle of the pandemic. Their journey began in an unlikely place, hidden, with no visibility and minimal foot traffic, but they managed to stay afloat. '
Today they occupy a larger space with a full kitchen and an off site roasting operation providing world class hospitality and service to their beautifully diverse neighborhood in Boyle Heights.
Their coffee is truly some of the best in the city and I am thrilled to get to sit down with Leo and Elisa to talk about their journey.
https://www.barrapicaresca.com/
Related episodes:
- 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
- 423 : Founder Friday! w/ Danny and Michelle Quiroz of Reserva Coffee Roasters | McAllen, TX
- 236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
- 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
- 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
- 488: Founder Friday! Honoring Coffee’s Root w/ Bartholomew Jones of Cxffee Black!
- 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
- 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
Sponsor:
www.coffeefest.com
We have to overcome many challenges in the day-to-day operations of the coffee shop. Some of these challenges are inevitable, and our ability to grow from our experiences with them is a mark of maturity that we can celebrate, but many challenges are unnecessary, and in celebrating our abilities to overcome them we unintentionally might be normalizing the dysfunction.
On today's addition of shift break, we are going to be talking about why we should avoid celebrating wins that happened as a result of operational dysfunction or from toxic expectations and how to give our best energy to celebrating the functional and quickly addressing the dysfunctional.
Related episodes:
- Stop Glorifying Chaos
- Introducing Chaos
- SHIFT BREAK: Respecting Your Barista's Professional Boundaries
- SHIFT BREAK: Don't Manage by Crisis
- SHIFT BREAK: You Don't Want Loyalty
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Much of what gets written regarding the reasons behind declining standards in the coffee shop focuses on the leadership and what they can do to facilitate success. Here at KTTS there are dozens of interviews and solo episodes dedicated to this very thing. But what does not get so much air time is the reality that if we are to see a rise in standards of leadership, we must also call for a rise in personal professional work standards from staff.
Culpability for the miserable state of coffee service goes both ways and often it is the leaders avoidance of dealing with toxic employees that keeps them employed thus allowing their negative influence to sabotage the success of the business, the team, and, in fact, the whole industry whose reputation is built from the interactions consumers have with "professionals".
Today on this solo episode we will be exploring the reasons why so many owners refuse to deal with toxic employees in the cafe in favor of a misguided notion of giving perpetual grace that is more enablement than kind gesture. We will also talk about what is needed if we are to make progress in the business of coffee shops. High standards are not just for owners and managers, they are for all and it is time we started creating environments that reward and recognize great work, while also not tolerating corrosive behavior and attitudes, be ti from leaders or employees.
Related episodes:
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
- 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
- 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
- 483: Encore: 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- 368 : Walking the Line Between Leadership and Friendship
- Things the Owner Can't do for You
- SHIFT BREAK : Candid Advice for Baristas, Managers, and Owners
- SHIFT BREAK: How to Take Criticism as a Barista
- SHIFT BREAK: Evil Owners and Lazy Baristas
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
The things we learn in community with others can have a profound impact on both us and our businesses. Certainly learning by yourself is a good thing, but there's just something about having a group of people who have your back and have been where you are and are your peers that creates a different dynamic where you can have accountability encouragement insights and be challenged on your assumptions all in the same conversation.
In short, it's transformational.
Today in this brief recording I want to talk to you a little bit about the behind the Key Holder Coaching Groups that we launched last year how they work, and why joining us in these conversations in community might be the best thing for you as an owner to help you grow and gain clarity in the midst of an often chaotic and isolated existence.
There is only one week left as of today's recording date of September 9, 2024 to sign up for the fall groups!
You can find the link below that will take you to an application to fill out. From there we can have a conversation and you may just find yourself joining us in these dynamic conversations in the next six months.
Click below to learn more or just reach out to chris@keystotheshop.com
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
Marketing is designed to get you to buy. It is something we all do in our businesses. In fact, to not market is to do the customer a disservice in that they will not be aware of the possibilities your product may have for their business. That said, sometimes marketing goes too far and without a well exercised discernment muscle we can fall prey to claims that do not, or can not, come to fruition.
Today on Shift break we will be breaking down the landscape of marketing promises and why it is critical for you to take it all with a gain of salt in order to make the right decision for your cafe and your people.
Related episodes:
- 321 : Marketing and Moral Injury w/ Josh Tarlo of Kiss the Hippo
- 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
- 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
- 485: Your Shop vs The Industry - How to Free Yourself From Dependency
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
To me, there is something special about the closing shift. Yes there is a lot of work, but there is an honor in tending to the place that just that day made such impact on so many. For most though (including me) the closing shift is at first just hard work that feels far from the world of coffee that drew us to work in the shop or open the shop in the first place. But in this mundanity is an opportunity.
Today we are going to be sharing a classic episode where we talk about how to not only love the closing shift but how to shift the way you think about the difficult, thankless, and common work that undergirds the whole of the cafe.
Related episodes:
Things the Owner Can't do for You Using Slow Times Well as a Barista Hard Work is Hard SHIFT BREAK: Focusing on the Whole, Not the Part Work Alchemy Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
There are many great coffee shops and roasters in this world. What makes a great cafe in my mind is intentionality, a focus on kindness, consistency, hospitality, and quality as a pursuit in service of those things. Living in Louisville, KY I am fortunate to be only 2 hours away from one of my favorite places that I feel has consistently exemplified those virtues.
Crema Coffee Roasters!
Today on Founder Friday we get the pleasure of talking with the co-founder of Crema Coffee Roasters, Rachel Lehman.
In 2008, Rachel Lehman, a coffee professional with over a decade of experience in barista and management work, along with her husband Ben, founded Crema Coffee. The beginnings of Crema was born from their shared midwestern work ethic and determination to carve out and cultivate something that would endure and have a lasting positive impact.
From their first small cafe - to taking on roast - to now having 3 cafes, a thriving wholesale program, and many national and local awards to their name, the dream has been to create a business that provided hospitality and great coffee for their community and learning opportunities for baristas and staff.
Crema has grown to not only fulfill those dreams multiple times over, but has also made a large impact on the greater industry with the example it sets as a zero-waste cafe and a roastery that exemplifies intentionality and consistent holistic focus on relationships.
In this conversation we explore the early years and the start of Crema and learn about how this business has scaled and grown with integrity, consistency, and hospitality as the foundation
We cover
- Starting and Growing a Coffee Business
- How coffee and music share similarities in terms of practice and discipline.
- Why defining a clear mission and values is crucial for a successful coffee business.
- Aligning company culture with the customer experience is essential.
- How building a strong team of leaders and coaching them is key to success.
- Alignment as a crucial component for effective cross-departmental leadership.
- Finding the right balance between bringing in outside talent and maintaining company culture is a challenge.
- Cleaning and Hospitality in the Coffee Industry
- Understanding Every Position in the Company
- Delegating Tasks and Hiring Managers
- Scaling the Company and Giving Opportunities
- Staying True to Company Identity Amidst Competition
- The Key to Crema's Success: Consistency and Reliability
Links: * www.crema-coffee.com * @cremacrema
Related Episodes:
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 273 : Founder Friday w/ Anne Lunnel and Charles Nystrand of Koppi Coffee Roasters, Helsingborg, Sweden
- 177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia
- 188 : Founder Friday w/ Jon Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab
- 156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe, Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Fransisco
- 145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley
Insights, perspective, accountability, and growth are just a few of the benefits that have changed lives through consulting, workshops, and trainings. For the last few years I have wanted to bring to more people, that same kind of transformational experience in a small group setting and now we are now ready to begin! I have personally been in a group for podcasters for the last 6 years and have also hired coaches, consultant, and been a part of an online community. It has all been indescribably transformational.
- Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by Chris and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
- We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
- This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
- In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
- Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Circle.so community app
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Designing your coffee shop can be one of the most exciting parts of the opening or scaling process. Exciting, that is, until we come up against resistance to our great ideas in the form of space limitations, quirks, historic preservations, zoning, etc.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we can embrace the limitations and constraints of our spaces in a way that moves us from frustration to actually being energized and confident in our unique cafe.
You should listen to these episodes next:
- SHIFT BREAK : 2 Tips for Bar Design
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 240 : What to do before your Build your Bar
- Are You Open?
- 169 : Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
What is the "Best" coffee shop? As long as coffee and coffee shops have been around, us humans have been rather preoccupied with what the best coffee of coffee shop is. We have our own personal scale of judgment, then there are local popularity contests put on by city papers. Most famously over the past decade or two we have developed barista, brewing, coffee shop, and cupping competitions to determine quality. All of this is to my mind, not just to try to figure out "the best", but to extol virtues we desire to see continued in that category assuming that if they do then it will be a net gain for everyone seeking consistent enjoyment.
Today on the show we get to talk about nature of this construct, why it is a bad thing to base your business on, how we can put the idea of being "the best" into its proper place in our minds so it does not become a distraction from the ways we can truly find fulfillment and meaningfulness in our work serving coffee.
Related episodes:
- 454: Creating a Vibrant Coffee Bar w/ Charles Babinski of Cafe 143 in Sydney, AUS
- 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
- 390 : 7 Ways to be Consciously Competitive
- 485: Your Shop vs The Industry - How to Free Yourself From Dependency
- SHIFT BREAK: Minding Our Business
- 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Getting into coffee and then pursuing it as a career takes your through a few different phases of maturation. One of the first phases is where you focus only on one very specific thing to the detriment of many others. For me, the world could be on fire, but as long as I was behind the espresso machine and dialed in, all was good. Or so I thought.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why it is necessary for coffee professionals in the cafe to focus on the whole cafe and the experience guests have in it, not just one small part of that big picture.
Recommended episodes:
- Excellence In The Things We Hate
- The Impact of Absence
- The Currency of Urgency
- Working Clean : Tips for keeping the bar looking and working well while you work
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
When you start a business, pretty much all your attention goes to getting it up and running and then to keeping it going and growing it over the hopefully many years of its life. What we often do not plan on or put energy into how we will exit the business. Whether it is passing it on to or selling it outright, many are ill prepared to make this transition and when they do want to sell or exit, are left with very few options and a business that is not sellable.
Today we are going to be covering the ins and outs, of what it takes to prepare yourself and your business for this future transition. I am so pleasded to welcome to the show, Aaron Friedman of Guidposts.io.
Aaron Friedman is a seasoned business leader with over two decades of experience spanning information technology, startups, venture capital, and acquisitions. Hailing from El Paso, TX, Aaron's passion for innovation was cultivated early on in his grandfather's machine shop working on racing engines.
With a history of founding and selling companies across the globe, Aaron now specializes in acquiring and transforming companies.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Aaron dedicates his free time to mentoring local entrepreneurs with Score.org, restoring classic cars, and indulging in his fascination for sailing. He has a proven track record of driving operational excellence and navigating complex business landscapes and is counted on as a trusted partner for navigating business exists.
We cover
- The Silver Tsunami and the Impact on Business Exits
- The Importance of Profitability and Building a Strong Foundation
- Delegate or Die: The Need for Delegation and Focus on Growth
- Defining Forward: Risks, Vulnerabilities, and Documentation
- The Value of a Turnkey Operation
- Consistency and Branding: Keys to Business Value
- Documenting Recipes and Processes for Consistency and Risk Mitigation
- Delegating and Empowering Key Employees for Growth and Exit
- Planning for the Future: What Do You Want Your Business to Look Like After You Exit?
- Effective Communication and Setting Expectations in Delegation
- Regularly Creating an Exit Plan: A Practice for Business Owners
LINKS:
https://www.guideposts.io/ Related Episodes:
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 489: Tips for Creating a Resilient Cafe
- 486: Why You should Fire Your Landlord and Consider Owning Your Building w/ Paul Neal
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 453 : The Craft of Operations
- 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)”
Insights, perspective, accountability, and growth are just a few of the benefits that have changed lives through consulting, workshops, and trainings. For the last few years I have wanted to bring to more people, that same kind of transformational experience in a small group setting and now we are now ready to begin! I have personally been in a group for podcasters for the last 6 years and have also hired coaches, consultant, and been a part of an online community. It has all been indescribably transformational.
- Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by Chris and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
- We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
- This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
- In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
- Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Circle.so community app
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
When we talk about our employees it is common to talk about "setting up staff for success", but what does that really look like. Talking about it can sometimes wrongly convince us that we are actually doing it.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about what it looks like to set your staff up for success in very practical terms that, if applied, will transform the relationship to one of trust based on evidence in action, not just talk.
Recommended episodes:
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 453 : The Craft of Operations
- 425 : Some Thoughts on Supporting Your Manager
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Welcome to our special episode from Coffee Fest live on the show floor interviews from New Orleans, 2024!
To start us off we will be talking with Turgay Yildizli of Specialty Turkish Coffee, followed by Doron Petersan of Sticky Fingers Sweets and eats, then a great conversation with Jonathan Riethmaier of Mammoth Coffee in New Orleans.
Turgay Yildizli
Istanbul native Turgay Yildizli, who now lives in New Orleans, is the founder of Specialty Turkish Coffee, a company established in 2014 that offers everything one needs to make specialty Turkish coffee, from equipment to tutorials. He works as a consultant around the globe, helping coffee companies to develop their Turkish coffee programs. Specialty Turkish Coffee also offers certification workshops in Turkish coffee brewing. Turgay has made it his mission to improve the standards of Turkish Coffee and raise it up to the place it deserves in the specialty coffee community. He’s a certified Q Grader and roaster. He was the 2013 World Cezve/Ibrik (Turkish Coffee) Champion, he has also represented Turkey in the Brewers Cup and Coffee in Good Spirits Championship.
https://www.specialtyturkishcoffee.com/
Doron Petersan
Doron Petersan is the owner and founder of Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats in Washington, DC. As a New Yorker-turned-vegan transplant and craving traditional guilt-laden foods, Doron Petersan was determined to unlock the secrets of creating their plant-based counterparts—that didn’t’ taste like it. Armed with a Bachelors degree in Dietetics from the University of Maryland, she embraced her food-science knowledge and love for all things delicious. The Sticky Fingers brand represents the mission to create a plant-based space in the food industry for everyone to enjoy via direct outreach, direct to consumer, cpg and retail locations. Sticky Fingers has been making waves and serving up treats to fans far and wide, including celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Bethenny Frankel, and Ellen DeGeneres. Accolades for the bakery include ‘Food Network’s Cupcake Wars and battled to claim the competition’s grand prize, twice. Doron has been featured on The Cooking Channel’s Not My Mama’s Meals with Bobby Deen as well as NBC’s The Today Show with Kathy Lee and Hoda. She has contributed articles and recipes to Vegetarian Times and Reader’s Digest. The bakery’s recipe book, Sticky Fingers’ Sweets, was released on February 16, 2012, by Avery of Penguin Group USA.
https://stickyfingersbakery.com/
Jonathan Riethmaier
Jonathan’s journey into specialty coffee has spanned nearly two decades and included roles as barista, trainer, marketer and roaster. In 2016, Jonathan and his wife, Darlene, co-founded Mammoth Espresso, a specialty coffee retail shop in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2021, Jonathan established Mammoth Coffee Company, a roasting and wholesale business. Jonathan heads up the roasting, production and sourcing departments of Mammoth, in addition to the day-to-day responsibilities of running a cafe and wholesale business.
https://mammothcoffee.co/
Related episodes:
- 219 : Building a Winning Food Program w/ Marilei Denila, Culinary R&D Manager, Go Get em Tiger
- 274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster”
- 129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO
- SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube
- SPECIAL! Part 2 | Coffee Fest Anaheim 2023 w/ Steve Chang of Copa Vida Cafe and Jon Ferguson of Coffee Tech Central
Sponsor:
www.coffeefest.com
A shop is maintained by the attention and repeated actions we put into it. We need to make sure our systems and tools are crafted well in order to make sure these intentional actions and our best attention is circulated through the whole of the organization.
Today we will be talking about 7 things that I believe should be standard in the work we do throughout the day. When we apply these tools and practices we will see a bug change in the way both our staff and guests experience the coffee shop.
Related Episodes:
- 007 : The 4 Keys to an Effective Checklist
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe
- 468: How to Be a Shift Lead
- Pre-Closing Madness
- Work Alchemy
- 098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Growing the business is probably the number one concern in the cafe industry. In general we tend to look at growth as either scaling the size of the business physically, or the revenue and profitability. What if I told you there was another way you can look at growth?
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about ways to look at growth that don't rely only on the usual defaults of revenue and scale, but give you another option to be established and fulfilled as an owner.
Recommended episodes:
- 469: Unremarkable Hospitality and Cafe Terroir
- SHIFT BREAK: Embracing Your Constraints
- Building your Coffee Shop's Capacity from Simplicity
- 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Ever since 2020, we as a coffee industry have been looking for ways to create more resiliency in our businesses. The cafe in particular is vulnerable to a lack of resiliency. Not only is the coffee shop a relatively low margin and high effort entity with an ROI that can take years, it also relies on the public consistently investing in its products and services. In times of economic trouble, coffee can be one of the first things cut. To hedge our bets and prepare for these times, we must build resiliency before it is needed.
Today we are going to be talking about how you can go about creating this resiliency in several different facets of your cafe business. In the end, practicing these things will not only build strength and readiness for uncertainty, but will build trust in your brand that can even out the peaks and valleys of those inevitable times.
We cover
- Mindset and Leadership
- Prioritizing Self-Care
- Agility and Diverse Income Streams
- Lean Operations and Efficient Tracking
- Connecting with Consumers
- Providing a Great Experience
- Effective Systems
- Staff Communication
Related Episodes:
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 276 : Six Ideas for Increasing your Revenue
- SHIFT BREAK: Making Minimum Viable Changes
- Focus on These Areas in the New Year
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- Leaner Teams, Better Results
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Coffee is from Africa, yet the way we think of and enjoy coffee today is largely separated from the roots that produced that original fruit. The disparity we see in the value stream today, where those growing coffee do not receive the fruit of their labor, is the consequence.
Today we get to talk with someone who has been laboring hard to honor coffee's root in an effort to create a better future for both those who grow coffee as well as for under served communities whose own cultures are tied closely to coffee's history.
Bartholomew Jones is an emcee, cxffee nerd, and multi-hyphenate creative.
Alongside his wife, Renata Henderson, he is the co-founder of Cxffeeblack and co-owner of the Anti-Gentrification Cxffee Club, a coffee educational center and cultural hub located in Memphis, TN.
Founded in 2018, Cxffeeblack is a community-oriented, multi-disciplinary, education-based coffee company that became a trailblazer in the coffee industry by creating an entirely all Black coffee supply chain from Ethiopia to Memphis, TN, the first of its kind.
Cxffeeblack is on a mission to return coffee to its African roots and in the process create an equitable Black future. Bart is a Sprudge 20 honoree, an annual list of the Top 20 coffee influencers cultivated by Sprudge Media Network, a renowned international authority on coffee and its culture; Cxffeeblack was one of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity’s 2024 Innovator of the Year awardees.
We discuss:
- Creating a Space for Authentic Creativity
- Honoring the Roots and History of Coffee
- The Impact of Colonialism
- Collaboration and Co-Creation in Coffee Culture
- The Evolution of Coffee Black
- Empowering Individuals to Find Themselves in Coffee
- Diverse expressions of Coffee
- Creating a Community Space: The Anti-Gentrification Coffee Club
- The Coffee Black Flagship: A Dining Room and Co-Generative Dialogue
- Inspiring Coffee Shops that Honor Roots and Engage with Communities
Links:
www.cxffeeblack.com
https://www.instagram.com/cxffeeblack/
Related episodes:
- 116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
- 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
- 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
- 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
- 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
- 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
- 315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast!
Learn more and put in your application for the next
Key Holder Coaching Group!
APPLY TODAY!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
It is assumed that we should constantly be growing our businesses and looking to expand, scale, and add-to what we have now. Trouble is that, in today's abundantly resourced and optimized environment, we may actually be able to do so at rates that out pace our ability to become the kind of people we need to be to properly handle that growth.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why your own development as a person is key to successful growth as a business and why hardship and constraints are often not just signs of a problem, but rather an opportunity to shape you and prepare you for success.
Recommended episodes:
- Self-Awareness and Honesty
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- 453 : The Craft of Operations
- The Myth of Hands Off / Automated Leadership
- Over Optimization
- 442 : We Need Confidence, Celebration, and Joy!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
- Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
- You Can't Automate Quality
Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Every day in the cafe we are called on to communicate "in the moment". Whether we are baristas, trainers, managers, or owners ; how effective we are in those moments determines the culture and effectiveness of our business. Wouldn't it be great if there were tools and methods formed specifically to help you not freak out under the pressure of impromptu speaking but to be clear and confident instead?
Well you're in luck because today we get to talk with the author of the book Think Faster, Talk Smarter, Matt Abrahams!
Matt Abrahams is a passionate, collaborative and innovative educator, author, podcast host, and coach. He is the Larsen Lam Family Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business where he teaches two very popular classes in Strategic Communication and Effective Virtual Presenting. He received Stanford GSB’s Alumni Teaching Award in recognition of his valued service to teaching Stanford Alumni around the world.
In addition to his teaching, Matt is much sought-after keynote speaker and communication consultant for Fortune 100 companies. His online talks garner millions of views and he hosts the popular, award winning GSB podcast called Think Fast Talk Smart.
Matt is also the author of the book that is the subject of today's conversation, "Think Faster, Talk Smarter" which equips the reader with tools and strategies to be confident, articulate, and effective when called upon to speak "in the moment"
We cover
- The Importance of Impromptu Communication
- Reducing the Pressure of Spontaneous Communication
- The Role of Listening in Effective Communication
- Crafting Clear and Concise Messages
- The Role of Values and Reputation in Communication
- Improving Communication Skills through Reflection, Repetition, and Feedback
LINKS:
https://mattabrahams.com/ Related Episodes:
- Blog: Good Communication is “For Here”
- 443: Want Impactful Messaging? Keep it Simple! w/ Author Ben Guttmann
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- 415: The Best Lessons On How to Listen w/ Listening Expert, Oscar Trimboli
- 379 : Encore Episode! How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel : Plus Bonus Content
- 334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Seeing results form your efforts is what motivates most all of us. In the coffee shop you are engaged with a dynamic intersesion of moving and living communities that take your efforts and reward you with sometimes obvious and sometimes not-so-obvious feedback. It's when we don't see the results happening the way we imagined that we can be tempted to simply abandon the effort and sometimes the business altogether.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why you should not give up and how to be patient in the process of pursuing worthy goals in the face of frustrating but perhaps emerging results.
Recommended episodes:
- On a Resilient Coffee Community
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
- 100! Why YOU are the Key
- SHIFT BREAK: Owners, It's OK to Make Mistakes
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
- Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
- You Can't Automate Quality
Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
One of the most heartbreaking things I see is when an established cafe is forced to upend everything due to changes to the cost or use of a space that they do not own. All the dreams, emotions, investment in the space itself, and developing a customer bases habits around that location are all up in the air. While renting may always be a great first step for most owners with limited resource, it may also not be the wisest long term play as you grow. If you are looking for an alternative to that volatility, you may want to consider ownership
Joining me to unpack this topic is Paul Neal.
Paul Neal is the owner of Vantage Point Commercial Capital and a trailblazer in empowering business owners to create wealth, autonomy, and control by owning their commercial space. His new book, "Un-Lease Your Business: Unlock Wealth, Autonomy and Control By Buying Your Building and Firing Your Landlord," delves into this transformative approach to commercial property ownership.
Today on the podcast we are going to talk all about why you should consider owning your own space vs renting and what ownership can do for your businesses security, profitability and more!
We cover
- The Availability and Challenges of Commercial Real Estate Ownership
- Financial Factors and Timing for Purchasing a Building
- Managing Risk and Building Confidence in Ownership
- The Benefits of Owning the Building
- Creating a Unique Culture and Attracting Customers
- Building Equity and Generating Income
- The Process of Owning a Building
LINKS:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-neal-tea/
https://vpc.capital/about-us/
https://www.amazon.com/Lease-Your-Business-Autonomy-Building/dp/1955242747
Related Episodes:
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 388 : Insurance and Risk Mitigation w/ Brennan Pothetes of Butter Insurance
- 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
- 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)”
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Managing in a cafe is one of the ultimate forms of leadership. Part of leading as a manager is planning for, responding to, or avoiding altogether, problems with people, operations, and quality. But instead of spending our best energies in prevention of problems, we tend to manage reactively when problems turn into a crisis. It's a vicious cycle.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why we need to flip our focus and pull ourselves away from the dependency the business has on us being crisis managers, and instead become people whose best energies are spent in preemptive leadership and at the very least in creating solutions to issues when they happen to prevent them from repeating.
Recommended episodes:
SHIFT BREAK: Embracing Problems as Blessings Stop Glorifying Chaos
When Small Problems Grow Up
Don't Waste Problems If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
- Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
- You Can't Automate Quality
Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The Industry. What does that even mean? Owners and professionals use this term as though it has specific power to give clarity or meaning to the work they do, when in fact it is merely the most readily observable manifestation of millions of individual decisions across the supply chain, all made worse when based on a fixation on that reflection.
For many operators there is an assumption that their cafe and the decisions they make need to be compared against the wider industry to find validation and success. Today we will be talking about how this dependency is a mistake and why freeing yourself and your business from this collective narcissism is critical to sustaining your business, doing more good, and serving your community.
We cover
- Why the Industry is You
- Questioning Industry Trends
- Separating Ethic from Business
- Understanding Customer Habits
- Rootedness and Prioritizing Your Shop
- Success Beyond Industry Validation
Related Episodes:
Peers
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
- 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- Your peers are not your Customers
- Who do we Serve?
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Hiring is probably the most important decision you make in your coffee shop. As important as it is to choose the right people, we often are at the mercy of bad habits or are missing key practices we need to make that decisions and end up making too many mistakes that drain you, the business, and the your team of energy.
On today's Shift Break we will be discussing three BIG hiring mistakes that I see countless cafes making and how you can take steps to avoid them.
This is not just about the well being of your team and business, but also the ones you hire who were not a good fit. When you hire them, it cuts off other possibilities for them in places where they might have been more suited and that can really mess up their career.
So when you listen, hear this as an episode intended to care for ALL the people involved.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
- Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
- You Can't Automate Quality
Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
In the the coffee industry, we all need help and we can all give help. In order to truly advance our own careers and those of others we want find success we need plan for and practice mentorship. The trouble is that the need we have for help also creates a lot of insecurities and the idea of mentorship can sound rather unapproachable or inaccessible. The good news is that it does not have to be this away and our guest today will help us demystify mentorship and approach it in a fresh and accessible way.
Dr. Ruth Gotian is Chief Learning Officer and Associate Professor of Education in Anesthesiology and former Assistant Dean for Mentoring at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is a globally recognized expert in mentorship and leadership development.
Hailed by Nature, Wall Street Journal, and Columbia University as an expert in mentorship and leadership development, she was named a top 20 mentor worldwide. Thinkers50 ranked her as the #1 emerging management thinker in the world in 2021, and LinkedIn recognized her as a top voice in mentoring in 2023.
A semi-finalist for Forbes 50 Over 50, Dr. Gotian is a prolific contributor toHarvardBusiness Review, Forbes, andPsychology Today, where she shares insights on optimizing success with a focus on the mindset and skill set of peak performers, including Nobel Prize winners, astronauts, Olympic and NBA champions, she's also an award-winning author of The Success Factor and The Financial Times Guide to Mentoring.
Today we are going to dive deep into what mentorship is, why it is critical for advancing both individuals and industries as well as how to pursue mentorship for yourself and how to be a mentor ot others.
We cover:
- Continuous Learning and Surrounding Yourself with Mentors
- The Strength of Vulnerability in Success
- Finding and Building Relationships with Mentors
- Defining a Mentor and Their Role
- The Difference Between Mentoring and Coaching
- Preparing for Mentoring: Recognizing What You Need
- The Value of Formal Mentoring Programs
- The Importance of Effective Matching
- Building a Community of Practice
- Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Judging Success
Links:
https://ruthgotian.com
https://mentoring-guide.com/
Related Episodes:
- 003: The Role of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee w/ Pete Licata
- 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen
- 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
- RoR #25 : Training Up the Next Generation of Roasters w/ Steve Lee of Pocket Knife Consulting + Linea Caffe
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Making decisions about who to hire or even who might need to be let go are some of the hardest but most important decisions to make in a coffee shop. So hard in fact that we can often fall into avoiding the decision by deferring to our existing staff for their opinion on who is or is not a good fit. While involving key staff in these decisions is generally good, putting too much emphasis or all the weight on them can end up in wrong choices for hiring or needlessly extending a staff member's employment solely based on the fact that people like them.
On today's Shift Break we will be discussing why we need to making these types of decisions based not so much on the expressed preferences of the current staff (or your own bias for that matter!) but on values alignment and professionally established standards for the business and that role.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
- Setting and meeting Standards in the Coffee Shop
- You Can't Automate Quality
Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Leadership in the coffee shop can either be the glue that holds it together and nurtures its growth, or it is the force that tears it apart and depletes it of vitality.
In order to make sure it is the former we need to make certain that we, and those placed in leadership possess key traits and qualities that create a people-first culture.
Today we are re-airing a vitally important episode highlighting character traits and qualities every cafe leader needs to possess and practice. In order to be a successful shop you need to have a people first disposition. This episode is
We cover:
- The Importance of Mindfulness in Leadership
- Practicing Empathy in Leadership
- Consistency: Building Trust and Clarity
- Cultivating Confidence in Coffee Shop Leadership
- The Power of Curiosity in Leading a Coffee Shop
Related Episodes:
- 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
- 368 : Walking the Line Between Leadership and Friendship
- 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
- 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
- 437 : The New Age of the Barista: Mindsets + Habits for Success
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
At the head of some of the most exciting brands in India's rapidly expanding specialty coffee scene is Subko. More than coffee, Subko has created a platform to show case the flavors, culture, and design of India through multiple disciplines. At it's heart is sourcing, roasting, and serving the best coffee the subcontinent has to offer and Mumbai is just the beginning. Today we get to hear the story and insights of Subko co-founder, Rahul Reddy
Rahul Reddy is the co-founder of Subko Specialty Coffee Roasters and Specialty Arabica Q Grader.
With Subko, Rahul intends to help reimagine the Indian Subcontinent as a legitimate contributor to the global specialty coffee movements. The conception of Subko began in December 2018, and cemented itself in February, 2019, when Rahul decided to leave behind careers in the technology, social enterprise, and risk analyst worlds to train as an apprentice at a specialty coffee company called City of Saints in Brooklyn, New York. There, he learned the art of profile roasting coffee as a roasting apprentice, learned specialty brewing, packaging, producing cold brew, and farm level green bean buying.
In this conversation we cover:
- Rahul's Introduction and Personal Fascination with Coffee
- The Absence of Indian Farmers in the Global Coffee Discourse
- The Value of Diverse Backgrounds and Skills
- Specialty Coffee as a Platform for Change
- Design and Storytelling to Showcase Indian Coffee
- Building a Foundation for Subko
- Redefining Indian Coffee: Showcasing Terroir and Post-Harvest Processing
- The Permaculture of Indian Coffee: Shade Trees and Intercropping
- From Roasting to Cafe: Navigating Challenges During the Pandemic
- Verticals of design, cocoa, and coffee
- Fostering Creativity and Collaboration: Subko's Team Values
- Expanding the Subko Experience: From Mumbai to International Cities
- Advice to other entrepreneurs looking to reshape narratives
Links:
https://www.subko.coffee/
IG: subkocoffee
Related Episodes:
- 364 Founder Friday w/ Sarah Alakeel of Hjeen Coffee in Saudi Arabia
- 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
- 332: Founder Friday! w/ Iman Kusumaputra & Putri Yulandari of Kopikalyan, Jakarta, Indonesia
- 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
We only have so much energy, time, and money to give to marketing our coffee shops. There is a lot of stress related to having the right strategy for getting people to become aware of you cafe and then visit and keep visiting. To make matters more worse, the consumer must wade through a sea of competitors who are applying similar social media and advertising strategies. So what do you invest into to give you a big return?
Today on Shift Break we will be discussing what I believe is an often overlooked and little implemented strategy that will gain you a lot of long term customers. Best of all, it is not able to be duplicated and helps you stand out from the rest in a way the usual methods a cannot.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
- 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
- 115 : Finding Success in Mobile Coffee w/ Tim Cox / Communion Coffee
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- Are You Open?
- 480: Focus on What Your Customers Love
- Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Tasting coffee is arguably one of the most important, yet subjective practices we engage in as coffee professionals. As our guest today will articulate, tasting and evaluating a coffee's Characteristics is done as a means of communicating to others. In order for us to communicate we need a common language and we need to contextualize as we go. That is where "The Coffee Rose" comes into play. Today we are diving into the world of sensory analysis and ways to create accesibity and understanding with special Guest, Ian Fretheim
Ian Fretheim has been the Director of Sensory Analysis at Cafe Imports for 13 years. He holds a certificate in sensory and consumer science from UC Davis and has studied wine assessment with the International Sommelier’s Guild. In 2018-2019 he began work on the foundations that would become the Coffee Rose with the goal of improving Cafe Imports’ sensory program.
As the Coffee Rose emerged, it became clear that it answered more questions and served greater needs than originally imagined. The Coffee Rose is an unprecedented pivot toward transparency and accessibility in specialty coffee cupping.
Today, Ian and Cafe Imports use the Coffee Rose to describe and assess thousands of coffees, teach cupping and coffee tasting, communicate with partners, and provide a path for experienced cuppers to return to tasting coffee without the filter of forms that abstract them away from the cups and reduce their experience to a series of numbers.
Links:
The Coffee Rose
@cafeimports
Water Activity in Green Coffee Paper
Related episodes:
- 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
- RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
- ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
- RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
- 078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
It is easy to talk about the things we want to improve, fix, and institute in the cafe. Trouble is that in all the talking of doing the how we need this or that, we tend to leave it there and wait until an opportune or ideal time comes along, rather than simply taking 1 small decisive step toward what we need.
Today on Shift Break we talk about why we need to default to taking action more vs simply talking about and planning the perfect next step Disciplining ourselves to do this creates in us and our team the identity and capacity needed to manage the shop well.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Your customers count on you to create a wonderful cafe experience everyday. That is the implied or explicit promise of our marketing and what most of us aspire to deliver. The way we get there is by paying close attention to what our customers love and fortifying those element of the business through focused resourcing and training and improving as we go.
What are some of the most important areas to focus on that will truly communicate to your customers that you take their patronage seriously and that we are here to serve?
Today we are going to cover the main things customers love, why they are important, how to create a culture that maintains them, and what you can expect as a result.
We cover:
- Preemptive service
- Thoughtful variety
- Empathy
- Attention to detail
- Cleanliness
- Consistency
- Follow through and acknowledgement
Related Episodes:
- 098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
- 340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
- Blog: The Customer of Tomorrow
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
In the cafe, it is easy to lapse into assuming that people who work for you, should also be available and responsive at all times even when off the clock. The lack of quick response from staff when off the clock to calls, emails, slack messages etc is often considered some sign that the employee is not right for the organization and can have a negative impact on how that employee is perceived and invested into.
Today on Shift Break we talk about the importance of respecting the boundaries of personal and professional and how we should set healthy expectations for staff an ourselves in the coffee shop so we can avoid this toxic overlap.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK: Owners, It's OK to Make Mistakes
- Specific Expectations and Due Dates
- High Expectations + Low Control
- Reasonable Expectations
- Good Baristas aren't born, they're Made
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Try as we might, the reality is that eventually even the best staff will leave our shops for another job or career. How they leave is largely up to us as leaders. Some will exit on bad terms for reasons related to bad management or their own personal behaviors that are an ill fit. Others will have been wonderful team members and right fit for the role, but need to move on. In all cases there is much to learn that we miss out on when we don't conduct exit interviews.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why you need to strive to conduct exit interviews with all your employees when they leave your shop and how it will benefit you, the business, and especially your future staff.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
- 221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
- 232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Setting up and optimizing your roastery for compliance, efficiency, and sustainable quality output is not just something to be done once in the beginning. The disciplined pursuit of building and refinement should be the primary focus of operators in order to best serve the business and all the people that rely on it.
Looking out at all the areas of the roasting space, it can be overwhelming to begin that journey, so today we are talking with one of the best practitioners of roastery engineering, Scott Stouffer, CSO of Probat!
As CSO at Probat SE, Scott Stouffer leads sales globally for Probat Coffee. Scott was previously the VP of Sales and Service for Probat Inc., the US subsidiary of Probat. Scott previously worked in supply chain operations for Starbucks Coffee Co and in R&D for Kraft General Foods (now Mondelez). Scott has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.
In our conversation we discuss:
- Managing and engineering efficiencies in coffee roasteries and why it is crucial for optimizing processes and meeting environmental requirements
- Compliance with regulations and permits for all roasteries, regardless of their size
- Technology and automation play a significant role in improving workflow and maintaining consistent quality
- Various considerations for roasting operations based on scale, location, and customer requirements
- Tips on maximizing the use of space in the coffee roastery
- Schedule roasting days based on workload to optimize labor efficiency
- Seek advice and gain insights and solutions from industry peers fore improving operations
- Reducing waste and optimizing processes
Links:
www.probatusa.com
Scott on LinkedIn
Related Episodes:
- 286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
- RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
- RoR # 22 : Master Insights on Roaster Maintenance and Care w/ Doug Graf, Vintage Coffee
- 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
- RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Numbers tell a story, but not the whole story. Though the number of times someone purchases an item on your menu may indeed mean that they prefer it to other options, what data cannot tell us is whether or not customers who generate those numbers are truly enjoying what they receive or are they quietly tolerating it.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the need for cafes to fill in the details that numbers alone cannot and why our main focus should be to be connected to the customer experience in the real world of the shop over and above the digital record of their experience on a graph in the office.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- Reasonable Expectations
- Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship
- Blood Sucking Bosses!
- Things the Owner Can't do for You
- 427 : Encore Episode: What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Two of the most important things that help coffee farmers are market access, and being able to invigorate the younger generation to work in and advocate for coffee farming. While at the SCA Expo in Chicago this year I tasted some amazing coffees from Colombia that were presented by today's guest who has taken one the challenge to represent her family's farm and many other small farmers in Colombia while also inspire the next generation in the process. Yolima Taborda Rojas is the founder of Paisa Coffee and a native Colombian and daughter of coffee farmers. Her dream has always been to share the love she has for coffee with the world. I believe the best cup of coffee is achieved when both farmers and roasters work together to improve quality and add value. Yolima was born and raised on Finca la Vega farm, which is currently one of Paisa's partner farms. At Paisa Coffee they have some of the most special coffees to offer to the world. Coming straight from origin gives Yolima the opportunity and honor to speak on behalf of her family and neighbor farmers to share with coffee roasters what they want to show and what they have to offer through long-standing relationships with coffee farmers in Colombia
We cover:
- Growing up in a coffee family in Colombia
-
the importance of education and the value of coffee to their livelihood.
-
Yolima's journey from the farm to college in Medellin and eventually to the United States
- Discovering the potential of direct trade and started her own coffee business, bridging the gap between farmers and roasters.
- The importance of feedback from roasters
- Why managing risk in the coffee business requires a conservative approach and a willingness to experiment with smaller changes.
- How education and technology play a key role in empowering the next generation of coffee farmers.
- Why supporting both specialty and commercial coffees is important for the sustainability
- How consumers have the power to drive change by asking questions, seeking information, and supporting ethical and sustainable practices
Links:
https://www.paisacoffee.net/about
@paisacoffeellc
Related Episodes:
- 319 : A Conversation w/ World Barista Champion, Diego Campos of Colombia!
- 103 : The Colombian Coffee Connection w/ Ervin Liz
- Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
- 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Each one of our shops tell many stories. The story of our own arrival as owners, the story of the coffee and the efforts it has taken to get to a finished product, the story of our community and customers and the parts they play in shaping their world and shop itself. A coffee shop is at once a reflection of the people and a light that guides us to the future. Today we are going to hear the story of one such shop, whose owners have had quite an adventure as writers of and participants in their coffee shop story.
Don Niemyer is the co-owner with his wife, Carissa, of Story Coffee Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Today you’ll hear how Don and his wife, along with their two daughters, moved into a 99 square foot Volkswagen Rialta and lived in it for 4 years, traveling the nation visiting coffee shops and getting insights and inspiration for their dream of opening something that would be compelling and elegant, yet simple and with minimal debt. In 2015 they built and opened a Tiny House Coffee shop where customers are served inside as opposed to only at a walk up window and to this day it’s the only one in the world that they are aware of.
Working with Robin Pasley of Pasley Commercial Interiors, they created a design that was named “Most Beautiful Coffee Shop in Colorado” by Architectural Digest Magazine and has been featured in books such as “101 Things to Do in Colorado Springs before you Die”.
Story Coffee has been featured in other national magazines such as Fresh Cup and Barista Magazine, and Don has written for Barista Magazine, detailing their adventures around the nation in a series called The Rialta Coffee Tour which is still available at BMAG online.
Don and Carissa are constantly chasing the idea and practice of simplicity, and today we’ll talk about how they work that principle into their business, and into their lives.
In this conversation we cover:
- How Don go into coffee and the adventure of started a coffee shop
- Why hope and belief in a better future are essential
- Practical skills and learning from industry mentors
- How simplicity and focus can set a coffee shop apart in the market and allow for consistent experiences
- Values provide a guiding light for decision-making and saying yes or no to opportunities.
- Opening a second location and how it aligned with their values and the story they wanted to tell
- Empowering and resourcing people to fulfill their dreams and responsibilities
- Being part of a community, like the Key Holders Coaching Group, provides valuable feedback and support.
- Why cultivating a mindset of curiosity helps in simplifying and aligning with values
Enjoy!
Links:
https://www.storycoffeecompany.com/
https://www.facebook.com/storycoffeecompany/
@storycoffeecompany
Related Episodes:
- 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
- 199 : Founder Friday w/ Mario Jimenez of Banana Dang Coffee, Oceanside, CA
- 070 : Founder Friday w/ Kristian Hedborg, Alkemisten Kaffeebar, Gothenburg, Sweden
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- Simplicity is the MVP of the Cafe (blog)
- 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Coffee shop owners, do you ever feel as though the entire world is on your shoulders and that one mistake will send the whole business crashing down? The pressures and expectations that cafe operators face drive many to pursue unrealistic standards for themselves and others, which tends to multiply mistakes vs the intended avoidance of them.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why it is ok that you, and other leaders in the shop make mistakes, and how the work of creating the complex and rewarding world of a coffee shop actually thrives on us embracing a pursuit that includes imperfections.
Related episodes:
- 258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
- Higher Degrees of Imperfection
- 363 : Setting Boundaries in the Coffee Shop w/ Tom Henschel
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
- 111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
- The Power of “No”
grace
positive
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- The Importance of Debriefing
- How You Show Up
- Prep for Performance Reviews
- 172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
- How to Take Criticism as a Barista
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Being a manager in a coffee shop may be one of the most difficult jobs in the cafe. Not only do you bear the responsibility of the daily operations, you also have the expectations from the owners as well as your barista team. Most managers are barely making is through. Much of the stress experienced can be avoided when we equip managers with tools to help them succeed in their roles, allowing them to see progress as a result of their efforts. Today we will be talking about several essential tools that a manager needs to employ in their daily and weekly schedule to care for the cafe, the team, the business and, of course, themselves. Owners, it is your responsibility to make sure you are tangibly supporting and resourcing manangers with the time and tools they need. This is a start.
Related Episodes:
- 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
- 383 : How to Train a Manager
- 228 : Cracking the Leadership Code w/ Alain Hunkins
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- When “Going above and Beyond” goes too Far
- 267 : The Power of Delegation
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
One of the most critical parts of leadership in a cafe is how you invest in developing those you lead. Depending on how it is done, evaluating and assessing performance can either inspire and encourage, or it can deflate and discourage.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how to think about and conduct assessments through a values framework that recognizes both the technical and relational aspects that make up the job of barista.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- The Importance of Debriefing
- How You Show Up
- Prep for Performance Reviews
- 172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
- How to Take Criticism as a Barista
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Learning to roast and hone one's skill in the craft is a difficult task. Add to that the pursuit of competition and leading an entire department of a to U.S. coffee business and you have yourself one very talented coffee professional.
Today I am thrilled to interview the new U.S. Roasting Champion, Eduardo Choza!
Eduardo is the Director of Coffee at Mayorga Coffee. He oversees the operations of E-commerce and Coffee Education & Training for Mayorga Coffee. Among being a talented roaster he is a Q-Grader and 3x US Coffee Roasting Championship Finalist. And now 2024 US Roasting Champion! Eduardo is a father of two and proud son of hardworking Mexican immigrants. His motivation to compete came from wanting to represent something larger than himself. I compete to represent the largest organic Latino-owned roastery; to represent the immigrants and children of immigrants who work there; to represent the producers and pickers in those beautiful coffee growing lands; to represent his family and families who had the courage to cross borders and seek opportunities for future generations; and to represent my culture. In our conversation we discuss Eduardo's journey on coffee, approach to roasting, the competition experience, how he leads and teaches, and the drive for representation in coffee that fuels his career.
Links:
www.mayorgacoffee.com
Related Episodes:
- 451: Business Growth, Integrity, and Coffee Farmer Equity w/ Martin Mayorga of Mayorga Coffee
- 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
- 444: Founder Friday! w/ Julia Peixoto Peters of Peixoto Coffee, Arizona
- 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
- RoR # 21 : Data, Community, and the Art of Roasting w/ U.S. Roasters Champion Andrew Coe of Elevator Coffee
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Too many times we confuse giving feedback with lecturing our staff which easily shuts down the person we were intending to communicate with. Feedback is critical to your culture but, As past guest and friend of the show,Tom Henschel has said, "Feedback is not a lecture, it is a conversation.
Today on Shift Break we will be breaking down this statement, what it means, and how to apply it in your cafe.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- Reasonable Expectations
- Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship
- Blood Sucking Bosses!
- Things the Owner Can't do for You
- 427 : Encore Episode: What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Developing the wholesale arm of your coffee roasting company boils down to the value can you offer your potential customers. Beyond the coffee itself, your wholesale customer needs assistance in their own coffee journey and your company, specifically the reps, need to be able to be equipped to deliver that help. At the heart of what makes a wholesale program successful is relationships. Todays guest has been doing this now for 13 years and walks the talk of delivering value through services and relationships with wholesale coffee clients with one of the nations best roasters.
Honor Forte has been the Director of Wholesale at Olympia Coffee since 2011. He has worked as a Barista, Delivery Driver, and Trainer at Olympia Coffee, in addition to working in coffee on the East Coast from 2009 until 2011. He also serves as a Head Judge and Competition Committee member at the US Barista Competitions since 2013.
In our conversation we discuss how Honor developed as a coffee professional to focus on sales, what it took to get clients and grow partnerships long term, what makes a good sales rep, and what you need to know to take the next step in building your own wholesale program either from the ground up, or to the next level.
Links:
www.olympiacoffee.com
Olympia Coffee Roaster : https://www.instagram.com/olympiacoffee/
Honor Forte IG: https://www.instagram.com/honorforte/
Related Episodes:
- 246 : Selecting a Wholesale Coffee Provider
- 133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond
- 303 : Create Authentic Partnerships w/ Marc Gessler of Cat & Cloud Coffee
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Welcome to another episode in the live from Coffee Fest interview series!
This is a series of 4 conversations with presenters on the show floor at Coffee Fest NYC.
The topics range from how to connect with community, running a successful mobile coffee operation, getting your coffee into grocery stores, and how to approach roastery workflow and architecture.
- First up is Sarina Prabasi, co-founder of Buunni Coffee in NYC. We talk about how to truly connect with your community through your coffee shop.
- Next we talk with Eric and Destiny Rowell, founders of Grit and Grind Coffee. We discuss the keys to success in coffee trailers and mobile coffee
- Our next conversation will be with Asia Bites Consulting founder Sara Vettori about what we need to know in order to get our coffee in grocery stores.
- Finally we wrap up talking with Vice President of Mill City Roasters, Angie Davis all about roastery workflow and architecture
Links:
www.buunnicoffee.com
www.millcityroasters.com
www.gritandgrind.coffee
Asia Bites Consulting" Sara Vettori
Related episodes:
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
- 422: Coffee Truck Success w/ Vincent LaVolpa of Green Joe Coffee School
- 384 : How to Run a Successful Coffee Cart w/ Sarah Naylor of Daybreak Coffee Cart
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
- 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
- 285 : Better Systems, Better Connections w/ Jon Ewald of RoasterTools
- 152 : Essential Advice for Starting a Roastery w/ Jen Apodaca
Sponsor:
www.coffeefest.com
How many times have we fallen prey to assumptions about one another in the cafe that end up creating needless strife and hold back progress at maybe the most critical point in the supply chain? Answer, too many times to count. We create these characterizations and generalizations at our own peril and wonder why there is toxicity in the coffee shop.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking why this type of thinking from both owners and baristas is so common and what we can do about moving past it to actually work together for a more positive coffee culture.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- Reasonable Expectations
- Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship
- Blood Sucking Bosses!
- Things the Owner Can't do for You
- 427 : Encore Episode: What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Being technically skilled as a leader is a small part of what makes one effective. The larger part of cafe effective leadership has to do with emotional skill and how we either create or destroy relationship in the daily life of our coffee businesses. The impact of our over-focus on technical skill leads to many cultural issues that eventually show up in the partial or total downfall of your business.
Today I am please to welcome back to the show Jonathan Raymond, who is the author of the book Good Authority, which we discussed on this show 5 years ago. He is back to help us learn about emotional leadership and the insights here are nothing short of revelatory.
Jonathan is best known for his book Good Authority, How to Become the Leader Your Team is Waiting For. The book, awarded the Axiom Business Book Award Silver Medal in 2018, delves into the psychology and leadership required to be a successful manager. It introduces the groundbreaking concept of the Accountability Dial — a five-step model for addressing performance issues while nurturing personal growth in team members.
Fueled by the book’s success, Jonathan establishing Refound. At its core, Refound seeks to empower modern managers by addressing the crux of workplace discord – leadership authority left untapped. Jonathan’s vision extended further with the inception of Refound Academy, a virtual learning platform designed to transform managers into confident people leaders. Refound most recently introduced “Ren” — an AI-powered on-demand coach, serves as a 24/7 mentor programmed with two decades of Jonathan’s leadership wisdom.
Links:
www.refound.com
Related Episodes:
- 074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
- 368 : Walking the Line Between Leadership and Friendship
- 232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
In the world of cafes there are many ways to be excited about coffee. Some of those ways can alienate a customer instead of welcoming them into this magical world of sensory experiences. Today we are re-airing an episode with someone who exemplifies the kind of excitement we need more of in coffee. The kind that wants to share the love and joy of coffee in an approachable and sincerely caring way.
Emi Fukahori is the 2015 Swiss Barista Champion as well as the 2018 World Brewers Cup champion. Emi Fukahori and Mathieu Theis founded MAME Coffee in Zurich, Switzerland in 2016. The couple met at a coffee tasting in 2013 and became fascinated by the world of specialty coffee. They quit their corporate office jobs to start MAME, which means "beans" in Japanese, to promote specialty coffee and its flavors and terroirsShe and partner Mathieu. They serve excellent and refined coffees across a spectrum of flavors with a focus of welcome, care, warmth, and excitement to share coffee with others.
In this encore episode from 5 years back we explore Emi's professional evolution, winning Brewers Cup routine, founding and growing Mame, and the philosophy of care and focus on others that guides how and what they serve.
The lessons and ideas Emi shares are exactly the kind of things we should all strive for in our shops. Whether you are a champion matters not, what matters is championing the customers coffee experience.
Enjoy!
Links:
www.mame.coffee
Related Episodes:
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
- 411 : Excellence, Approachable Coffee, and Always Learning w/ Kenneth Thomas of Umble Coffee and Coffee 101 Podcast
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 318 : Why Your Shop is Key to the Success of Coffee
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Business success leaves clues. Metrics such as labor percentage, COGs, Employee Turnover Rate, and more are all measurements we use to both guide how validate past decisions and guide future decisions. But what about the intangibles that the numbers themselves have a hard time showing?
On this Shift break episode we will be talking about why we need to focus on the numbers as well as the deeper meaning and intangible areas of the life of the business that contribute in a way that often cannot be tracked, but NEED to be invested into for the coffee shop to thrive.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
- 302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube
- 009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk : Simon shows us how we should be thinking of numbers and their relation to our shops, baristas, and businesses
- 405: Beyond the Schedule w/ Wil Brawley of Schedulefly
- 311 : Why Your Coffee Shop Needs Open Book Management w/ Larry Chase
- Vanity Metrics
- 341: How to Think About Success
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The goal of business is ultimately to provide for people. Firstly a business is stared as a means for the owner to provide for themselves and their family by providing a service and product to customers and thereby providing a demand for the actors in the value chain of coffee that came before them. This is all carried out by the group of people we provide a wage to in that service. The barista.
The compensation that baristas receive can vary based on skill, experience, performance, and all of it is funneled through the constraints of two things. 1. The business model 2. The mindset of the owner. In order to retain the best staff we need to start with a generous mindset that asks the question, how do we raise barista wages?
Today I am airing an collaboration episode recorded during SCA Chicago with the guys at the Valor Coffee Podcast addressing and unpacking some of the nuances of this question. In this interview we discuss models, mindsets, actions and frameworks, and next steps to help you begin to raise wages in a way that helps you to continue to provide for all the people in your cafes circle.
Links:
Valor.Coffee
Valor Coffee Podcast
Related episodes:
- 437 : The New Age of the Barista: Mindsets + Habits for Success
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
- Investing in Financial Education
- 402 : Innovating a Generous Wage Structure w/ Mike Schroeder of Oddly Correct
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
How do we help? A few thoughts have been swirling in my mind since the SCA expo in Chicago, and one of them has to do with the best contribution we can make to help each other in the industry with our respective parts of the supply chain. It seems that many are majoring in things that are not directly related to their business, and therefore letting their business slip into disrepair.
On this Shift break episode we will be talking about the power of tending to the effectiveness of our businesses, in particular, the café, as a means to truly help the farmer, and everyone in between in a sustainable way.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
- Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
- Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
- Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe
- Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
- 453 : The Craft of Operations
Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
When we read about amazing hospitality stories in restaurants, it can (and should) inspire us to pursue hospitality in our our coffee shops. Trouble comes though, when in our pursuit of the next level hospitality experience we can easily start to generate an unhealthy fascination with singular experiences at the expense of celebrating and maintaining good and normal, maybe even "unremarkable" moments of hospitality that make up much of our day. In addition to this, there is a push for cafe owners to build their spaces according to the market vs their environment and context. There is wisdom in some of this for sure, but often, like fixating on luxury examples of hospitality, it can rob us of the joys one gets being rooted in place and in regular relationships.
Today we will be exploring what I am calling unremarkable hospitality and cafe terroir (a taste of place) and why in an ever connected industry, focusing on our place, people, and the consistency of our care, can itself be remarkable.
Links to related episodes:
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
- 343 : Founder Friday! “Curated Edition” | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are
- 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
In order to progress, you need to let go. For coffee shop owners this is hard to do because so much on the initial business is based on personal work and many "firsts" that bring with them a sense of nostalgia and preciousness that can actually hold you back. The struggle to let go and allow for an evolution and progression might be behind why we can sometimes fail to see things through that we know are good but encounter some deeper personal resistance.
On this Shift break episode we will be talking about why letting go is key for allowing the business to grow beyond the initial stages and into something even better.
I help my clients move through these important stages of growth in our coaching sessions. If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes:
SHIFT BREAK: Making Minimum Viable Changes
SHIFT BREAK : Evolution Through Small Steps
Embrace the Fallout
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Today, if you are a roaster, you need to be able to navigate a pretty wide range of options in equipment, varieties of coffees and processes, as well as being able to roast a wide range of styles from light, dark, blends and everywhere in between. Thankfully technological resources abound, but the fundamentals of taste and skill in knowing the coffee as a crafts person remains a cornerstone of what will enable you to truly roast well across the ever expanding spectrum of specialty coffee. Perhaps no professional knows this better than today's Rate of Rise guest, the legendary Willem Boot. From a very early age Willem was intrigued and captured by coffee in every sense and all facets. He roasted his first batch of coffee at the age of 14 and after obtaining a masters-degree in business economics at the University of Amsterdam he co-owned his family’s specialty coffee business in The Netherlands. When Willem moved to the USA in 1998, he founded Boot Coffee and since then he advised coffee companies, coffee associations, development banks and governments around the world. As a consultant, Willem has been involved in coffee quality programs in countries like Ethiopia, Colombia and Honduras. He also designed extensive marketing programs for coffee industries in Ethiopia and El Salvador. In 2006, a dream was realized. He bought 5 ha. of land on the slopes of the Baru volcano in the Chiriqui province of Panama and planted 6,500 Geisha coffee trees. The farm was named "La Mula". In 2009, a second farm "Finca Sophia" was established at an elevation of 6,000 feet and up. In 2014 the natural processed La Mula won first place at the Best of Panama coffee competition. In 2015, La Mula maceration washed Geisha earned the Coffee of the Year recognition by Coffee Review with the highest ever score of 97 points. In 2016 his coffees won multiple Good Food awards and in 2017 Finca Sophia washed Geisha won first place at the Best of Panama. Willem is also a co-founder of a third farm in Panama: Finca La Cabra and he helped start a 400 hectare estate in western Ehiopia: Gesha Village Estate. Willem has extensive experience as a coffee roasting consultant and trainer. He wrote many articles about coffee roasting techniques in trade magazines. In addition, he educated hundreds of aspiring coffee professionals around the world in the sensory evaluation of coffee. In 2016 Willem started Boot Coffee Campus, a leading training institute located near San Francisco, CA, servicing the coffee industry in the entire Pacific region
In this episode we talk with Willem about:
- The course coffee has taken in his over 25 years of roasting and teaching,
- What is fundamental for roasters to master
- Are processing methods in coffee a distraction or asset
- How can we make sure we are roasting a coffee well and not being blinded by the overwhelming process flavors?
- How can sample roasters help us develop our range?
- how should this generation of roasters focus their energies in order create consistently delicious coffee in this sea of options and variety.
Links:
www.bootcoffee.com Related episodes:
The Shift Lead position is one of those roles that is very misunderstood. Often a title given to baristas for whom the boss wants to retain or established as a position to police a shift that has problems that run deeper than merely following to standards, a shift lead can feel confused, forgotten about and conflicted due to a lack intentionality in establishing this role in the cafe.
Today we are going to talk to owners and baristas alike. For owners, about how to determine is a lead role is needed, how to establish it well if it in fact is necessary, and what you need to follow through on ton resource and lead the lead well. For baristas, if you find yourself in this role, what are ways you can work well for the benefit of your barista peers, how can you make sure you get what you need from management, and what can this role do to help your career.
There are a lot of thoughts here about this misunderstood and often misapplied role and I hope some of this really lands for you and helps you thrive.
Links to related episodes:
- 420: Design Meaningful Roles in the Cafe
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
- Professionalize, Specialize, Expand—How to Build Your Reputation and Career, No Matter What Your Role
- 392 : Cafe Management and the Importance of Team w/ Justin Duenne of Quills Coffee
- 383 : How to Train a Manager
- Leaner Teams, Better Results
- SHIFT BREAK : Candid Advice for Baristas, Managers, and Owners
- Build it for the Business, not the Person
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
A mentor to Danny Meyer once told him "Business is Problems". This was said to point out that challenges are not only inescapable, they are actually a part of the fabric of what we do. Unfortunately many of us are consider the problems of business as nothing more than a nuisance to be eliminated vs an opportunity to be embraced.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how and why we should embrace problems in the cafe and see them as blessings that allow us to grow our business and ourselves.
Listen to these related Shift Break episodes next:
- When Small Problems Grow Up
- Don't Waste Problems
- The Conversational Reality of Your Business : Thought on how to approach creative projects in the new year
- 044 : Navigating Mistakes and Failure : Best Practices for overcoming the problems we bring with us to the cafe
Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help you thrive in coffee?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The wonder and beauty of coffee is a catalyst for countless career coffee professionals and customers alike. The flavors and creation of special moments that draws us in, satisfy some sense of adventure as well as nurtures a need for belonging. On the business side of coffee it can be very easy for those elements to be lost and replaced with conformity, safety, and a sole focus on numbers that sucks the life out of what was once a joyous thing.
For today's guest, reanimating the industry with creativity, passion, and the joy of telling stories through drinks has been a 7 year long pursuit that has shifted the minds and hearts of thousands.
Ryan is the Founder and Creative Director of Discourse Coffee, one of the world's most innovative coffee shops, and Agency Cocktail Lounge, the nation's first fully hybrid cocktail bar, offering each cocktail both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. He is also the best-selling author of “The New Art of Coffee: From Morning Cup to Caffeine Cocktail” (Rizzoli, 2023), resident mixologist at Fox 6 News, and Creator / Co-Host of the podcast “Hot Coffee for the Creative Soul”. Ryan has served as a brand ambassador for Espro, Barfly, Apothekary, and Free Spirts, and has hosted workshops on drink-making and creative thinking throughout the US, France, and Canada. His drinks have been enjoyed coast to coast, twice featured on the Emmy nominated PBS show “Wisconsin Foodie”, and covered in print in Forbes, Food & Wine, Barista Magazine, Punch Mag, Plate Magazine, Fresh Cup, Daily Coffee News, and many others. In today's episode we are going to talk all about the spark that lit the flame of Ryan's businesses and approach to coffee, the need for baristas to express their craft using coffee, how this sometimes crazy, always fun business works, and what YOU can do to create menu magic for your staff and customers.
Links:
www.discourse.coffee
@discoursecoffeemke
@ryan.castelaz
"The New Art of Coffee" book
Related episodes:
- RoR # 21 : Data, Community, and the Art of Roasting w/ U.S. Roasters Champion Andrew Coe of Elevator Coffee
- 410 : A Conversation w/ 2023 U.S. Barista Champion, Isaiah Sheese of Archetype Coffee
- 036 : A conversation with WBC ’14 champion, Hidenori Izaki
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
There is no neutral. Only forward or backward. Your coffee shop is not a static thing that will simply take care of itself. The people, space, product, and culture all need to be given care and attention to prevent breaking down over time. The best way to do this is to always be fine-tuning the cafe.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why fine-tuning, optimization, and efficiencies matter in the shop and how you can approach the process in a way that is effective and fulfills your business's larger mission and goals.
Listen to these related Shift Break episodes next:
- Fix the Small Stuff! : Management, Morale, Coffee Bar Culture
- The Impact of Absence
- SHIFT BREAK: Making Minimum Viable Changes
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help you thrive in coffee?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The craft of coffee and cafes is as much a personal pursuit as it is a service to others. Providing a remarkable coffee experience to guests through coffee is what initially inspired Frank La to begin a career in coffee. Since then his dedication to exploring service, mentorship, business operations, and coffee itself has been guided by the Japanese philosophy of "Kodawari" or, the relentless pursuit of perfection.
Before launching Be Bright Coffee, Frank La developed his skills and became a coffee professional in LA in 2010. La has held jobs at notable coffee companies acros the city including Cafe Dulce, Lamill Coffee, and Copa Vida. Now with Be Bright Coffee, Frank has overseen the growth of his business with e-commerce, wholesale, cafe and events. His skills as a coffee professional has earned him a 6th place finish at the 2023 USBC, and most recently taking the title as the USBC in 2024.
In today's episode we will explore the genesis and development of Frank's coffee journey through barista work, illegal pop up coffee shops, competition, a 9 year break from the competitive barista world, operations management, and crafting a championship winning routine.
Perfection can sound too exclusive or high minded at first, but I believe the way Frank explains things and demonstrates through his own practice of the discipline shows us that it can be pursued with humility and empathy that brings about a wonderful result.
Links:
https://bebrightcoffee.com/
@bebrightcoffee
@flaless
Related episodes:
- RoR # 21 : Data, Community, and the Art of Roasting w/ U.S. Roasters Champion Andrew Coe of Elevator Coffee
- 410 : A Conversation w/ 2023 U.S. Barista Champion, Isaiah Sheese of Archetype Coffee
- 036 : A conversation with WBC ’14 champion, Hidenori Izaki
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Creating a fine dining level experience in a coffee shop is no easy task. I requires discipline, focus, and a view of coffee that assumes that it is not just a beverage but that it is truly a culinary art. This is the disposition and mission of of today's Founder Friday guest, John Piquet of Caffe d'bolla in Salt Lake City, UT.
For nearly two decades, John Piquet has crafted his expertise as a coffee professional, roaster and siphon brewing specialist. As owner and operator, caffe d'bolla has won 7X Best of State, 3X Best of the Beehive, Zagat's Top 50 coffee shops in the United States.
Les Roka captures John's role in a December 2022 feature article at Gastronomicslc.com. "John Piquet’s journey as Salt Lake City’s first artisan roaster and siphon coffee bar continues, always fine-tuning the matrix for producing an exceptional cup of coffee."
John's expertise has been recognized internationally by both peers and culinary professionals and has been featured in The New York Times, Salt Lake Tribune, as well as Fox13, KSL, KUTV's Taste Utah, ChefsFeed, Sunset Magazine, Miles Away Travel Blog, and the aptly named, “100 Things to Do in Salt Lake City Before You Die.”
In our conversation we discuss how John came into the world of coffee service, cafe operation, and roasting. We also explore his philosophy and discipline in focus as a one-man operator striving for the sublime in espresso, siphon coffee, and roasting.
I find John's consistent pursuits in coffee inspiring and it is obvious those who have experienced Caffe d'bolla agree.
Enjoy!
Links:
https://shop.caffedbolla.com/
https://www.instagram.com/caffedbolla/
Related Episodes:
- 401 : Founder Friday! w/ Jack Benchakul of Endorffiene in Los Angeles
- 293 : Thoughts on Defining Professionalism
- 274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster”
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Being detail oriented is one of those traits we look for in baristas as proof that they are the right for our coffee shop. What we don't think about very much is that a good bit of what a barista gives to a business is based on what has been invested into them. In other words, you get out what you put in.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why this desired behavior and disposition of staff is largely up to you and how you go about orienting them to the details that matter.
Listen to these related Shift Break episodes next:
- You Need to Prioritize In-House Training!
- Are YOU Using Your Manual?
- Leaner Teams, Better Results
Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help you thrive in coffee?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
There is no time where it is more critical to make a good impression than when you have a full and busy cafe. One of the main ways our coffee shops get filled is when groups meet at the shop. When groups of people come in to order, they bring with them a certain level of distraction and chaos that can easily slow things down and frustrate the staff and the customer.
In today's episode we are bringing back a classic KTTS episode from year one that addresses what originally was a listener question regarding the tension and confusion around groups in the cafe. Originally aired in 2017, this episode is packed with practical takeaways and guidance on how you can make order out of chaos and maybe even look forward to those groups calling your shop home!
Related episodes:
- 271 : Why the Cash Register Controls Everything
- 122 : How to be a Cash Register Hero : 6 Essential Skills
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 058 : Holiday Hospitality
- 254 : Holiday Hospitality Part 2
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Now that you are a manager that means you have the ability to do all the things you know will make the cafe a better place right? Well, no necessarily. A least not right away. Manager frequently will end up very disappointed and dejected when they feel they cannot make the difference they so desperately want to make. The answer is not to give up, but to prioritize with patience.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why you do not need to do all the good ideas you have in your mind in order to be a good manager, and how you can approach your work to be both effective and happy.
Listen to these related episodes next:
- Prioritizing your Work
- Feedback Culture : Making feedback a part of what you do not just something you sometimes do
- It's OK to Have Reasonable Tolerances
- Insecurity in Management
Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help you thrive in coffee?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
If there is one thing most people agree upon, it is that they hate meetings. Have you ever considered why that is? Usually we hate meetings because they seem like a waste of time that only brings more confusion rather clarity. Poorly conducted or conceived meetings have led many of us to either give up entirely or to simply doggedly continue with ineffective meetings in spite of knowing they are not helping.
There is a better way.
Today we will be talking about the main meetings you should be having regularly, how to conduct them, why, and what we can and should expect as a result when they are made a part of our coffee shops foundation of communication and staff care.
We discuss:
- Why we hate meetings
- The reason we don't follow through
- One one ones
- Team meetings
- Performance reviews and tracking
- Manager meetings
Related articles:
- 426: Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
- 415: The Best Lessons On How to Listen w/ Listening Expert, Oscar Trimboli
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
- The One-on-One : How one meeting can dramatically impact your coffee shop's culture and morale.
- Avoid These Cafe Meeting Mistakes
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Many people want their customers to be loyal to their shop without providing much incentive for that loyalty. In fact we often will all but demand loyalty by virtue of our status rather than based on what we deliver. Customers all over the world will bend to this insinuated expectation we have against their better interest for only so long before they leave.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why loyalty may actually be a behavior that prevents us from improving and truly earning a customers patronage through consistently delivering value and learning from the times when we do not.
Listen to these related episodes next:
- 390 : 7 Ways to be Consciously Competitive
- 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
- "Local" does not Equal Quality
Owners need community too!
Want to be a part of a dynamic group of fellow coffee shop owners all working together for each other's success?
Apply for Key Holder Coaching Group today!
Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help you thrive in coffee?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Hospitality, patience, and giving grace to others and yourself are lessons we can learn from many areas of life. The coffee shop presents a unique opportunity for us to exercise those character traits as we serve customers along side our fellow staff members in the often pressured and fast paced day-to-day cafe work. There will many mistakes made, but in those mistakes lies opportunity for growth and re-affirming a people first focus.
Today's guest, David Foster, wraps all this up in an awesome new children's book called "Jett Goes to Work With Dad"!
David Foster is a co-owner at Kiln Coffee in Grand Junction, Colorado. He is passionate about promoting intentional hospitality and his love for the coffee industry. He is also the author of this new book that teaches lessons that young and old can all learn from.
In our conversation we talk a lot about hospitality in all its iterations in the cafe business, how David got into coffee, why he wrote the book, and his insight into how we can serve others well through coffee.
Links:
https://www.kilncoffeebar.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jettgoes/
Related episodes:
- 323 : Reflecting on 5 Years of Keys to the Shop w/ my Wife Lynnsy Deferio
- 328 : Relationships and Resiliency w/ Xavier Alexander of Metric Coffee
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
KTTS LINKS:
Apply for the next Key Holder Coaching Group!
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Marketing can be good, and bad. At it's best it exposes you to resources that help you mindfully build your business. At its worst it takes advantage of your insecurity and fear of not know how to build that business and turns your dream into nightmare of chasing the "next" and the "new" just to try to succeed.
Today on Shift break we will be talking about a healthy way to interact with the ever expanding universe of options, data, sales people, and stats so that you can be decisive and be confident that your decision was a well considered one.
Listen to these related episodes next:
- SHIFT BREAK: Make Customer Feedback a Priority
- Menu Simplicity as Hospitality
- The Myth of Hands Off / Automated Leadership
- Imperfect Action and Finding Time
- Icing on the Cake: Competitions vs. the Shop
Owners need community too!
Want to be a part of a dynamic group of fellow coffee shop owners all working together for each other's success?
Apply for Key Holder Coaching Group today!
Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help you thrive in coffee?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Roasting has historically been shaped by the experiences of crafts people and their experiments with what works, or does not work, in their roastery. These days we hav many people entering into the industry to affirm, challenge, and explore those dogmas in an effort to find the "why" behind the assumptions we have. Today's Rate of Rise guest, Mark Al-Shemmeri is one of those people challenging dogma with data. Mark is a chemical engineer who spent four years as a doctoral researcher (EngD) in the UK figuring out how to simulate coffee roasting in-silico, creating a digital twin of a coffee roaster. The data-driven approach meant a lot of roasting, analysis of the process and product and coding up of simulations to predict how different green coffees, in different roasters with different process conditions, transform during roasting. Mark also operates a nomadic roastery under the pseudonym 'dialect' - a name befitting for his engineering approach to coffee and his efforts to challenge the complexities entrained in the industry.
In this episode we talk with mark about how as a chemical engineer he ended up also in professional coffee work, how his expertise has shaped his own approach to roasting, and a look into the experiments he has been running to explore the variables of coffee roasting in a quest to simplify the overly complex.
Links:
- https://www.instagram.com/kramalshemmeri/
- https://medium.com/@markalshemmeri
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark-Al-Shemmeri
- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=H-A07IcAAAAJ&hl=en
Related episodes:
- RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
- RoR # 21 : Data, Community, and the Art of Roasting w/ U.S. Roasters Champion Andrew Coe of Elevator Coffee
- RoR #20 : Challenging the Status Quo w/ David Lalonde of Rabbit Hole Roasters, Montreal, Quebec
Visit www.roastertools.com for the best software to help you run a roastery!
When you think about quality coffee and what it takes to help usher in change in both how it is rendered and then how it is perceived globally, you would likely be overwhelmed with the notion. It is a lifelong vocation that requires not only personal commitment, but a large team of people to accomplish it Toady we get to talk with the new World Barista Champion Boram Um, who's family has been on this quest since his father moved to Brazil from Korea to begin his second professional life as a coffee farmer.
Boram graduated in Business in Boston University and joined his father in the world of coffee in 2014 being certified as a Q-grader. With the desire of an entrepreneur he founded Um Coffee Co. in 2016 and in 2017 achieved best coffee shop in Sao Paulo.
Since 2019 he began competing in Barista Competitions and for 3 years straight was crowned national champion in Brazil. In 2023 for the first time in history of Brazil Boram achieved 1st place in the World Barista Championship.
Boram has been traveling the globe speaking and presenting to audiences of coffee professionals in places like Leaders Forum at the Cafe Show in Korea, Hotelex 2023 in Shenzhen China, and Coffee Fest Madrid, and many others.
Today we get to talk about Boram's career, competition, and the business of rewriting the script for coffee in Brazil and achieving higher quality in coffee.
In this episodes you will learn about:
- Boram's Journey in Coffee
- Managing People and Quality Control
- Impact of Coffee Shops on Farming Practices
- Winning the World Barista Championship
- Focus on People and Coffee
- Um Coffee Co.: From Farm to Cafe
- Sustainable Practices in Coffee Production
- Building Relationships with Coffee Producers
- The Importance of Training and Education
- Expanding Um Coffee Co.'s Reach
- The Global Coffee Community
- Um Coffee Co.'s Future Plans
Links:
Instagram: @boramum
@umcoffeeco
@fazendaumcoffeeco
https://www.umcoffeeco.com.br/?lang=en
WATCH Boram Um's Performance
Related episodes:
- 452: CHAMPIONING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN COFFEE W/ 3X SA BARISTA CHAMPION, WINSTON DOUGLAS THOMAS OF CEDAR COFFEE
- 451: BUSINESS GROWTH, INTEGRITY, AND COFFEE FARMER EQUITY W/ MARTIN MAYORGA OF MAYORGA COFFEE
- 444: FOUNDER FRIDAY! W/ JULIA PEIXOTO PETERS OF PEIXOTO COFFEE, ARIZONA
- 061 : You Don’t Know Beans about Brazil w/ Kelly Stein, Coffea Podcast
- 255 : The Triumph of Black Brazilians in Coffee w/ Phyllis Johnson
- Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
OWNERS!
Want to be a part of a dynamic group of fellow coffee shop owners all working together for each other's success?
Apply for Key Holder Coaching Group today!
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Last year we did many interviews live at Coffee Fest. I got to chat with Ian WIlliams of the famed sneaker/coffee concept Deadstock Coffee in Portland Oregon while on the show floor.
In this brief conversation Ian shared some very helpful insights around marketing, entrepreneurship, and staying true to values and culture while growing a business.
Deadstock began as a cart and has operated a sneaker-themed coffee shop in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood since August 2015. Since then the company has won numerous accolades.
Ian and his team have steadily grown the business through genuine hospitality, unique partnerships, and establishing themselves as a leading voice for black owned coffee shops.
Ian has been speaking on coffee, marketing, diversity, and business around the country for a while now and you can find him on the Coffee Fest circuit this year again doing just that.
I hope this interview helps you greatly and stay tuned for more interviews like this soon as we get ready to go to the first Coffee Fest show of 2024 in NYC!
Links:
Ian on IG: @eeweezie
https://deadstockcoffee.com/
Related episodes:
- SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 2 w/ Marissa Childers, Jess Gulino, and Tony Dreyfuss
- SPECIAL! Part 1| Coffee Fest Anaheim 2023 w/ Kenneth Davids and Madeleine Longoria Garcia
- SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube
Sponsor:
www.coffeefest.com
Use code KEYS15 to get 15% off your General Admission!
It is very difficult to take criticism. Especially when you may be fully aware of the imperfections of those offering the feedback on your performance. Trust me, I have lived the rage of those moments in full, and have come to see how many opportunities I wasted being upset vs taking the feedback and using it to improve and grow.
Today on Shift break we will be talking about how we should take the imperfect criticism and feedback we receive and own our part and our response... especially when we occupy the position of barista and may be young in the industry.
Listen to these related episodes next:
- SHIFT BREAK : The Scourge of Nitpicking Bosses
- SHIFT BREAK : Candid Advice for Baristas, Managers, and Owners
- The Courage to Correct
- Baristas Are Not Magic
- An Essential Habit for Every Coffee Shop Worker
Owners need community too!
Want to be a part of a dynamic group of fellow coffee shop owners all working together for each other's success?
Apply for Key Holder Coaching Group today!
Hey Managers!
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, working with managers as a career coach is one of the services I offer.
Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help you thrive in coffee?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Special announcement! Applications are still open for the next round of Key Holder Coaching Groups!
The Key Holder Coaching Group is a select group of coffee shop owners who love coffee, people, and want to see their business and others succeed!
Insights, perspective, accountability, and growth. These are just some of the benefits I have seen change lives through consulting and over my years facilitating workshops and trainings. I have personally been in a group for podcasters for the last 6 years and have also hired coaches, consultant, and been a part of an online community. It has all been indescribably transformational. For the last few years I have wanted to bring to more people, that same kind of transformational experience in a small group setting and now we are now ready to launch the second round of peer-to-peer mastermind groups! About the groups: 🔑 Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by myself and consist of a curated group of 5-6 coffee shop owners. 🔑 We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period. 12 calls total! 🔑 This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business. 🔑 In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives. 🔑 Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Signal app as well. I will be keeping applications open for the rest of this month (February) Selected members will be notified end of February and beginning of March. New rounds of groups will begin in March! If you have questions or want to reach out for anything else, including one-on-one coaching and special consulting projects then email chris@keystotheshop.com. -Chris Deferio President | Host Keys to the Shop Want to be a part of a dynamic group of fellow coffee shop owners all working together for each other's success?
Apply for Key Holder Coaching Group today!
A couple testimonials: "The most beneficial aspect of the KHCG has been getting the opportunity to explore topics from multiple perspectives. I have found that even If I am not in the “Hot Seat” I am gaining valuable information that is relative to my business in some way. KHCG has proven to be a safe space for me to be vulnerable, increase my self-worth and positively adjust my mindset to get the most out of the experience. As business owners, we are, without a doubt, our most valuable asset. Investing in ourselves, stepping outside of our patterns and opening up to fellow business professionals within our field will absolutely bring fresh perspectives to solve problems and reminders to celebrate wins. You do not have to do it all or do it all alone, KHCG will be a valuable ally on your journey to success."
-Sunny Cover Founder ~ The Boss The Peekskill Coffee House Peekskill Coffee Roasting Company Ryze Collective Inc "I've been part of quite a few different mentorship programs, and coaching programs and the Key holder coaching group has by far provided the most value. I loved being part of a group with businesses that are all so different because you learn so much that isn't just applicable now, but what might apply 1 or 2 years down the road. Chris does a great job facilitating the group in a way that everyone feels comfortable contributing, and can be honest and vulnerable. I'm blown away by the generosity of the group!" -Susannah Winters Hilton Head Coffee
People don't leave jobs, they leave managers. This is an old but still true saying that, for me, underscores the importance of selecting the right person to take on a management role in the cafe. A bad manager makes the work miserable, and a good manager makes the work rewarding and just like a conductor, orchestrates the talents of the players into a harmonious experience. But how do you find this person and what should you be looking for when it is time to put an manager in place?
This week we are going to discus several key character traits and behaviors you will want to make certain are present in the person you have in mind to be a manager. Your coffee shop's future actually does depend on it!
We cover:
- Why we get management wrong
- Your role in a manager's success
- Personal resilience
- Patience with change and trust
- Communication and Self awareness
- Ability to earn trust
- Big big picture + detail focus
- Caring and Kindness
Related episodes:
- 383 : How to Train a Manager
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- 378: 5 Areas to Develop in Managers
- 229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
- 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
Want to be a part of a dynamic group of fellow coffee shop owners all working together for each other's success?
Apply for Key Holder Coaching Group today!
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
When some people see a need or an opportunity, they dream about who will meet it or make it happen. Others, like today's guest on Founder Friday, task it upon themselves to take action and create the reality they want to see for the benefit of others.
Kymme is owner of Bushwick Grind, a speciality coffee shop and cafe, established in 2015. Here she hosts the 2Fish5Loaves community fridge which provides hundreds of pounds of free food to local residents. She is also a technologist with a tenure of over 30 years in the IT sector, employed with Weight Watchers International for 25 years, currently in the role of Principal Technical Project Manager and is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Business , LI NY.
Over the nearly 10 years Bushwick Grind has been awarded 2022 HEINZ Black Kitchen Cast Iron Trophy, 1010 Wins Small Biz Pitch Competition, 2018 Brooklyn Cornerstone Biz of the Year, and many more honors due to Kymme and her team's dedication to community, quality, and nourishing others through the companies varied services.
In this episode we will be talking all about how Kymme first started on this journey, what she has learned along the way, and her advice for how to run an impactful people-focused cafe business.
We discuss:
- The genesis of Bushwick Grind
- Learning coffee and focusing on simple offerings
- Community, networking, and taking action to make a difference
- Introducing food and working with other organisations
- The importance of having a strong team that vibes with your vision
- Working full time outside of running the shop. How?!
- Harnessing the power of ideation to unlock possibilities
- Becoming a mentor and paying it forward
Links:
https://www.bushwickgrind.com/
IG: @bushwickgrind
Related episodes:
- 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
- 236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
- 316 : Founder Friday! w/ Jim Sanders of Heartwood Coffee Roasters, Cleveland, Ohio
- 359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
There is nothing as frustrating as working on and getting served from a busy bar that was not designed appropriately. From size, placement, equipment selection, and more, there are many areas to consider when designing a space that runs well. Unfortunately bars get built quickly and without the right kind of thought put in at the start.
Today on Shift break we will be talking a two of the most important considerations you need to make sure you nail if you want your baristas and the business to mitigate stress and be set up for success
Listen to these related episodes:
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- The Wrong Way to Improve Morale
- 240 : What to do before your Build your Bar
- 051 : The Power of Design in Coffee w/ Liz Chai
OWNERS! DO YOU NEED HELP AT YOUR SHOP?
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, Layout and design are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Looking back is not only a great way to take stock of how you have developed professionally and as a person, but also to bring back into focus what we have to be thankful for. A couple years back my wife convinced me to let her interview me about my career and along the way we also talk about how coffee brought us together. I typically shy away from telling stories of my own career, opting instead to highlight the guests or the principles we talk about on the show.
But my wife was right, and this conversation was well received when it first came out 2 years back.
So today we are re-airing this fun episode for your listening pleasure. Let this inspire you to examine your story and to really allow yourself to find joy in the blessing of the people in your life that have joined you along the way!
We cover:
- How I got into coffee
- Competitions and how they shaped me
- Lessons I have learned in my career
- How we met through latte art
- The why and how of starting KTTS
Links:
Apply for the next Key Holder Coaching Group!
Related episodes:
- 323 : Reflecting on 5 Years of Keys to the Shop w/ my Wife Lynnsy Deferio
- 328 : Relationships and Resiliency w/ Xavier Alexander of Metric Coffee
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
Want to be a part of a dynamic group of fellow coffee shop owners all working together for eachother's success?
Apply for Key Holder Coaching Group today!
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
It's the age old question, "Should we be able to use our phones behind the bar?". Simple right? Well, yes in some ways but the way we approach answering this question has downstream impact on the overall experience both our staff and guests have in our shops, and in turn how they view the industry itself.
Today on Shift break we will be talking about why it is best practice to have policies that help us avoid distractions and bad optics behind the bar for the sake of keeping tuned into the day's work, creating a consistently great impression, and being able to manage the details of the service we offer to the guests.
Listen to these related episodes:
- Using Slow Times Well as a Barista
- Managing Expectations in Systems
- The Problem with "Should"
- Reasonable Expectations
- Example > Words
- Things the Owner Can't do for You
DO YOU NEED HELP IN YOUR SHOP?
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
John Luke Roberston is the founder and roaster at Kings Lane Coffee in West Monroe, LA. You may be familiar with the TV show Duck Dynasty that follows the lives of John Luke's family and their duck call business, Duck Commander. As John Luke grew and pursued his education, he developed a love for coffee and charted his own course by diving straight into owning and running a multi-cafe and coffee roasting business, Railway Coffee. I was honored to get to consult and coach him through the beginnings of this venture and over many years Railway continued to offer great coffee and service through its shops and roasting business, even expanding to a mobile trailer.
Eventually as life changed, John Luke sold the business but kept roasting and is now pursuing roasting and collaborative prjects through Mapmaker Coffee. Most recently collaborating with the family business and releasing a coffee that quickly sold out.
This is a great conversation detailing an intense and immersive experience entering into the coffee industry and finding a place in roasting, and learning incredibly valuable lessons about coffee, management, business, and connecting with people along the way.
We cover:
- Consistency as key in the specialty coffee industry, and importance of training staff
- Seeking help and delegating responsibilities
- Focusing on your strengths and prioritizing your time.
- Expanding to a mobile operation
- Logistical and management challenges
- Public attention and social media following do not always translate into increased sales
- Why building a loyal customer base is most important
- Roasting coffee offers the opportunity to create unique blends and collaborate with others to meet different customer preferences.
Links:
www.johnlukerobertson.com
@johnluke_robertson
Related episodes:
- 412 : Founder Friday! w/ Lem Butler and Kyle Ramage of Black and White Coffee Roasters
- 295 : Founder Friday! w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY
- 217 : Should you roast your own Coffee w/ Joe Marrocco of List & Beisler
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
- ROR #23 : How to Close the Industry-Consumer Flavor Gap w/ Phil Beattie, Dillanos Coffee Roasters
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Can you have too much of a good thing? When it comes to managers and bosses in the coffee shop the answer is a resounding and exasperated YES! Why do we do needlessly multiply leaders in the shop like Oprah giving our free cars and as a result frustrate our staff and the leaders themselves?
Today on Shift break we will be talking about the issue of having too many leaders and managers in the shop, why it is a problem, and what a healthy approach to delegating leadership looks like.
Listen to these related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK: Questions Are Not Threats
- SHIFT BREAK: Your Manager Has No Time To Manage!
- Being the Point of Clarity
- 425 : Some Thoughts on Supporting Your Manager
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- Do You Need to be the Best Barista in Your Cafe?
DO YOU NEED HELP IN YOUR SHOP?
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Coffee competitions have grown to be a dominant force for how professionals and consumers alike view the role of a barista, the industry, and coffee itself. Mindsets, businesses, and the supply chain itself has been shaped by the influence of competitions and today, understanding this world is critical to understanding coffee.
To talk about this today we are joined by one of the most respected, prolific, and knowledgable WCE Competition head judges out there, Scott Conary!
As Owner of award-winning Caffe Driade, Perennial & Open Eye Café in Chapel Hill, NC; along with Wholesale Roastery Carrboro Coffee Roasters; Scott Conary has had many opportunities to travel, teach and learn about coffee production, harvest, selection, blends and trends for the last 25+ years. He is an active educator in the Industry in most all disciplines and consults for companies, restaurants, and cafes nationally & around the world while also serving as a WCE Representative and Certified Head Judge for the World Barista Championship since 2005. He has been a head Judge & Instructor for the Alliance for Coffee Excellence & the Cup of Excellence program since 2015. Scott trains Barista’s and coffee professionals as a consultant, in the U.S. and around the world, for skill, knowledge and competition.
In this episode we get to discuss competitions, judging, what makes a "good" barista, and the role these things have played and continue to play (both good and bad) in shaping the environment we operate in
We cover: * The Mentorship Aspect of Competitions * The Evolution of Competitions and the Role of Judges * The Influence of Baristas and competitions on the Supply Chain and Public Perception of Coffee * The Universal Takeaways from Competitions * Defining a "Good Barista" * The Importance of Connection and Care * Technical Innovation and Connecting with Customers * Utilizing Innovation and Making a Connection * Expanding Beyond Barista Competition * Aligning with Organizations and Seeking Transparency * Celebrating Coffee and Affecting Change * Progress through Relationships and Collaboration * Getting Involved and Opening Doors
Links:
https://carrborocoffee.com/
https://caffedriade.com/
https://openeyecafe.com/
https://www.perennial.cafe/
Instagram: @coffeescott
Want to run an amazing coffee shop? Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Caring for people and their experience, both as employees and as customers, is at the heart of a successful coffee shop. In order to consistently pursue that, an operator needs to have a strong grounding of personal values that directs their decisions and helps them weather the storms of entrepreneurship. Today we are talking with someone whose mission to facilitate community, caring, and connection through coffee has been a driving force behind the success of his company.
Nick Kassouf is the founder and owner of Tru Bru Organic Coffee and Humbowl Juice bar. With la roastery and locations in Orange, CA and Laguna Hills, CA, plus Henderson, NV, Nick and his team are keeping busy providing nourishing and meaningful spaces for their guests to slow done and enjoy coffee and good company.
In the years of operating and growing the coffee business and starting the juice bar, Nick has had to grow just as much personally. Today we will be exploring the story of Tru Bru and how this family run business runs and the why behind the operations that has led to their success.
I love the focus Nick has on creating a business that delivers more than just a product but reinforces a way of life that I think we all could benefit from adopting.
We discuss:
- Family History and Origins of True Brew
- Creating a people-first culture and focusing on hospitality
- Hiring and Behavioral-Based Interviewing
- Choosing the right people who embody the mission and values of the business
- Being willing to lead from the front and develop oneself in all aspects of the business
- Addressing toxicity and cultural challenges early on to prevent negative impacts on the business and team.
- Taking action and not succumbing to complacency as the key to maintaining a healthy culture and driving business growth.
- Why creating a caring and vibrant culture is crucial for fostering human connection in a coffee shop.
- Genuineness and a genuine care towards others
Links:
https://trubrucoffee.com/
IG: @TRUBRUCOFFEE
Related episodes:
- Founder Friday! Youth, Foster Care, and Human Connections Through Coffee | w/ Miah Sommer of Astute Coffee in Omaha, NE
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
- 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
If I could pick one way to absolutely decimate your culture and drive your employee's morale into the dirt, while also making your customer's squirm, it would be passive-aggressive reactionary nitpicking masquerading as leadership. I get it, you have high standards and sometimes (lots of times) you feel like pulling your hair out when you see things that don't measure up. The questions is, how can you retain a high standard while also not inadvertently publicly shaming your staff in the process?
Today on Shift break we will be talking about the scourge of nitpicking bosses, why we can veer into this self-sabotaging territory, and what steps we can take to create a healthier culture where we address issues in a people-first and patient way.
Listen to these related episodes:
- 398: The 5 Biggest Mistakes Coffee Shops Make
- Passive-Aggressive Management
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
In our quest for success in the coffee shop business we embrace the busy and frenetic pace that is assumed as necessary to bring us fulfillment. As we work we can often lose touch with the thing that drove our passion in the beginning. While scaling and ambition have many benefits, there always remains the need to connect with deep and meaningful things where skill intersects with heart.
It is this simplicity and vibrancy that now drives today's returning Guest to the show, Charles Babinski at his new shop, Cafe 143 in Sydney.
Charles Babinski is the former U.S. Barista Champion and the co-founder and former co-owner of the legendary G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger in L.A. In his long and storied career Charles has reached the peak of competition and business success and has now scaled down to pursue a more simple and personally rewarding expression of coffee and coffee service through Cafe 143.
This is a wonderful window into the arc of a career that will be very instructive for new business owners and verans alike.
We cover:
- Reflecting on career decisions
- The value of intimate focus
- Why scaling a business can lead to a loss of connection and impact on a personal level
- Transitioning to a new opportunity and building cafe 143 in Sydney
- Applying past experiences and expertise and setting up the business and decision-making
- Creating a vibrant coffee bar
- Measuring success and ongoing development
- The Importance of Education and Communication
- How success in the coffee industry is measured by the feedback and trust of customers.
Related episodes:
- 107 : Kyle Glanville & Charles Babinski of G&B Coffee and Go Get em Tiger
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
- 219 : Building a Winning Food Program w/ Marilei Denila, Culinary R&D Manager, Go Get em Tiger
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
Want to run an amazing coffee shop? Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
In order to have engaged baristas, owners and managers must first be willing to engage. Unfortunately we have a habit of stifling questions and feedback from the group of people who live closest to the systems we create and treat questions as either inconveniences, or in many cases, threats.
Today on Shift break we will be talking about how questions are an integral part of engagement, innovation, and trust leading to a better coffee shop that is built from a place of good faith communication vs bad faith assumptions and preemptive dismissal.
Listen to these related episodes:
- 427 : Encore Episode: What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 426: Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
- 151 : How to Respond and React to Negative Feedback : 5 Step Process
- Don't Forget Relationships
- Passive-Aggressive Management
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
When we think of the craft of coffee we tend to think only in terms of the bean and beverage itself. The whole value chain of coffee has benefited greatly from continued emphasis on transparency and today we have the ability to track down almost every detail and variable of a coffee to accurately determine what went into the resulting cup. But what about systems and operations that lead to that cup in your customers hand? If a coffee tastes off, we strive to investigate, diagnose, and adjust. When we run out of an item, have abad service encounter, can't keep the cafe clean, have inconsistency between staff etc. everything is suddenly opaque. This is a failure to invest in operations as an equally important craft and it is killing your cafe.
Today we are going to be talking about how, if you are a coffee shop operator, then operations has to be your craft, and what steps you can take to begin being just as good at dialing in the cafe as you are at dialing in a coffee.
Related episodes:
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 425 : Some Thoughts on Supporting Your Manager
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
Want to run an amazing coffee shop? Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
As a roaster your career can go through many different unique phases, all of which will tech you different things about the craft, the business, leadership, and even entrepreneurship. Not least among the things you learn is how to use both resources and constraints as opportunities to serve others and grow as a roaster. These are the kinds of experiences that today's guest has had in the industry and today we will explore those career phases and what they taught him. I am so pleased to welcome Leigh Wetzle, Cofounder and roaster for Cedar coffee to Rate of Rise!
Leigh Wentzel is Co-founder and Head roaster for Cedar Coffee Roasters. He has been in the industry since 2014 so coming up to 10 years spent the majority of his coffee career working for Rosetta Roastery in various roles. Leigh started as a coffee delivery driver/part-time barista transitioned to full-time barista, head barista/cafe manager, and ended up as their roaster and roastery manager. Along the journey, they won Roastery of the Year 2018 and 2019 with Rosetta and then last year they won Best New Roastery with Cedar Coffee Roasters In this conversation we discuss the lessons learned going from new roaster, roastery manager, starting Cedar, renting time on someone else's roaster, and now what is going into planning Cedar's own roastery.
Links:
https://cedarcoffeeroasters.com/
@cedarcoffeeroasters
Related episodes:
- 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
- 452: Championing the Customer Experience in Coffee w/ 3x SA Barista Champion, Winston Douglas Thomas of Cedar Coffee
- 285 : Better Systems, Better Connections w/ Jon Ewald of RoasterTools
- RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
- 246 : Selecting a Wholesale Coffee Provider
Subscribe to Roast Magazine!
https://www.roastmagazine.com/subscribe
Visit www.roastertools.com for the best software to help you run a roastery!
The most important thing in coffee...is people. More to the point, managers and owners prioritizing hiring and caring for the right people, and baristas embracing taking responsibility for their own careers and how they show up in the shop vs blaming others for their lot in the industry.
On today's Shift Break we are going to be getting straight to the heart of what is important for managers and owners to know in hiring and caring for a team, and what is critical for baristas to know if they want to advance anywhere they happen to be.
I feel that this Shift Break is by far the one of the most important in terms of the kind of force-multiplying effect implementation of these ideas will have on the industry.
Related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK: Wrong Fit For the Role, or Wrong Fit For Your Business?
- Raising Your Hiring Standard
- Things the Owner Can't do for You
- Making Yourself More Valuable
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The world of professional specialty coffee can be both inspiring and intimidating with many customers and new baristas feeling lost in the mix of rules, methods, and information. How can we create a great experience for guests and staff who all really want to enjoy coffee and find their place in it?
Today we get to learn from the story of someone whose career in coffee took him from curious customer, to barista champion, and finally to teacher and business owner, all along the way finding his identity in coffee firmly rooted in providing the kind of hospitality that won him over at the start.
Winston Thomas is 33 years old and grew up in the small suburb of Strand in Cape Town. He studied Civil Engineering at CPUT but developed an interest in coffee after reading a letter in his local newspaper of a woman complaining that there was no good coffee in Strand/Somerset West. This sparked his interest in coffee and during his studies he completed a barista course. This changed his whole perspective on coffee and after completing his National Diploma in 2014 decided to work in coffee full time. Since then he has managed to win the South African Aeropress Championship in 2016, the Western Cape Barista Championship for 2017, 2018 & 2020, the South African Barista Championship in 2017, 2018 & 2020 title as well as the Africa Barista Championship title for 2019. He now owns and runs a coffee training and consulting business called Winston Douglas Coffee and a Coffee Roastery Called Cedar Coffee Roasters.
In this episodes you will learn about:
- Winston's entry into coffee and how his engineering mind helped him discover higher levels
- Curiosity and a desire to understand how things work are valuable traits in the coffee industry.
- Barista competitions can provide opportunities for growth and learning, but it's important to maintain a sense of humility and not let success cloud one's perspective.
- Hospitality as a fundamental aspect of coffee service
- Why baristas should strive to create meaningful experiences for customers.
- Building confidence and finding one's identity in the industry
- The blessing and burden of winning
- Avoid overemphasizing fame and titles in the industry
- How having control over the variables in coffee brewing enhances the hospitality experience.
- Creating an authentic coffee experience specific to a region or culture is a challenge worth pursuing.
- How disconnecting from social media can foster creativity and originality in coffee
Links:
@cedarcoffeeroasters
@winston_douglas
www.cedarcoffeeroasters.com
www.winstondouglascoffee.com
Related episodes:
- 290 : Making Connections in Central Africa w/ Keith White Jr of Paraiso Trading!
- 410 : A Conversation w/ 2023 U.S. Barista Champion, Isaiah Sheese of Archetype Coffee
- 119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Having high standards is part of what it means to be in specialty coffee. While it is true that we need to have reasonable tolerances built into our expectations, we also need to be specific in our communication, resourcing, and expectations so people know what it is they are aiming for in the cafe.
On today's Shift Break we talk about we we should be approaching setting and meeting standards in the shop and how your example and follow through is integral to your teams success.
Related episodes:
- Pre-Closing Madness
- SHIFT BREAK : It's OK to Have Reasonable Tolerances
- Defining Excellence and Success
- You Need to Prioritize In-House Training!
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
When Martin Mayorga first entered the coffee industry it was not as someone whose singular passion was the product, but the people and communities behind it that were unseen and more often that not, unrewarded for their work. He had and still has a mission to address this disparity.
Born in Guatemala City to a Nicaraguan father and a Peruvian mother, Martin's early life was a mosaic of Latin American cultures and unique challenges, including losing everything to an earthquake in Guatemala and then again to a revolution in Nicaragua. This journey from Guatemala to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Peru, and finally the United States exposed him to a variety of perspectives and challenges faced by people across these regions while eventually providing him the opportunities unique to the United States
Returning to Nicaragua at 18, Martin was confronted with the harsh realities faced by local farmers and their communities. This experience was pivotal, shaping his mission to uplift Latin American communities through sustainable business practices. Leveraging his education in International Business and Finance from Georgetown University, Martin embarked on a journey to make a positive impact for farmers in Latin Americas well as consumers in the United States.
Under Martin's leadership, Mayorga Organics has become more than a coffee company; it's a symbol of hope and empowerment for over 6,000 small farmers across 10 Latin American countries. The company's commitment to organic farming and direct relationships with farmers has not only improved the lives of these communities but also helped to transform consumer perception of ethical consumption in the U.S.
Today we will be challenged, enlightened, and inspired as we get to explore the arc of Martin's journey and discuss the various critical components of what has gone into the mission that continues to guide Mayorga Coffee and more broadly Mayorga Organics- "To eliminate systemic poverty in Latin America through responsible trade of artisanal organic foods."
Here are just some of the things we cover:
- Martin's entry into the coffee industry
- Pivotal moments in Martins diverse upbringing that shapes his world view
- Values and vision for addressing the gap between consumer and farmer
- Why we need scale to make impact
- Being patient and steady in your goals in spite of naysayers
- Giving regular coffee farmers options
- Competition and collaboration vs domination
- Considering the impact of investors on the long-term efficacy of a business
- What to do now to make a difference in the future
Links:
www.mayorgacoffee.com
@mayorgacoffee on Instagram
YouTube Video on Mayorga Coffee
Related episodes:
- Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
- 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
- 265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
- 060 : Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research
- COVID-19 Focus: Perspective form Burundi w/ Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, JNP Coffee
- 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
- 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
When we set goals it is usually because we have come to realize a need for change. In the cafe this can result in making a large scale transformational effort that can often fall flat, We want to evolve and grow our cafe or even ourselves but the learned behaviors that got us here stand in our way.
On today's Shift Break we will talk about how evolution and change that is sustainable has to be based on small and consistent steps in the direction of your goal and how doing this in the New Year can make it your best year ever!
Related episodes:
- Pull Out The Fridge
- Slow is Fast?
- Turning Radius
- What Sanding Taught Me About the Cafe Refinement Process
- 426: Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
- 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Sample roasting empowers people with the knowledge of possibility locked in the coffee. Bringing sample roasting that provides for more continuity and better communication to more professionals in the value chain, especially at origin, is critical not just for how coffee's potential is achieved but how the value of that coffee is distributed. Today we explore this dynamic through the lens of the IKAWA sample roaster with Inventor, Andrew Stordy!
Andrew, the inventor and founder of IKAWA, grew up in coffee growing countries including Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Burundi.Andrew is an engineer and industrial designer and developed the concept for IKAWA while studying Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art in London. He’s dedicated years of toil to making IKAWA a reality.
In this conversation we discuss the start of the company, how and why the roaster was developed, the impact it has had, and the design/iteration process that they utilize at IWAWA that helps them continue to innovate.
Links:
www.ikawacoffee.com
@ikawacoffee
Related episodes:
- 063 : What Your Roaster Wants you to Know w/ Rob Hoos, Author, Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee
- RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
- RoR #17 : Evolving Our Approach to Cupping w/ Charlie Habegger of Royal Coffee
- RoR #13 : The NORM ROAST Protocol w/ Dave Baxter
- ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
- 395: Connecting Roasters and Producers w/ Henry Wilson of Perfect Daily Grind and The Producer Roaster Forum!
Subscribe to Roast Magazine!
https://www.roastmagazine.com/subscribe
Visit www.roastertools.com for a free e-book and the best software to help you run a roastery!
Hospitality is a pursuit that relies on our ability to not only offer our guests excellence in quality, consistency, and interaction, but it also relies on us being able to select tools for delivery of our service that line up with our values. Mobile apps and order ahead systems have become a part of the fabric of the coffee shop space based on their convenience and marketing potential. Beyond the question of whether you should utilize this tool, is the question of the role apps and convenience ordering systems play in hospitality and how we can integrate them in a mindful seamless way.
Today we get to talk all about this with someone whose life revolves around these questions and the pursuit of delivering a solution to cafes. I am please to welcome, Joe Capone, of Espressly!
Joe Capone is a Co-Founder and CEO of Espressly. Joe oversees and manages the team at Espressly as they continue to advance and sustain the mobile app ordering system for coffee shops across the US. He is an experienced software developer and previously ran a web development agency that helped clients throughout the US. Joe has a passion for using technology as the foundation to sales and marketing systems and loves how mobile apps are readily available to the masses, enabling things that we only dreamed of in years past.
Here are just some of the things we cover:
- Developing white label apps for coffee shops
- Possibility to enhance the customer experience.
- Balancing convenience and quality
- Prioritization and organization using apps
- Backup systems to avoid over-dependence on technology
- Efficient order flow management and pickup stations
- Grace and flexibility as essential for handling mistakes and maintaining strong customer relationships.
- Quest for a seamless customer experience
- Importance of capturing data for business growth and future exit strategies.
Links:
www.espressly.co
IG:@ESPRESSLYAPPS
Related episodes:
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
You can't always get what you want. In fact, getting exactly what you want may hinder your growth and creativity in the long run. Most of us in the cafe space work within constraints of budget, time, space, and capacity, and that is actually something to celebrate.
On today's shift break we will be talking about why embracing and even applying constraints is the key to unlock your own, and your coffee shop's potential.
Related episodes:
- SHIFT BREAK: Before you Expand
- 240 : What to do before your Build your Bar
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- blog : Simplicity is the MVP of the Cafe
- 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
- SHIFT BREAK: Turning Radius
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The coffee market is much bigger than just specialty coffee. In fact specialty makes up just a fraction of coffee consumed globally. The advent of convenience coffee service is growing lock step with innovations in automation and that has historically make those of us in the more craft forward markets nervous. While I will readily admit to being one of those nervous and doubting people when it comes to convenience and automation, I also enjoy exploring the other side of a subject that can help balance my (maybe a whole industry's) dogmatic assumptions. To help us explore the value of these ideas and to connect to a frequently maligned segment of coffee drinkers we have returning guest and friend of the show, Tim Cox!
Tim Cox is Marketing Manager for Franke Coffee Systems. He is a food and beverage professional with over 15 years of experience focusing on beverages and Specialty Coffee. With a career spanning diverse roles ranging from multi-unit retail management, restaurant ownership, product development for national brands such as 7-11, and marketing, Tim has developed his experience across multiple channels, including Specialty, QSR, and Convenience. In his role at Franke Coffee Systems, Tim is responsible for research & insights as well as product management.
Here are just some of the things we cover:
- Tim's Career Transition
- The Value of Automation in Coffee
- Defining Specialty Coffee and Ethical Concerns
- The Importance of Accessibility in Coffee
- The forgotten segments of consumers we need to engage
- Automations impact on Hospitality
- Transferable Skills and Intentionality in Automation
- Balancing Excellence in Coffee with market access
- The Blurring Lines Between Commercial and Specialty Coffee
- How convenience and automation can help elevating the Average Expectation in Coffee
Links:
www.franke.com
Tim on IG @booksandbanjos
Related episodes:
- 445: EVOLUTION OF THE MACHINE-BARISTA RELATIONSHIP W/ RYAN WILLBUR OF SYNESSO COFFEE SYSTEMS
- 400 : The Values of Speed and Service w/ Jaime Denney of Scooter’s Coffee
- 263 : Founder Friday w/ Mike McFall, Co-Founder of BIGGBY Coffee!
- 127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
In this second part of our 2 part Founder Friday we switch gears with Doug Zell, founder of the iconic coffee company Intelligentsia Coffee. In the years that followed the acquisition of Intelligentsia, Doug entered into a new era of creativity related to food, coffee, and his passion for cycling. With his friend and fellow cycling enthusiast Chris St. Peter, they founded the Meteor.
The vision began with a desire to create a beautiful environment that combines all the things they love under one roof: delicious ingredient-driven food, thoughtfully chosen wine, carefully prepared coffee, and, bicycles. The hope is to build a community that enjoyed these same pursuits. Their motto? - Espresso | Champagne | Chain Lube
In this episode we focus on the this new venture, how it came to be, the challenges of a multifaceted concept, the lessons and wisdom earned from 20 years of coffee leadership, and how that, plus the same spirit to innovated and create, has helped the Meteor Succeed.
We discuss:
- The chance meeting and common interests that started The Meteor
- Building a team of great people who understand different aspects of the business
- Keeping the menu and offerings tight and well-executed
- Why opening a coffee bar with just coffee and pastries may be challenging in today's competitive market.
- How creating a sense of community and connection is a rewarding aspect of running a multifaceted concept.
- Looking to the future of coffee shops and advise for those entering in to the market.
Links:
www.intelligenstia.com
www.themeteor.cafe
IG @doug.zell
Related Episode:
- 448: Founder Friday! Part 1 “Switching Gears” | w/ Doug Zell of Intelligentsia and The Meteor!
- 387 : Innovation and Building a Better Coffee Business w/ Miranda Caldwell
- 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
The landscape of specialty coffee has been influenced by many people and companies over the last few decades. The foundations of the standards and methods we use now, at one time, were merely ideas waiting for someone to put them into action. In the class of companies operators that have championed that exploration one of the most influential was Intelligentsia Coffee under the leadership of founder Doug Zell.
Doug Zell is the founder of Intelligentsia Coffee and the Meteor Cafe. In 1995 he and Emily Mange founded what was just a small roastery and cafe in Chicago. Through a passion for design, coffee, and innovative hospitality Intelligentsia became an iconic brand with retail locations and roasting operations across the country and an influence in coffee that has inspired countless professionals globally. Intelligentsia was an early innovator of Direct Trade, and has boasted progressive design and service concepts that have challenged the status quo of training and hospitality in the industry. Included in their staff of some of the best green buyers, baristas, and managers, including a WBC Champion.
It is virtually impossible to measure the impact and contribution to coffee culture Intelligentsia has had and so much of it comes from the original values and goals that the company was founded on and the ability to develop a team to scale that vision.
In this first part of our 2 part Founder Friday we will be talking with Doug and focusing on the years of 1995-2015 and the establishment and growth of Intelligentsia Coffee all the way up to the acquisition of the company by Pete's Coffee. In part 2 we switch gears with Doug and talk about how he pivoted to start the unique concept of The Meteor Cafe.
We discuss:
- Doug's entry into coffee and the coffee business
- The original store, concept, and values
- Growing in Chicago and working to lead with design
- How Doug grew his leadership and the
- Why culture is a critical aspect of building a successful business
- Having confidence in your ideas and the ability to endure the challenges of a startup
- Competition's role in company culture and the barista craft
- Balancing local and national perception
- How expansion can creates opportunities for growth and economic success.
Links:
www.intelligenstia.com
www.themeteor.cafe
IG : @doug.zell
Related episodes:
- 313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee
- 401 : Founder Friday! w/ Jack Benchakul of Endorffiene in Los Angeles
- 017 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee: Entrepreneurship | Coffee Business | Hiring | Barista Culture | Growth
- 375 : Founder Friday! w/ Roland Horne of WatchHouse
- 219 : Building a Winning Food Program w/ Marilei Denila, Culinary R&D Manager, Go Get em Tiger
- 444: Founder Friday! w/ Julia Peixoto Peters of Peixoto Coffee, Arizona
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
The pursuit of excellence drives us to create very stringent standards for our coffee, service, and businesses. There is nothing wrong with this, except for when it becomes so narrow that it chokes out the life of the café, pushes people away and ends up, creating the opposite result then we intended.
On today's shift break we are going to talk about why it's OK to have reasonable tolerances in the café and how having them is actually necessary to achieve excellence in all areas overtime
Related episodes:
436: STOP BURN OUT! AND MAKE WORK EFFORTLESS W/ GREG MCKEOWN | BEST SELLING AUTHOR “EFFORTLESS”
435 : ENCORE! IT’S OK TO BE THE BOSS, W/ BRUCE TULGAN
432 : HOW TO WIN IN SPECIALTY RETAIL COFFEE
427 : ENCORE EPISODE: WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT EMPLOYEE CULTURE W/ STAN SLAP
426: FOSTERING A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
The world of coffee trade and commerce is complex to say the least. The difference between a business that succeeds and one that flounders is largely based on how well we know the business of coffee and how we move wisely within it as we establish and grow our shops and roasters. The consistent nurturing and success of our business has a ripple effect that will help the whole supply chain. Certainly it is not overstating the case that, if we want to have true sustainability then we in specialty coffee need to be about the business of coffee as well as the craft itself. But where do we start to gain this understanding?
To help us view this world in a clearer light I am thrilled to welcome Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood to KTTS!
Maxwell Dashwood's fascination with coffee began in Melbourne, Australia, in 2007. Returning to the UK, he co-managed a coffee events company and opened Colonna & Small's, a Bath-based coffee shop with a focus on curated, changing coffee menus. Maxwell founded and runs the Colonna Coffee roastery, and has recently opened a Colonna & Small's location in London. He also works on different coffee research and development projects.
An acclaimed figure in the industry, Maxwell is a three-time winner of the UK Barista Championships and has co-authored academic papers on coffee. He's also the co-author of "Water For Coffee," a study on the impact of water on coffee taste, and "The Coffee Dictionary," an accessible guide to coffee terminology. His most recent book, "The Business of Specialty Coffee," combines his business experiences with an exploration of the coffee supply chain.
Here is just some of what we discuss in this episode:
- The need for business knowledge
- Maxwell's career development
- Why write this book?
- Unicorn business vs the preferable "good" business
- Various business models
- Fast vs slow growth
- Specialty coffee's need for the brick and mortar cafe
- Sustaining a business to fulfill your vision
Links:
Buy the book: www.scottrao.com
Follow:
https://www.instagram.com/mcolonnadashwood/
https://colonnacoffee.com/
Related episodes:
- 082 : Knowledge and Flavor w/ Cosimo Libardo
- 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
- 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 017 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee: Entrepreneurship | Coffee Business | Hiring | Barista Culture | Growth
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
The holiday rush is in full swing and many of us (most of us) are trying our best to just survive the frenzy. Shops are full of customers as well as friends and visiting family of our customers and it is a great time to not just survive the craziness but to increase our intentionality, presence of hospitality, and care for our staff and guest in spite of the pressure.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how we can plan our energy, presence, and lean into ways to make the holiday time more than just a profitable time for finances, but also a time where we are reinforcing our values and bringing the our best selves to the work of coffee.
Related episodes:
- 058 : Holiday Hospitality
- 254 : Holiday Hospitality Part 2
- 084 : Crushing the Rush : Tips and Best Practices for Busy Times
- 111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
- 176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
- Episode 32: Making Order Out of Chaos
- Episode 57: SOPs FTW
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
As the tools we use to craft coffee multiply, so too does the need for companies to keep the machines running well. Service techs are an essential segment of the industry and in an industry based on hospitality and service, it is important that a tech is able to not just diagnose and fix machines, but is able to work with people in a way that reflects the values of hospitality that equipment is meant to help produce.
I am thrilled to finally get an opportunity to talk with someone whose history in coffee and mission with his company has been focused on community and a people-first culture from the beginning. Excited to welcome the co-founder of Black Rabbit Service Co., Jason "Double J" Johnson!
Double J has been quite a while. Starting as a teenager in the mid 90's, he developed a deep passion for coffee, food, and hospitality. After moving to Portland Oregon in 2001 he worked for a handful of coffee houses (large and small) until finding work as a coffee technician for Stumptown Coffee. After a decade of honing his tech skills at Stumptown he is now a co-owner of Black Rabbit Service Co. Fast forward a few more years, Double J is now the writer, producer and host of Coffee Breath - A food and travel show based around coffee and cafe culture.
Today we will be chatting about Double J's career, how he learned the industry and began tech work, the founding and development of Black Rabbit, and how they serve both their clients and their team with empathy and expertise.
Links:
www.blackrabbitservice.com
www.coffeebreathshow.com
Listen to these episodes next:
- RoR # 22 : Master Insights on Roaster Maintenance and Care w/ Doug Graf, Vintage Coffee
- 240 : What to do before your Build your Bar
- 238 : Leading, Hiring, and working with your Coffee Tech w/ Hylan Joseph
- 128 : Terry’s Top 10 w/ Terry Ziniewicz : Best practices for how not to kill your espresso machine
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
We are obsessed with innovation that tends to solve problems that are increasingly inconsequential to the customer. A race to put coffee in virtually any context all in the name of convenience may bring coffee to more people, but what does it do to the value of the coffee when we remove virtually all customer generated investment into the process.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why a bit of inconvenience is ok and, in fact, may be a needed thing to allow the customer the buy in, personal investment, ritual, and connection with the product we are, in my opinion, rushing to devalue through wasteful mindless mass consumption.
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Related episodes:
- Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
- BLOG: Getting out of Work
- 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Taking what you have learned over many years of working in coffee and creating your own roasting and cafe business is no easy task. It requires a strong enough "why" and a vision for the people that the roastery and shop wil serve. Cody Gordon did just that with the founding of Cerberus Coffee in Jacksonville, Oregon.
In this conversation Cody and I discuss the journey taken from barista, manager, wholesale manager, and finally roaster and owner. We talk especially about the recent scaling of Cerberus, and the impact it has on how Cody and the team can serve their community and make a difference through community, good business, and great coffee.
Links:
www.cerberuscoffeeco.com
https://cerberuscoffeeco.com/pages/the-wizard-cat-project
IG: @cerberuscoffeeco
Related episodes:
- RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
Subscribe to Roast Magazine!
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Visit www.roastertools.com for a free e-book and the best software to help you run a roastery!
The magic baristas can render from coffee relies on not just their skill and the incredible efforts from producers and roasters, but also on the quality of the equipment they have to work with.
Over the past couple decades the quality and consistency of machines has improved in massive ways. Much of the reason for this lies with the way machine manufacturers and baristas have evolved their relationship on to the other. Today we will explore this evolution with the VP of Synesso Espresso Machines, Ryan Willbur!
Ryan Willbur has been working within the Specialty Coffee Industry for over 15 years. His career has taken him from barista, to Account Management, Marketing, Sales, and Leadership. Along the way, Ryan has been a competitive barista, a coffee roaster, and has spent many hours learning and sharing about the technical workings of espresso and coffee equipment. Ryan is currently the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Synesso Espresso Machines. In this role, he travels the world, building relationships with customers, and working to understand coffee culture in various markets.
From his perspective, people are the core of the coffee industry, and Ryan believes wholeheartedly in building relationships as the best means of doing business.
Today we are talking about the how machines, barista culture, and the industry have been shaped by the way we communicate and serve each others needs along the value chain.
Links:
www.synesso.com
Ryan on IG: @RWILLBUR
Listen to these episodes next:
- 238 : Leading, Hiring, and working with your Coffee Tech w/ Hylan Joseph
- 405: Beyond the Schedule w/ Wil Brawley of Schedulefly
- 089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday : Leadership, Innovation, service, heritage
- 408: Coffee Tools, Music, and Serving the Community w/ Anita Tam of Slow Pour Supply Co.
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Between the moment a farmer hands over their crop, to the moment a barista hands a customer a cup of that same coffee, there is a complex system that will either bring hope and equity to those most vulnerable, or reinforce the hopelessness that is too common with those who cultivate the coffee we love. Today's guest grew up seeing this hopelessness on her families farm and decided to do something about it.
I am so excited to welcome to the podcast a leader in innovative trade models and the owner of Peixoto Coffee, Julia Peixoto Peters!
Julia Peixoto was born and raised in a coffee farming-family in Southern Brazil watching her father and relatives give their lives to produce the best coffees they could but, when it was time to sell those coffees, they were at the mercy of the ups and (mostly) downs of the commodities market.
Julia wanted to do better for her family and farmers in her region, changing the equity of the coffee trading game from the middleman to the farmers, who bear the brunt of the risks involved in farming and harvesting coffee.
Julia and her husband Jeff left their promising corporate careers to start Peixoto Coffee in Arizona in 2015 to produce, import, roast, and bring to the market coffees farmed at their own family-farm, challenging the status-quo of the market and the traditional profiles expected of Brazilian coffees.
We discuss:
- Julia's life on the coffee farm
- The hardships producers face
- Leaving her career for her higher calling in coffee
- Developing skill and finding mentors
- Running a coffee shop with a deeper narrative
- The first steps in vertical integration
- The challenges of leadership and importance of systems
- Having faith that you can figure it out
- Sustainable relationships and long term commitment
- Hiring staff to represent the vision and story
Links:
www.peixotocoffee.com
Instagram: @peixotocoffee
Related episodes:
- 288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
- 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
- 413 : Coffee Education and Training at Origin w/ Fabiola Solano of Soy Barista
- 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
The coffee shop environment is filled with more that just coffee. It is a swirling mix of emotions, thoughts, expectations, communication, action, interpretation of actions, and everything in between. In other words...Relationships. The hardest part of coffee is the people they say. And while it may be true, it is also true that people are integral to coffee and to the joy and fulfillment of the experience.
On today's annual thankfulness themed Shift Break we will be talking about how the relationships and resources we have now are both a weight of responsibility but also a necessary fuel that we and the business are designed to run on in order to find sustainable success.
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Chris
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Related episodes:
-
Thankfulness and Giving Energy to the Positive
-
Priorities and Deep Thankfulness
-
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
- The Miracle of the Mundane: How curiosity helps our sustainability
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Why do we overcomplicate things? Certainly details matter with SOPs , recipes, etc...but communication to our customers and staff can often be more confusing than helpful in delivering the impact and purpose we intend. The coffee shop is a dynamic place with a ton of inputs and noise swirling together. Having a simple clear way to communicate will help cut through the noise.
Today we will be exploring how to do just that, and in turn how simple communication and messages can bring big results for cafes. I am happy to be joined today by author and expert in simple messaging, Ben Guttmann!
Ben Guttmann is a marketing and communications expert and author of Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win — and How to Design Them. He’s an experienced marketing executive and educator on a mission to get leaders to more effectively connect by simplifying their message. Ben is former co-founder and managing partner at Digital Natives Group, an award-winning agency that worked with the NFL, I Love NY, Comcast NBCUniversal, Hachette Book Group, The Nature Conservancy, and other major clients.
Currently, Ben teaches digital marketing at Baruch College in New York City and consults with a range of thought leaders, venture-backed startups, and other brands.
In our talk we cover:
- The reason and ways we over complicate massages
- What makes a simple message impactful
- The negative impact of too many words
- How do we ensure the right result from our communication?
- Nobody cares and the paradox of choice
- Applying constraints to challenge ourselves
- The perception of confidence
- We can only care about so much
Links:
Buy the book : Simply Put! www.Benguttmann.com
Ben Guttmann on LinkedIn
Listen to these episodes next:
- 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
- 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
- 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
- BLOG: Good Communication is “For Here”
- 321 : Marketing and Moral Injury w/ Josh Tarlo of Kiss the Hippo
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Do we care what our customers think? If so, how do they know? When you talk to almost any operator of a cafe you will hear them say that they value the customer and their feedback. The question though is how are the customers supposed to deliver it and are you making it easy for them to do so?
On today's Shift break we will be talking about how we can pursue customer feedback in a clear and meaningful way that builds trust, connection, and a sustainable coffee shop.
Listen to these next!
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- Feedback Culture : Making feedback a part of what you do not just something you sometimes do
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
You hear it everywhere. Owning and running a business is hard, taxing, a battle even. And while there is truth to this, it is not the whole truth. In the entrepreneurial journey we have accepted, with no degree of irony, that it is a miserable business bringing joy to our communities through coffee. Don't buy it.
Today we are going to be talking about the transformational role that confidence, celebration, and joy play in not only helping your business succeed, but in allowing you to find fulfillment and life through the running and growing of it.
This is an incredibly important truth that needs to be given priority in our daily lives. Lets embrace confidence, celebration, and joy together through coffee!
Listen to these next:
- 008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
- Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
- 394 : Happy Coffee People w/ Wendelien van Bunnik
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- Over Optimization
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
High expectations are fine as long as they are coupled with the resources and tools to actually achieve them. No position in the cafe gets the short end of the stick of resourcing than the cafe manager. As baristas watch their manager lose their mind, they in turn pass on the opportunity. Come be a manager where there is more stress, more work, less time to do it, and more expectation. No thanks.
Today on Shift Break we will be discussing how you can set up your manager with the structure and time they need to thrive in the role. Who knows, maybe people will actually see the position as an attractive role to aspire to rather than one that receives their pity.
In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Keep the conversation going! Listen to these episodes next:
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- 435 : Encore! It’s OK to be the Boss, w/ Bruce Tulgan
- 425 : Some Thoughts on Supporting Your Manager
- 383 : How to Train a Manager
Thank you to out sponsors!
Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
A coffee shop cannot survive without having excellent operational systems and tools that bring together and make consistent all the craft, values, and magic we want from a cafe experience
Just like the work of a barista, 75% of what we do in ownership and leadership has to do with the things that happen off bar. The foundations of business. How we create, employ, and refine structures means the difference e between realizing potential and courting disaster.
Today we are going to be talking with the great Laila Ghambari. An expert in operations and coffee shop training and management, all about achieving what she calls operational excellence.
Laila Ghambari has nearly 20 years of specialty coffee experience. She won the prestigious title of United States Barista Champion in 2014 and was elected member of the Executive Counsel for the barista guild from 2012-2016. Her experience is in running multi-unit retail operations, training and education, as well as team and organizational leadership.
This year Laila founded "by Laila Ghambari", her coffee and consulting business that is Providing Simple Tools Every Coffee Shop Needs to Achieve Operational Excellence.
In this conversation we cover: 🔑Laila’s family legacy of coffee 🔑Pursuing education and training 🔑How winning the US barista championship helped her mindset approach to achievement and 🔑Lean management and the role of gemba kaizen 🔑managment of multi-unit retail 🔑Defining operational excellence 🔑Tools to begin and tools
Links:
www.lailaghambari.com
IG: @LAILAGHAMBARI
Listen to these Episodes next!
- SHIFT BREAK: Defining Excellence and Success
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
- SHIFT BREAK: Pull Out The Fridge
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 375 : Founder Friday! w/ Roland Horne of WatchHouse
- SHIFT BREAK: Ineffective Training
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Quality is subjective. What is not subjective though, is that quality matters. That begs the question, how should we define quality and pursue it in an age of coffee where we want both excellence and inclusivity of expression of preference.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why quality still matters and how we should think about what, how, and for whom are we crafting these coffee experiences.
Related episodes:
- 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality
- 393 : The Tyranny of Taste w/ Kosta Kallivrousis
- RoR #20 : Challenging the Status Quo w/ David Lalonde of Rabbit Hole Roasters, Montreal, Quebec
- 430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- Prioritize In-House Training and QC
- 426: Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
Working in coffee, you come across a lot of unexpected career pitfalls. Things that you may not have expected that can lurk just around the corner and lead us off track in our careers and our businesses. That should scare us. At least it should make us vigilant to pay attention and walk out our careers in a way that avoids these dangers.
Today on this slightly Halloween themed episode we will be talking all about what I believe are the major coffee career and business pit falls to look out for and what to do to protect yourself from getting caught in their trap.
We cover:
- The Industry
- Insecure bosses
- The path of least resistance
- Comparison
- Anger and lying to yourself
- Over commitment and boundaries
Related episodes:
-
When "Going above and Beyond" goes too Far
-
Service, Spite, and Compromise
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- 267 : The Power of Delegation
- Special: Grossest Stories from the Bar
- Blood Sucking Bosses!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
More than 23k youth age out of the foster care system each year. Many of these young people, because of the trauma and instability, end up at higher risk of addiction, homelessness, financial instability and worse.
One man whose own past parallels those he seeks to serve, has been working to change this seemingly hopeless cycle through founding a coffee business that serves these youth and gives them a better chance for a brighter future.
Miah Sommer is a social entrepreneur and the founder and Executive Director of Astute Coffee (formerly The Bike Union), a non-profit coffee shop that provides workforce development and life skills to youth who have been impacted by the foster care. Sommer is the past recipient of the Donna Tubach Davis Children’s Advocate Award from Child Saving institute. He was also a speaker with TEDxOmaha, and has taught a workshop at Homeboy Industries’ Global Homeboy Network in Los Angeles, CA. The Bike Union is a winner of the Excellence in Innovation through the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Sommer Lives in Omaha with his wife Katie and their sons Henry and Charlie.
Today we will be getting deep into the story of Astute Coffee, the stories of the people in it, and how it has evolved and made a real difference. An astute observer will see , that hospitality is about empathy, seeing in others a sameness and using this perspective to serve their needs with every cup we make.
I hope this episode inspires you to reach out, pay attention, and soften your heart to all the humans we serve and serve with.
(-This episode has potentially sensitive content -)
Links:
www.astutecoffee.org
IG: @ASTUTE_COFFEE
Related episodes:
- 180 : A Conversation with Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale
- 192 : Freedom through Coffee w/ Esther Hope-Gibbs of Manumit Coffee
- 262 : Understanding the Homeless Community w/ Natalie Harris, Executive Director of The Coalition for the Homeless
- 106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
It can be difficult to tell the difference between and employee who is not the right fit for your business, vs a barista who is is simply not the right fit for the role they are in. Many great employees have been unduly let go, passed over, or simply remain in ill-fitted positions because their boss is not able to tell the difference or may to even be paying enough attention to notice and take the right next action.
On todays Shift Break we will be talking about how to discern between employees who need opportunity and shifting to flourish and those whose performance is not just a problem of execution but a sign of a deeper cultural and values clash. Knowing the difference could not only save their job but also your business.
Related Episodes:
- 121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
- 437 : The New Age of the Barista: Mindsets + Habits for Success
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
Opening a running a successful cafe is no easy task. I requires passion as well as attention to the details around systems, relationships, and being able to grow yourself as a leader in that environment. Today we are going to be exploring one owners journey who not only has done this well, but has just published a book about her experience that gives others insights and tools to find success in their shops!
Erin Young is the founder and CEO of Red Buffalo Cafe in Silverthorne, CO. A passionate small business owner and advocate, Erin has actively worked to build kind, conscious, and responsible communities. She has experienced the challenges and opportunities faced when considering improvements to business planning, recruitment and hiring, and other features that contribute to long-term business success. In addition to being a business owner, Erin is an active community leader who has served on several local non-profit boards and as a local elected official for various jurisdictions. Erin loves the outdoors and spending time with her family. Erin holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver, School of Public Affairs.
Erin's new book, The CEOwner, is the chronicle of Red Buffalo Cafe from inception to today. Additionally, it is a checklist for starting and succeeding in a small business. The CEOwner will approach business ownership using the lens of conscious business techniques and community improvement. In it she also covers the process of building and planning your business profile from the very beginning; moves along to suggestions in ethical business management; and finishes with how to create a legacy beyond you as the business owner.
In this conversation we talk about Erin's journey and dive into the books main message and insights. I know this will be an encouraging episode!
Links:
https://redbuffalocafe.com/
https://redbuffalocafe.com/order-shipped-1/ols/products/the-ceowner
IG: @redbuffalocafe
Related episodes:
- 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
- 387 : Innovation and Building a Better Coffee Business w/ Miranda Caldwell
- 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
- 416 : People-First Principles for Growing Your Shop w/ Mike McFall of Biggby Coffee
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
Once we see that there are changes that need to be made tyo improve our shops, we can tend to either freeze under the enormity of the task, or we can respond by going all out in a fast and intense bid to fix that area. In reality, neither of these approaches lead to great results.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we should be approaching making changes in the cafe by making Minimum Viable Changes over time and in the direction of our goals.
Related episodes:
- 399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- Embrace the Fallout
- Turning Radius
- Limiting New Things
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
What does it take to be successful as a barista or even just a coffee professional today? I believe the main differentiator for cafes is the experience and the main differentiator for baristas is how they approach their role. This will determine what they can glean from their current position and who they become in the process of carving out a career in coffee beyond the barista role.
In this episodes I will be exploring some critical habits, attitudes, and mindsets that baristas must embrace to be successful and fulfilled as baristas in today's cafe landscape. Owners, managers, and leaders take note, even though I believe we all must hold ourselves accountable, the things we discuss are 100% things that your can help facilitate.
Related Episodes:
- 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
- 162 : Discussing “Baristastainability” w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee
- 347 : Brewing Coffee and a Career w/ U.S. Brewer’s Cup Champion, Elika Liftee
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
As we focus this week on balance and taking stock of the levels of energy and effort we put into our cafes, we must also consider the type of work we are taking on and how it alligns with our values and how we find meaning in it.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the place rest and meaningful work has in helping us find fulfillment in the midst of the efforts
Related episodes:
- 111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
- 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
How many times have we heard that we are supposed to give work our all? Give 100% or even 110%? And then we wonder how it is that professional baristas, managers, and owners burn out on a regular basis. I'd say it is high time we look at how we take on the work of the cafe work so that we can care for the health of ourselves, our people, while at the same time achieve even greater results. Too good to be true? Well today we will be talking with returning guest, author, speaker, and the world's leader in the subject of meaningful work, Greg McKeown!
Greg McKeown has dedicated his professional life to uncovering counterintuitive ways to be very successful–without burning out.
In this pursuit he has written two New York Times bestsellers, “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”, which has sold over one million copies and been voted by Goodreads as “The #1 Leadership and Success Book to Read in a Lifetime” and “Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most”. Together they have been published in 37 languages.
McKeown is an exceptional public speaker and has spoken to hundreds of audiences as he has traveled to 40 countries around the world, including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Nike as well as TED Fellows, SXSW and more
He’s the host of The Greg McKeown Podcast which has been ranked in the Top 5 of all Self Improvement podcasts and Top 10 in all Educational podcasts
His work has been covered in print media including in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, Fast Company, Fortune, Politico, Inc., and Harvard Business Review. It’s been covered on NPR, NBC, FOX and many times on The Steve Harvey Show.
McKeown served for 7 years as a Board Member for Washington D.C. policy group Resolve and as a mentor with 2 Seeds, a non-profit incubator for agricultural projects in Africa. He has also been a speaker at non-profit groups including The Kauffman Fellows, Net Impact and Stanford University where he co-created the popular class, Designing Life, Essentially.
He serves as a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum. He recently moderated a session at the Summer Davos in China called, Unpacking Social Innovation Models for Maximum Impact, and served as a panelist at the Sharpening Your Creative Edge working session at the Forum.
McKeown did his Masters of Business Administration at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, his Global Leadership and Public Policy certificate at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and is currently doing doctoral research at the University of Cambridge.
In this episode we discuss:
- Why we burn out at work
- The revolutionary 85% rule and why margin matters
- Trust as the engine of business
- Identifying the priorities and taking first steps
- Case studies in effortless thinking across time
- Focusing on the lighter way vs the heavier way
- An incredible personal story from Greg's own family
- How we can lead others into effortless work
Related episodes:
- 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
- 111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
- 420: Design Meaningful Roles in the Cafe
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- Prioritizing your Work
- The Power of “No”
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
Whether or not you are familiar with the 80's anti-pot commercial this episode references or not, the fact is that those who we lead are looking at the example we give them in our own performance. Even if we are not doing the same work. It is the way we conduct ourselves in any work that will influence the way others do their work.
On today's Shift Break we will be exploring why your example is the primary way we can either inspire people to excellence, effectiveness and growth, or give them permission to allow low performance and standards for themselves and their work.
Related episodes:
- 427 : Encore Episode: What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
Fully stepping into your authority is an act of service. Your position as a leader is meant to serve those you lead. But if you do not think it is ok to be the boss, you will simply be a bad an ineffective boss vs one that takes a strong, caring, and clear approach to the position.
One of my favorite authors on management is Bruce Tulgan who wrote the book "It's OK to be the Boss. We had him on the show back on episode 28 in 2017 and I believe his work and message is an absolute must for us in specialty coffee retail.
Bruce is the founder of Rainmaker Thinking and the author of more than 20 books including the best selling "It's OK to be the Boss" and "The 27 Challenges Managers Face" He is regarded the world over as a leading authority on management and leadership and is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and many other international publications.
In this encore episode you will here both the original episode from 2017 as well as som commentary from myself on how to digest and apply these principles.
Links:
www.rainmakerthinking.com
Bruce on LinkedIn
Related episodes:
- 226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan
- 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
- 378: 5 Areas to Develop in Managers
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Tanzania is well known the world over for growing and exporting wonderful and iconic coffees. Mostly every coffee professional has enjoyed a Tanzania Peaberry coffee. Yet, much like most coffee farming countries, Tanzanias internal consumption nd availability of great roasted coffee to locals was limited at the very best. Enter Leo Ferreira and Puzzle Coffee Shop.
For the past 8 years now Leo, his wife, and team have been running and growing Puzzle Coffee as a hub of coffee education, excellence in roasting, quality, and hospitality. In those years Puzzle has been a catalyst for change in Tanzania as they source great local coffee, and origins beyond to expand horizons invest in the community.
Leo is a certified AST in both roasting and Barista, a Q-Grader, a post graduate of the Coffee Excellence Program, and a sought after consultant/trainer.
In this discussion we talk about the journey of putting it all together, lessons learned, keys to success, and what pieces of the puzzle Leo and the team are currently working on putting together.
Links:
@leomarinhoferreira https://www.puzzlecoffeeshop.com/ Related episodes:
- 247 : Founder Friday! w/ Ritesh Doshi, CEO of Spring Valley Coffee, Nairobi, Kenya
- 332: Founder Friday! w/ Iman Kusumaputra & Putri Yulandari of Kopikalyan, Jakarta, Indonesia
- 289 : Founder Friday w/ Ochen Simon Eidodo of Chariots Coffees, Uganda!
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 066: Shaping and Developing your Team w/ Beth Garrison
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
Reach out to KTTS!
chris@keystotheshop.com
Fine robusta has been the hot topic of conversation in the specialty industry these last few years and for good reason. What was once relegated to the sidelines has been showing up on offering sheets and coffee menus of some of the world's best importers and roasters.
With this in mind, knowing how to approach and roast this species of coffee is critical. As robusta secures its place in specialty coffee we need to do our part to do it justice when we bring it into our roastery and offer it to our customers.
On this Rate of Rise we will be talking all about fine robusta with Cleia Junqueira!
In 2005, Cleia’s coffee passion ignited in Brazil, as she owned and operated her independent café training baristas. She partnered with the Beehive Institution Young Service, offering training to underprivileged youth and later produced an educational coffee DVD. Joining the Brazilian Association of Coffee Baristas (ACBB) in 2007, she judged barista championships and enhanced her coffee knowledge until late 2012. Cleia then coordinated at the Coffee Preparation Centre at Sindicafé-SP, earning a CQI Licensed Q-Grader Certificate in 2012 and becoming a Q-Robusta Grader in 2017.
From 2017 to 2019 Cleia served on the SCA-UAE board of directors and spent six years, as a WCE Certified Judge. As Coffee Planet’s Head of Coffee, she managed quality control and became well-versed in Middle East Coffee Industry Trends and Consumption while actively supporting the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA).
In this conversation we talk about our changing perceptions of robusta, how does it behave differently from arabica, what goes into roasting it well, and how can we ensure we are doing it justice with the tools at our disposal both in the roastery and the shop.
Links:
www.cleiajunqueira.com
Cleia on LinkedIn
Related episodes:
- ROR #24 : Perspectives on Roasting for Espresso w/ Jaroslav Tuček of Doubleshot, Czech Republic
- RoR #16 : Ideal Resting Times for Roasted Coffee w/ Joey Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
Subscribe to Roast Magazine!
https://www.roastmagazine.com/subscribe
Visit www.roastertools.com for a free e-book and the best software to help you run a roastery!
We love to talk about setting each other up for success and pursuing excellence in what we do. In some ways we are like the person trying to order food in english to a server who does not understand the language, instead of translating, we think we should just say it louder and slower. Which makes things way worse. They are fine words, but without telling people what they mean, they become meaningless.
On today's shift break we will be talking about why defining these terms before we use them in the shop is necessary for buy-in, good communication, and to achieve a specific level of excellence and success.
Related episodes:
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
- 167 : Handing off the Shift : 4 Tips to Avoid Chaos
- 057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
How do I find loyal staff and win loyal customers? This question and many like it has been asked thousands of times as we deal with incredible amounts of turn over in our shops. We have tried tricks, incentives, benefits of all kinds but they never seem to quite do the trick. Same with customers, we offer deal, discounts, and specials, and dance whatever dance we think will get them to come back and be engaged.
Today we are going to be exploring the idea of winning staff and customer loyalty and what it truly takes to achieve this in a responsible and effective way.
We cover:
- Why we assume people want to leave
- How to think about people
- Communicating value and proving value through action
- integrity in other's focused operations
- Start by caring about the people you want to care
- Earning vs winning
Related episodes:
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 390 : 7 Ways to be Consciously Competitive
- Differentiation Takes Time!
- Customer Loyalty
- Getting Them In By Getting Out!
- You are not your Competition
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Cafe standards are often a jumble of various people's ideas sourced from both far flung areas of the industry and the past habits of new staff. We are in a constant cycle of sending people away to outside places to learn what to do within our own walls. The problem with this is that we are constantly dependent on outside input but never truly using resources to build our own systems and standards that bring clarity and stability to the shop.
On today's shift break we will be talking about why you need to focus on and prioritize developing in house quality control and training standards vs perpetually outsourcing these things to your roaster, a consultant, or a certifying body.
Related episodes:
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- Blog post: Grocery Shopping and Training Success
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
It is a new era is specialty retail coffee. Great coffee can be found very easily in most major cities and people are making better coffee at home than they ever have. Add to this the ubiquity of RTD (Ready to Drink) coffee and a wide variety of convenience products. The retail coffee shop, with baristas making drinks and serving those drinks to customers, sits amongst this saturation with a problem, how do we create value? How do can you win in specialty retail coffee?
On this episode we are going diving into some extremely important ways that you can not only stand out in a crowded marketplace, but give the customer unmatched value that draws their repeat business, and you sustainable success.
Enter with an open mind and determine ahead of time, that if something resonates with you, that it will be the first step of your consistent pursuit to apply it and let it change you and your business.
We talk about:
- Hospitality as priority
- Why convenience products are actually an indictment of the cafe
- Values and your digital identity
- Keeping marketing promises
- True accessibility and death of ego
- Listening to your customers
- Leadership reformation in the shop
Keys to the Shop Coaching and Consulting!
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
The world of hospitality is filled with people who are either a great fit for the field, or not. Problem is that, for the number of coffee shops in operation today demand for great people is way higher than the supply. So how do we make sure we are hiring the best fit for our business?
Today on shift break we will be exploring the number one most important thing you need to discover about a person before bringing them on to the team.
Related episodes:
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
- 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
- 014 : A Barista’s Guide to Advancing: How to take full advantage of where you are and set yourself up for success in coffee
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
As professionals, our communication about coffee is only as good as our ability to truly tune in to the message that emerges from the many different voices that give shape to the story of coffee. In the noisy world innovating ways to connect people with meaningful narratives is crucial.
Today we are going to talk with someone whose coffee subscription project invites people to interact with coffee in a new and unique way by blending quality coffee with interviews captured on vintage audio. I am so happy to welcome Alexander Roach of Boycott Coffee and the Alphabet Book of Coffee!
Since 2010, Alexander has worked behind coffee bars in both Memphis and Seattle. In that time, he has ventured into owning/operating a cafe and roastery, Boycott Coffee, in Memphis, Tennessee. The Alphabet Book of Coffee is a independent project with a goal to produce an audio/tasting series that gives people an out-of-the-box exercise in how they consume and share coffee narratives.
In our conversation we will discuss communication, how we learn, curating content, exploring deeper stories, and how we can lean on creativity to truly connect with people about and over coffee.
Links:
www.boycott.coffee
https://www.alphabetbookofcoffee.com/
**Keys to the Shop Coaching and Consulting!**
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Ever wonder what's behind the fridge? Most of us have had the unique "pleasure" of finding out. The build up of cup lids, loose change, grime, and other organic matter / creatures is a great illustration of how we tend to avoid things that are out of sight, yet left un attended will have a negative impact of everything.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how this applies also to the deeper integral parts of the cafe(leadership, communication, systems, culture etc) that we tend not to tend to but left un attended, they build up their own kind of grime that impacts everything.
It's all about building with structural integrity from the foundation to the facade.
Related Episodes:
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- 293 : Thoughts on Defining Professionalism
- Excellence In The Things We Hate
- The Impact of Absence
- 2 Qualities of Quality Baristas
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
Coffee is all about human connection. That we get to create both the beverage and the experience people have when enjoying it is at once a great responsibility, a joy, and an opportunity to change lives through our hospitality in each interaction.
In our daily pursuit of providing this special moment we must start with a dedication to our craft and care for people that in many ways could be considered "Unreasonable".
I am thrilled to welcome to the show someone who has created these moments for guests at the highest levels of global hospitality and is on a mission to champion "Unreasonable Hospitality" as a framework and philosophy that will benefit to anything we set our hearts and hands to do.
Such a pleasure to welcome, Will Guidara!
Will Guidara is the founder of Thank You, a hospitality company that develops world-class destinations and helps leaders across industries transform their approach to customer service. He is also the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park. Under his leadership, the restaurant received numerous accolades, including four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars and in 2017 was named number one on the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.
He is also the cofounder of the Welcome Conference, an annual conference that brings together the best minds in the world of hospitality. A graduate Cornell University, he has coauthored four cookbooks, was named one of Crain’s New York Business’s 40 Under 40, and is a recipient of WSJ. Magazine’s Innovator Award.
In his latest book, Unreasonable Hospitality, he shares many of the lessons about service and leadership he learned over the course of his career in restaurants, and makes the case that any business can choose to be in the hospitality industry by taking ordinary transactions and turning them into memorable experiences.
In the conversation we explore Will's own development and pursuit of hospitality through his career in restaurants, the birth of the idea of Unreasonable Hospitality, and the nuances of how it is applied in both life and the work of serving others.
We cover:
- Choosing to focus on hospitality
- What is "Unreasonable Hospitality"?
- Applying the practice to your daily work
- Managing your own emotions as you serve
- Being the "Best" for the right people
- How to gain buy-in from a younger work force
- Metrics to focus on for hospitality
- Can we kill hospitality through systems?
- Staying motivated without awards
Links:
www.thankyou.nyc
https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/
https://www.thewelcomeconference.com/
Instagram: @wguidara
Related episodes:
- 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
- 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
- 058 : Holiday Hospitality
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
- 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
Keys to the Shop Coaching and Consulting!
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Effectively training up an apprentice roaster is key not only to your succession, the growth of your business, and the consistency of your quality, -but providing a great learning environment and approach to education and coaching will push the whole industry forward.
The key is to not only deliver processes, rules, and systems, but also opportunity for contribution, conversation, and room for your trainee to grow in maturity.
These are just some of the powerful things discussed in this Rate of Rise episode featuring, Steve Lee!
Steve Lee began his coffee career in 1996 as a barista at Peet’s Coffee in the San Francisco Bay Area. After spending a number of years in the Training & Education Department of Peet’s, he moved on to help open the Roasting and QC Department at Intelligentsia Coffee’s Los Angeles Roasting Works, where he developed his love for the craft of roasting. Since then he has worked on a number of consultancy projects, worked as the Director of Coffee for Groundwork and the SPC Group in Korea, worked as a green importer for Odyssey Coffees, and has served as a judge for international coffee competitions. Throughout his coffee career, the main focus has been on craftsmanship, education, and fostering relationships across the supply chain for the betterment of the coffee industry as a whole. Steve spent two terms on the Roasters Guild Executive Council where he had served as the Vice Chair to the Education Committee and Vice Chair to the Events Committee, focusing on creating content for the RG Origin Trips. Steve is currently the C.O.O. of Linea Caffe, a micro-roastery based in San Francisco, CA.
In this conversation we discuss Steve's own now 25 year journey in being trained, becoming an educator, and the way he would love to see learning take place in roasteries that can deliver the most value for both the one being trained and the roasting company itself.
Links:
https://www.pocketknifecoffee.com/
https://lineacaffe.com/
Related episodes:
RoR Live! w/ Anne Cooper
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https://www.roastmagazine.com/subscribe
Now that you are the boss, manager, trainer, or leader, there is a lot of pressure to perform and prove yourself to those your lead AND to yourself. It is easy to question your legitimacy and fall prey to imposter syndrome. "I need to have the answers" is a thought that haunts us as anything less means we are not the right one for the job.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we can overcome these thoughts and help others do so as well, by shifting our mindsets about what it is that makes us the right person for the role in the coffee shop and embracing discover as one of our main acts of service.
Related Episodes:
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
- 420: Design Meaningful Roles in the Cafe
- The Affirmation Vacuum : How to make positive reinforcement a corner stone of your leadership and communication
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
Welcome to Part 2 of the Coffee Fest live on the show floor interviews from Anaheim, CA 2023!
This time we are starting off with an interview with Steve Chang, Founder of Copa Vida Cafe!
Currently the owner of Copa Vida Café (10 locations) as well as it’s sister roasting company, True Beans Coffee Roasters and it’s parent, HNF & Associates, Steve Chang has been in the Food Service business for over 17 years. He loves the Specialty Coffee world and feels a calling to create community through coffee, tea, and great food.
In our conversation we talk about what it takes to open a successful coffee shop that also integrates food as well as the values and lessons that have been keys to Steve's success.
Links:
https://copa-vida.com/
Next we get to talk with Jon Ferguson of Coffee Tech Central!
Jon Ferguson has been professionally involved within the coffee industry for over 15 years. Following his first specialty coffee cupping in 2005, he established and sold a small roasting company and continued his passion as a coffee buyer and broker for several national coffee programs. During his time as a barista, roaster, business owner, green buyer, and broker, he found a passion for the tools, equipment, and technology that allows our industry to thrive.
In 2020, Ferguson established Coffee Tech Central where he focuses on espresso equipment sales, service, and support. Ferguson doesn't just sell equipment, he strongly advocates for his customers long term success through sharing industry experience, coffee knowledge and professional networking
Jon and I discuss the ins and outs of buying used equipment. This is a conversation you don't want to miss!
Links:
https://www.coffeetechcentral.com/
Related episodes:
- 238 : Leading, Hiring, and working with your Coffee Tech w/ Hylan Joseph
- 375 : Founder Friday! w/ Roland Horne of WatchHouse
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
Sponsor:
www.coffeefest.com
Welcome to Part 1 of the Coffee Fest live on the show floor interviews from Anaheim, CA 2023!
It was a pleasure to kick things of with coffee legend and returning guest, Kenneth Davids!
Kenneth has been involved with coffee since the early 1970s and has published three books on coffee, including the influential Home Roasting: Romance and Revival, now in its second edition, and Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying, which has sold nearly 250,000 copies in five editions. His latest book, 21st Century Coffee: A Guide, is an unprecedentedly thorough survey of specialty coffee in all of its aspects, authoritative yet engaging.
Ken’s workshops and seminars on coffee sourcing, evaluation and communication have been featured at professional coffee meetings on six continents.
He is Professor Emeritus of Critical Studies at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. In 1996 he was awarded a Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to Coffee Literature by the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
In our conversation we discuss emerging coffee processing, the evolution of consumer coffee culture and the inevitable adoption and accessibility of experimental coffee.
Links:
www.kennethdavidscoffee.com
Next we here from Madeleine Longoria Garcia of Pacific Coffee Research!
Madeleine is an owner of Pacific Coffee Research - a coffee roastery, education center, and consulting company based in Kailua Kona, Hawaiʻi. She has worked in coffee since 2010, filling a myriad of roles from barista to cafe manager to coffee picker! With Hawaiʻi as her home since 2014, she is active in the local coffee community as a committee chair with the Hawaiʻi Coffee Association and board member of the Synergistic Hawaiʻi Agriculture Council. Madeleine believes access to information and education is at the core of building a more resilient coffee industry.
We chat with Madeleine about the need for quality control programs both in the wider industry and right in your own coffee shop. This is a very useful conversation if you want to see your consistency and quality improve dramatically.
Links:
www.pcr.coffee
Related episodes:
- 349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- ROR #23 : How to Close the Industry-Consumer Flavor Gap w/ Phil Beattie, Dillanos Coffee Roasters
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
Sponsor:
www.coffeefest.com
In the face of necessary reality checks and the inherent ups and downs of starting and running a coffee shop, there must always exist the foundational idea that "You can do this" and "It is possible". That belief in possibility is what drives today's guest whoI am honored to call a good friend, Michael Ryan of Threadbare Coffee Consulting.
Michael is a published author, international speaker, and Certified Business Coach. He is a Licensed Q Grader, SCA Certified Instructor, and Level 1 Wine Sommelier. He is also a Certified Health & Wellness Coach.
Michael has over 13 years of experience in the coffee industry during which he has worked everywhere from the headquarters of Starbucks to local coffee companies. He spent 8 years as the Operations Manager for a multi-location cafe + roastery that was doing $5MM+ in annual revenue.
Michael has been working with clients doing training, coaching, and consulting. His clients have included startups, importers, roasters, cafes, and companies doing all of the above.
Michael is an expert in building a healthy cafe + roastery business that takes great care of people, starting with the owner.
In our conversation we talk about Ryan's work to help people build great businesses and what the key principles and practices are to achieve success and fulfillment in the process.
Links:
https://threadbarecoffeeconsulting.com/
@Threadbarecoffeeconsulting
Related Episodes:
- 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)”
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
- 302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube
- 129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO
- 108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe in Durham, NC
- 283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop
Key Holder Coaching Group is launching in September!
🔑 Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by myself and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
🔑 We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
🔑 This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
🔑 In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
🔑 Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Signal app as well.
I am very excited to begin what I believe will be the first of many groups!
CLICK HERE to fill out the application to join the group
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
Early on in the podcast (2019) I had Maxwell on to tell the story of Narrative and then 3 more times since then to discuss deeper topics related to running a great shop, dealing with challenges, and tools to success. I have known him for over a decade and believe he channels the kind of character and values the entire industry should aspire to.
Recently Maxwell made the decision to sell his ground breaking cafe, Narrative Coffee, to one of his long time baristas (Alex Sciarrotta...Himself an awesome leader and example) and move across the country to embark on a journey into the next chapter of his coffee career helping people open and run great coffee shops with Threadbare Coffee Consulting.
In this discussion of Maxwell's final chapter with Narrative we talk about what led to this decision, values that guide him, what he is most proud of after 7 years of Narrative Coffee, his thoughts on what is key for cafe owners today to focus on, and what have is doing now as a coach with Threadbare.
I am honored to have been able to feature Maxwell's story on this show and hope you are inspired by this and the other conversations we have had the pleasure of having with Maxwell.
Links:
@maxwellthreadbare
www.threadbarecoffeeconsulting.com
www.narrativecoffee.com
Related episodes:
- 011 : Founder Friday w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee : hospitality / building relationships / coffee quality
- 038 : Founder Friday / Narrative Coffee Part 2 w/ Maxwell Mooney : His experience after opening his first brick and mortar
- COVID-19 Focus w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee, Everette, WA
- 351 : Pro Tips for Using Spreadsheets w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
Reach out to KTTS!
chris@keystotheshop.com
What would you think if you went to a sit down restaurant an hour before close where, after seating you, they brought your food out in doggie bags "because we are closing soon and we don't want to have to do dishes". My guess is that it would seem pretty strange and even antithetical to the experience you were expecting. Hospitality is about serving people something that fulfills the promise our marketing makes to them. More than that it is about having a disposition of creativity, innovation, and focus on serving others above serving ourselves. Unless, of course, if it is inconvenient or means more dishes right?
Today on Shift Break we are not just talking about the common situation of for here order being made to-go to save work for staff whose job is allegedly to serve people, but what this practice tells us about the state of service in the average cafe and how we can correct it.
Related episodes:
Hard work is hard
Laziness & the Most Important Decision
Are You Open?
Things the Owner Can't do for You
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
While culture is a needed focus, today it has become the hottest buzz word that can mean almost anything. What is most useful these days as we rightly focus on culture is a lens through which to view it that brings clarity and helps guide us to take action in ways that serve our staff and ultimately the business.
Way back in the KTTS archives we had an interview with Stan Slap, author of one of my most recommended books, “Under the Hood : Fire up and Fine-tune your Employee Culture”
This book and Stan's perspectives are critical to understanding where we stand and how to work together to achieve great things.
Stan is the founder and CEO of SLAP company and has spent the last 3 decades specializing in achieving fierce support from manager, employee and customer cultures. They believe within each of these groups there is one problem that has the biggest impact on the enterprise and one solution that is most valuable, coveted and elusive. The SLAP company has cracked the code on these problems and their solutions are highest rated in many of the world's highest rated companies. They are currently working in 44 countries countries and ahave achieved amazing results in employee culture at companies like Oracle, CNN, Timewarner, Google, Starbucks, eBay, Viacom, and Microsoft among many others.
In this episode you will learn about:
- 4 of the "7 Deadly Sins of Cultural Engagement"
- How culture is formed and what it cares about
- Best practices for engaging and guiding a culture
- How do we fail our employees?
- Secrets to scaling culture
- How to create “cultural legends”
- Why you cannot coax a culture into giving you what you want
- Tactics for true communication
- How do customers factor into your employee culture?
Links:
www.slapcompany.com
Key Holder Coaching Group is launching in September!
🔑 Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by myself and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
🔑 We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
🔑 This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
🔑 In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
🔑 Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Signal app as well.
I am very excited to begin what I believe will be the first of many groups!
CLICK HERE to fill out the application to join the group
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
Having an engaged staff that are motivated and inspired to not just get through the shift, but to truly invest into the cafe and help improve things is a dream shared by many owners. This culture where each individual team member takes ownership and finds creative ways to refine the operations, quality, and hospitality does not have to be just a dream!
Today we are going to be discussing what it takes to foster a culture of continuous improvement. What the looks like, doesn't look like, and some behaviors to both reward and watch out for along the way.
We discuss:
- Leading by example
- Praise and recognition
- Clear communication
- When is improvement not needed
- What is the goal?
- Values and actions
Related episodes:
- 080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
- 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
Key Holder Coaching Group is launching in September!
🔑 Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by myself and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
🔑 We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
🔑 This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
🔑 In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
🔑 Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Signal app as well.
I am very excited to begin what I believe will be the first of many groups!
CLICK HERE to fill out the application to join the group
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
Managers hold the key to the success of the shop. They are tasked with taking all the people, place, and processes and making them work well together day to day. When a manager is correctly supported by the owner then they are able to do a great job and your whole business benefits. Without proper support, operations, morale, and the manager themself can easily fall apart.
Today we will be discussing some ways to bring on, bringup, and support a manager in the coffee shop that allows for learning and growth for both you and the manager you lead.
Related Episodes:
- 378: 5 Areas to Develop in Managers
- 221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
Key Holder Coaching Group is launching in September!
🔑 Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by myself and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
🔑 We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
🔑 This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
🔑 In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
🔑 Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Signal app as well.
I am very excited to begin what I believe will be the first of many groups!
CLICK HERE to fill out the application to join the group
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
It is easy to get discouraged in running a cafe. There are a million things to do and the temptation to despair becomes worst when we hold an idealized version of ourselves and our work in our heads everyday. What are we working for and what are we working towards?
Today on Shift Break we will talk about two values and how to employ them in your work in the coffee shop so you can grow in a holistic and sustainable way, honestly and faithfully
Related episodes:
Authenticity and Performance
Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
Vanity Metrics
Priorities and Deep Thankfulness
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
When it comes to our training and resourcing of staff we often have a desire for people to "get it" and to be detail oriented, but fail to give them much to "get" or to orient them to the details. This results in inconsistency and frustration in both customers and staff as baristas fill in the blanks that management should have all ready filled in. This is where a good guide comes in.
Today we will be chatting about developing a guide for the two most important areas in the cafe that need consistent excellence; the menu and hospitality
We Cover:
- Why we tend toward generality
- The reason menu and hospitality are most critical
- Embracing detail for quality internalization
- What to include and why
- Using and referencing your created tools
Related episodes:
- 057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
- 098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
Key Holder Coaching Group is launching in September!
🔑 Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by myself and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
🔑 We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
🔑 This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
🔑 In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
🔑 Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Signal app as well.
I am very excited to begin what I believe will be the first of many groups!
CLICK HERE to fill out the application to join the group
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
I am so excited to present this Founder Friday with two people who are doing amazing things in coffee! I met them in the first year of their business in 2018 as clients and they have done a great job of growing their business with excellence and care.
Today we get to talk with Danny and Michelle Quiroz of Reserva Coffee Roasters in McAllen, TX!
Danny Quiroz is also Managing Partner at Reserva Coffee Roasters. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. In his role as the in-house Roast Master, Danny is responsible for overseeing sourcing, roasting, and fulfillment operations. He is deeply committed to perfecting his roasts, ensuring that both guests and staff receive the highest quality product possible. Danny takes great pride in his journey as a roaster, starting from humble beginnings roasting small batches and now utilizing the Mill City MCR-30 roaster.
Michelle Quiroz, a Managing Partner at Reserva Coffee Roasters in McAllen, Texas, holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in engineering management from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Michelle is responsible for overseeing café operations and driving strategic growth for the organization. She places great importance on team-building and creating a welcoming environment for both staff and guests. Michelle's primary focus is establishing standardized café operations across all Reserva locations, having successfully launched three cafes in the past two years.
In recognition of their work, they were named the Lower Rio Grande Valley’s Small Business Persons of the Year in 2020.
We discuss:
- The journey to begin roasting
- Developing the concept and skills
- Going from roasting to a retail shop
- Feedback and evolving operations and offerings
- Scaling and weighing opportunities
- Hiring and management
- How past skills and work impact operations today
Links:
www.reservacoffee.com
IG @reservacoffee
Listen to these episodes next!
- 256 : Founder Friday w/ Varat Vichit-Vadakan of Roots Coffee Roaster in Bangkok, Thailand
- 158 : A Management Masterclass w/ Jon Felix Lund, VP of Operations for Coava Coffee Roasters / Portland, OR
- 145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley
- 359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
Reach out to KTTS!
chris@keystotheshop.com
Everyday we make decisions about both small and large things in the coffee shop. Often those decisions are made in a reactive way that is more born from a sense of urgency and FOMO than intentionality and right fit.
Today on Shift Break we will talk about 3 questions to ask when you are faced with any decision and how the habit of asking and answering them will transform your business.
Related episodes:
- Making a Decision Pipeline
- Slowing down your Response Time
- 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
Roasting for espresso is a tricky business. Not only are there multiple variables that inherently complicate the extraction process but there is also a wide variety of opinion is and preferences for what the final flavor experience should be like.
On this Rate of Rise episode we will be talking about how one world renowned roastery roasts for espresso and how their technique and approach has evolved over their history. We are talking with Jaroslav Tuček, founder of Doubleshot in the Czech Republic.
Born and raised in Czech Republic and graduating High school in Arizona US, Jaroslav has been in coffee since 2002. Starting as a barista at Portola Cafe in California, he obtained AN M.A. in Canadian literature from SFU in Vancouver where he continued work in coffee with 49th Paralell. Upon return to The Czech Republic he worked for the first specialty roastery learning fromjeremy Raths.
In 2009-2010 he left to Panama together with my gf (current business partner as well) and spend one year working for Graciano Cruz and Maria Ruiz in Boquete, mostly learning about the farm level. He had the opportunity to be part of HiQ Coffee launch in the US, where he worked with Graciano Cruz and Willem Boot on a development project in Chalatenango in El Salvador.
They started Doubleshot in 2010, sourcing green from people we met or worked with in Central America. Over the 13 years we opened 4 coffee shops, training center, and bakery in downtown Prague. However, wholesale is still the major part of our business. We took part in many World barista, brewers or coffee in good spirit competitions. Jaroslave also used to be a certified Q, SCAA Cupping judge, SCA AST etc.
Nowadays, green bean buying and QC, together with managing different teams of people in marketing, social media, desing etc. Doubleshot employs around 90 people, and sells coffee all around the world
Links:
- https://www.doubleshot.cz/
- https://www.instagram.com/doubleshotcz/
Related Episodes:
- ROR #23 : How to Close the Industry-Consumer Flavor Gap w/ Phil Beattie, Dillanos Coffee Roasters
- RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
- 286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
- 418: Founder Friday! w/ John and Luigi Di Ruocco of Mr. Espresso, Oakland, CA
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
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One of the best options for getting started in coffee without as much risk is a coffee truck. Especially emphasized post-pandemic, mobile concepts like coffee trucks have grow exponentially and with it the need for reliable information on how to become successful in that context. Today we will be talking with one the go-to coffee truck authorities, Vincent LaVolpa of green Joe Coffee School!
Vincent discovered coffee while in the military working in the 16th Engineer Battalion of the 1st Armored Division as a driver eliminating IEDs. After this he became a paramedic with Albuquerque Ambulance for 7 years where coffee sustained him through that difficult work. In 2015 he started his first coffee trailer. By the end of year 2, he had a coffee truck, trailer and 4 carts. In 2018, my 3rd year in business, he opened Helix Coffee and Yoga, a coffee house and yoga studio collaboration with his wife. During this time, wrote his first book on coffee trucking. In 2019, they became pregnant with their second daughter and decided to close the shop. Vincent then dedicated himself full time to coffee consulting where I help people launch profitable mobile coffee businesses.
Today we will be talking with Vincent about practical knowledge, misconceptions, and keys steps to take in running a successful coffee truck.
We cover:
- Evolution of Green Joe
- Creating and scaling the first truck
- Important lessons learned
- Working with the trades and planning the space
- Keeping it simple
- Flexibility
- Hiring for a coffee truck
- Misconceptions and considerations
Links:
www.greenjoecoffeeschool.com
www.greenjoecoffeetruck.com
Related episodes:
- 115 : Finding Success in Mobile Coffee w/ Tim Cox / Communion Coffee
- 384 : How to Run a Successful Coffee Cart w/ Sarah Naylor of Daybreak Coffee Cart
- 359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC
- 187 : A Conversation with Nikki Outlaw of Anecho Coffee
Key Holder Coaching Group is launching in September!
🔑 Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by myself and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
🔑 We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
🔑 This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
🔑 In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
🔑 Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Signal app as well.
I am very excited to begin what I believe will be the first of many groups!
CLICK HERE to fill out the application to join the group
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
While we always want to assume our staff are aspiring for the highest standards, we know that they (just like us) need help. In the course of the day there are many opportunities to speak into the lives of your baristas as a coach and guide. Be this as it may, some of us avoid correcting staff and in so doing we create tension and an environment
Today on Shift Break we will talk about the often feared subject of correction and why it is not only needed but a sign that you care about the success of your staff and the experience of your customer.
- More Power To Them
Being the Point of Clarity
Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
One of the most important aspects of our business is how we welcome people into our space. Early on in the KTTS podcast I sat down with someone who I still consider to be one of the best examples of showing genuine hospitality in a way that is simple yet powerful.
Today I am re-sharing with you all this interview with Phillip Paul Turner who at the time was a manager for Sunergos Coffee's 5th St. shop in Louisville. At this time I was still the operations manager for the company and got to see Philip living these principles regularly.
I hope this episode really impacts the way you pursue hospitality in your shop.
We cover:
- The right way to view people
- Simple methods for hospitality
- The welcome, acknowledge, include framework
- Why it is hard for us to execute
- The benefits over time
Related episodes:
- 343 : Founder Friday! “Curated Edition” | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are
- 254 : Holiday Hospitality Part 2
- 058 : Holiday Hospitality
- 369: Encore Episode! How to be a Cash Register Hero
- 340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
Key Holder Coaching Group is launching in September!
🔑 Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by myself and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
🔑 We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
🔑 This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
🔑 In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
🔑 Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Signal app as well.
I am very excited to begin what I believe will be the first of many groups!
CLICK HERE to fill out the application to join the group
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
Serving our customers well means being able to give them our best. This can only be done if we are constantly seeking to improve what we do. But not at the expense of who we are doing it for.
Today on Shift Break we will be chatting about who it is we are really trying to impress and serve. Who we have in mind as our primary audience will be what guides our decisions, successes, and, in many cases, our failures.
Related episodes:
- You are not your Competition
- Your Peers are not your Customers
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
You see it all the time, a barista is promoted to a role such as trainer, manager, cafe lead etc, but they quickly find that there is very little preparation that has gone into this role. They are either simply not doing much, but now they have a title, or they are doing far too much in an effort to make up for the bosses lack of planning the role prior to promotion. In both cases there is burn out and frustration that is completely avoidable, if we would invest into creating meaningful roles in the cafe.
Today we will be exploring this topic and i will be giving your some pointers about how to create roles that deliver value to both the business, and the person occupying them.
Related episodes:
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
- 325 : How to Manage Your Trainers
- Blog: What is wrong with “Going above and beyond”?
- 383 : How to Train a Manager
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
I hear it all the time, "My baristas just don't use the manual!" Of course it is frustrating to work into a document and resource only to have people forget or disregard it. Before you get too bent out of shape, you may want to ask yourself, do YOU use your manual? What about your managers?
Today on Shift Break we are going to be talking about why you and your manager team need to integrate and adopt the regular usage of your manuals, guides, and docs if you want your staff to do the same.
Related episodes:
- Your Employee Handbook is Worthless
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
The culture of your management and leadership team is perhaps the most important one to focus on if you want the over all company culture to be healthy. What we see most of the time is that each manager or leader becomes an island, isolated, defensive and eventually burnt out striving in their own area without helping or being helped by others.
Today we will be talking about essential behaviors that you need to cultivate in your in your management culture in order for both the individual and the business to thrive. Each of these behaviors will create a very healthy culture of mutual care that will be a catalyst for change across the cafe.
After listening to this, please consider setting up a meeting with your team to work out how to make these a real practice.
We Cover:
- Humility
- Support and uplift
- Pursue understanding
- Colaborative solutions
- Mindful actions and communication
Related episodes:
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- 378: 5 Areas to Develop in Managers
- 229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
- 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
- 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
It's Founder Friday! Leaving a legacy and making an impact on the industry is something we all want for our businesses. Few companies get to the place where they can say they have not only achieved this but done so it a way that stays true to their values and traditions, while also artfully evolving with the changing landscape of coffee. Mr. Espresso in Oakland, CA is one such company.
Established in 1978 and now celebrating 45 years in business, Mr. Espresso is a specialty coffee roasting company that has stayed true to the Italian coffee culture and roots of founder Carlo Di Ruocco while embracing innovation to inspire the next generation of coffee drinkers. In keeping with the sensibilities of the modern coffee consumer, Mr. Espresso is committed to responsible sourcing, sustainable production and investment in community. Offering wholesale beans, premium commercial brewing equipment, and service and training support, Mr. Espresso made its mark as one of the first full-service, coffee roasting retailers in the U.S. and has since become a trusted supplier to noteworthy restaurants, cafes, bakeries and coffee houses around the San Francisco Bay Area and nationally. Additionally, Mr. Espresso has expanded its online presence and grown its retail customer base well beyond the Bay Area.
Mr. Espresso uses traditional wood-roasting methods over oakwood. This technique results in high moisture content and an increased retention of natural oils, producing a complex and full-bodied coffee with less acidity. Mr. Espresso has received numerous high-scoring reviews and accolades over its long history, and is a two-time Good Food Awards winner for its organic single-origin coffees. Founder Carlo Di Ruocco was awarded the 2015 Alfred Peet Passionate Cup, one of the Specialty Coffee Association’s most prestigious awards. In early 2023, Mr. Espresso will open a cafe in downtown Oakland, not far from its roastery in Jack London Square. Today we are talking with Carlo DiRuocco's sons, John and Luigi DiRuocco, who Co-Own and run Mr. Espresso.
Luigi Di Ruocco is Co-owner and Sales & Marketing Vice President of Mr. Espresso, and Co-owner of The Caffè by Mr. Espresso. An alumnus of Saint Mary’s College, Luigi earned a double major in Business Administration and Economics, followed by two years in portfolio accounting. However, in 2001 at age 24, Luigi returned to the family business, drawn by the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the family enterprise. Currently, Luigi is at the helm of the newly opened – The Caffè by Mr. Espresso, in the heart of Downtown Oakland.
John Di Ruocco is Co-owner and Vice President of Coffee for Mr. Espresso, and Co-owner of The Caffè by Mr. Espresso. After earning an undergraduate degree in architecture from UC Berkeley. After receiving his degree, he returned to the family business, learning the art of wood-roasting coffee from his father. John went on to become roastmaster in the early ‘90s, and eventually Vice President of Coffee. John has moved the company forward as a leader in both single-origin and blended coffees. John has been instrumental in expanding the offerings to reflect changing coffee preferences, adding distinguished lighter-roasted coffees, most often organic and fair trade in origin.
In this conversation we discuss the rich history of this iconic company, their values, traditions, and how they have grown and evolved over the past 45 years!
We discuss:
- The beginning of Mr. Espresso
- The importance of tradition and craft
- Creating an authentic product and brand
- Why wood roasting is unique in method and outcome
- How they source coffee and approach QC
- Evolving with the industry
- Knowing what to say no to and trusting your gut
- Advice for impact and longevity in coffee
- Offering a product that appeal widely but keeps tradition
Links:
www.mrespresso.com
Instagram: @mrespressooak
@thecaffeoak
Listen to these episodes next!
- 081 : Founder Friday w/ David Schomer of Espresso Vivace
- 205 : Inside Caffe Florian, the World’s Oldest Coffee Shop ! | Venice, Italy
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
- 320 Founder Friday! w/ Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale, Florence, Italy
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
Reach out to KTTS!
chris@keystotheshop.com
In all the building of systems and curating of culture we do, the one culture that tends to get short changed is the managers. Whether it is just you and one manager or a team of admin staff, the relationship between leaders in a coffee shop is critical to focus on and develop.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about this important set of relationships and why it is critical to the health of the entire company.
Stay tuned to next week's episode where we dive even deeper into this subject with some solid practical steps.
Related episodes:
- Don't Forget Relationships
- Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aire
- Expectations for Growth
- Reasonable Expectations
- The Myth of Hands Off / Automated Leadership
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
- For a long time the coffee you could get at home was limited in quality because the average home user, while able to purchase gear and coffee, was not able to match the commercial water quality of their favorite cafe. All that changed when ThIrd Wave Water democratized ideal water for coffee and helped unlock the potential for innumerable coffee lovers world wide.
Taylor Minor is Co-Founder of Third Wave Water. With a passion for technology and having owned and ran his own roastery, Taylor eventually applied this experience to customizing his own water then, along with business partner Charles Nick, developed Third Wave Water. 3W Water was featured on Shark Tank and has been had a global impact on how people view and can access ideal water for the various coffees they brew.
In our conversation wee discuss the genesis of 3W Water, the evolution of the industry, how they have grown along with it, the science behind the products, and Taylor's views on specialty coffee.
We Cover:
+ Cafe ownership and Beginning Third Wave Water
+ Making great water accessible to the masses
+ Philosophy on coffee quality
+ Water make up for various roast styles
+ Considerations for espresso
+ Selecting the right water
+ Importance of equipping your customers for successLinks:
www.thirdwavewater.com
Related episodes:
+ 347 : Brewing Coffee and a Career w/ U.S. Brewer’s Cup Champion, Elika Liftee
+ 168 : How to get the Best from your Coffee w/ WBC 2013 Champ, Pete Licata
+ 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality
+ 372 : Milk Steaming Master Class: Science + Craft w/ Morten Munchow and Emilee Bryant!
+ RoR #17 : Evolving Our Approach to Cupping w/ Charlie Habegger of Royal Coffee**Visit our awesome Sponsors!**
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
www.Pacificfoodservice.com
30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!
www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
Part 2 of 2023 Coffee Fest Live Louisville, KY interviews!
In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.
For this part 2 we get to talk with Lauren Lathrop and Rob Arnold!
First up is Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters! For well over a decade Lauren has been a leading educator and impactful member of the coffee industry. From barista, to shop manager, to trainer some of the best brands and companies in the world, Lauren's approach to education creates progress and understand for all she teaches. That educational prowess is has, in recent years, been applied to roasting through Mill City Roasters where she helps roasters achieve quality and repeatability and gives them the keys to unlock their potential. At Coffee Fest I sat down with Lauren to discuss the most important aspects of training roasters and how we can not only learn well under instruction and give effective instruction, but how we can guide our own roasting education. Next we chat with Rob Arnold of Pre-Game Coffee
Rob is the founder, owner, roaster, and creative at Pre-Game Coffee here in Louisville, KY. For 4 years now Pre-Game has been the premier sports, coffee, and cocktail venue in Louisville and focuses on providing what is likely one of the most unique hospitality experiences in the city. Cocktails and signature drinks have been a focus since day one and Rob was able to talk with the attendees at Coffee Fest about the secrets to success with these beverages. I sat down to chat with Rob about that very thing so you too can benefit from his field tested approach to cafe cocktails and sig drinks!
Links:
Lauren:
www.millcityroasters.com
Rob:
www.pregamecoffee.com
Related episodes:
- 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters
- SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube
- SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 2 w/ Marissa Childers, Jess Gulino, and Tony Dreyfuss
- 157 : Four from the Floor : Interviews from Coffee Fest Indianapolis 2019
- 142 : Entrepreneur Interviews from Coffee Fest NYC!
www.coffeefest.com
Part 1 of 2023 Coffee Fest Live Louisville, KY interviews!
In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.
To start us off on part 1 we are going to talk with Jackie Nguyen of Cafe Caphe!
Jackie Nguyen is the founder of Cafe Caphe in Kansas City, MO. From broadway to coffee shop owner, Jackie has been a dynamo in the coffee scene of KC with Cafe Caphe. A space focused on highlighting Vietnamese coffee as well as marginalized communities, Jackie has lead the way for vibrant cafe culture. Part of her success is a strong and deep social media presence that connects people to her brand before even visiting. Today we get to chat with her about how we too can use our social platforms to connect and grow our community and our business. Next we chat with Sean Roberson of West Lou Coffee!
Sean Roberson is the founder and roaster at West Lou Coffee in Louisville, KY. A West Louisville native Sean fell in love with coffee roasting after a career in finance and has been running an growing West Lou coffee as a business based in West Louisville and with an aim to enrich and inspire locals in West Louisville and other overlooked and under resourced areas of cities world-wide. Today we chat with Sean about his journey in starting West Lou Coffee, the challenges, importance of his work, and advice to other who live in marginalized areas to start and build something for their communities as he has.
Links:
www.westloucoffee.com
@westloucoffee
www.cafecaphe.com
@cafecaphe
Related episodes:
SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 2 w/ Marissa Childers, Jess Gulino, and Tony Dreyfuss 157 : Four from the Floor : Interviews from Coffee Fest Indianapolis 2019 142 : Entrepreneur Interviews from Coffee Fest NYC! www.coffeefest.com
If we work with people long enough, we are going to face frustrations and challenges. Too often these normal relational issues go unresolved and solidify into something called resentment.
Today on Shift break we will be talking about how boss and barista alike can fall into this trap and what to do to avoid the toxicity that results by leaving it unaddressed.
Related episodes:
- Don't Forget Relationships
- Avoiding Toxic Loyalty
- Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship
- Understanding and Bitterness
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co.
As an industry, our flavor preferences turn into what we market, which turn communicates a message about quality and what people should care about when it comes to "the best" coffees. Too often we are content to let the our message be incredibly narrow regarding flavors and preferences. Without context this leaves a lot of great coffee that may be more enjoyable for the consumer, at a disadvantage.
On this Rate of Rise episode we will be talking about tools to bridge the flavor preference gap with coffee legend, Phil Beattie of Dillanos Coffee Roasters!
Phillip Beattie is the Director of Coffee for Dillanos Coffee Roasters. He is an experienced coffee industry leader with over 20 years in roasting, sourcing and quality control. Known for his contagious energy and passionate leadership. He served as chair the Roasters Guild, been on international cupping juries, and has been a certified Q Grader. He had the privilege of roasting for two United States Barista Champions, once in 2015 and again in 2019. Phillip feels fortunate and blessed to work in the world of coffee.
In our conversation Phil gives us wonderful insights on the state of roasting, how we market, and what tools or system changes are needed to correct the current imbalance that favors our own tastes vs that of the consumer.
We cover:
Links:
- www.dillanos.com
Related Episodes:
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
- RoR #17 : Evolving Our Approach to Cupping w/ Charlie Habegger of Royal Coffee
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Growing you coffee shop is about more than just adding locations. Growth has to do with developing internal resilience, culture, and practices that are life giving to those who work in the business and to you as the owner. Ultimately the path for sustainable growth is a people-first path and today we are talking with someone who has a lot of experience charting that path. I am thrilled to welcome back to the show, Mike McFall of Biggby Coffee!
BIGGBY is a fast-growing coffee franchise with over 350+ locations across the U.S. Within the company, Mike has worked every position, from minimum-wage barista to his current role of Co-CEO.
Grow, the second book in Mike’s three-book series, picks up where Grind leaves off–when an entrepreneur is in the midst of the bootstrapping entrepreneurial phase and asking, “what’s next?” The book offers a strategic blueprint for entrepreneurs trying to reach the promised land of stability and sustainability in their businesses.
Filled with real-life examples from Mike’s 26 years of experience, Grow plants the seeds to help readers recreate themselves as the leaders their organizations need them to be and take their business from chaos to calm.
In this conversation we dive into some of the most critical element outlined in his book that, if applied and practiced, will definitely help you grow your business the right way.
We cover:
- How to recognize the lessons you learn in business
- Telling the truth
- Becoming irrelevant
- Providing emotional stability
- Cultivating trust
- Mastering time management and prioritizing
- Being a constant learner and helping others do the same
Links:
www.Michaeljmcfall.com
www.biggby.com
Related episodes:
- 263 : Founder Friday w/ Mike McFall, Co-Founder of BIGGBY Coffee!
- 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
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www.coffeefest.com
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All of us have had the conflicted emotions of having baristas that are simply amazing but then also knowing that those baristas will eventually leave the coffee shop. Try as we may, most staff will not be long term and this can either cause you to feel defeated, or you can embrace it and the opportunity these exemplary employees bring.
Today on Shift break we will be talking about how we can lean on the examples of our best staff to essential bottle that magic and allow our systems and structures to be shaped by their example and the ideas their work brings to the business.
Related episodes:
- The Conversational Reality of Your Business : Thought on how to approach creative projects in the new year
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- Your Employee Handbook is Worthless
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Learning how to listen is the cornerstone of effective and transformative communication. In the hustle and fast paced daily activities of the coffee shop, it is easy to forget about listening and truly understanding what is being said beyond the words we hear. Add to this that emotions are often high, listening deeply and well can seem daunting.
Thankfully we have a guest on the show today who is a listening expert and has built incredible resources to help show use exactly how to listen!
Oscar Trimboli is an author, host of the Apple award-winning podcast Deep Listening and a sought-after keynote speaker.
His third book is how to listen – discover the hidden key to better communication – the most comprehensive book about listening in the workplace. Along with the Deep Listening Ambassador Community, he is on a quest to create 100 million deep listeners in the workplace.
Through his work with chairs, boards of directors, and executive teams, Oscar has experienced first-hand the transformational impact leaders can have when they listen beyond words.
In this conversation we dig deep into the principles of listening, especially when emotions cloud our mind. Through deeply personal examples, role playing scenarios, and impactful insight, Oscar lays out a master class in listening here on his second appearance on KTTS. Enjoy!
Links:
www.oscartrimboli.com
Related episodes:
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- 125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
- 104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel
- 399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe
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Especially important for the younger generation is access to the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before. Older coffee professionals can also benefit from the drive and perspectives of the younger. Problem is that we tend to only converse with and stick to your own age group and the benefit of cross generational communication is lost.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about mentorship and the importance of seeking these intergenerational relationships and the benefit it brings not only to our own development as individuals, but to the industry as a whole.
Related episodes:
- 349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
- 397: Diversity and The Color of Coffee w/ Keith Hawkins, The Color of Coffee Collective
- 127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen
- 003: The Role of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee w/ Pete Licata
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 228 : Cracking the Leadership Code w/ Alain Hunkins
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The barrier of entry for getting a coffee shop open is lower than ever. Many have the idea that if they can get the shop open, then they have succeeded. But the test is not only about whether you can open a shop, or even if you can keep it open, but how do you make something that is truly great and successful?
On today's episode we will be talking about a few ingredients that must be present in the mix of a coffee shop from the beginning in order for all the components we assemble in the race to open, to work together and create something truly greater than the sum of its parts.
These things are not readily apparent but are necessary nonetheless, and are what separates the average coffee shop from one that is long lasting and impactful.
We cover:
- Culture of caring
- Service mindset internal and external
- Its not just a recipe of the assembly…it’s the soul
- Make the intangible tangible
- Long term success is based on roots and patience
- Self knowledge and acceptance of risk in refinement
- Values in action
- Not getting mired in the details but tending to them / Ability to judge success in mission and big picture
Listen to these episodes next:
- 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)”
- 283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
- 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
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www.groundcontrol.coffee
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www.Pacificfoodservice.com
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www.coffeefest.com
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I mean, I like variety as much as the next person, but overly complex menus are overwhelming and create confusion for customers who rely on us to curate our offerings that meets their needs in a way that delivers quality over quantity.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how the pursuit of a simplified menu can be a powerful tool for hospitality and, in the end, creates a more memorable experience that customers are excited to share with others.
Related episodes:
- Building your Coffee Shop's Capacity from Simplicity
- Leaner Teams, Better Results
- Some Tips on Signature Drinks
- Sacrificing Productivity
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In order to train people in coffee and barista skills you have to not only be a student of your subject, but also a student of your students and their unique context. In recent years we have seen an incredible explosion of coffee eduction in producing countries where the landscape of learning is among the most unique given their deep relationship with coffee. Today we will be talking with an educator whose commitment to learning and bringing understanding to this context is making great impact. I am excited to be chatting with Fabiola Solano of sOY barista in Costa Rica!
As a certified with the Coffee Diploma and Authorized SCA Trainer (AST) in 2018, Fabiola began her preparation as a barista in 2013. She also has a bachelor's degree in business administration, a degree in marketing, and a specialization in hotel operations management. She is currently studying for the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
She has dedicated herself to content creation since 2015 for her blog Soy Barista, always focusing on updated and relevant data for the Spanish-speaking community
We cover:
- Fabiola's entry into coffee
- The unique landscape of Costa Rican coffee culture
- Training and educating on foundational information
- The importance of certifications and career tracks
- Best practices for training baristas
- Exploring all levels of quality
- Practical results of education on the local industry over time
Links:
https://www.soybarista.com/en/home
@soybaristacr
Listen to these episodes next:
- 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
- 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
- 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
- 313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee
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www.coffeefest.com
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Setting up and maintaining a roaster for functionality, safety, and quality output is perhaps the biggest challenge of roasting. There are many variables and trades that go into it and it is easy to skip some steps, be less than detailed, and rush the project. I don't need to tell you, that is s a recipe for disaster. Perhaps nobody in roasting tech knows this more than the man who gets called to both set up roasters, and swoop in and deal with all sorts of emergency situations and repairs. Today on RoR we are talking with the legend, Doug Graf of Vintage Coffee.
Doug Graf has been rooted in the roasting, and roasting tech, repair and installation world for over three decades. From running his own family business for twenty years- to full time instal, repair, and consulting work for roasters over ten years, Doug Graf has maybe literally seen and worked on it all. Through his consulting company, Vintage Coffee, he provides consulting, training, repair and maintenance, plant design, and start up for coffee roasters of every size. Vintage is also a service representative for Canada for Loring Smart Roasters.
As you might guess, he is also a very active member of the roaster guild where he generously shares his hard earned wisdom and runs the roasters tent at the guild retreats.
In our conversation we talk with Doug about his career and focus on his advice and insights on how we should approach setting up and caring for our roasters and roasting spaces, and what the most common mistakes are related to maintenance to help us avoid needless troubles in the roastery.
We cover:
- Task frequency
- Wait time and working with the trades
- Planning and patience
- Trusting experts
- Major mistakes we make
- Checklists and systems
- Anticipating the investment
- The DIY trap
- Intuition's role
Links:
- www.vintagecoffee.ca
- Vintage Coffee on IG
Related Episodes:
- 152 : Essential Advice for Starting a Roastery w/ Jen Apodaca
- RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
- RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
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It's Founder Friday! Partnerships in coffee bars can be tricky things. You really have to make sure you have complimentary character traits as well as a unified s12et of values to help guide you through the ups and downs of business in a the cafe and roastery. Today we are talking with a couple of guys who have combined forces and have shown what is possible when these things are in place and you have a passion to serve and advance both people and coffee. We are talking with Kyle Ramage and Lem Butler of Black and White Coffee Roasters!
Kyle and Lem are industry legends in their own rights. Each of their carerers has spanned the decades and has been punctuated with competition success. Lem and U.S. Barista Champion in 2016, and Kyle as U.S. Barista Champion in 2017. Along their careers they have been deeply involved in retail, roasting, and have been integral members of the global coffee community through their work and examples.
The founding of their cafe and roastery in 2017 was the combination their individual talents to create something new, powerful, and needed in the coffee space. They have been making waves in the industry since them striking a balance between accessible coffees, more extreme coffees, serving their staff and customers, and continuing to invest in competitions and the professional development of competitors.
This conversation is a look at their history, the development of Black and White, their own growth as owners, and the how of their approach to running one of the most respected brands in coffee.
We discuss:
- Careers and competition
- Training and complimentary strengths
- The founding of Black and White
- Taking on an existing customers base and staff
- Self awareness
- Listening to customers
- Developing a fresh approach to coffee
- Investing in their baristas
- The need to market coffee differently
- Creating inroads in roasted coffee offerings
- Where we need to go as an industry
Links:
www.blackwhiteroasters.com
Instagram: @blackwhiteroasters
Listen to these episodes next!
- 396 : Founder Friday: Before + After Edition! w/ Jonathan Pascual of the Newly Opened Opo Coffee.
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC
- 273 : Founder Friday w/ Anne Lunnel and Charles Nystrand of Koppi Coffee Roasters, Helsingborg, Sweden
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chris@keystotheshop.com
There is a shortcut for everything these days. Automation, templates, and other tools would give you the impression that you can automate of be hands off with your leadership and that your aim is to continually seek more ways to remove yourself.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how this idea, while appropriate in some aspects of the business, is a recipe for disaster in others.
Listen to these related episodes next:
- 028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
- Baristas Are Not Magic
- Motivating Staff Through Culture
- You Can't Automate Quality
- Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship
- Over Optimization
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Opportunities for specialty coffee still abound in certain areas of the American South. With those opportunities comes challenges of communicating coffee in a way that both meets people where they are, and helps open them up to new experiences that expand their enjoyment. Today we are talking with someone who has not only been communicating to his customers through the coffee he roasts, but also through a podcast designed to be an entertaining AND educational. We are chatting with Kenneth Thomas of Umble Coffee!
Kenneth Thomas is host of the very popular Coffee 101 podcast and interviews coffee experts weekly from around the world. He is owner and head roaster at Umble Coffee Co, an online and wholesale coffee company. Kenneth and Umble Coffee have been ranked as one of the top specialty coffee roasters in the United States consistently for the last several years. He is also a physician and chemical engineer - both of which lend expertise to Umble’s mission of sourcing and roasting the best coffees from around the world in a way that optimizes for taste quality and health.
In my conversation with Kenneth we will cover how his own curiosity sparked his obsession and business, how he crafts customer service through roasting excellent coffee in an approachable way, and the importance of always learning and providing opportunities to learn for himself, his customers, and listeners.
We Cover:
- Discovering coffee and roasting
- Listening to customer feedback
- Blue ocean opportunity
- Meeting people where they are
- Coffee and health
- Advice for coffee roasters in coffee desserts
- The importance of always learning and teaching
- Don't sit on innovation
Links:
www.umblecoffee.com
Coffee 101 podcast
Listen to these related episodes next!
- 387 : Innovation and Building a Better Coffee Business w/ Miranda Caldwell
- 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
- 286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
- 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab
- 063 : What Your Roaster Wants you to Know w/ Rob Hoos, Author, Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee
- 168 : How to get the Best from your Coffee w/ WBC 2013 Champ, Pete Licata
- 370: Founder Friday! w/ Tony Dreyfuss of Metropolis Coffee Company, Chicago, Illinois
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www.coffeefest.com
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The foundation of the building determines the stability of what is built on it. When it comes to building a coffee shop business your growth cannot out pace the degree to which you invest in the relationships and the culture at the heart of it.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the need to increase engagement, resourcing, communication, and meaningful connection as you get business and the business develops in size and scope.
This is a very important topic and one that I hope you take to heart and put into practice.
Listen to these related episodes next:
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aire
- Expectations for Growth
- Reasonable Expectations
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Tenacity, humility, and curiosity. Whether you are working as a barista, competing, opening your own shop and roastery, these are character traits that are essential for success. Today we are talking with someone whose long career in coffee has been characterized by these values. We are chatting with the new U.S. Barista Champion, Isaiah Sheese!
Isaiah Sheese is the Owner of Archetype Coffee located in Omaha, Nebraska. He has been working in the coffee industry for almost 20 years in various roles from barista, to QC cupper, green buyer, janitor, and now owner. He has competed in the US Barista Championships for 9 years, judged for 2 years, and placed top 6 in 8 of the 9 qualifiers. He finished 5th in 2020 and is now the 2023 US Barista Champion.
In my conversation with Isaiah we get to talk about his beginnings in coffee, the early experiences of competition, starting and running Archetype, and the pursuit of hospitality while also pushing coffee forward.
We Cover:
- Entering the coffee industry
- Discovering barista competitions
- Challenges of taking the next step in career
- What moments changed the game in competition
- Pursuit of excellence
- How judging changed things
- Starting a business and meeting customers where they are
- The importance of community trust for cafe success
- Tenacity in competition and the evolution of Archetype
- His winning routine and how they approached it differently
Links:
- www.drinkarchetype.com
- FOLLOW! @ARCHETYPEROASTERS
- Isaiah Sheese on Instagram @isaiahsheese
Listen to these related episodes next!
- 394 : Happy Coffee People w/ Wendelien van Bunnik
- 390 : 7 Ways to be Consciously Competitive
- 320 Founder Friday! w/ Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale, Florence, Italy
- 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
- 343 : Founder Friday! “Curated Edition” | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
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www.Pacificfoodservice.com
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www.coffeefest.com
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It is not so much the fear of change that keeps us from moving forward in the areas we know are necessary. It is the fear of what will happen when we implement the change. The fall out, we imagine, is too much to handle and so we stay where we are.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why you need to embrace the fallout related to needed change and how doing so in a people-first way will, in spite of the inconveniences, lead to a better outcome.
Listen to these related episodes next:
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
- 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
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Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
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One of the hardest things to make consistent in the coffee shop is your espresso. There are so many variables that contribute to the final product, not to mention the number of different baristas tasked with making coffee daily. can be very overwhelming and inevitably we throw in the towel and end up with a let than optimal product. Well good news! Today we get to dive into the science of optimizing your espresso with coffee scientist Samo Smrke!
Samo Smrke is a scientific associate at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in the group of prof. Yeretzian. He is involved in coffee research projects in collaboration with industry partners and in fundamental research on various topics of coffee chemistry and coffee science. He is leading a module of the Coffee Excellence continuing education course at ZHAW, and various other educational programs with partners of ZHAW.
Samo is actively participating at coffee conferences, is one of the co-authors of the SCA Freshness Handbook and Water Handbook and has contributed to scientific papers and book chapters about coffee.
In this episode we discuss several major factors that need to be considered and optimized in order to always have the consistent and excellent espresso you want to serve on your coffee bar.
We cover:
- Samo's journey into coffee
- Ideal resting times and CO2
- Aroma and taste variance in coffees
- What causes crema
- Various roast levels and decaf
- The grinder's role
- Steps to take in addressing problematic coffee
- The importance of tracking and systems
- The science communities role in tandem with professional baristas
Links:
- Samo's Instagram Account @samosmrke
- https://www.zhaw.ch/en/about-us/person/smrk/
Listen to these related episodes next!
- 372 : Milk Steaming Master Class: Science + Craft w/ Morten Munchow and Emilee Bryant!
- 350 : The Physics of Filter Coffee w/ Jonathan Gagné
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
- RoR #16 : Ideal Resting Times for Roasted Coffee w/ Joey Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol
- 389: How to Approach Modern Coffee Processing w/ Christopher Feran
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
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www.coffeefest.com
Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission
Like you, I have been to and conducted my fair share of cafe meetings. And also like you, I have seriously questioned the effectiveness of these get togethers. In fact, in many cases meetings can hurt more than help. How do we avoid this?
On today's Shift Break I will be taking you through a few big mistakes that contribute to bad or ineffective meetings, and what to do instead to make sure your gatherings are assets to the business and not liabilities to culture.
Related episodes:
- Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
- Turning the Ship
- My #1 Interview Mistake
-
229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
-
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
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The world of coffee is saturated with suppliers of tools and equipment. Most are seeking the transaction and chasing the opportunity the current market has afforded them. Precious few suppliers are truly passionate about their customers in a meaningful way that results in the love and respect of the barista community. Slow Pour Supply is one such company, because Anita Tam is one such person.
Anita Tam is the owner and founder of Slow Pour Supply Co., a socially driven coffeetools company that is dedicated to serving coffee people and small businesses around the world.
Prior to coffee Anita spent decades in the world of professional music as both a professional classical musician, instructor, and conductor. She discovered a passion and fascination for the craft and science of coffee that set her on a course to not only work in coffee but to establish Slow Pour as a platform to foster the same discovery for baristas globally through quality tools.
Anita is a long time certified AST with the SCA and you can find her and her team at almost any coffee event or competition spreading joy and positivity and serving the community.
Today we are going to be getting to know a bit about Anita's entry into coffee, the passionate and philosophies that drive her, and how she approaches business and relationships in coffee with wholistic generosity.
We cover:
- The link between music, art, and coffee
- Founding slow pour and guiding principles
- Passion for the product and end user
- Milk pitchers, brewers, and tools as catalysts
- The need for in person connection and community
- Creating, serving, and passing on gifts
- Peace through the circular flow of experiences
- Thoughts on the future of coffee
Links:
www.slowpoursupply.co
@slowpoursupply
Listen to these episodes next!
- 127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen
- 089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday : Leadership, Innovation, service, heritage
- 136 : Nourishing the Barista’s Soul: A conversation w/ Deb Kaminski of Pacific Natural Foods
- 324 : Encore Episode! Organizing the Community w/ Espresso State of Mind Founders, Javier Alvarez and Joseph Gonzalez
- 394 : Happy Coffee People w/ Wendelien van Bunnik
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
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On this Rate of Rise episode I am thrilled to get to have a conversation with the new U.S. roasting Champion, Andrew Coe of Elevator Coffee in Portland, OR
Andrew Coe is the owner and roaster at Elevator Coffee in Portland, OR, founded in 2016. Andrew launched his professional roasting career by winning the first Cascadia Cup roasting competition at Buckman Coffee Factory, a co-roasting facility across the street from his cafe, using a Behmor 1600. He currently operates out of another co-roasting facility in NE Portland called Roast, which is home to a fully customized 1938 12kg Probat (probably one of the cooler machines in town). Andrew also private label roasts for Two Stroke Coffee. He has a masters degree in Mathematics from Oregon State University, and worked as a Transportation Planner prior to coffee.
In our conversation we chat about Andrew's entry into coffee, competition, and insights learned over his career
In our conversation we cover:
- Community and its role in learning
- Key turning points in his understanding of roasting
- Methods and disciplines for consistency
- Favorite part of the competition
- Collecting, curating, and using data
- How his career experience helped in roasters competition
- Optimizing green and roasted coffee
Links:
- www.elevator.coffee
- Instagram @elevatorcc + @andrewcoaecoffee
Related Episodes:
- 286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- 147 : U.S. Roasting Champion, Shelby Williamson of Huckleberry Roasters, Denver, CO
- 026 : What Your Roaster want you to Know w/ U.S. Roasting Champion, Mark Michaelson, Onyx Coffee Lab
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It's Founder Friday! I just learned of the news that the original sidewalk bar for Espresso Vivace is going to be closing permanently. This is very sad news given the rich history of that cafe and the impact it's had on so many. So today I thought it would be a great idea to re-air a conversation I had with David Schomer back in Feb of 2019!
Since its founding in 1988 Espresso Vivace has been home to David's groundbreaking and paradigm shifting experiments with espresso coffee and drink presentation. His work has been foundational and formative in the lives of countless professionals around the world. In this interview I get to talk with
We discuss:
- The early years of Vivace
- David's philosophy on service
- What he wants customers to experience in his stores
- His desire to remain small and impactful
- What makes a great espresso
- Hiring
- The secret to longevity
- how he has personally grown over these 3 decades of meticulous pursuit of his espresso ideal
There is a lot to take away and be inspired by here. Enjoy!
Links:
www.espressovivace.com
Listen to these episodes next!
- 323 : Reflecting on 5 Years of Keys to the Shop w/ my Wife Lynnsy Deferio
- 128 : Terry’s Top 10 w/ Terry Ziniewicz : Best practices for how not to kill your espresso machine
- 349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
- 376: Career, Coffee Quality, and Advancing the Industry w/ Mat North, of Raw Material
- 205 : Inside Caffe Florian, the World’s Oldest Coffee Shop ! | Venice, Italy
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Reach out to KTTS!
chris@keystotheshop.com
Today we have an incredible number of options to increase efficiency and outsource everything we do, including the things that people would normally assume come from you as a creator. This presents a problem that I believe is based either upholding or violating a common trust between the consumer and the provider.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the use of A.I., white label coffee, authenticity, and what I believe is the necessity for us to fight for the integrity of our communication.
Related episodes:
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
- 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
- 321 : Marketing and Moral Injury w/ Josh Tarlo of Kiss the Hippo
- Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
- Commit Before You Communicate
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Out of all the reasons that may be contributing to customers either loving or avoiding your shop, the quality of your drink beverages actually ranks pretty high. The trouble is, we all tend to assume that we have pretty much achieved a level of quality that "should" be sufficient to attract and keep customers and in that assumption we are lulled into a place of security and chance down other means to bring in more people are areas to refine, all the while our coffee is literally leaving a bad taste in people's mouths.
On today's episode I am going to be sharing five things that you can do in your cafe that will absolutely level up and improve your coffee quality. When your marketing and word of mouth brings customers in to the store, both you and them will be confident that you can deliver a truly consistent specialty coffee experience worthy of the hype.
Let's lean into the uncomfortable and embrace the refinement of quality as a constant pillar of who we are and how we operate!
Related episodes:
- "Local" does not Equal Quality DETAILS
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- Taste the Rainbow! : Menu knowledge, tasting, flavor, coffee cupping approach to your offerings
- Drink Drills! : Guidelines for using this powerful training tool in the coffee shop to get baristas ready for anything
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
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GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
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THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
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When it comes to leadership, the power and authority that is inherent in the position creates a need for higher degrees of responsibility to facilitate and support those being led. Be that as it may, for those who are being led, this is not a reason to outsource to other personal responsibility and accountability in your work and career.
On today's Shift Break we will be discussing some things that are not really able to be provided for you by "the company" or your boss, but re up to you to bring to the table for the sake of your own flourishing in work and in life.
Related episodes:
- Shift Break: Hard Work is Hard
- 355: Baristas! 6 Essential Qualities to Get Yourself Hired
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
- The Barista Slump : Thoughts on how to deal with times of love-loss, uncertainty, hardship, and weariness in your coffee career
- 292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts
- Episode 31 : Essential Advice for New Baristas
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The best espresso machines in the world!
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Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
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Technology and tools are meant to serve people, not the other way around. As we multiply apps, software, snd services in the name of optimization and ease, it can become harder to truly connect as we begin relying on these innovations to replace the very relationships that will sustain our coffee shops.
The tech for making the schedule in your cafe is one of these areas that has seen an enormous amount of growth and proliferation over the years. Amongst these options stands a company that has been consistently and decisively people focused, radically simple, and hospitality minded in their quest to truly serve their clients the way their clients serve guests. I am thrilled to be talking with Wil Brawley of Schedulefly!
Wil is Co-Owner of Schedulefly, a simple online restaurant employee scheduling platform that has served over 17,000 independent hospitality businesses since 2007. He is also host of the Restaurant Owners Uncorked podcast and author of two Restaurant Owners Uncorked books.
In this conversation we will be talking about the genesis of Schedulefly, how they have stayed simple and effective for these past 16 years, and what Wil has learned as he has built relationships with and heard the stories of cafe and restaurant owners.
We cover:
- The story of Schedulefly
- The schedule's role in your businesses operation
- Why integrations are not all they are cracked up to be
- What hospitality looks like between service provider and client
- Leaning into relationships
- The art of saying no and knowing who you are
- Lessons Will has gleaned form interviews on the podcast and in writing his books
- The need for simple people first hospitality and systems
Links:
www.schedulefly.com
Related episodes:
- 170 : Why your Inventory Counts w/ Albert Amar and Pierre-Francois Rio of SwiftCount
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday
- 302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube
- 351 : Pro Tips for Using Spreadsheets w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!
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"If only the boss would listen to my ideas this coffee shop would be so much better!" We all have ideas for how to improve different aspects of the cafe. Many times I have been frustrated when my really great ideas were not met with the same enthusiasm I had. What gives?!
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why your ideas may not be received well and how to pitch your ideas with the consideration, planning, and empathy it takes to make get buy-in and be taken more seriously.
Related episodes:
- Doing What You Want -vs- Doing What is Needed
- Using Slow Times Well as a Barista
- Taking Offense to Critique
- How to Talk to Each Other
- Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Creating in depth, engaging, and ultimately helpful educational content is no easy task. Today the number of options we have for gear, techniques, and the coffee itself are daunting to say the least. It is this vast field of options that energizes the home enthusiast to passionately pursue coffee and for some they get into it so much, they turn pro. That is the case with today's special Guest, Youtube and TikTok creator and now coffee roastery owner at September Coffee, Kyle Rowsell.
For years now Kyle has been inviting his followers along his journey humbly pursuing knowledge and know how around coffee, gear, and brewing. As Kyle has been growing his platform and help countless people achieve tasty coffee at home , he has also created and now launched with his wife a new roastery called September Coffee
In this conversation Kyle breaks down his journey, coffee philosophy, goals with his platforms, and the story of launching his new roasting business, September Coffee.
We cover:
- Finding coffee and following a nw career path
- Content creation and representing the coffee industry to consumers
- The evolution of how consumers view coffee at home
- How cafe need to embrace the prosumer and why it matters
- Starting a Roastery
- Making decisions on what kind of coffee to roast
- How the professional role as biz owner differs from the creator role
- How does consumer purchasing in small amount impact green demand
Links:
www.september.coffee
Kyle Rowsell YouTube
Kyle Rowsell's IG @kyle.rowsell
Related episodes:
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- 372 : Milk Steaming Master Class: Science + Craft w/ Morten Munchow and Emilee Bryant!
- 347 : Brewing Coffee and a Career w/ U.S. Brewer’s Cup Champion, Elika Liftee
- 035 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 069: Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes : 7 Guidelines
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
There are no shortcuts to creating something meaningful, dynamic, and sustainable. But that does not stop us from thinking that that there are! Whether you are leaning on the idea that you just need the perfect or award winning barista and then you will be successful, or if you can just get the right template, tool, or menu all will be well, you will be sorely disappointed.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the impulse we have to want this magic thinking to be true and what kind of thinking we need to employ instead that will actually work over time.
Related episode:
- Grass Roots Improvement: Tapping into the power of your staffs observations and ideas
- Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
- The Miracle of the Mundane: How curiosity helps our sustainability
- Learning -vs- LEARNING
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Most all of us are driven by a desire to create something that makes an impact. Be it through food, or through coffee, we craft an experience and hope that the values and culture that drives us shines through with each plate and cup served. In many ways, we are relaying a story through our craft in hopes that that story and experience will be accurately captured and told by others. Through his writing, that is exactly what today's guest does in the culinary world.
Today we are talking with award winning author and founder of TASTE, Matt Rodbard.
Matt Rodbard is a writer, editor, and author of food and culture books with more than two decades of experience working in television, magazines, book publishing, and online media. He’s the author of Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times Bestseller, Food IQ, a Publishers Weekly Bestseller, and the Founding Editor of online food and culture magazine TASTE, winner of two James Beard Foundation Awards. He's the host of the long-running podcast TASTE, a show featuring conversations with the most interesting people in food, cookbooks, media, and more.
In this conversation we explore Matt's career, what he has learned writing about food, chefs and the culinary industry, how coffee can learn from the world of restaurants, and how the craft of cooking, writing, and coffee are connected.
We cover:
- Matt's development as a writer and storyteller
- The deeper meaning of food and culture
- The difficulty of writing to effectively reflect heart and soul
- What the biggest issues are in the restaurant world today
- Awards and staying in touch with pleasing guests
- Accessible luxury and rooted experiences
- Why the flavor wheel in coffee needs to be thrown out
- What coffee needs to do to improve and learn from our culinary counterparts
Links:
https://tastecooking.com/
https://www.instagram.com/taste/
Related episodes:
- 219 : Building a Winning Food Program w/ Marilei Denila, Culinary R&D Manager, Go Get em Tiger
- 393 : The Tyranny of Taste w/ Kosta Kallivrousis
- Coffee and Cocktails
- Coffee and Chocolate
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
I was having a conversation with my wife and son about the practice of "decafing" customers and when anyone would take it upon themselves to do that. Ultimately it boils down to a decision we make in the moment to maintain integrity and hight standards for ourselves, or to create precedent within ourselves to let spite rule our actions.
In today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we can and do easily fall into pettiness and spite and how we can avoid this trap that ultimately ends up, more than anything else, damaging us and the coffee industry.
Related episodes:
Managing Anger : Tips on how to deal with getting angry behind the coffee bar in a healthy way
Gossip: How this toxic element destroys community in the coffee shop and what to do instead
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
When you think about success in roasting coffee, you will more than likely be concerned first and foremost with quality. While quality is critical, it is not the only factor. And success itself is more than a measure of your businesses profit, but how your business profits others. A new and more expansive view of quality and success is one of the things that characterizes today RoR guest.
In this episode of Rate of Rise we are going to be talking with, David Lalonde of Rabbit Hole Roasters!
David is the co-founder (along with biz partner Sophie) of Rabbit Hole Roasters in Montreal, Quebec. Roasting tasty coffee is obviously important for him, but challenging the coffee status quo is what drives him. By learning about coffee’s inequalities, building long lasting relationships at origin and centering small holder farmers, he hopes to change the narrative, one that is not based primarily on cup score.
Rabbit Hole Roasters is known for hight quality coffee, accessible offerings, and a desire to create momentum for equity along the entire value stream.
Rabbit Hole is also the Roast Magazine 2023 Mirco-Roaster of the Year!
In our conversation we will be talking about David's entry into coffee, starting rabbit Hole, and the mission to take on the important and hard topics of the coffee industry through conversation and through the operation of Rabbit Hole Roasters itself.
In our conversation we cover:
- Entering the coffee scene
- Developing the ethos and values
- choosing import partners
- crafting an accessible and impactful offering
- Longterm relationships and farmer commitments
- Why quality is not the most important thing
- Running a successful business
- Developed coffee and expanding our marketing
- Asking the hard questions and giving a platform to needed conversations
Links:
- www.rabbitholeroasters.com
- Rabbit Hole Roasters in IG: @RABBITHOLEROASTERS
Related Episodes:
- Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
- RoR #17 : Evolving Our Approach to Cupping w/ Charlie Habegger of Royal Coffee
- 376: Career, Coffee Quality, and Advancing the Industry w/ Mat North, of Raw Material
- 393 : The Tyranny of Taste w/ Kosta Kallivrousis
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
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In the hospitality industry, a guiding ethos that drives many successful coffee bars, restaurant, and bars alike, is the concept of generosity. When we operate with a heart to give and serve, we innovate ways to make that ethos a reality. Unfortunately there are many cafes that operate with the idea that they should only pay what they can get away with and have a less than generous disposition that leads to all sorts of problems.
That fact that this later disposition is so common is one of the reasons today's guest started down the road to innovate a way to create a generaous payment system that both challeneges the status quo and cares for the needs of the coffee shop's staff.
Today we are talking with Mike Schroeder of Oddly Correct in Kansas City, MO.
Mike Schroeder is a drummer turned aerospace engineer turned drummer turned co ffee roaster turned problem solver and business owner. Mike is brothers-in-law with Oddly’s founder Gregory Kolsto and Oddly’s first employee (in 2011) and is now being trusted to steer the ship.
In this conversation we dive into the story and values of Oddly Correct and how they flipped the script on the traditional way wages are viewed and can today provide their staff with a consistent living wage.
We cover:
- Beginning oddly
- Crafting the values
- Making decisions
- Expanding mindfully
- The why behind projects and initiatives
- Valuing your team
- Guaranteeing a living wage
- Pushback from the industry
- Rolling it our and seeing the impact
- Continual improvement
- Advice for how to apply this structure
Links:
www.oddlycorrect.com
Boss Barista interview w/Mike
Related episodes:
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- 162 : Discussing “Baristastainability” w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
- Scaling Values
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Part 2 of 2023 Coffee Fest Live NYC interviews! In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.
This time we are joined by Jesse Harriott, Jenna Gotthelf, and Anu Menon!
To start us off on part 2 we are going to talk with Jesse Harriott of Copper Horse Coffee!
Jesse is a long time friend of mine and Co-founder of Copper Horse Coffee in Ithaca, NY. He has been serving coffee for 20 years, Roasting, training, and consulting for 18 years and has accumulated a lot of recognitions and awards at Coffee Fest, Golden Bean, and has amassed an incredible amount of wisdom and experience over these decades of coffee craft and leadership. In this conversation we discuss what is at the core of a successful coffee shop's operations. Next we chat with Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee.
Jenna Gotthelf is an advocate for creating progressive and approachable learning opportunities for anyone who brews coffee. Jenna is based in NYC and is the wholesale education manager for Counter Culture Coffee, where she oversees the barista training program carried out in Training Centers across the country. Jenna is also a long time US Coffee Championships competitor and has placed everywhere from first to last to somewhere in the middle in Brewers Cup and Barista Competitions
Jenna and I discuss the need for coffee bars to educate their customers in ways that empower them and give them tools for success and how to meet them where they are in their coffee journey.
Finally we are talking with Anu Menon of Driftaway Coffee.
Anu Menon is a founder at Driftaway Coffee, a sustainability-focused direct-to-consumer coffee roaster based in Brooklyn, NY. An engineer-turned-marketing consultant, she leads Customer Experience & Sustainability at Driftaway and is passionate about building an approachable, equitable & transparent coffee value chain.
Anu sits down with me to talk about how we can reach out to our customers via digital platforms and what practical steps we can take to create access, change, and culture regardless of physical location.
Links:
www.copperhorsecoffee.com
www.counterculturecoffee.com
www.driftawaycoffee.com
Related episodes:
162 : Discussing “Baristastainability” w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 2 w/ Marissa Childers, Jess Gulino, and Tony Dreyfuss 157 : Four from the Floor : Interviews from Coffee Fest Indianapolis 2019 142 : Entrepreneur Interviews from Coffee Fest NYC! www.coffeefest.com
It is time for the first the 2023 series of Coffee Fest Live interviews! In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.
To start us off we are going to talk with Jordan Brown followed by Anand Patel
Jordan Brown has been on the distribution side of Coffee for close to a decade. He is all about bringing products and helping shops. Reset culture . Currently he serves as the Vice President of sales for Shoreline Supply Co and hosts a podcast “ Drinking Coffee While Talking Coffee With Jordan Brown.” I got to talk with Jordan about how we can go about knowing what product are right for our shops and our values.
Next we chat with Anand Patel. Anand is the co-founder of Hidden Grounds Coffee. Back in 2013, Anand and his team of coffee crusaders decided that the world had suffered enough from the scourge of bad coffee. They took it upon themselves to become the ultimate taste testers, sacrificing their taste buds so their customers don't have to suffer the same fate. They've been able to expand their coffee business to 7 retail locations and in our conversation Anand gives us his secrets to scaling mindfully in order to achieve lasting success.
links:
www.shorelinesupplyco.com
Drinking Coffee, while Talking Coffee Podcast
www.thehiddengrounds.com
www.coffeefest.com
Creating a moment of delight and excellence is what we all want to do when we set up our shops and make coffee for others. We also want to be delighted ourselves with the things we create and feel a sense of pride in each and every drink. Given the range of beverages we serve, that is pretty rare to find. But at least one place manages to strike this balance and has been doing so with singular focus for the past 8 years.
Today we get to talk with the owner of the Award winning cafe, Endorffeine in Los Angeles, CA, Jack Benchakul!
Jack is a biochemist who turned to small business to find more meaning and fulfillment in work. This set him on a path to pursue craft first through the pastry arts and finally in the coffee industry after one life changing cup of coffee.
Jack learned all he could at home then as a barista before starting Endorffiene with his cousin Ttaya Tuparangsi in 2015 with the goal to pursue a balanced and refined coffee experience unlike any that was currently available. Jack's integrity, knowledge of craft and science, and constance in this pursuit has not only gained Edorffeine nority from famous food writers like Jonathan Gold and Bill Addison, gained Endorffeine, but also recognitions such as "Best Coffee Shops in the U.S. from Food and Wine and on of the "101 Restaurants, Dishes, People, and Ideas from The LA Times. Beyond these things, Endorffeine is firmly established in the coffee community and garners the respect of their industry peers world wide.
In today's conversation with Jack we will be exploring the story of Endorffeine and their unique approach to creating beauty, balance, and community one cup of coffee at a time.
We cover:
- Jacks Journey from Biochemistry to pastry to coffee
- The coffee epiphany that set his course
- Establishing Endorffeine and its mission
- Staying consistent over time
- Pursuing customer facing work as an introvert
- Values based Menu curation and refinement
- What is the “deep fight”
- Pride in operation and ownership
- What the pandemic revealed
- Connecting with customers
- Advice to other owner on integrity and patience
Links:
www.endorffeine.coffee
Instagram: @endorffeine
Related episodes:
- 375 : Founder Friday! w/ Roland Horne of WatchHouse
- 359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC
- 252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
Ever find yourself saying or hearing things like "Well, we go through it!" or "That was so crazy, welcome to Saturdays!" or "That's just the way it is here!" and many other phrases that draw attention to some very difficult situation of common happening on the bar? I certainly have and often these things are said with a ting of resignation by people in positions who may actually have the ability to do something about it.
In today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we tend to glorify and resign ourselves to chaos and dysfunction and why we find ourselves embracing these problems as inevitable or even rites of passage, versus using our influence and abilities to try to innovate ways to alleviate needless stresses.
Related Episodes:
- Facilitating Success
- Fix the Small Stuff! : Management, Morale, Coffee Bar Culture
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The market place of coffee has seen rapid expansion of drive thrus and concepts focused on quick service. There is no doubt that customers appreciate speed when it comes to their coffee, better than speed though is speed plus service. These are the areas that today's guest is focused on delivering and continually enhancing in one of the country's fastest growing fast coffee concepts, Scooter's Coffee.
Jaime Denney joined Scooter’s Coffee as the Vice President of Franchise Operations in November of 2022 to focus on initiatives aimed at increasing the speed and effectiveness of drive-thru service. Denney is a highly energetic and passionate, results-oriented operations leader with a proven record of achievement in the quick service restaurant industry. She has experience leading large cross-functional teams, delivering business results, and implementing foodservice solutions.
Prior to joining Scooter’s Coffee, Denney was Vice President of Brand Operations at Jamba, where she worked cross-functionally with teams to drive franchise operational excellence and deliver quality training and support. She helped successfully migrate Jamba to a new POS system and implemented digital enhancements to set franchisees up for success during the COVID-19 pandemic. Denney, who has 15 years of coffee industry experience, also held leadership roles with Starbucks, Tropical Smoothie Café and Aramark.
With 613 locations and no sign of slowing, there is a good chance you have a Scooters Coffee near you.
Today we are going to get an inside look into what makes this company tick, the values that drive its drive thru empire, details about how Scooter's operates, and what we in the independent cafe community can learn from our corporate counterparts.
I hope you all enjoy and learn a lot!
We cover:
- Choosing markets for expansion
- Training managers
- Setting goals for speed
- Competing in the local market place
- Managing costs amid inflation
- Keeping things simple to help speed and service
- The limits of speed as a value
- Service and consistency
- Serving franchisees
- Wages, benefits, and culture
- Networking and tools for refinement
Links:
www.scooterscoffee.com
Related episodes:
- 127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen
- Episode 121 : Working from Your Strengths
- 161 : Founder Friday Drive-Thru Edition w/ Jasmine Diedrich Wilson of Diedrich Espresso
- 384 : How to Run a Successful Coffee Cart w/ Sarah Naylor of Daybreak Coffee Cart
- 163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Little Field
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Your staff need you to empower them. We like to think that we do this but many times it amounts to surface level communication and resourcing that is out of step with the day to day reality your staff live.
In today's Shift Break we will be talking about a few questions you can ask yourself that will help you truly empower you staff to succeed in their work and give you peace of mind in the process.
Related Episodes:
- A Shift Break...on Shift Breaks
- Helping Managers Avoid Burnout
- Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
- Empowering Staff to make the right Call
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
From the first day you open the doors to your coffee shop one thing confronts you as a constant. Change.
In order to run a healthy business we have to embrace changing things in the cafe in order to provide for the needs of the people and the operations that support them. The problem we run into though is when we act as though change is a nusance and in response we either refuse to change things, or we rush changes in order to get them over with. Inevitably this results in a lot of needless frustration and lost potential.
On today's episode we are re-airing an old episode (episode 80 for Feb of 2019) talking about how we should go about changing things in the coffee shop with respect to what your people need and in a way that makes the change actually stick.
I would encourage you to listen to this episode and have in mind a couple changes that you know need to be made in your shop. After listening, take the first step to make these changes using the workflow and see the difference it makes!
Related Episodes:
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
This is not just a question asked by an over eager customer haunting the front entrance 10 minutes before you open the shop. It is also a question a customer asks to themselves when they encounter a lack luster, apathetic, and seemingly disengaged staff and space.
In today's Shift Break we are going to discuss how the way we p[resent ourselves and our cafes to the customers will convey a lot about whether we are really and truly open.
Related episodes:
- Authenticity and Performance
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
- Pre-Closing Madness
- Ignoring the Customer
- Spiders !
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The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
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Coffee shops can have everything going for them on paper, but it is what is practiced in the day to day that determines whether you are successful. The truth is, mistakes happen. They are unavoidable. Certain mistakes, though, have a greater likelihood of causing damage and ruining what we have built.
Today we will be talking about 5 things that I would consider some of the biggest mistakes that coffee shops make. Each of them are not simply isolated accidents, but practices that we are prone to develop if we don't work hard to avoid and replace them with something better.
We will discuss:
- Comparison vs inspiration
- Isolating and not evolving
- Under resourcing the important things
- Failing to develop intentionally
- Passive leadership
Related Episodes:
- 173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
- 101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Retail w/ Specialty Coffee Attorney, Marshall Fuss
- 384 : How to Run a Successful Coffee Cart w/ Sarah Naylor of Daybreak Coffee Cart
- 341: How to Think About Success
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Sustainability can become more of a reality if we determine to use the tools at our disposal wisely. Perhaps even more so if the tools we use to roast evolve to better address the many concerns we have in the coffee industry. That is what Bellwether hopes offer. With their all electric, ventless coffee roaster their goal is to empower any business to roast incredible coffee in-house and do so in a way that leads efforts in sustainability.
In this episode of Rate of Rise we are going to be talking with, Arno Holschuh.
Arno Holschuh is the Chief Coffee Officer at Bellwether Coffee, which manufactures the world's lowest-carbon coffee roaster. A veteran of the industry, he was one of the first employees at Blue Bottle and went on to manage their coffee operations and product. For the past eight years, he has been working with Bellwether to build a delicious, profitable, and sustainable future for coffee roasters, farmers and drinkers.
In our conversation we discuss important and direct questions about this new tech and its impact on both sustainability efforts and traditional coffee roasting.
My goal is that you leave this conversation with more clarity and better informed about your options when it comes to creating better sustainability outcomes through technology.
In our conversation we cover:
- Scaling and wholesale
- Trades offs and energy
- Who the machine is for
- What Bellwether aims to solve in coffee
- Tackling objections
- Responsible consist sourcing
- Innovation and collective effort
- Evolving traditional roasting
Links:
- www.bellwethercoffee.com
Related Episodes:
- Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
- RoR #17 : Evolving Our Approach to Cupping w/ Charlie Habegger of Royal Coffee
- Special! “Thinking Differently” Series | Radical Sustainability w/ James Combs of Combs’ Coffee
- RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
- 286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
Visit our sponsor ROAST MAGAZINE and subscribe!
You have heard this many times from managers and trainers alike. The idea being that if you want your work to go at a quick and consistent rate then you have to work with purpose.
On today's Shift break we will explore this idea and its validity to produce results we want to see on the coffee bar, as well as how it can be used to produce results that we do not want to see.
Related episodes:
- Excellence In The Things We Hate
- Working Clean : Tips for keeping the bar looking and working well while you work
- Speed is not the Goal
- 163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh LittleField
- 167 : Handing off the Shift : 4 Tips to Avoid Chaos
- 002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Creating opportunities for a wide group of people to experience coffee seems like a goal we have for just for consumers. As good of a goal as that is, it is equally and maybe even more important that this goal be applied to the people who work in coffee. Sadly it is all too convenient for us to default to the easiest and most familiar options for those opportunities and as a result we tend to find a lack of diversity in the shop and beyond.
This does not need to be the case and to help show us what we can do what he is doing to address the issue, we are welcoming to the show, Keith Hawkins of The Color of Coffee Collective!
Keith Hawkins has been in the coffee industry for over 25 years and is a passionate coffee connoisseur. Keith’s pragmatic approach to the coffee industry is to educate, introduce and inspire the consumer, curator and the curious to explore an awe inspiring journey of coffee that will certainly compel conversations and change.
Keith is the Founder of The Color of Coffee Collective and Koffee with Keith. The Color of Coffee Collective is comprised of diverse and talented minority coffee growers, farmers, producers, roasters, baristas, artists, and coffee enthusiasts. The mission of The Color of Coffee Collective is to educate people about the specialty coffee industry from a diverse perspective through symposiums, workshops, conferences, and open and honest conversations.
This is a wonderful, deep, and maybe hard conversation that I hope inspires you!
We cover:
- Keith's history in coffee
- Experiencing inequity in spite of qualifications
- Carving out a path and creating a conversation
- How the Color of Coffee Collective was founded
- Why we default to a lack of diversity
- Getting used to discomfort to make progess
- Resourcing the next generation
- Inclusive ambition and others focused legacy
- How the collective has already inspired change
- Supply chain equity
- Advice to the next generation seeking opportunities
- What we can do to take action in our businesses
Links:
www.colorofcoffeecollective.com
Instagram: @colorofcoffeecollective
Related episodes:
- 183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
- 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
- 322 : A Conversation w/ LaNisa Williams of Barista Life L.A.
- 225: Encore Founder Friday! Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Welcome to another before and after edition of Founder Friday! Occasionally we sit down with an entrepreneur who is in the proccess of opening their shop to talk about what they are planning, hoping for, and doing right now. Then we come back a few months post launch and see how things went getting open and the lessons learned in the process.
I am thrilled to have been able to sit down with frequent guest on the show, Jonathan Pascual of Tap Room Coffee in Atlanta. This first half was recorded in December 2021 as he was gearing up for the launch of his new roastery and cafe brand, Opo Coffee which has now been in operation for 2 months.
In this conversation we get to hear the details, planning, and hopes Jonathan had for Opo Coffee and then we get to see how things actually went and the wonderful way that Jonathan and his team have approached this new venture based on values, mission, respect, and a deep care for people.
This is going to be an episode full of incredible insight you won't want to miss!
We cover:
- The decision to expand and the first steps
- Institutional wisdom and learning as you go
- Having a strong team
- Values driven operations
- Taken a stepped approach to launching
- Generating excitement and serving people
- How to approach caring for multiple locations
- Making hard decisions
- Finding joy and energy amidst the work
- Trusting your people
Related episodes:
- 177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia
- COVID-19 Focus : Jonathan Pascual | Taproom Coffee and Beer | Atlanta, Georgia
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
It is all too easy to throw shade at your current state. It is also because of that easy path to bating yourself up that we find it difficult to find the good and even great things about where we are now in our career or buinsess.
On today's Shift Break we chat about the importance of loving where you are and how doing so is in fact the surest way to get to where you want to be in the future.
Related episodes:
- You are not your Competition
- The Neighbor's Tree
- 046 : Death by Comparison : How we practice it and ways to avoid getting caught up in it
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Specialty coffee has its fair share of challenges across the supply chain. Solutions for those challenges are only as good as how they were created, namely, whether they were created collaboratively and with deference to those most impacted. In short, when we connect with each other in shared work toward common goals, we see progress.
Today we will be talking with someone whose work in telling the important stories of coffee and producing events for connection is making a big impact. I am so pleased to welcome Henry Wilson to the show!
Henry Wilson is the founder of the popular coffee news organization, Perfect Daily Grind as well as the founder of The Producer Roaster Forum. What started as a fascination for the stories of coffee, turned into a much larger enterprise which focuses on connection and bringing the best information and diverse perspectives to bear on the challenges that face our growing industry.
In this conversation with henry we talk about his road to establishing these platforms and especially focus on the importance of collaboration, connection, and relationship through the Producer Roaster Forum and what we can apply from its example in our own efforts to connect and create a better future.
Links:
www.perfectdailygrind.com
www.producerroasterforum.com
www.intelligence.coffee
Related episodes:
- 393 : The Tyranny of Taste w/ Kosta Kallivrousis
- 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
- Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
- 288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
- Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
- 358 : Changing Coffee Through Proportional Pricing w/ Andy and Nanelle Newbom of Torque Coffee
- 265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Welcome to part 2 of a live series of interviews conducted on the show floor of @coffeefestshow Los Angels and PNW in 2022!
Today we will be starting off by talking with Shad Baiz of @lamarzocco.usa A long time machine tech in the coffee industry, Shad grew up around espresso tech and has 2 decades worth of experience in serving the industry. Shad Baiz is now the Southwest Sales Director for La Marzocco USA and spends his days helping cafe owners and coffee entrepreneurs determine the right espresso and coffee equipment for their operations.
Shad and I talk about the advancing role of advancing tech in espresso equipment and what role craft still plays in this new era of automation.
Next we chat with Jeremy Lyman of @birchcoffee Jeremy co-founded Birch Coffee, a New York City-based coffee company, in 2009. Since then, the company has grown to 14 locations and is doing 10x the revenue it was doing by the end of year three. The focus of Birch is on service and the way they hire and manage staff has a lot to do with their success. In this conversation we go in depth on how they hire and then lead staff at Birch coffee to create their dream team.
Lastly we get to sit down with MelindJohn of @josumacoffee Melind John is the Chief Espresso Evangelist and Senior Coffee Bean Hunter at Josuma Coffee Company. This dual role reflects Josuma’s unique positioning as an espresso specialist, supplying not just a roasted bean (Malabar Gold Espresso) to cafes, offices, and home baristas but also green coffee beans to roasters for use in their espresso offerings.
I sit down with Melind to talk about the foundational elements of achieving great espresso and the kinds of questions he gets at his long running session on the subject at Coffee Fest.
links:
www.LaMarzoccousa.com
www.birchcoffee.com
www.josumacoffee.com
If you are looking for resourcing, clarity, inspiration, and just a really fun experience then I would suggest attending Coffee Fest Trades Shows!
You can get 50% off your registration by using the code “KEYS” when registering at www.coffeefest.com be sure to follow @coffeefestshow
Welcome to part one of a live series of interviews conducted on the show floor of @coffeefestshow Los Angels and PNW in 2022!
In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.
Today we will be talking with Manish Shah founder of Maya Tea. Manish Shah is the owner of Maya Tea Company, a Tucson, Arizona-based manufacturer and distributor of fine loose leaf tea blends. He began his tea company in 1996 with a single product, and has since grown and expanded his line to include over two hundred varieties of tea as well as an innovative line of chai concentrates. In this conversation we chat about tea trends and your business.
Next we chat with Stephanie Alcala of RGC Coffee. Stephanie Alcala is a trader specializing in sustainable coffee supply chains. She works for RGC Coffee, a family-owned importer whete she pursues her passion for agriculture and community economic development. We talk with Stephanie about sustainability and what it means to have a truly responsible supply chain.
The next guest is Maria Cleaveland. Maria Cleaveland is a food & beverage and hospitality professional with business development, strategic planning, finance and operations and brings an entrepreneurial spirit to every project. Currently she serves as North American Sales Director for Urnex Brands. Maria and I talk in this interview about the new innovations and tech making easier for consumers to have great coffee and what it means for coffee shops
Lastly we get to sit down with the great Jim Ngokwey! Jim is managing partner at Mighty Peace Coffee, a social impact coffee importer and roaster that highlights the great coffees of the Congo. As a Congolese immigrant who now calls New York home, Jim dreams of the day when his country’s coffee will not be an afterthought or an exotic option that roasters try once every few years, but rather a mainstay for coffee companies across the country.
Jim and I talk about the ways roasters and coffee people can and should make room for origins like Congolese coffee and then the importance of purging diversity in our businesses as well as the bean counter.
links:
www.mayatea.com
www.rgccoffee.com
www.urnex.com
www.mightypeacecoffee.com
You might have the perfect checklist, SOP, policy, and plan to apply to you current situation, it might even make things technically better, but if you are in the wrong place, position, or even career then those tools can easily become anchors that hold you down.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the need to make sure that you are in a place that is right for you, how tools can help you discern this, and how to know the difference between something that is challenging vs something that is a sign that you're in the wrong place and need to seek change instead of more efficiencies.
Related episodes:
- 394 : Happy Coffee People w/ Wendelien van Bunnik
- In Praise of Long Term Imperfect Employment
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
- 083: 6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth
- 243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
- Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
- 258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
- 266 : Building Physical Resilience W/ Dr. David Dahl DPT, CAFS
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Subscribe to KTTS
Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP
Why so serious? Coffee is a beverage that inspires a wide range of emotions but within the specialty industry in organizations, competitions, and businesses it has somehow moved away from one of the main emotions that draws so many to it. Happiness.
As we focus on improving our skills, pushing our craft, and solving problems, we also need to make room for fun, community, encouragement and create relations that relieve stress instead of creating it.
Today we are going to joined by someone whose own journey in coffee has taught her deep lessons about place, belonging, professional development and how being happy is an absolute necessity.
We are talking with the indelible Wendelien van Bunnik!
Wendelien van Bunnik is the 2019 Dutch Barista Champion, Dutch Aeropress ánd World Aeropress Champion. She started her career in coffee in 2010, and has competed in coffee competitions since 2011. She started her career as a barista, though after three years, she was employed at a Dutch specialty coffee roastery. Here, she was responsible for wholesale training and education for over 9 years. She has started her own business in 2021 as an AST, trainer and consultant.Though she is a trainer through and through, chances are you know Wendelien from her humorous and relatable content she shares on her Instagram account @wendeliendrinkscoffee .
She is also the founder of The Happy Coffee Network: an open, welcome community space on an online platform, which launches in March '23. This Network is a friendly online place for barista's to connect, share experiences and knowledge as well as provide access to resources and support, no matter their level of coffee skill.
In this episode we will be learning about Wendelien's journey into professional coffee, how she discovered her place and voice in the process, and what she has to say to us about finding happiness.
We discuss:
- Growing in coffee and taking control of career
- Maturing and learning humility
- The curse of having "expert" status
- Difference between something being hard vs wrong
- Burn out and hanging on to hope
- Finding the place and path that is right for you
- Validation, learning, and effective training
- The need for encouragement, community, and joy
- What is The Happy Coffee Network
Links:
www.thehappycoffeenetwork.com
Instagram: @wendeliendrinkscoffee
Instagram: @thehappycoffeenetwork
Related Episodes:
- 008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
- 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
- 243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
- 077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work
- 260 : Wait! Is your current Job actually the right Job?
- 292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
The ideal for cafe management is that you can raise up and promote a barista from within the shop. Unfortunately that cannot happen in all circumstances and shop that needs to delegate management is forced to seek outside help.
On today's Shift Break i wanted to cover a couple tips for cafes to consider when seeking to hire a manager form outside the shop. I believe these things will help make this move a successful one for all involved.
Related episodes:
- 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
- 383 : How to Train a Manager
- 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Subscribe to KTTS
Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP
Specialty coffee has been defined by a difference in quality and taste for a very long time. It is the central value that creates the markets that we currently operate in. The problem with this though is that taste as a value is, in the end, a subjective opinion. While quality, taste, and serving the desires of customer is always important, how we go about the practice of taste making will either include or exclude those most impacted by out judgments. How can we balance the need to serve and be effective in what we have not, while building a better way for the future? Well, to talk with us about these and many other questions regarding taste is Kosta Kalivoursis of ally Coffee.
Kosta Kallivrousis is a Senior Account Manager with Ally Coffee and has been a fixture in specialty coffee for a very long time. He spend a great deal of his time researching coffee, community, and social movements and putting together some very thought provoking posts that challenge us to evolve into a better industry.
One such article was recently featured in the latest issue of Standart Magazine called "Against Taste". In it Kosta explore the idea of taste as a value that dominates and competes with the well being of those who produce the coffee we enjoy.
On this episode we will dive into this topic and tease out where we are, how we got here, and where we can go in the future if we move beyond the tyranny of taste.
We discuss
- The epiphany of the problem
- Why market access is not enough
- Dethroning taste as supreme value
- Who decides value?
- Balance of input and market demand
- The International Coffee Agreement + Solutions from the past
- Well being as a value on par with quality
- Can we co create?
- Allowing ourselves room for innovation
- Dialogue w/o threat
Links:
Kosta's Instagram @espresso_patronus
Related episodes:
Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer 288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Community is an incredibly important part of our industry. In fact it is the number one thing cited by professionals as the main reason they love coffee. Unifying around a common love is so powerful and helps us all become better...or does it?
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how community can often be a way to avoid difficult parts of working together and keep things at a perpetually shallow level of enthusiasm and keep us from making real progress both professionally and industry-wide.
Related episodes:
- 055 : Personal Growth & Development w/ Jared Truby, Cat & Cloud Coffee
- 125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- SB: Don't Force Vulnerability
- SB: The Agreement
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Subscribe to KTTS
Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP
The journey of a barista often will lead to management. That particular role of leadership in the cafe comes with a host of changes that call on people to not only care for the quality and operations of the cafe, but the people themselves. Today we are going to be talking with Justin Duenne of Quills Coffee, a manager whose journey into the role is marked by a focus on team and the constant goal of providing a great experience for both barista and guest alike.
Justin began working in coffee in 2018 with Quills Coffee in Indianapolis. With a passion for coffee and community growing, Justin stepped into a manager role for the Indianapolis shop. Throughout this time he’s helped Quills Indianapolis step into a new chapter of the company and location. Justin is also an accomplished musician and songwriter.
In this conversation we will be talking about Justin's jouney into coffee and then into management and the lessons he has learned regarding leadership, and the importance of a great team
We cover:
- Becoming a barista
- Taking on and learning leadership
- Lessons in teamwork and relying on others
- Hiring and creating the vibe
- Delivering a great coffee experience
- The connection between music performance and management
- Thankfulness and the importance of perspective
Links:
www.quillscoffee.com
Justin on Instaram @justinduennemusic
Justin's music on Spotify
Related Episodes:
- 054 : Founder Friday w/ Nathan Quillo, Quills Coffee
- 216 : Helping your Customers Brew at Home w/ Brian Beyke , I Brew my own Coffee Podcast
- 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
- 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It is Founder Friday and boy is this a wonderful conversation with a wonderful person. You simply cannot underestimate the importance of what an owner brings to a cafe and business. You as a leader have the opportunity to bring meaning, soul, and vision that creates electricity and momentum for your staff and customers. This is exactly what today's Founder Friday guest brings to her cafe and its people. We are talking with Megan Wilson of Spuds Coffee!
Megan Wilson was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the United States to attend Johnson and Wales University where she would pursue and achieve a degree in culinary arts and food service management. From a very young age she had a great interest in the kitchen. What began as a passion for baking would blossom and extend to a passion for cooking and coffee. Connecting with people, creativity, and serving her community is what drives her.
Recently, Megan opened the doors to her first establishment. Spud’s Coffee. There she and her team strive to create a space that inspires and motivates others to create, think outside their box and get after that dream. It is firmly rooted in the purest expressions of genuine hospitality.
In our conversation we cover her entry into coffee from food service, the harrowing journey through the pandemic to open Spud's and the lessons and experiences she has had through its founding and operation thus far.
We discuss:
- History of hospitality and finding coffee
- The innate desire and mission to serve and care for people
- Leading and caring for a team
- Creating an intuitive and welcoming space
- Overcoming challenges in building the business
- Pivoting and creating community before open
- Learning along with your staff
- Not letting fear and uncertainty stop you
- Counting the cost
- Operating the cafe and resilience
- Advice for aspiring and existing owners
Links:
www.spudscoffee.com
Instagram: @spudscoffee
Related episodes:
- 129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO
- 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
- 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
Even though it is one of the most objectively identifiable defects, the presence of tipping seems to continue to plagues roasters. With the end result ruining an otherwise perfectly roasted coffee, this largely preventable defect deserves special focus.
In this episode of Rate of Rise we are going to be interviewing the great Rob Hoos who has dedicated a significant amount of his attention through a new downloadable booklet aptly named "Tipping and It's Avoidance", to helping us mitigate tipping for good.
Rob Hoos is a coffee roasting consultant and owner of Hoos Coffee Consulting and Iteration Coffee. Rob is the author of Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee and has been a roaster since 2008. He has extensive experience in the specialty coffee industry, including roasting, training, purchasing, and profile evaluation. He is a subject matter expert for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and conducts coffee roasting workshops online and in-person at his lab in Rainier, Oregon.
In our conversation we cover:
- What is tipping and how is it unique among defects?
- The impact of tipping on taste
- What actually causes tipping?
- The kinds of coffees prone to tip.
- Best practices during roasting to catch it happening
- Steps to avoid or eliminate tipping our roasting
Links:
- www.hoos.coffee
Related Episodes:
- RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
- RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
- RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
- RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
- RoR #13 : The NORM ROAST Protocol w/ Dave Baxter
- RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert
- RoR #16 : Ideal Resting Times for Roasted Coffee w/ Joey Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol
Visit our sponsor ROAST MAGAZINE and subscribe!
I am helping my clients establish values all the time. Having a clear understanding of what is important to you and your business is incredibly important because it informs everything you put your hand to. For this show, and in my consulting work, I have my own set of values that have been developing over the course of my career.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the 4 core values that guide and inspire KTTS, what they mean to me, and how they can also apply to the work you do in your shops.
I hope you enjoy!
Related episodes:
- Scaling Values
- Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- Who you are vs What you Do
- 059 : Founder Friday w/ Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Subscribe to KTTS
Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP
Being competitive in business is often thought of in the same vein as being aggressive, leading with fear, and creating an us vs them scenario that is antithetical to community. The reality is that while we need to be competitive in order to run successful businesses, we need not do so in a way that alienates.
In today's episode you and I will talk about seven way to be what I will call "Consciously Competitive" in order make you business stand out in and become a better version of itself year over year.
We discuss:
- Making space for staying connected
- Service and open communication
- Presence and involvement
- Well curated menus with fresh rotating options
- Don’t employ desperation and Never bad mouth
- Trends and what they signal
- Generosity
Related episodes:
- Differentiation Takes Time!
- Customer Loyalty
- Getting Them In By Getting Out!
- You are not your Competition
- 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
The future of staffing our cafes depends on how effectively we hire and set up our teams for success. Rather than having an unsustainably low or high number of staff working, we need to create lean and effective teams of thoroughly trained, resourced, and well paid professionals.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about investing into and professionalizing the barista role and how we can challenge ourselves and our baristas to do more and better with less and actually thrive in the process.
Related episodes:
- Simplicity is the MVP of the Cafe
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 356 : 5 Barriers to Progress in Your Coffee Shop
- 002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
- 162 : Discussing “Baristastainability” w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
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Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP
A lot has changed in coffee over the last couple decades. As roasters and baristas, our understanding of the current landscape of coffee processing, its impact on flavor, and the possibilities it contains will greatly determine our success. Thankfully our industry has some very bright minds who create clarity around the ever complex world of coffee, and one of those voices is here with us today.
Christopher Feran is a coffee industry consultant, green buyer, roaster and lapsed Q-grader with years of experience helping startups and established companies in the Midwest, California and New York City as well as exporters and coffee growers in producing countries like Guatemala, Colombia and Ethiopia.
A pioneering coffee professional, he regularly publishes thought provoking blogs and articles that have challenges and pushed the industry forward.
Most recently he has published the “sort-of glossary” to coffee processes; which inspired today's conversation.
We will be exploring the topic of processing, it's evolution, and how to think about their use and application in your roasting company
We cover:
- Evolution of his understanding of processing
- Recent developments in processing
- Shifting expectations of terroir
- Who is driving these innovations?
- How much of our menu should be experimental?
- How some processes roast differently
- Who is buying these coffees? Pros or consumers?
- Processes create more consistency?
- Choosing what is right for you and employing patience
- First steps in adjusting your coffee roastery's program
Links:
www.christopherferan.com
Related episodes:
- RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert
- ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
- 251 : Fermentation and the Future of Farming w/ Lucia Solis
- RoR #16 : Ideal Resting Times for Roasted Coffee w/ Joey Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Professional development and opportunities for betterment and advancing are areas that operators must bake in to the business as much as possible. If you are a barista, manager, trainer etc and you want to take advantage of those things, create opportunities, or simply take charge of your own development for a better future then you must focus on adding value.
Today on Shift Break we will be discussing how to make yourself more valuable as an employee both in the job you have now and in preparation for the opportunities you have yet to encounter.
- Related episodes:
- 292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts
- 077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work
- 226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan
- 015 : What to do if You don’t Advance w/ Anne Nylander : How to take the next step in your barista/coffee career
- 014 : A Barista’s Guide to Advancing: How to take full advantage of where you are and set yourself up for success in coffee
- 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
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Running a coffee shop means you take on a fair degree of risk. This is why having and understanding of insurance that is appropriate for your shop is critical. On top of that you need to make sure the insurance you do have is optimized and that you are providing an environment that puts safety first.
Unfortunately, while all small businesses carry the required insurance, it is often not optimized for their needs and the shop itself is run in a way that invites accidents rather than mitigates risk.
This is your livelihood and you own it to yourself, your staff, and customers to throughly explore these subjects. Today we are priviliged to get to talk all about these things with Brennon Pothetes of Butter insurance.
Brennan Pothetes is the Co-Founder and CEO of Butter Insurance, which offers a more accessible and efficient insurance experience for coffee shops coupled with a safety program, making them more sustainable. He is a veteran entrepreneur with a background in insurance, banking and software development for companies like Bloom Credit, Rhino and Simple. At Rhino, he helped build a product that saved renters $500 million dollars since the onset of the pandemic by replacing cash security deposits with affordable insurance.
This is a very helpful and informative conversation and I hope you apply these insights ASAP!
We cover:
- Understanding insurance and the right coverage
- Why the big guys have teams
- How we make mistakes with insurance
- What you are made to get vs what you need
- Risk mitigation and safety
- The small print and getting blindsided
- Exclusions and Optimizing insurance
- Negotiating with landlords
- The importance of talking with your insurance person
- Safety education and checklists
Links and resources:
www.butterhq.com
Risk + Safety Winter Checklist
Related episodes:
- 101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Retail w/ Specialty Coffee Attorney, Marshall Fuss
- 175 : How to Keep your Cool : A Fridge, Cooler, and Ice Machine Masterclass w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department!
- 197 : Getting the most from your Equipment w/ Melissa Vaiden of Counter Culture Coffee
- 128 : Terry’s Top 10 w/ Terry Ziniewicz : Best practices for how not to kill your espresso machine
- 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
- 334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Nobody is perfect. No coffee business is perfect. Therefore there will inevitably be complaints that staff have about the business. This could be anything from the schedule and state of the bar, to the performance of co-workers and even your own performance as a boss. Even the best companies deal with complaints. The trick is how to do so well.
In today's Shift break we will discuss a few ideas for how you can handle staff complaints with a clear head in order to create a better culture, system, and coffee shop.
Related episodes:
- Taking Offense to Critique
- 277: Encore Episode: How to respond to Negative Feedback
- Coffee Compass Article: The Wrath of the One Star Review
- Shift Break: Stop Lying
- Shift Break: Creating a Feedback Culture
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
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As the 2023 begins it is a great time to take inventory of our cafes and roasteries and really look at what we have done and where we can not only improve, but what needs to change. How can we keep up with the changing industry while still serving our customers? Where do we need to innovate and what are the first steps to building a better business?
Today we are discussing all of this and more with our guest Miranda Caldwell!
Miranda Caldwell is a coffee business coach and the founder of The Coffee MBA, a community where she teaches business courses for the specialty coffee industry. Since 2000, she has held leadership positions at coffee roasting companies in roles spanning operations, procurement, quality, sales, retail, and education. In 2022 she completed her Masters of Business Administration from a joint program with The University of Manchester and Indiana University. Her primary goal is to improve profitability for coffee roasters, believing they're the key to unlocking profitability for the rest of the value chain.
In this conversation we will be discussing Miranda's bold approach to coffee business operation, innovation, and values based leadership and product development that will give you a head start on reaching the next level in your coffee biz.
We cover:
- Discovering, leaving, and returning to the coffee industry
- Professional development
- Defining success
- Profitability
- Change perspective on our product
- Where to start to build better
- Curiosity and innovation
- Values to rally around
- What an MBA taught her about what our industry needs
- Innovation pipelines and Learning from Nestle
- Customer feedback
Links:
- www.mirandacaldwell.com
- Miranda on LinkedIn
- Tik Tok @miranda.caldwell
Related episodes:
- 089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday : Leadership, Innovation, service, heritage
- Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
- Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe
- Special! “Thinking Differently” Series | Radical Sustainability w/ James Combs of Combs’ Coffee
- 020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop
- 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
- 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Every year we have the opportunity to invest our time and attention into many different things. In a coffee shop it can be overwhelming and toward the end of the year we tend to look back and determine way to improve how we invest our time and attention for a better result.
In today's Shift Break we will be discussing a few very important and foundational areas where, if you consistently focus your energy with intention, you will find massive return for your customer's, your staff's, and your own happiness and well being.
Related episodes to listen to next:
- Shift Break: Working Clean
- Fix the Small Stuff! : Management, Morale, Coffee Bar Culture
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
- Feedback Culture : Making feedback a part of what you do not just something you sometimes do
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- Being the Point of Clarity
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Subscribe to KTTS
Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP
What a great year this has been! So many amazing people have graced KTTS with their presence, perspectives, and wisdom. It really is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to high value content that can transform your coffee business and career.
This makes it very hard to choose which lessons and insights to feature in this episode but I have assembled 8 clips from past guests that I believe offer timeless wisdom and an opportunity to reflect and give you positive momentum for the new year.
So here is the line up in order of appearance and what they speak on:
- EP:327 Phuong Tran | Lava Java: Embracing Simplicity
- EP: 375 Roland Horne | WatchHouse: Having a specific value proposition
- EP: 366 Chris Baca | Cat and Cloud: Finding your leadership style
- EP: 336 Selina Viguera | Blue Bottle: Custom training and cafe management
- EP: 337 Diana Martinez | Cafe Calle: Serving your community well
- EP: 359 Nigel Price | Drip Coffee NYC: Accessible Excellence
- EP: 328 Xavier Alexander | Metric Coffee: Resilience, stewardship, and legacy
- EP 380: Cindy and Cary Arsaga | Arsagas Coffee Roasters: The key to developing a meaningful business
Links to guests websites:
- www.lava-java.com
- www.watchhouse.com
- www.catandcloud.com
- www.bluebottlecoffee.com
- www.cafecalle.com
- www.dripcoffeenyc.com
- www.metriccoffee.com
- www.arsagas.com
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
On this last Founder Friday of the year I am quite happy to feature a coffee shop founder story that is firmly rooted in service to the community. First as a pop up at farmers markets and now with a brand new brick and mortar, today we are talking with the founders of Last Mile Cafe in Grand Rapids, MI , Arick Davis and Sarah Layman!
Arick and Sarah come with a lot of experience in non-profit and impact work as well as tech. Their love for coffee and people eventually guided them to begin Last Mile Cafe as a coffee business designed to make an impact through partnerships with charitable organizations and baking into the practice of donating 10% of all revenue to charities voted on by customers.
As of this recording Last Mile's brick and mortar was only 9 days in to being open and things have just been getting better from there.
In our conversation we will get an inside look at how they built this impact coffee business, their reasons behind decisions that shaped it, and how they have experienced the journey from mobile to brick and mortar and the road that lies ahead.
We discuss:
- Leaving the corporate world
- Building for sustainability and impact work
- Setting out, pivoting and rebranding
- Learning coffee as a consumer
- Partnering with organizations
- To roast or not to roast
- Donating 10% to charity
- Pop ups, farmers markets, and learning service
- Next steps past 2 weeks open/refining
Related episodes:
- 106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
- 192 : Freedom through Coffee w/ Esther Hope-Gibbs of Manumit Coffee
- 180 : A Conversation with Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale
- 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe Co-Founder, Phil Sipka
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
We all want our customers and staff to be enthused and exhibit what we tend to consider loyalty. Trouble with that word is that it is loaded with assumptions that go beyond reasonable expectations. In fact, many operators are guilty of trying to force loyalty through coercion and making things personal. This is toxic loyalty.
In today's Shift Break we will be discussing a better way to think about loyalty that builds healthy and sustainable relationships with staff and cultivates an environment where we are more likely to receive peoples advocacy beyond what is expected.
Related episodes:
- Customer Loyalty
- The Key to Up-Selling
- When "Going above and Beyond" goes too Far
- Don't Force Vulnerability
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
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There has been a resurgence of mobile coffee carts recently. A cart offers the owner flexibility, agility, and a less risky entry into the world of coffee retail. That said, there are many elements that need to be in place for you to be able to set up and run a successful coffee cart that serves you and your customers well.
Today we are going to be digging into the details with special guest Sarah Naylor of Daybreak Coffee Cart in Snohomish, WA.
After 11 year working in coffee and and 8 years in the pastry arts world, Sarah Naylor took all the hard earned knowledge and wisdom she acquired through the hospitality industry and ventured out on her own to found Daybreak Coffee Cart.
Daybreak is a mobile coffee cart and craft coffee catering service located in Snohomish County. Daybreak offers an elevated coffee experience for weddings, corporate events, conferences, and mitzvahs all around. They love serving others and aim to bring joy wherever we go. It is their mission to share kindness through coffee.
In our conversation we discuss her beginnings and the practical actions she took to start and run her cart in a way that serves her guests with excellence and most importantly, also serves her and her family well.
We cover:
- Changing paths via life challenges
- Putting family first and the “why”
- True service and operating values
- The first steps in starting the Coffee Cart
- Ergonomics and set up
- Setting, expectations, and forming an LLC
- Drawing from past experience to inform the journey
- The key business logistics and necessities
- Saying no and growing responsibly
- Menu design and Pricing
- Marketing, networking , and promotion
- Developing confident and positive thought patterns
Links:
www.daybreakcoffeecart.com
IG: @daybreakcoffeecart
Related episodes:
- 115 : Finding Success in Mobile Coffee w/ Tim Cox / Communion Coffee
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- 187 : A Conversation with Nikki Outlaw of Anecho Coffee
- 161 : Founder Friday Drive-Thru Edition w/ Jasmine Diedrich Wilson of Diedrich Espresso
- 011 : Founder Friday w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee : hospitality / building relationships / coffee quality
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Sometimes it is hard to reconcile our desire for authenticity with the performance and responsibilities that we take on while working in the cafe.
In fact, for many baristas, their distaste and inability to embrace anything that seems prescribed leaves them incapable of delivering meaningful service and, consequently, incapable of advancing in their work.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about your role as a barista and how it is your job to take ownership of the duties of your job, which will in turn create the authenticity you seek.
Related episodes:
- Excellence in the Things we Hate
- 015 : What to do if You don’t Advance w/ Anne Nylander : How to take the next step in your barista/coffee career
- 356 : 5 Barriers to Progress in Your Coffee Shop
- 014 : A Barista’s Guide to Advancing: How to take full advantage of where you are and set yourself up for success in coffee
- 355: Baristas! 6 Essential Qualities to Get Yourself Hired
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Subscribe to KTTS
Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP
It is easy to assume that if you have found the right person for the manager role then they will not need very much investment or guidance from you to get the hang of things. After all, they are amazing and you trust their "can do" attitude will be enough to help them succeed.
Obviously this is not the case, but that doesn't stop this misconception from being repeated over and over again in cafes around the world.
Truth is that no matter who you hire you will need to have a structured plan for how they will be onboarded, trained, and invested into over a significant period of time so they are not only capable, but confident and trustworthy in their work as a true leader, not just a barista with a few extra admin tasks.
On today's show we will be going over some needed mindsets, approaches and methods for training up a manager that may challenge the way you have been doing things to this point, but will definitely set everyone up for success.
We cover:
- Who is a good manager and what do they do?
- The misconception of time
- Your role in the relationship
- Real investment and specificity
- Developing beyond knowledge transfer
- Committing to long term development
- Co-creation and staying touch with the real needs of the shop
Related episodes:
- 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
- 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- 378: 5 Areas to Develop in Managers
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Cupping is as close to a sacred act as we get in the world of coffee evaluation. It is a ubiquitous ritual that comes with its own language, implements, and is considered by many to be THE way that we can determine what a coffee has to offer. But what if cupping is not the end all be all we assume it to be? What if certain aspects of cupping are not to be worried about so much allowing us to explore other, dare we say, better ways to to evaluate a coffee?
In this episode of RoR from Roast Magazine we get to see how recent scientific discoveries have shown us we can stop worrying and start tasting on a new level through an article called "Why We Can Stop Worrying About ExtractionYield in Cupping" w/ the author and coffee legend, Charlie Habegger!
Charlie is a coffee buyer with field experience in over 20 producing countries. He has built sourcing and quality systems with Intelligentsia, Handsome Coffee Roasters, and Blue Bottle. He has been a U.S. Barista Championship finalist and a subject of the documentary film "Barista" (2015). He has volunteered with the Coffee Quality Institute leading local Q-grader teams in Myanmar and the Philippines. Charlie is now proudly with Royal Coffee in the Bay Area, where he has the fun title of "Sourcing Curator and Placement Specialist", a project-based position of sourcing and marketing. Before Royal, Charlie was a legal cannabis buyer in California's Emeral Triangle, an experience that renewed his love for California and specialty agriculture of all kinds. He thinks constantly about the vast distances many of us never get to cross as consumers.
In our conversation we cover:
- Pivotal cupping experiences
- The language of Correct vs incorrect
- Is cupping the ultimate way to explore potential?
- The epiphany in the Philippines
- Cultural context and objectivity
- Study that addresses extraction yield in cupping
- Introducing other methods
- Timing when you taste coffee and where cupping fits
- Deciding on definition and what is important before tasting
- The role of history and relationship in cupping
- Advice for new businesses developing preferences and systems
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! Use code "ROR" to get $5 off
Links:
- www.royalcoffee.com
- www.roastmagazine.com
Related Episodes:
- RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
- RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
- RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
- RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
- RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
- ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
- RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
- RoR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee
- RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
- RoR #12 : Inside Coffee Packaging w/ Ever Meister
- RoR #13 : The NORM ROAST Protocol w/ Dave Baxter
- RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert
- RoR #15 : Managing LTL Freight and the Nuances of green Shipping w/ Evan Gilman of Royal Coffee
- RoR #16 : Ideal Resting Times for Roasted Coffee w/ Joey Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol
Boy oh boy this is a hard question. The initial reaction you might have to this will depend on your position in the cafe, your knowledge of the circumstances around the firing, and your ability to consider more than just the individual in question. In other words, it depends.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how to think about this question and what areas need to be considered before you give a definitive answer that may have unintended consequences on your coffee shop, and more importantly, the people that work in and frequent it.
Listen to these related episodes next:
- Two responses to Accountability
- It's not You, It's Me
- Passive-Aggressive Management
- When Patience is not a Virtue
- Why You Need to Back up Your Policies
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Innovation in the coffee industry is no longer just about large companies tweaking their standard equipment, but it is becoming democratized through small companies bringing their ideas to market through networking, research, and good old fashioned hard work. Today we are going to be talking with 2 of the 3 founders of one such company who sought to create the brew they always wanted but could not find. WE sit down with Michael Butterworth and Ozgur Jerdan of Etkin Design!
Etkin believes that when brewing coffee, you shouldn't have to choose between batch size and quality. If you brew coffee for your friends and family, you’re often stuck making multiple batches.
The Etkin Dripper is a new, flat-bottom coffee dripper optimized to make up to one liter of coffee. Its proprietary design helps ensure an even extraction and ideal brew time resulting in a sweeter, more full-bodied cup of coffee.
Michael is a long time industry pro who has been a Q Grader, competitor, cafe trainer, and is an active AST certified trainer
Ozgur is from Istabul,Turkey where the brewer is made with local porcelain and has a long history in academia around ESL, education, and organizational direction.
Aaron O'Neal is the other cofounder who is not present in this interview. His history and expertise is in the work of media and marketing consultation and leadership as well as a deep love and enthusiasm for coffee.
In our conversation today we explore the story of how these three friends conceptualized and brought this brewer to market, the relationships, challenges, and what their story means for innovation, hospitality, and how we enjoy coffee at home.
We Cover:
- Unique journey to market
- Hospitality
- Proper brewing geometry
- Creating ease for hosting
- Relationships in business
- Crowd funding and democratizing innovation
- Building trust with the manufacturer
- Turkish culture of hospitality
- Is home brewing tech too complex?
- Consumer journey and goals
Links:
https://etkincoffee.com/
@etkindesign
Related episodes:
- 016: Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth
- 360: Encore Episode! Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes: 7 Tips for Success
- Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
- 092 : Tony “Tonx” Konecny of Yes Plz : Consumer Accessibility, roasting, 3rd wave, subscription
- 349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
- 216 : Helping your Customers Brew at Home w/ Brian Beyke , I Brew my own Coffee Podcast
- 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It happens all the time. We create and conduct training sessions, programs, and systems that contain a lot, but do not produce a lot. We end up with staff that are ill equipped for handling the day-to-day work and challenges that await them and as a result the customer receives an inconsistent experience.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the number one way we create ineffective training programs and what we should be investing into in order to properly train and prepare ours staff and business for long term success
Please listen to these related episodes:
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
- 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
- 119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies
Like the episode? Subscribe, share, and rate the show!
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
How we perceive something impacts the decisions we make when buying or selling it. That in turn shapes consumers perceptions and then the market. Tea has long been a part of the coffeehouse, but has suffered from a severe lack of attention and intentionality. As a result the way we represent tea in many cafes has a negative impact of the tea farmer in effectively disappearing their work and craft.
These are the types of issues that today's guest has sought to address.
After leaving her corporate job Annie Xiang founded Volition Tea. As an Asian American owned business is core to how Volition operates with every decision centering around serving their community and the farmers whom we have the privilege to know.
Instead of focusing on transparency and direct-trade for the sake of marketing, Volition shares the stories of tea farmers to cultivate empathy across communities.
Through their intensive focus, highly curated offerings, and education Volition is making a real impact.
In this interview we will be talking with Annie all about how Volition began, its values, and the practical ways we can adjust our mindsets and practices to usher in a better future for tea and tea farmers through our cafes.
We discuss:
- Starting volition
- How tea farmers are unique
- Telling their story
- Breaking down the Types of tea
- How to curate your menu
- Getting staff exited about tea
- Tapping into the tea market
- True transparency in tea
- Training people in tea
- Tips for selecting, storing, and using
- Re-steeping
- Sourcing and relationships
Links:
www.volitiontea.com
@volitionteaco on IG
Related Episodes:
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- How to talk to Customers about Coffee
- 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
- Eliminating menu items Humanely
- 080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
- 002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
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How do you measure the impact of you business? We talk about metrics mostly related to finances and judge success accordingly. But the deeper and more fulfilling impact a coffee shop can have is based in relationship. You may ask yourself the question, does what I am creating or have created have “heart and meaning”? If your answer is yes and you stick to it long enough, you might end up with a legacy similar to our guests today, Cindy and Cary Arsaga
In 1992 Arsaga Coffee was founded in Fayetteville Arkansas and this month marks the 30 year anniversary of Arsaga's. Cindy and Cary have been serving generations of people through their unique, warm, and welcoming shops. Their goal has always been to provide a space that fosters true community, connection, and the positive life change that results.
Today they are pillars in the North West Arkansas community and continue to serve great coffee in authentic spaces with simplicity and integrity.
Arsaga's was the first coffee house I was a regular of and where I first learned to love coffee and the coffeehouse as a dynamic space. I was not only the catalyst for my career but it was the force that inspired innumerable lives. Needless to say this a really special episode to me.
So today we get to hear the story of how Arsaga’s was born from an, how it grew organically and with soul, how they took on bigger projects such as baking, food, and roasting, all while staying true to their roots of “Heart and Meaning”.
We cover:
- How coffee basically saved Carries life
- The epiphany
- Goals for creating community
- Beginning the journey and finding their way
- Early inspiration and creating energy and a community space
- Staying true to yourself Fostering connection
- Learning how to operate a public space
- The journey of roasting and scaling without losing culture
- Hiring the right people
- Creating magic in peoples lives
- Going from organic growth their intentional development / being organized
- Working with family
- Challenges, lessons, and proud moments
Links:
www.arsagas.com
Instagram @arsagascoffeeroasters
Related Episodes:
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
- Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
- 208: Building a Company that Cares w/ Kyra Kennedy of Baratza
- 166 : Founder Friday! (Special Curated Edition) : Four Awesome Perspectives on Caring for Staff from past Founder Friday Episodes
- 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
- 232 : Founder Friday w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou’s Porch
- 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
- 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
Thankfulness, positivity, affirming others, and seeking out the good can easily be things that get pushed aside in favor of the problems, stresses, and challenges of this life. As a result we develop a lob sided perspective in reality.
On today’s Shift Break we will be talking about how we can pursue thankfulness and seek out the positive in the midst of the challenge to have a full and truer view that actually gives life.
Related episodes:
- Priorities and Deep Thankfulness
- Thankfulness : The key to joy in the journey
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- Skewing Positive
- The Affirmation Vacuum
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Communicating hard things is hard! The good news is that is does not have to be ineffective or worse yet, turn into something problematic or toxic. There are ways to deliver necessary feedback to employees (or anyone for that matter) that will not only show that person respect but also allow you your dignity as well.
I wanted to re-share this old episode today with our friend Tom Henschel because there are many of us who are struggling with communicating to our staff regarding their performance, behaviors, expectations, etc. In this conversation Tom outlines a simple 4 step process that you can use to deliver difficult feedback well.
Tom Henschel is an expert in workplace communications and executive development. Over the past 25 years, he has helped hundreds of senior leaders achieve The Look & Sound of Leadership.TM
In addition to coaching executives, Tom facilitates team events and delivers highly interactive trainings in the areas of effective communications, presentation, and influence skills.
Tom’s popular podcast, The Look & Sound of Leadership, airing since 2008, is consistently cited as “What’s Hot” in the business podcasts on iTunes.
**Links:**
Tom's Company: www.essentialcomm.com
Tom's Podcast: The look and Sound of Leadership
4 Step Feedback Model PDF — Keys to the Shop
Related Episodes:
- 363 : Setting Boundaries in the Coffee Shop w/ Tom Henschel
- 052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
- 221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
- Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
- Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
- Visit our amazing Sponsors!
- www.groundcontrol.coffee
- www.pacficfoodservice.com
- www.coffeefest.com
"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" This quote from Voltaire has been passed around a lot over the years, even still it seems we always find ways to procrastinate on starting things because we either want it to be perfect, feel fear of looking bad, don't think we have the time, or perhaps we jus don't feel the urgency.
On today's shift break we will be talking about how embracing the practice of taking imperfect action can radically transform you and your coffee shop.
Related episodes:
Make Your Problems More Specific Managing Expectations in Systems Doing What You Want -vs- Doing What is Needed Making a Decision Pipeline Turning Radius Like the episode? Subscribe, share, and rate the show!
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It is easy to assume that a managers main role is only to take on basic administrative tasks. At least this is the way I would argue most shop treat the role of manager. It is too often a "set and forget" scenario that inevitably leads to managers being in the dark, ill equipped, and frustrated. Ultimately this is all due to a lack of development and a failure of ownership to play an active role in it.
On todays episode we will be talking about five key areas that need to be developed in managers consistently as the primary way to facilitate their success, and in turn, the success of your business.
We will cover:
- Admin tasks
- Leadership skills
- Accountability to Standards
- Cafe evolution
- Clarity, communication, and being informed
- Maintaining a constant focus
- Avoiding misuse of your authority
Related episodes:
- 028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan : A guide to defining and fighting the under management epidemic in your cafe so you can be the manager your staff need
- 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
- 229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It's wild to me that this still exists in coffee. The idea that we can throw a new hire in to the mix of a shift in a new cafe and expect that they will prove themselves as being valuable based on if they fail or thrive.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why this "sink or swim" mentality is glorified laziness, culturally dangerous, and what we should be doing as leaders to train our people.
Related episodes you need to hear:
- Unofficial Trainers & Fair Compensation
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
Like the episode? Subscribe, share, and rate the show!
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Photography and coffee seem to just go together. There is something about creating moments and capturing moments that is a common drive where we can see the beauty in the mundane and get a whole new appreciation for our work and world. Today we are going to chat with of one of our industries great photographers, Rob Sykes.
Rob Sykes lives in Houston, TX with his wife and daughter. H practices Zen meditation, writes haikus, and works full time as a PICC RN at North Cypress Medical Center.
In addition to this, Rob is a serious coffee and street photographer and content creator who you can catch around the Houston cafe scene, roaming the streets of major metropolitan areas, and of course capturing magic at Coffee Fest's Latte Art World Championship Open.
In this conversation we talk about Rob's journey into coffee, photography, and how he sees the world through those lenses.
We cover:
- Getting into photography through coffee
- Mindfulness and intentionality
- Zen meditation and coffee shops
- Capturing culture
- The beauty of the mundane
- Knowing what to shoot and why
- Staying aware of your surrounding
- Focusing on community
Links:
Instagram @layman_rob
Related episodes:
- 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
- 365 : Spilling the Beans on Global Coffee Culture w/ Lani Kingston
- 199 : Founder Friday w/ Mario Jimenez of Banana Dang Coffee, Oceanside, CA
- 024 : Chermelle D. Edwards, The Coffeetographer : Documenting Art and Culture Through the Lens of Specialty Coffee : Barista Culture, Consumer Experience, Movements in coffee culture
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
The coffee shop is a can be a stressful place. There are no shortage of challenges big and small that confront us daily whether you are a barista of cafe owner. The trouble we run into is when our confirmation bias kicks in with every challenges and our emotions run away with us and we start telling ourselves a story about what is happening that may not be true but certainly feels true in the moment
On today's shift break we will be talking about how we can combat overthinking and negative emotions through pursuing objectivity, truth, and growing in confidence as a result.
Related episodes:
Getting Over Guilt
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
Professional Distance (Blog)
When Going Above and Beyond Goes too Far
258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
Make Your Problems More Specific
Like the episode? Subscribe, share, and rate the show!
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Want clarity, perspective, and solutions? Sign on for KTTS Consulting coaching calls today!
Email Chris@keystotheshop.com
Some interviews we have on the show touch on so many deep, important, and impactful subjects that it is hard to stop the conversation. This was one of those. I wanted to talk about our guests' career and then see where it led us and indeed we ended up discussing an assortment of issues that are sure to inspire and spark curiosity in you as you listen. Today we sit down with the great mat North!
A seasoned veteran with over two decades experience, Mat’s career has taken in the full gamut of
the of the industry. Stints with both national and local chains as well as time in the consumables and
engineering side of the business have given him a well rounded view of the coffee world.
In 2013 Mat opened Full Court Press, a small specialist multi roaster coffee shop and now Nano-
roastery in the heart of Bristol. His knowledge, passion and attention to detail ensured FCP quickly
became a forerunner in the city’s scene.
It is FCP’s excellent customer service, coupled with the team’s ability to articulate their extensive
knowledge in an approachable way that has ensured Full Court Press not only serve exceptional
coffee, but have sparked an interest in specialty coffee among their customers.
Having sold FCP in 2021 he’s moved into the green side of the industry as part of the European office
for Raw Material, a not for profit social enterprise working in all aspects of the supply stream.
He is also the author of the acclaimed book, Coffee - A Modern Field Guide, and recently served as
National Coordinator for the UK chapter of the Speciality Coffee Association.
As we chat I hope you take notes and continue to pursue the subjects discussed. From Mat's career evolution and lessons learned through business ownership - to his take on how the industry has evolved and what is key for us to prioritize in the future, this conversation is loaded with value and insights from start to end.
We discuss:
- Learning through early retail experiences
- Discovering what coffee could be
- Abandoning a phd in physics to pursue coffee
- physics and engineering training helping with coffee
- How to be inspired by unknowns and learn
- Starting his shop Full Court Press
- Curating a multi roaster program
- Feedback loos in QC
- Water in coffee
- Writing a coffee book
- Quantifying the art of coffee
- Marketing vs true innovation
- How consumers are leading the way in quality coffee
- Evolution of specialty retail
- The priority of price equity and leaving efficacy based models
Links:
www.matnorth.com
Instagram @mat_north
Related episodes:
- 242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
- 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)”
- 349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
- Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
- 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab
- Learning -vs- LEARNING
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
I am so happy to share with you this Founder Friday episode that takes a hard look at what is possible when you want to offer excellence at scale in a cafe setting. I am joined by the founder of the iconic and standard setting company, WatchHouse, Roland Horne.
Roland founded WatchHouse in 2014 after extensive experience running small-to-medium-size businesses, including luxury aquarium design consultancy Aquarium Architecture. He holds directorships with property development funds Verum Domus and Coutts & Partners and has a MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics. Roland is currently pursuing his Executive MBA at the University of Oxford. Over the past seven years WatchHouse has grown from one cafe on London’s iconic Bermondsey Street to ten sites, and in August celebrated the one-year anniversary of the WatchHouse Roastery at 36 Maltby Street. A CEO with formative experience outside the speciality coffee sector, Roland has a unique and ambitious perspective on the sustainable expansion of the brand throughout the London and beyond.
In today's conversation we get to hear the story behind WatchHouse and how Roland has grown this brand through values and a desire to keep integrity of service and quality front and center. I think you will get a great deal from this chat.
We discuss:
- From luxury aquariums to coffee
- Defining modern coffee and evolving
- Focusing on your unique value proposition
- Why you need to focus on the MLP
- Big concept in an initially small space
- Making hard financial decisions and listening to customers
- Beginning to roast
- Scaling and customizing for the community
- Living wage and following through on delivering value
- Getting better as you get bigger
- Staff structures
- Overcoming the assumption that big is bad
- Providing spaces for Happiness
Links:
www.watchhouse.com
Instagram @watchhouse
Related episodes:
- 320 Founder Friday! w/ Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale, Florence, Italy
- 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
- 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
- 263 : Founder Friday w/ Mike McFall, Co-Founder of BIGGBY Coffee!
- 017 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee: Entrepreneurship | Coffee Business | Hiring | Barista Culture | Growth
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
It is that time of year where cafes are all but expected to have the ubiquitous PSL in their menus. But there is so much more. Beyond this staple drink specialty cafes around the world have developed both wonderful signature creations and others that don't really resonate.
Today on shift break we will be chatting about signature drinks and I will be offering some tips on how to approach curating and creating your specialty drink menu so your beverages are more likely to succeed.
Related episodes:
- 274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster”
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- Taste the Rainbow! : Menu knowledge, tasting, flavor, coffee cupping approach to your offerings
- Don't fall into FOLO! (Fear of Limited Options)
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Should you open a coffee shop? How hard could it be anyway? Thousands of people around the globe have a dream to open a cafe. Once open however that dream can quickly become a nightmare. I am thrilled to have been able to collaborate with fellow podcasters over at the Adventures in Coffee podcast to put together an episode that deals with this subject head on.
In this episode you will hear from several aspiring, and experienced entrepreneurs as James harper, Scott Bentley, and myself take you through the 3 major areas of inspiration and focus cafe owners need to be aware of. The money, the scene, and the dream.
This was awesome to get to be a part of and i hope you enjoy this very important and entertaining show!
Links:
Adventures in Coffee
Slate article: My Coffee Shop Nightmare By Michael Idov
Related Keys to the Shop episodes:
- 283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
- 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
How long should you let your coffee age after roast? Is freshest always best? How can we ensure our customers get the coffee at its peak? These are some of the questions that we explore around the topic of ideal resting times for roasted coffee, the myths around freshness, and the best practices for managing your coffee's flavor life cycle.
In this episode of RoR from Roast Magazine we are exploring the new data associated with ideal resting times for coffee based on a study recently conducted and written about in Roast and the implication it has for you, the customer, and the farmers. We are talking with the person who conducted this study, President of Cafe Kreyol, Joey Stazzone.
Joey Stazzone is the President (and Chief Coffee Hunter) of Cafe Kreyol. In 2012 Stazzone took his experience with chemistry, cross breeding, and backyard botany, and began working in developing countries with the goal of creating sustainable employment, through specialty coffee. Through a decade of hands-on experience working with producers, he has become an expert in fermentations and post harvest processing. Stazzone has been a licensed Q Grader since 2015, and became a CQI Lecturer on Quality Evaluation in 2022. He has been on the international jury for the Bolivia Quality Cup Presidential Tournament 4 times, and has given dozens of lectures on Direct and Transparent Trading as well as Fermentations and Post Harvest Processing. Through his work at Cafe Kreyol, he provides consulting to hundreds of producers a year, conducting experiments on coffee fermentations, pH testing, and post harvest processing, in order to help them develop the best possible product. Recently his company completed a scientific study on post roast resting times, and the impact on sensory evaluation which can be found HERE
In our conversation we cover:
- Standard understanding of resting a degassing
- Relaying accurate information
- Cafe Kreyol’s experiment and results
- Tools and methods for evaluation
- How to use resting data in your Roastery
- Surprising results of long term degassing
- Roasting fast or slow and the impact on degassing
- How does this work with blends?
- Freshness and Marketing
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! Use code "ROR" to get $5 off
Links:
- www.cafekreyol.com
- www.roastmagazine.com
Related Episodes:
- RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
- RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
- RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
- RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
- RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
- ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
- RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
- RoR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee
- RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
- RoR #12 : Inside Coffee Packaging w/ Ever Meister
- RoR #13 : The NORM ROAST Protocol w/ Dave Baxter
- RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert
- RoR #15 : Managing LTL Freight and the Nuances of green Shipping w/ Evan Gilman of Royal Coffee
The work of running a cafe seems to never be quite complete. While we know that chasing “ perfection” is not the goal, we would do well to embrace the idea of dial in and refinement in our work.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about what a summer woodworking project from years ago taught me about refining what we do in our cafes.
Related episodes:
- Higher Degrees of Imperfection
- 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness
- Feedback Culture : Making feedback a part of what you do not just something you sometimes do
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- Turning Radius
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The coffee shop is made up various tasks and roles that all work together to create something magical. Wen those roles are not clear or followed through on then the we lose the magic and gain frustration. No role in the cafe is as important than that of the owner (arguably managers but that's another topic), yet we rarely see owners having job descriptions let alone a schedule organized according to both the administrative / financial needs AND the areas of operations, quality, and people.
In today's episode we will discuss the 5 behaviors that are necessary for owners to successfully and effectively lead and manage those 3 areas so they can facilitate and create a thriving coffee shop.
We cover:
- Operations, People, and Quality
- The need for detailed scheduled work
- Constant curiosity
- Tension as needed structure
- Honesty at all costs
- Using problems to discover and institute solutions
- Crafting systems needed for operations that serve the people
Related Episodes:
- 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- 368 : Walking the Line Between Leadership and Friendship
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- 253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Finally. It is time to get meta and have a Shift Break conversation about...shift breaks.
We all go to work with a finite amount of energy to use on that days tasks and responsibilities. Trouble is that we also tend to work well beyond the point at which we have used up our energy and subsist on coffee and fumes. The shift break is supposed to be something that allows for some respite in the midst of a busy day but is often more an idea than a regular and well resourced practice.
Today on Shift Break we will talk about the shift break, its role in the cafe, the reality of how we tend to minimize it, and why making it a reality for your staff is a critical part of caring for them and your business.
Related episodes:
Shift Break:
- Four Steps to Inspiring Your Staff
- How to Talk to Each Other
- The Importance of Debriefing
- Reasonable Expectations
Main
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Every day on bars across the globe baristas are using milk to create amazing drinks. For almost as long as coffee has been served in coffee shops, milk has been a staple ingredient. Yet, in spite of its ubiquity in coffee culture, we tend to focus (understandably) more on understanding and crafting coffee than we do the milk that today makes up such a. large portion of our menus.
Today you are in for a treat. We will be diving into the subject of milk from both a scientific perspective and a craft perspective. To do this we talk with two establish authorities on the subject, Morten Munchow and Emilee Bryant.
Morten Munchow is the Founder of Coffee Mind a coffee roasting academy, research, and consultancy company based in Denmark. Morten is a scholar of biology who through over ten years of intense practical and scientific research and application gained a unique insights that have pushed the specialty coffee industry forward worldwide. He is a sought after speaker and presenter having published several papers in scientific journals.
Emilee Bryant is a long time award winning barista, latte art champion, internationally revered coffee content creator, and trainer with Counter Culture Coffee in NYC. When it comes to breaking down the craft of coffee, milk steaming and latte art, Emilee is second to none in effectively communicating concepts that lead to consistently great results.
In both conversations we get very technical and specific about the how what and why of milk as a product and then the practical steps needed to craft that milk into a beautiful texture to add to our coffee.
I hope you listen deeply and leave this episode with more clarity, understanding, and confidence regarding the science and craft of milk!
Links:
Morten:
- www.coffee-mind.com
Emilee:
- Youtube
- @emstagrim
Related episodes:
- 047 : Mastering Latte Art : Some of the worlds best latte masters weigh in!
- 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
I got a great question in from a listener. "How should managers be appraising staff?" I love it because it gets beyond the trope of the holy trinity of delegation (Schedule + Inventory/ordering + Shift coverage) and assumes correctly that a manager should be involved in the development of their team.
So today on Shift Break we will be talking about the how of apprising staff as manager as well as the preparations necessary to be effective with your coaching, feedback, and reviews.
Don't miss this one!
Related Episodes:
243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
The Difference of Deference to your Staff
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
We all are susceptible to the siren song of trying to fix a place or a person to our own detriment. In the moment it seems like the right move and there is a sense higher calling an nobility pushing us forward. The reality though is that for certain cafes and bosses, there is no reformation only resistance and a dedication to the ways that will eventually drive you into the ground.
On today's episode we will be discussing why you should not try to be a hero at the expense of your own well being and what you can do to use this current circumstance you may find yourself in for your long term betterment instead of a desperate bid save a pace and sacrifice yourself in the process.
Related episodes:
162 : Discussing “Baristastainability” w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee
031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
363 : Setting Boundaries in the Coffee Shop w/ Tom Henschel
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
Shift Break: Creating a Feedback Culture
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
I am excited to present to you another great interview with an inspirational founder! This time we get to hear the story of the founding an development of a business that has long been a pillar of specialty coffee in the U.S.. We are talking with Tony Dreyfuss, Co-Founder of the award winning Metropolis Coffee Company!
Tony started Metropolis Coffee with his Father Jeff Dreyfuss in 2003 and they continue to own and run it to this day. In the span of 2 decades Metropolis has established itself as both an iconic specialty coffee roaster and shop, winning many awards for its coffee and overall business, but also as a pillar of the community it serves in Chicago. The values and passion for of diversity, quality, and locally rooted service are the foundations that make Metropolis as effective and successful as they are.
Today we will be diving into the story of Metropolis as we talk with Tony about everything from his first exposure to coffee and getting hooked on the scene- to founding and growing Metropolis with all the high and low points along the way.
We cover:
- Discovering coffee and becoming a coffee guy
- Experiences at Pete's and planning his own shop
- First steps into coffee as a career and then as an owner
- Working with family and building the brand
- Using experience + Learning new business lessons
- Coffee offerings then and now
- Inclusivity model and hiring nice people
- Cultural diversity and a people first approach
- Learning from mistakes and embracing authenticity
- Thoughts on the industry shift toward accessible offerings
- Most important issue in coffee right now
Links:
https://www.metropoliscoffee.com/
Metropolis Coffee Instagram @metropoliscoffeeco
Related Episodes:
- 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
- 204 : Founder Friday w/ Jeff Taylor of PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. & Bird Rock Coffee!
- 075 : Founder Friday w/Jill Killen of Cloud City Coffee, Seattle Washington
- 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
- Your Peers are not your Customers
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
One of the top questions I get asked is about how to improve employee morale. As someone who has conducted and sat through his fair share of meetings designed around this issue, I can tell you with a fair degree of certainty what does not work.
On todays Shift Break we will be talking about the wrong way to improve employee morale as well as the right way to begin truly fixing the problem instead of throwing a lot of meetings and initiatives at it.
Please listen to these recommended and related episodes:
- Fix the Small Stuff! : Management, Morale, Coffee Bar Culture
- The One-on-One : How one meeting can dramatically impact your coffee shop's culture and morale.
- Four Steps to Inspiring Your Staff
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway - first impressions matter a lot! When a customer enters your business the person that sets the tone for them is usually the barista working the cash register. With this fact in mind you'd think most bars would then invest heavily in training and equipping their staff to work this station with the same or even greater finesse than a barista. But you'd be wrong. Mostly we tend to under equip and push to the side this area and it shows.
On today's episode we will be revisiting an old episode that deals directly with this topic and will give you 6 skills that are needed to do a wonderful job at the cash register.
Please also listen to the recommended episodes below to dive deeper into the subject and let it motivate you to take action on improving the experience your staff and customers have at the POS.
Recommended episodes:
- Up-selling and Hospitality: Helping Customers Make Good Decisions
- 271 : Why the Cash Register Controls Everything
- 085 : How we Ruin the Specialty Experience
- 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
- Empowering Staff to make the right Call
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
There is always a general sense of anxiety present when it comes to running a coffeehouse. Part of the reason for that is that problems are always popping up and we need to then deal with them. The other reason for why this anxiety seems perpetual has to do with the fact that for most operators, problems are not specific enough to do anything about.
On today's Shift break we will be exploring how digging into the problems you experience and making them more specific, will give you a far great chance of finding peace of mind and solutions amidst the challenges of running a cafe.
Related episodes:
- Slowing down your Response Time
- The Miracle of the Mundane: How curiosity helps our sustainability
- 125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
- 052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
We have a problem. There are plenty of people in leadership positions but many of them are afraid to step into their role and opt instead to try to avoid the difficulty by being friends with everyone. I'll bet you know a manager or owner like this and I'll also bet it was not necessarily an endearing quality.
In an environment where community, teamwork, and close quarters are constants, it is natural to feel the tension between leadership and friendship. Today we are going to be hashing out why this tension exists, how it has led to some bad situations, and what to do to make sure you are and trusted, respected AND effective leader in the coffee shop.
We cover:
- Why we try to run form authority
- Futility of friendship alchemy
- Bias and toxicity
- Avoidant behavior and Self awareness
- Embracing your role and authority for good
- Using the difference
- Keeping your distance while connecting
Related episodes I think you will enjoy:
- 074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
When we promise our customers a specialty experience in our shops they would logically assume that promise of quality might extend to the bathroom. Alas, it is not so. Not at least for many shops.
On today's Shift Break we are going to be talking about how the way you care for you cafe bathroom is a direct reflection of how you care for you guests and why we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard.
Related episodes:
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- Spiders and Customer Service
- 175 : How to Keep your Cool : A Fridge, Cooler, and Ice Machine Masterclass w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department!
- 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
It goes without saying that most of us want our shops to be a place that attracts and fosters community. The question though is how exactly to we intentionally build our spaces to accomplish that. If we are honest, probably not as much thought or effort get put into setting up a space to purposely create community as is necessary. Well you are in luck! Today we are talking with returning guest and expert on interior design and how to create community conducive spaces, Dr. Lisa Waxman!
Dr. Waxman, Ph.D. is a professor and chair of the Interior Architecture + Design department at Florida State University. Her research includes topics related to the design of spaces that foster community, sustainable design, and design for special populations. She is an NCIDQ certificate holder, a LEED-AP and a licensed interior designer in Florida. Dr. Waxman has served in many capacities on the board of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC), including president-elect, president and past-president from 2010 until 2013. She was honored as a Fellow of IDEC in 2008. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). Her teaching expertise includes environment and behavior, design issues, sustainability and studio.
Dr. Waxman has authored an incredible number of scholarly works and has won many awards for her work.
In our interview today we will be discussing her new book "Designing Coffee Shops and Cafes for Community" and diving into the practical ways we can build great 3rd places for our communities.
We cover:
- Perspective of community and the 3rd place
- Biological roots of out need for connection
- Balance of community success and commercial success.
- Familiar stangers
- Key components of place attachment
- How are our cafes counteracting community
- Values, mission, and identity reflection
- Branding and un-branding
- Thinking about Lighting, texture, sound, and smell
- Working around space restraints
- Community with mobile operations?
- Welcoming and serving a variety of demographics
- Service is critical
Links:
BUY: Designing Cafes and Coffee Shops for Community
Mentioned resource:
Together Book
Interested in leveling up your coffee shop?
Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It is critical to pay baristas and staff from a place of generosity. We like to say "Pay what you can, not what you can get away with". In many cases though there is a lack of knowledge of how to manage income once it is paid. If we want to pay our staff a living wage then I believe we should also help provide some help on how to manage it.
On today's shift break we will be talking about the issue of financial mismanagement of wages and how operators can equip their staff have a healthy view of and handle on their income leading to a better quality of life.
Related episodes:
- 160 : The Smart Way to Approach Money w/ Jill Schlesinger
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Interested in consulting? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
We all want leadership and cafe culture that inspires. Through personal and professional development we can learn how to create an environments where our values and core beliefs are lived out in real time. In spite of the inevitable challenges, set backs, and failures that come with entrepreneurship and leadership, when we bring our true selves to work in good faith with others, magic happens. This is what today's guest, Chris Baca has accomplished at the globally celebrated shop and roastery, Cat and Cloud Coffee.
Chris Baca is the co-owner of Cat and Cloud and inspires thousands around the world through his YouTube channel and writing at www.chrisbaca.com where he focuses on finding joy in your work and putting ideas into action.
Over two decades he has carved out a consistent people and hospitality focused career where ever he was working. Through the founding and growth of Cat and Cloud he has learned an incredible amount about himself, the nature of cafe leadership, and how to cultivate a culture that truly leaves every person they it touches in a better place.
He believes we all have gifts to share, and that the world would be better off if we are brave enough to share those gifts.
In our conversation today we dive deep into development, leadership, overcoming challenges, and creating a dynamic culture of clarity and mutuality in the cafe
We cover:
- Developing skills and his career
- The fear and challenge of leading the first groups of staff
- The gravity of leadership and urgency about the right thing
- The reason for starting cat and cloud
- Empathy and self compassion
- Living by Values and core beliefs.
- Communicating clearly
- Enrollment vs enforcement
- Finding magic in the mundane
- Challenging yourself
- Boss and staff Striving to understand each other
- Next steps to building a culture of care
Links:
www.chrisbaca.com
www.catandcloud.com
Chris on Instagram @realchrisbaca
Related episodes:
- 055 : Personal Growth & Development w/ Jared Truby, Cat & Cloud Coffee
- 341: How to Think About Success
- 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 303 : Create Authentic Partnerships w/ Marc Gessler of Cat & Cloud Coffee
Interested in consulting? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
There has been a lot of publicity around the phrase "Quiet Quitting" in the last few weeks. In short this is explained as employees doing bare minimum and as giving up on their jobs without explicitly quitting. It would be easy to chalk this up to some generational quirk or attribute of the modern age but what is really happening may be deeper.
Today on Shift Break we will discuss quiet quitting, what is behind it, and how to move forward together in a way that will reengage both employees and leaders in the coffee shop.
Related Episodes:
When Going Above and Beyond Goes to Far
Specific Expectations and Due Dates
Being the Point of Clarity
Helping Managers Avoid Burnout
Please Clarify: Making sure you and your boss are on the same page
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Interested in consulting? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Coffee is more than just a drink. It is an expression of cultural values and a vehicle through which we experience many different facets of this rich life. No matter where you are from, it is easy to think only of the our own way of enjoying coffee and then to never really explore how deeply rooted and significant coffee is around the world in cultures different from our own.
Well today we are going to balance the scales a bit and broaden our worldview of coffee by talking with the author of a new book all about global coffee culture, Lani Kingston!
Lani Kingston is a food consultant, author, and founder of F&B agency, Four Seasons of Food. Her first book, How to Make Coffee: The Science Behind the Bean, was released to international acclaim in 2015 and has since been translated into several languages. Her third book on coffee, Spill The Beans: Global Coffee Culture was released by international publisher gestalten in February 2022. Lani has written extensively about food and drink for varied publications and developed F&B products and brands around the world. Armed with a Masters in Food Studies, a Masters in Education, pastry chef, and barista qualifications, she’s spent the last 15 years working the breadth of the industry: she helped set up and ran the European offshoot of MAST Chocolate; led a food-waste-powered cooking school in Australia; set up a coffee company in Singapore; and worked with renowned chef Dan Barber at his prestigious farm-to-table upstate New York restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns. You can follow her adventures in food and coffee on Instagram @lanikingston, read more about her work at lanikingston.com, or get help with your f&b business at fourseasonsoffood.com.
In our conversation with Lani we will explore how her experiences in writing, the culinary world, and coffee have influenced and shaped her pursuit of giving readers not just information about coffee, but an understanding of it through exploring its meaning and the story of its expressions globally.
We cover:
- Initial career and experiences in the food industry
- Discovering coffee through writing
- Immersion into the culture of coffee
- Writing t give understanding
- Exploring global coffee culture
- Unfurling the true coffee story and inspiring wonder
- Expanding our view of what good coffee is
- How culture and history deepens our understanding
- Allowing your understanding of culture to evolve
- Favorite recipes from the book
Links:
www.Fourseasonsoffood.com
Lani on Instagram @lanikingston
Related episodes:
- 022 : Founder Friday w/ Colin Harmon of 3fe Coffee, Dublin Ireland & Author of the new book, “What I know About Running Coffee Shops”
- 349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
- 297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee
- 198 : The Evolution of the Coffee Shop w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
Interested in consulting? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
I am so excited for this month's Founder Friday! Today we are talking with someone who has not only taken a passion and turned it into a thriving business that serves her community and culture with excellence, but has done so in the face of cultural challenges that, as a woman in Saudi Arabia, forced her to be creative in this pursuit. We are talking with the founder of Hjeen Coffee, in Saudi Arabia, Sarah Alakeel!
Sarah has been trained in and worked as a manager and founder of tech and e-commerce businesses before she discovered coffee and started her blog www.hjeen.com in 2016. The passion that she developed for coffee mixed with her business savvy came together to created what Hjeen is now, a growing and bustling roastery and wholesale business as well as with two cafes.
Sarah has been making waves in coffee for a while now and in our conversation with Sarah we will get to hear her story and how she has grown this business and the lessons she has learned along the path.
We cover:
- First taste of great coffee
- Beginning in the business of coffee
- Breaking cultural barriers as a woman
- Accommodating tradition while introducing new ways
- Establishing a system to serve a variety of tastes
- Knowing what trends and tools are right for your customers
- Enjoying the journey
- Challenges of ownership
- Hiring the right employees for your culture
- Embracing the management roles of ownership
Related Episodes:
- 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
- 131 : The Strong Women of Coffee w/ Laura Gonzalez
- 203 : Empowering Women in Business w/ Katherine Knapke
- 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
One of the most common complaints I hear from owners and managers is related to staff not following policies of the shop. In many cases it is not just a simple mistake but a habitual ignoring of directives. Obviously this kind of thing spreads to other staff and you wind up with a situation where now the culture is combative and try as you might to give chances and show understanding, nothing seems to change.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about this very common, and very unnecessary problem, and why backing up your policies is a must if you want to have consistency and a healthy culture in shop.
Related episodes:
- 123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- When Patience is not a Virtue
- Passive-Aggressive Management
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Interested in consulting? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Working in a coffee bar means working in close quarters with your fellow baristas, managers, and owners. In this daily work we will eventually begin to feel the tension and start to wonder about how we can set boundaries for ourselves so we can continue to work and still take care of ourselves. The subject of boundaries may be ruminated on but we often do not have a framework to help us organize our values, collect our thoughts, and actually take the first step in communicating with others.
Today I am thrilled to welcome back to the show frequent guest, Tom Henschel, who will guide us through how to accomplish all this and more.
Tom Henschel is an expert in workplace communications and executive development. Over the past 25 years, he has helped hundreds of senior leaders achieve The Look & Sound of Leadership.TM
His expertise as a communications coach has taken him into executive offices at companies such as Amgen, CitiGroup, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, City of Hope, Dole, HP, Intuit, Mattel, Raytheon, Sony Pictures, Toyota and Warner Bros.
In addition to coaching executives, Tom facilitates team events and delivers highly interactive trainings in the areas of effective communications, presentation, and influence skills.
Tom’s popular podcast, The Look & Sound of Leadership, airing since 2008, is consistently cited as “What’s Hot” in the business podcasts on iTunes.
Tom is a delightful persona and deeply wise coach and his insight on boundaries here on KTTS will add a ton of value to you and your buisness.
We cover:
- What are boundaries?
- Why do we not set them?
- The risk of not setting boundaries
- Spectrum of boundaries
- Preparing, thoughtfulness, and communicating
- Self care and weighing options
- Getting over upsetting others
- What is our responsibility
- Corporate vs personal
- Incremental thinking
- First steps to take in setting boundaries
Links and Resources:
www.essentialcomm.com
PDF for setting boundaries
Related Episodes:
- 052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
- 104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel
- 334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace
- 221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- 259 : Solving Toxic Customer Service Culture
- 258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
- Shift Break: The Agreement
Interested in consulting? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
As we all experience increased costs in the coffee shop the cost of our drinks and products will also need to increase. The major worry that many of us have is how customers will respond to this.
On today's Shift Break we will talk about how customer experience has replaced coffee quality as the main deciding factor for whether a guest will accept higher cost and how we can facilitate this increase to our experiential value.
Related episodes:
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- 356 : 5 Barriers to Progress in Your Coffee Shop
- Spiders
- Fix the Small Stuff! : Management, Morale, Coffee Bar Culture
- 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Interested in consulting? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
How you run things in the beginning of your cafe business cannot remain the same as you get busier and grow over the years. Many shops rely on what they have always done when confronting new challenges brought on by growth and the business of success. In the end, if you don't iterate and evolve your approach you will add needless stress, drop the ball, and miss out on the joy a growing business properly managed brings.
Today you and I get to talk about some keys to successfully handling the changes a new and growing business goes through so that you can enjoy the ride instead of being taken for one.
We cover:
- Amping up communication
- Role clarity
- Pay scale
- Identity and delegation
- Caring for staff and managers
- Pre-emptive problem solving
Related episodes and links:
- Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
- Don't Just Do It! : Delegation, Burnout, facilitating skills development, mistakes coffee shop managers make, teaching and coaching for future return
- 267 : The Power of Delegation
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- Systems as Care
Interested in consulting? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
How our coffee gets to us after purchase can sometimes be a confusing thing. These days, with global supply chain issues abounding, the need to understand, track, and finesse all aspects of logistics is at an all time high. One of the main areas to be aware of is LTL freight as well and planning for any issues that may come up as your coffee moves from farm to forklift.
This episode of RoR from Roast Magazine is designed to help us wrap our heads around LTL freight and the other issues of shipping that impact our roasteries as we talk with Evan Gilman of Royal Coffee.
Evan Gilman is an avid generalist and coffee lover. His 20 years in the coffee industry have taken him from barista, to trainer, to Q Arabica Grader, Q Assistant Instructor, and SCA-Licensed AST. Evan spent time in Southeast Asia getting to know the specialty coffee supply chain, from Sumatra, Bali, Flores, and Sulawesi in Indonesia, to Northern Luzon in the Philippines. His passions range from Balinese gamelan to heavy metal, from photography to communications design, and from baking to brewing. As Creative Director at The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room, he manages community events and outreach, and curates the Gallery at The Crown. He is also the chief editor of the blog at royalcoffee.com, and curator of the Gallery at The Crown.
In our conversation we cover:
- Ltl freight and your responsibility
- Managing logistics
- Tracking your coffee
- Developing relationships
- Hospitality ot vendors
- Contingency planning
- Managing your time to stay connected
- working with importers vs importing yourself
- Rate expectations
- Claims and planning for problems
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! Use code "ROR" to get $5 off
Links:
www.royalcoffee.com
www.roastmagazine.com
Related Episodes:
- RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
- RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
- RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
- RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
- RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
- RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
- RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
- ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
- RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
- RoR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee
- RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
- RoR #12 : Inside Coffee Packaging w/ Ever Meister
- RoR #13 : The NORM ROAST Protocol w/ Dave Baxter
- RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert
This week on KTTS was basically "Logistics Week". When we talk about logistics and systems we naturally think about forming rules for how work is done that others can rely on for a predictable outcome. Trouble is, change is always needed to keep systems relevant, and being flexible or even training your team to be flexible is not an easy task.
On today's Shift Break we will discuss how to build in flexibility alongside our systems so we can respond to challenges quicker with more grace and not worry about change as a threat but embrace it as a natural part of the process.
Related episodes:
- 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 267 : The Power of Delegation
- Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
From the perspective of the cafe, the world of the roastery seems to be shrouded in mystery. Indeed, as we have said on the show before, roasting is practically its own business with its own ecosystem of relationships and systems. Todays guest is someone who began in the cafe and then dove in to that world and has since been creating intuitive solutions for both systems and the people they serve in the roastery. We are siting down to talk with Corey Turner
Corey (They/She) has done it all in 8 years of working in coffee. Barista, trainer, roaster, technician just to name a few. After moving to San Francisco from rural Virginia to pursue an MFA in poetry, Corey began work in coffee and has not stopped since!
Currently working for Andytown Coffee Roasters in San Francisco, California as director of coffee production & logistics, Corey works with an amazing team where they help scale the coffee menu, production, and wholesale.
In our interview today we cover a lot of different topics related to perspectives of managing relationships, building systems, and keeping on top of the inputs that drive the daily work.
This was a lovely conversation and I hope you enjoy!
Links:
www.andytownsf.com
Corey's Instagram @cor_tado
Related Episodes:
- 152 : Essential Advice for Starting a Roastery w/ Jen Apodaca
- RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
- 156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe, Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Fransisco
- COVID-19 Focus w/ Lauren Crabbe of Andytown Coffee Roasters
- 166 : Founder Friday! (Special Curated Edition) : Four Awesome Perspectives on Caring for Staff from past Founder Friday Episodes
- 285 : Better Systems, Better Connections w/ Jon Ewald of RoasterTools
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
"I just want to make coffee!" That thought has crossed all our minds at some point in our barista careers. In fact I remember clearly being reprimanded for my hyper-focus on the espresso machine at the expense of pretty much everything else. In reality, there are tasks and areas of the shop that require excellence just as much as the coffee we serve
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how we can foster a mindset of excellence toward the things we hate so the whole cafe is cared for and we get to keep doing what we love.
Related episodes:
- 085 : How we Ruin the Specialty Experience
- 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
- The Impact of Absence
- The Currency of Urgency
- Working Clean : Tips for keeping the bar looking and working well while you work
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
In the shop we serve people the product of our own training and understanding. We also sell them ideas of what coffee can be and our customers will frequently be frustrated at the gap of quality between the shop and their kitchen. This is where consumer coffee classes come in. Before the pandemic we were already seeing a rise in consumer education, but now it has truly gone from novel pursuit to an absolute necessity. I believe every shop should have some form of coffee class for their customers to help equip them to brew your roasted coffee well and also to deepen their appreciation for what you do every day.
In this encore episode from January of 2018 (the infancy of this show) we dive into this topic and I give you 7 tips for how to set up and conduct great coffee classes.
Please listen to the related episodes below for more on the importance of consumer education!
Related episodes:
- 092 : Tony “Tonx” Konecny of Yes Plz : Consumer Accessibility, roasting, 3rd wave, subscription
- 297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee
- 349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
- 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab
- 035 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
- Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
- BLOG: The Customer of Tomorrow
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It's Founder Friday once again and I am thrilled to shine a light on someone who has built their business on a heart for people, relationships, and an offering of accessible quality coffees. Today we are talking with the founder of Drip Coffee NYC, Nigel Price!
Nigel left a career in finance to pursue opening his own coffee shop. Once he was immersed in the industry he realized there was much more to doing this successfully than just having a good business would prepare him for. He spent 10 years working in great coffee bars learning and growing his perspective, skills, and concept.
He launched Drip Coffee Makers NYC 3 years ago as a focused mobile multi-roaster cart popping up all over the city. From there he opened his first brick and mortar in 2020, thrived in the pandemic, and now has a fleet of 4 stores and a growing community of committed customers and fan across the city and the industry.
Nigel has a calm and clear passion for people and coffee that has been at the heart of Drip and it's success and today we are going to hear the story of how this all came to be along with some very important insights into entrepreneurship that you will be absolutely key to your own success and fulfillment in coffee.
We cover:
- Starting in coffee from finance
- Early false assumptions
- The real challenge of running a shop
- Prioritizing relationships
- Paying dues and Finding your voice
- Starting as a pop up multi roaster shop
- From mobile to brick and mortar
- Dealing with transition from barista to operator
- It’s about the people and their experience
- What the future holds
Related Episodes:
- 145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley
- 108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe in Durham, NC
- 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
"We don't speak Starbucks" I cannot tell you how much damage phrases like this have done over the years. More than just creating hostility at the register with customers who don't speak the same "coffee language" as us, it also sets the stage for more hostility and misunderstanding with customers whose culture, language, or abilities are literally different from our own.
In today's shift break we will be discussing the importance of fostering a desire to serve through understanding and how we can overcome language barriers of all kinds with the right mindset and resourcing.
Related episodes:
- 122 : How to be a Cash Register Hero : 6 Essential Skills
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
- Up-selling and Hospitality: Helping Customers Make Good Decisions
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The system works exactly the way it was designed to work...and it needs to be broken. This is the goal of a new model of coffee trade introduced by Andy and Nanelle Newbom through their company Torque Coffee.
Andy and Nanelle Newbom are life long coffee professionals who have been foundational in helping establish the standards for transparency and excellence we know today. With their iconic roastery and retail company Barefoot Coffee they helped pioneer Direct Trade, Andy was a founding member of the Barista Guild, and they both have been work in roasting / importing companies since then where they are consistently pursuing equity and systemic change for an industry who's distribution of value is drastically lopsided.
Recently they have launched a new model of trade based the idea of what they call "Proportional Pricing" with their company Torque Coffee.
In this model they seek to give to break the system and replace it with a framework that pays the farmer a set percentage of the coffee's retail value upfront. It really is a great idea and in today's conversation we will get the inside scoop on how this came about, how it works, and what you can do to adopt this model in your roastery.
We discuss:
- Iterating models to address the issues
- Leaching value from farmers
- Double standards
- The Torque model: Proportional Pricing
- Starting at the ceiling
- You don’t have as many coffees as you think
- Building the system and relationships needed
- Taking the risk off the producer
- unintentional impacts on producer
- Play to pay sucks
- The practice of tracking all your costs
Links:
www.torquecoffee.com
Instagram @torquecoffees
Related episodes:
- Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
- 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
- 328 : Relationships and Resiliency w/ Xavier Alexander of Metric Coffee
- 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
- 288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Welcome to part two of a live series of interviews conducted on the show floor of Coffee Fest Chicago in June of 2022! In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.
Today we will be talking with Marissa Childers, co-founder (along with Ethan Darla) of Tanbrown Coffee, a roastery dedicated to re-writing the narrative about Asian coffee and Asians in coffee. In our chat today we dive into the topic of the current narrative regarding asian coffees and other marginalized origins, and how roasters and shops can help make a difference through highlighting the nuances and complexities those origins have to offer.
To learn more about Tanbrown visit:
www.tanbrown.coffee
Instagram @tanbrowncoffee
Next we get to talk with Jess Gulino who wears many hats at La Terza Coffee. One of her focuses is in branding and helping shops create expressions that resonate with customers and the shops values. In this chat we discuss lots of relevant questions you might have when approaching branding and Jess helps us guide us to more clear understanding of what may be right for you.
Learn more about La Terza Coffee here:
- www.laterzacoffee.com
- IG @laterzacoffee
Finally we get to have a conversation with the great Tony Dreyfuss who, along with his father, founded the iconic Metropolis Coffee in Chicago! In this discussion we cover what goes into an effective training program and Tony gives us insight into how they have honed their own program from nearly 20 years of experience.
Learn more about Metropolis Coffee here:
- www.metroploliscoffee.com
- @metropoliscoffeeco
Be sure to tune in to listen to part 1 of this series if you have not already!
HEY THERE!
If you are looking for resourcing, clarity, inspiration, and just a really fun experience then I would suggest attending Coffee Fest Trades Shows!
You can get 50% off your registration by using the code KEYS when registering you and your team at www.coffeefest.com
Welcome to part on of a live series of interviews conducted on the show floor of Coffee Fest Chicago in June of 2022! In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.
Today we will be talking with Luke Waite of The Lev Co and Pomelo Coffee Consulting all about how roasting operations can increase profitability and clarity around their mission.
Learn more about Luke's work here:
- The Lev Co
- Pomelo Coffee Consulting
Next we chat with Kris Christian who is the founder of Chicago French Press. In our conversation we discuss her story of building a business to make coffee more accessible, black entrepreneurship, and the need for resourcing to continue to see that sector of small business thrive.
Learn more about Kris and Chicago French Press here:
- Chicago French Press
- IG @chicagofrenchpress
Lastly we get to sit down with Mark Calhoun and Jim Starcev of Perfect Cube. Mark and Jim have been on the show before to talk about data and metrics and in this interview we focus on how and where businesses can get started on the right track to financial tracking and health.
Learn more about perfect cube here:
- www.perfectcube.co
- 302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Starcev of Perfect Cube
Be sure to tune in to part 2 of this series where we talk with another three wonderful coffee minds at Coffee Fest!
HEY!
If you are looking for resourcing, clarity, inspiration, and just a really fun experience then I would suggest attending Coffee Fest Trades Shows!
You can get 50% off your registration by using the code KEYS when registering you and your team at www.coffeefest.com
In coffee, we like to see ourselves making progress and we check our state against certain metrics and goals that we believe, once reached, will transform our business and as bring satisfaction.
Today on Shift Break we will be discussing vanity metrics and why some of the feedback and status we seek through them will more likely lead to stress and fear, than joy and fulfillment.
Related episodes:
- 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
- Who you are & What you Do
- Your Peers are not your Customers
- 253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Communicating, educating, and training boils down to how well you can connect with people to walk with them through information and transformation. If you want to be effective in these areas you need a whole lot of genuine passion and a desire to not just teach, but also to learn. Not many people in the industry embody this as much as today's guest, Michael Tan.
Michael is a 13 year industry veteran who rose up in the ranks from barista, manager, trainer, even opening his own coffee shop for a time. These days Michael is hosting events and educating scores of baristas in Malaysia as the wholesale trainer for JWC in Kuala Lumpur.
In our conversation today we get to trace Michael's journey in coffee with an emphasis on the lessons he has learned in communication, training, and customer education. We also discuss the importance of language, humility, context, and always learning.
Enjoy!
We discuss:
- Rising as a barista
- Conducting tastings
- Learning to teach and inspire
- The importance of language
- Early mentors
- Developing training presence and content
- Relating to your culture and context
- Ownership experience
- KISS concept of training
- 3 P’s of wholesale training
- Passion and staying grounded
- Soft skills in coffee
Links:
JWC Roastery Malaysia
Instagram: @mike.talks.coffee
Related Episodes:
- 332: Founder Friday! w/ Iman Kusumaputra & Putri Yulandari of Kopikalyan, Jakarta, Indonesia
- 246 : Selecting a Wholesale Coffee Provider
- 133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond
- 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
- 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It happens in cafe all over the world. Baristas are hired on a trial basis to see if they are a good fit for the business. On the surface, this practice seems logical and, no doubt, may yield some positive results. But...I believe the practice of trial basis hiring brings with it more negative results than positive.
On this Shift Break I will go over some of my thoughts on why trial basis hiring may be a bad idea and what you might want to practice instead.
Be sure to visit the links below to learn more about good hiring and training practices.
Recommended episodes:
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
- 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching!
Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Many shops make sense on paper but in practice there is something missing. There are lot's of unseen barriers to progress and success in your shop that get in the way of the best plans no matter how you rearrange the staff, equipment, hours, ingredients, etc.
Today you and I will be chatting about five barriers to progress that are present in a ton of cafes around the world and how once addressing and removing them will not only throw the doors to progress in your business but will bring you and your staff to the next level of fulfillment in your work.
We cover
- Building trust credit
- Leadership
- Perfectionism
- Assumption
- Follow through
- How Dave Ramsey helps us manage well
- Perfectionism
- Cliques
Related Episodes:
- Building Trust-Credit
- Motivating Staff Through Culture
- 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
I have heard many times from owners that they need to be the best barista in the shop. The idea is that if they are not, then the staff will not respect them and it would compromise their leadership. As you might guess, this is a bit misguided.
In this shift break we get into the details of how to think about your skill level in the work you oversee vs the work that your role as a leader requires you to do and why knowing the difference will save you from putting all your effort into areas that do not produce the kind of return you want to see.
We discuss
- Why we thing we need to be the "best"
- What our staff really needs
- The reasons for knowing your role
- Coaching and supporting the team
Related Episodes: + Should You be Behind the Bar Right Now? + 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team + 121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings + 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff + 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching! chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
What are some of the qualities that potential employers most value in a barista and why are they important? Today you and I will chat about the answers and how they make a significant difference in how you are perceived and how you find fulfillment in a job. These are not just qualities that let you stand out in a sea of applicants but they are traits that maximize your opportunities in your coffee career. Certainly we could talk about far more than six but these are truly foundational and led to you developing many other traits that create magic in the cafe.
Be sure to take time to listen to the related episodes below, follow @keystotheshop on Instagram and Subscribe!
We discuss:
- Dependability
- Work ethic
- Flexibility
- Communication
- Self awareness
- Curiosity
- The relationship between bosses and staff
- Mutuality and magic
Related episodes:
- 243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
- 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
- 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
- 021: How to Leverage you Performance Review : 7 Tips for how Baristas can the Most out of the Review Process
- 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
We all hate when a shift is slow. It can feel demoralizing, boring, and frustrate even the best barista. What if these times on the bar are not all bad though? What if instead of seeing these times as a waste, we saw them as an opportunity.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the slow bar shifts that we dread and how to use them to grow our knowledge, skill, and maturity as coffee professionals.
Related episodes:
study the rules
056 : The Sleepwalking Barista In Praise of Long Term Imperfect Employment Hard work is hard
Laziness & the Most Important Decision
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching! chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Operations management is a distinct from cafe management. At a certain point in your coffee business’ growth it become necessary to have someone whose job it is to manage managers and oversee the operations of the retail shops. This is a critical role that is as much about leadership as it is about decisiveness and and systems. Today we will be learning all about what goes into being a successful operations manager with Ryan Fisher of Erewhon Market, L.A.
Long-time coffee professional with experience and knowledge throughout the entire coffee supply chain. Creative and passionate with an extensive network built through a decade of competing, serving, and judging competitions globally including the Cup of Excellence, US Barista Competition, and Cherry Roast.
He has been at the helm of several shops as a manager as well as the Operations Manager for the famed goodboybob Coffee Roasters. Currently he is the Coffee Program Director for Erewhon markets in L.A.
In our conversation today we go through Ryan’s evolution as a leader in the cafe and then as an operations manager and all that he has learned along the way. I guarantee you will walk away from this conversation with some awesome insights for your own management journey!
We cover:
- Biggest lessons from the early years
- The difference between manager and operations manager
- Leading through crisis and change
- What makes a great operations manager
- Dealing with tension in the cafe
- Learning and applying lessons to your management practice
- What to expect when you first begin this role
- Practicing good communication and self awareness
Links:
- www.workinglunch.coffee
- www.erewhonmarket.com
Related episodes:
- Creative Avoidance : Thoughts on Long-game Management
- 158 : A Management Masterclass w/ Jon Felix Lund, VP of Operations for Coava Coffee Roasters / Portland, OR
- 105 : Leadership & Management Masterclass w/ Maria Cleaveland
- 028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan : A guide to defining and fighting the under management epidemic in your cafe so you can be the manager your staff need
- 013 : Leadership & Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia : Leadership | management | hiring | career
- 012 : Lauren Airola of Onyx Coffee Lab : A Journey Into Management & Back
- 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
- 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It's time to go back to an amazing episode of Founder Friday that teaches us about the power of taking risks and listening to what your heart is saying about your business. Back on episode 43 we interviewed Kathy Turiano of the multiple Good Food Award winning and roastery in Rochester, NY, Joe Bean Roasters. Joe Bean was founded in 2005 and has gone through several transformations but has always served the community through coffee and stayed true to their values in the process.
In this episode you will hear all about their origins and their first transformation and I hop you will be encouraged by Kathy's example, wisdom, and insights so you too can find the courage to make a move in the right, but maybe scary, direction for your own coffee shop.
Please do also listen to episode 207 where Kathy comes back to talk about hope is difficult times around the pandemic and what their latest and current iteration is.
Links:
www.joebeanroasters.com
207 : Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Coffee Roasters Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
How long does it take to see a change take root in you coffee shop? Well, turns out it all depends on how long you have been operating and how large the company is. When we don't take the dimensions of our business, trying to make a shift or just keeping things on the right path can be very daunting.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking all about the turning radius of your cafe and how to prepare for and navigate it effectively for its size.
Related Episodes:
- Scaling Values
- Before you Expand
- Making a Decision Pipeline
- 318 : Why Your Shop is Key to the Success of Coffee
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- 080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching! chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit these amazing sponsors!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
As long as it has been around, coffee has always attracted creative and artistic people. Whether it is the coffee shop serving as community gathering spots or just the coffee itself inspiring expression, coffee fuels art, music, culture, and human connection. Today we are going to be talking with an artist whose music career has been focused on covering the truth of these subjects and whose own discovery of specialty coffee has helped shape his work, mindset, and mission. We are having a conversation with hip hop artist, Propaganda!
Propaganda grew up in a working class black family and lived in a predominant Latino neighborhood of LAThere was a sense of multiculturalism from the very beginning and Prop saw how one personʼs problem could very similar to that of another person.
For Prop, music is way to create conversations about substantial entities that impact us on a daily basis and to see how faith can help guide us along the way.
After he graduated college with degrees in illustration and intercultural studies, he taught high school for six years and had a hand in founding two charter schools in LA, one of which had a focus on the arts.
2007 he resigned from teaching to pursue music full-time and began touring as a solo artist. He joined the Humble Beast family and unveiled a series of four albums that put his music on the map.
Prop fell in love with coffee while on tour and has since been a coffee entrepreneur, enthusiast, and advocate even producing 2 Sprudgie award winning coffee focused songs, "If Coffee was a Man, and "Calibrate"
This is a wonderful and deep conversation about music, cultural authenticity, courage, and the cup of coffee that brings us together.
We cover:
- Finding art and music
- Motivations and going full time
- Discovering coffee and waking up the pallet
- Elegance and complexity of art and coffee
- Connecting culture to coffee
- Coffee as the heritage of POC
- Bringing POC into the coffee space
- Authenticity and overcoming the fear of being you
- Shop spaces representing culture
- The importance of collaborations and lifting others up
Links:
- www.prophiphop.com
- Red Couch Podcast
- Hood Politics
- Music Video "Calibrate"
- If Coffee was a Man
Related Episodes: (seriously listen!)
- 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
- 284 : Founder Friday! w. Jackie Nguyen of Cafe Cà Phê | Kansas City, MO
- 310 : Founder Friday w/ Jelynn Malone and Beverly Magtanong of Mostra Coffee
- 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
- 199 : Founder Friday w/ Mario Jimenez of Banana Dang Coffee, Oceanside, CA
- 289 : Founder Friday w/ Ochen Simon Eidodo of Chariots Coffees, Uganda!
- 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
- 236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
- 183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
- 116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
- 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
- 089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday : Leadership, Innovation, service, heritage
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
How do I motivate and inspire my baristas? I get asked this question a lot by owners and managers desperate to see excitement and vibrancy in their cafe culture vs aone of slow, uninterested, and minimal participation and engagement.
Today on Shift Break we will explore 4 steps you need to walk through in order to inspire your staff and make the dream of that vibrant engaged culture a reality.
Recommended episodes:
055 : Personal Growth & Development w/ Jared Truby, Cat & Cloud Coffee 293 : Thoughts on Defining Professionalism 059 : Founder Friday w/ Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team 243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)” Need advice? KTTS Consulting: chris@keystotheshop.com
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
In order to have a profitable and consistent coffee shop you need to track and keep your data in order. Whether is labor, expenses, or COGs- spreadsheets are an essential tools to help you build a stable business.
On today's episode we sit down with frequent guest of the KTTS podcast, Maxwell Mooney of Narrative Coffee to talk about his top pieces of advice for using making and using spreadsheets.
Maxwell has been in coffee for well over a decade as a barista, manager, and competitor who then turned entrepreneur with the launch of Narrative Coffee. First he had a cart, then a wonderful brick and mortar, and now a second location. In these five years of operating, growing, and refining Narrative, Maxwell has been guided by his values for quality, hospitality, and community, all supported by systems.
In this conversation we cover:
- Is a spreadsheet right for the job?
- Tracking costs
- COGs, Labor, expresses, and rent
- Accounting for waste and labor in cost
- Appropriate sample size for data
- Projections
- Taking the first step with spreadsheets
Links:
Maxwell's Spreadsheet
UpFlip Interview
www.narrative.coffee
IG: @narrative.coffee
- 011 : Founder Friday w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee : hospitality / building relationships / coffee quality
- 038 : Founder Friday / Narrative Coffee Part 2 w/ Maxwell Mooney : His experience after opening his first brick and mortar
- COVID-19 Focus w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee, Everette, WA
Related episodes:
302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube 009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk : 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop 057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It feels like we need to constantly be growing and producing something new or else we risk looking like a failure, or that we lack ambition. The idea that we always need to be expanding and taking on new things is a flawed one that often submarines our chance at finding fulfill ent fro what we do.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how sometimes we need to sacrifice productivity for the sake of our health and why appropriate growth is better than constant growth.
Related episodes:
- Doing What You Want -vs- Doing What is Needed
- Scaling Values
- Slowing down your Response Time Grass Roots Improvement: Tapping into the power of your staffs observations and ideas
- Accurate Reflection : A very important end of year challenge and encouragement to the Keys to the Shop community
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Brewing a great cup of coffee is what we all strive to do daily. Over the years, our own understanding of how to do this well has grown as the body of literature and content regarding brewing science has increased. Most recently one such resource has been published from someone who has applied their expertise and scientific rigor to the subject of brewing coffee, thus creating one of the most thorough treatments on the subject to date.
On today's show e are talking with the author of the new book, "The Physics of Filter Coffee", Jonathan Gagné !
Jonathan Gagné is a scientific advisor at the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium in Montreal, and adjunct professor at Université de Montréal. He completed his Ph.D. in astrophysics in 2015 and moved to the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. for a 3-year postdoc as a Sagan Fellow. He came back to Montreal to start a second postdoc at the Institute for Research on Exoplanets before he was hired by the Planetarium. Jonathan's expertise is focused on brown dwarfs, young stars, exoplanets, and stellar associations. He uses various telescopes throughout the world to carry his research, from the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic in Québec, the Infrared Telescope Facilities in Hawaii and Gemini-South in Chile.
In his free time, Jonathan is also passionate about coffee brewing and has dived deeply into all many aspects of how physics affect coffee preparation for pour overs and more recently espresso. He maintains a blog of his findings and understanding of coffee physics at coffeeadastra.com, and he is the author of the book The Physics of Filter Coffee.
This is a wide-ranging conversation that addresses many of the key elements that impact our brewing and how we can apply practical solutions to create wonderful coffee both at home and at at scale in the shop
We cover:
- Motivation through frustrated brewing
- Beginning his experimentations in coffee
- Studying the most significant aspects
- Relying on the community and their experience
- Applied physics in how water moves through coffee
- Building and refining you mental model
- Accounting for the variability in coffee’s behavior
- Tracking your brews
- What shops can do to improve extractions at scale
- Different way of thinking about batch brew
- Coffee freshness and extraction
- Recommendation for appropriate bicarb levels in water for brewing
- Recommended tools to assess your coffee quality
Links:
Jonathan's Blog : www.coffeeadastra.com
Jonathan on IG: @jgagneastrocoffee
Buy the book! The Physics of Filter Coffee
Related episodes:
- 347 : Brewing Coffee and a Career w/ U.S. Brewer’s Cup Champion, Elika Liftee
- 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab
- 286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
- 148 : Exploring the Ground Control Brewer w/ Eli Salomon
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
How do we get customers to buy coffees they will like? This is more or less the question I was asked by a client recently in regards to bean purchases and I feel it also speaks to other decisions the coffee shop customer will make in beverage, food, etc.
Today on Shift Break I will give you the answer I gave my client on how to help customers find beans they will like. From there we will talk about my philosophy and approach on up-selling as an important feature of hospitality vs an opportunistic grab for revenue.
Related episodes:
227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
092 : Tony “Tonx” Konecny of Yes Plz : Consumer Accessibility, roasting, 3rd wave, subscription
122 : How to be a Cash Register Hero : 6 Essential Skills Blog: Spiders and Customer Service The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
How specialty coffee has evolved, understood, and enjoyed has changed greatly over the past 50 years. Today get to talk someone whose career has not developed in parallel with the coffee industry but has been instrumental in advancing some of the best aspects of it. I'm thrilled to have bene able to sit down with the great Kenneth Davids!
Kenneth has been involved with coffee since the early 1970s and has published three books on coffee, including the influential Home Roasting: Romance and Revival, now in its second edition, and Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying, which has sold nearly 250,000 copies in five editions. His latest book, 21st Century Coffee: A Guide, is an unprecedentedly thorough survey of specialty coffee in all of its aspects, authoritative yet engaging.
Ken’s workshops and seminars on coffee sourcing, evaluation and communication have been featured at professional coffee meetings on six continents.
He is Professor Emeritus of Critical Studies at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. In 1996 he was awarded a Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to Coffee Literature by the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
One of our industries most influential people. Kenneth’s work has shaped multiple generations of coffee enthusiasts and professionals and in this sense an hour conversation is woefully insufficient to give you even idea of the breadth and Kenneth’s journey and work but here we are and I can honestly say it was true honor to speak with him and to feature his wisdom and perspectives on this show.
We cover:
- Goals of his new book
- The new challenges of writing about coffee
- Honesty and authority of information
- How Kenneth went form cafe owner to coffee writer
- Mere communication vs delivering depth of understanding
- Consumer community and its evolution
- Starting Coffee review
- The gap of accessibility and need to building the middle
- What shapes consumer tastes today
- Incentivizing accessible excellence
- Using information to draw people in vs push away
- Communicating flavor
- How naturals chawed things
- The hope for coffee’s future
Links:
Buy Kenneth's new book!
https://www.kennethdavidscoffee.com
Related episodes:
Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer 069: Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes : 7 Guidelines 035 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott 242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Management absolutely means you have the opportunity to affect change in the coffee shop. It also mean you have a responsibility to make sure the current operation is running smoothly and that the basics are taken care of. Often we favor the change over the stewardship and that is where we can get in trouble.
Today on shift break we are going to be chasing about the difference between what you want, what is needed, and how doing things in the proper order can and often does allow for both.
Related episodes:
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
It's Founder Friday! We are traveling to Panama to learn about one of the greatest cafes and roasters, Cafe Unido through a wonderful conversation with its founder, Benito Burmudez.
Inspired by the idea that Panama has some to of the world's best coffees, the first Café Unido opens its doors in 2014 in the city of Panama with a clear goal: provide a space for Panamanians to learn and appreciate coffee grown by different local producers, their distinct terroirs, regions, micro lots, varietals and processes while at the same time giving back to coffee growing regions. Over the years they evolved from a single shop, to nine stores, seven in Panama City, one in Boquete, and a new store in Washington DC.
Benito had previously opened and run a successful restaurant, Maito, prior to Unido and is also a Panama Barista Championship 2nd place finisher. Since founding the company he has been tirelessly promoting the celebration and deeper understanding of the coffees of Panama to the world.
Today we will be talking all about this journey, what has made it successful, the lessons learned, and much more...
We cover:
- How Restaurant experience helped
- Staying motivated through tough times
- Working to win over locals to a new flavor of coffee
- Being flexible and not snobbish about coffee
- Training system and structure
- Delegation and investing in understanding
- Culture and values at scale
- The biggest mistake in growing the business
- Allowing for the brand’s evolution and how to judge success
- Exploring the depth and variety of Panama coffee
- Expansion to the states
Links:
https://cafeunido.com
Instagram: @cafeunido
Related episodes:
- 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
- 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
- 332: Founder Friday! w/ Iman Kusumaputra & Putri Yulandari of Kopikalyan, Jakarta, Indonesia
- 061 : You Don’t Know Beans about Brazil w/ Kelly Stein, Coffea Podcast
- 289 : Founder Friday w/ Ochen Simon Eidodo of Chariots Coffees, Uganda!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
Welcome to the 10th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In this interview we are talking with Green Coffee Buyer and Director of Coffee at Huckleberry Coffee Roasters, winner of the Roast Magazine Macro Roaster of the year award.
The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series on Keys to the Shop and to the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston where we have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds
Kevin has spent well over a decade in specialty coffee. Beginning as a barista at Chinatown Coffee in D.C. he then moved to Guatemala where he assisted a small coffee growers’ cooperative with processing, roasting, and packaging coffee and forging relationships that he maintains to this day.
For the last 8 years Kevin has helped Huckleberry Roasters develop, grow, and refine their coffee program through values and relationship based sourcing and all this at scale.
In this conversation we will be diving into Kevins role with the company and the journey of growth and development while maintaining long term sourcing relationships and quality.
We cover:
- Kevin's approach to sourcing
- Growth and keeping grounded
- Huckleberry's culture and its impact on green buying
- Feedback's role in guiding the roastery
- Overcoming challenges in logistics and supply
- Long terms farmer relationships
- Care for the people and work culture at Huckleberry
Links:
www.huckleberryroasters.com
Instagram: @Huckleberryroasters
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription)
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
Welcome to the 9th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In this interview we are talking with specialty coffee and roasting luminary, Scott Rao!
The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series on Keys to the Shop and to the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston where we have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds
Scott Rao has been in the coffee business for over 25 years as a cafe owner, roaster, consultant, and author. The Coffee Roaster’s Companion and Coffee Roasting: Best Practices have influenced a generation of roasters and shaped the global roasting vocabulary and conversation. Scott’s popular Instagram account @whereisscottrao offers expert-level tips and discussion about coffee brewing and roasting.
Today we are chatting with Scott about the abundance of technological advances in roasting and how to approach adopting these tools and innovations in a way that serves your goals.
We cover:
- Innovative technology up til now
- Controlling outcomes via technology vs brewing methods
- How better brewing and extraction tech has changed roasting
- Working with what we have
- Controlling coffee’s body
- Best practice for achieving consistency
- The technologist vs artisan approach
- How to choose and adopt innovative tech
Links:
www.scottrao.com
Instagram: @whereisscottrao
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription)
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
Welcome to the 8th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In this interview we are having a great talk with Kat Nolte-Ferguson of Sucafina Specialty!
The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series on Keys to the Shop and to the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston where we have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds
After earning a degree in accounting and spending a few years in rural Africa, Kat been exploring coffee from every possible angle: from barista to trader; from stock lot to microlot; from craft to commercial – she has experience the spectrum one specialty and is focused full time at Sucafina where she has dedicated her career to improving economic opportunity for African smallholder farmers. Kat is also a Chair on the SCA's Sustainability Advisory Counsel.
In today's conversation we get to discuss some of what Kat actually presented on during expo related to supply chain risk mitigation for coffee roasters.
We cover:
- Helping roasters understand the world of logistics
- Why do roasters have to understand the market and supply chain
- Cost, price, and buying green
- The main topics pithing the supply chain that impact your roastery
- Where do you start with price risk management?
- Flexibility and having contingency plans for all your origins
- Amount of risk inherent in relationship focused sourcing
- Blend's role in stability that serve everyone
Links:
www.sucafina.com
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
In the wake of tragedy and heartbreak we find ourselves looking for ways to heal and make sense of the chaos around us. The recent violence, racism, and evil that took place in the U.S. took place in spaces where people should not need to worry about their safety. Spaces similar to the coffee shops we run and work in everyday.
As we wrestle with the incomprehensible pain and senselessness of these events we find ourselves taking stock of our own communities and spaces and struggle to find ways to make a difference.
Today I wanted to offer a short note on our role as providers of sacred spaces that are made for the beautiful humans that we get to work with and serve. How it does make difference and how we our we can lean into kindness and loving each other well through what we do as a part of the way we build a better future.
Brewing a great cup of coffee is like crafting a career in coffee, it take intentionality, consistency, and a humility that keeps in mind the end goal of all your efforts. These are some of the qualities that make today's guest, Elika Liftee, not just a brewing champion, but an example of professionalism we can all be inspired by.
Elika is the Director of Education at Onyx Coffee Lab, where he leads a team of educators in training in-house baristas, wholesale partners, and the public. He's been the reigning US Brewers Cup Champion since 2020, finishing 3rd in the World Brewers Cup during that time.
In this conversation we get t talk with Elika about his career, lessons learned through experimentation, and how he has developed his current approach to teaching, training, and brewing a great cup of coffee.
We cover:
- Falling in love with coffee
- Exploring management and finding teaching
- The difference between management and teaching
- Codifying and customizing the training program
- Discovering how people learn
- Experimenting with brewing and his favorite methods
- Dialing in hospitality + judge/ customer preferences
- Discovering and using the Melo drip and “flat” everything
- Dialing in coffee across the cafes.
- Consistency and what are forgiving and not forgiving coffees?
- Advice for brewing amazing coffee
Links:
Instagram @elikaliftee
Onyx Coffee Lab
https://www.mk-ceramics.com/pages/mk-dripper
Related episodes:
296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
188 : Founder Friday w/ Jon Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab
012 : Lauren Airola of Onyx Coffee Lab : A Journey Into Management & Back
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Welcome to the 7th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series!
The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series on Keys to the Shop and to the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston where we have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds
In this interview we are having a wonderful chat with Will Frith all about the current rise of Asian coffee.
Will Frith is a long time industry veteran with a broad range of experience as a barista, roaster, trainer and educator, and entrepreneur. He has been researching and working in the growing specialty coffee industry in Vietnam since 2012 and is the founder of the co roasting space Building Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Will is passionate advocate for Asian coffee and presented on this subject during the SCA expo. In our conversation with him we dive into the current rise of asian coffee in the industry and what we need to understand in order to support it and experience the wonderful variety it offers.
We cover:
- What has led to the current surge in asian coffee
- Specialty robusta
- Alienation / Differences in cultural preferences
- Learning about emerging processes
- Local ecosystem of specialty
- How roasters should approach these coffees
- Sustainability connection
- Most common questions and concerns
- The key of branding and connecting the consumer
Links:
Building.coffee
Bel: Will's Coffee and Wine Bar
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
Welcome to the 6th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In this interview we are talking with industry veteran, green coffee expert, and author of the new book "Green Coffee", Chris Kornman!
The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series on Keys to the Shop and to the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston where we have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds
Chris Kornman is a seasoned coffee quality specialist, writer and researcher, and the Lab & Education Manager at The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room.
He has extensive experience traveling in and purchasing coffees from East Africa and South America. Chris came up in coffee at the beginning of and through the 3rd wave coffee movement and has been deeply involved in many different facets of the green coffee trade through its many evolutions.
Today we are going to be discussing the world of green coffee buying, trade, and insights into how to approach it in a practical and ethical way.
We cover:
- Green buying and what's shifted over the years
- Density as an accessible measure of performance
- What we need to be aware of now in varieties
- Misconceptions of coffee based on origin
- Focusing on the people as a framework for sourcing
- Connecting to customer preferences in spite of ourselves
- Misconceptions about green buying
- Humility and respect for the farmers
Links:
Buy the book! www.roastmagazine.com/greencoffee
The Crown: Royal Tasting Room
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription)
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
Hey! It is the 5th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In today's conversation we sit down with the Roastmaster of Caffe Amouri Nicki Amouri to talk about really getting a grip on roast curves!
The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series on Keys to the Shop and to the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston where we have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds
Nicki Amouri is a Licensed arabica q grader, SCA certified roaster and barista as well as an SCA certified trainer. She is the Roastmaster and green buyer at Caffe Amouri in Vienna, VA where she also teaches roasting classes.
Nicki Presented some great information during the latest Roast Summit on the most curve and so I wanted to sit down with her to talk about how we should be approaching and utilizing the roast curve to best dial in our coffees for our customers.
We cover:
- Corolating taste to the curve
- Feedback and making adjustments
- Typical things that roasters get hung up on
- What to focus on to make a difference
- Dialing in to your roaster
- Remaining agile as you become more settled in
- The excitement of the unknowns
Links:
www.caffeamouri.com
Nicki's presentation at the Roast Summit
Click here tp watch video of this interview on Roast magazine's YouTube channel!
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription)
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
For this 4th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! This time we sit down with one of my favorite roasters, Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters to learn how to teach others to roast!
The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series on Keys to the Shop and to the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston where we have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds
With over 25 yrs working in the coffee industry, Anne is an Australian Roaster who has gained extensive experience in many areas of the coffee industry as Barista, Café Owner/Manager, National Barista Trainer & Assessor, Head Roaster/Roasting Production Manager at both a National & International level. A certified Q Grader she regular judges competitions worldwide. With her consulting company, Equilibrium Master Roasters, Anne continues to develop her extensive roasting skills & knowledge with exposure to a wide range of roasting companies & machines and various roasting techniques / industry relevant processes & protocols – she is really passionate about passing on skills & knowledge to the next generation of flame keepers.
In this conversation we dig into how a roaster should approach teaching someone to roast. If you have an apprentice roaster or are thinking you may want to train up some help then this episode will be very insightful.
We cover:
- Keys to building a curriculum
- Realistic time frames and structure
- Education, communication, teaching decisiveness
- Learning to teach and tasting unrealized potential
- Patience and building confidence
- Creating a learning environment
- What we can get wrong about education
Click here tp watch video of this interview on Roast magazine's YouTube channel!
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription)
Links:
-
Equilibrium Master Roasters: www.eqmr.com.au
-
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
For some reason we tend to think people can read our minds. When we communicate generally but expect specific results we are setting ourselves and everyone else up for a lot of tension and confusion.
On today's Shift Break we will dive into the idea of communicating and resourcing your baristas and managers to fulfill specific expectations and using due dates to help give structure to directives and projects.
Related Episodes:
330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks
Blog: Good Communication is “For Here”
Looking for guidance, clarity, and solid solutions for your coffee business?
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
We take for granted the kinds of interactions and connections we make in the course of our daily professional barista lives. An incredible variety of people with unique and interesting stories and perspectives pass through our doors daily. Coupled with the story of coffee itself, this business is a rich and fascinating one. Those are the motivations that led today's guest, Celeste Wong into the coffee industry and inspired her to start The Girl in the Cafe.
Originally from New Zealand, Celeste is has held top positions in leading artisan cafes all over the world for over a decade. Since migrating to the UK, she has been listed as one of London’s top five Baristas in The Financial Times and noted for her excellence in a plethora of other publications.
With an Honors degree in Commerce & Design she is also an actress, with notable success in her roles in front of the camera, including her last feature-film becoming the highest grossing independent film of the year in New Zealand that won multiple awards internationally.
Celeste produces and curates social media content for her own platform and other brands. She writes and consults on a range of services for cafes and lifestyle brands.
In this conversation we get to experience the arch of Celeste's career from coffee as a job, then coffee as a career, -to the epiphany that led to her starting and growing The Girl in the Cafe.
There are some wonderful insights here and I hope you enjoy!
We cover:
- Beginning her coffee career in cafes
- Learning from serious professionals
- Love hate relationship with coffee
- Developing The Girl in the cafe platform
- Goals and personal lessons
- Reflecting coffee to consumers with empathy
- Finding your voice
- Memorable insights gleaned form the show
- Desire for the industry
Links:
www.thegirlinthecafe.co.uk
Instagram: @The_girl_in_the_cafe
Related episodes:
206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
024 : Chermelle D. Edwards, The Coffeetographer : Documenting Art and Culture Through the Lens of Specialty Coffee : Barista Culture, Consumer Experience, Movements in coffee culture
257 : A Conversation w/ Morgan Eckroth of MorganDrinksCoffee!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
For this 3rd episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! We are talking with the always thought provoking, Karl Wienhold, Author of the book, Cheap Coffee!
The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series on Keys to the Shop and to the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston where we have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds
Karl Wienhold is a consultant, researcher and organizer of postcolonial rural development. He is dedicated to trying to better understand and undo extractive economic power structures that have oppressed people and degraded ecosystems to enrich others since colonial times. He studies coffee, microeconomics, agroforestry, circular economies, and is the author of the challenging and important book, "Cheap Coffee".
In our chat we dig into lots of topics- mostly challenging- but some encouraging. All Inspiring action.
We cover:
- The power difference in the supply chain
- Treating symptoms vs finding solutions
- The role marketing plays
- Incentive structures
- Conflicts of interest
- Autonomy, Charity, and efficiency
- Grace for growth
Click here tp watch video of this interview on Roast magazine's YouTube channel!
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription)
Links:
- www.cheapcoffeebook.com
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
Welcome to Rate of Rise Live! Episode #2 brought to you by Roast Magazine!
I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with Roast during the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston to have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds.
In this episode we are sitting down with Owner of Little Waves Coffee, Durham, NC, Areli Barerra Grodski!
Areli Barrera Grodski is an immigrant from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. She moved to San Antonio at 6 years of age and then to Cherokee, NC at 10. It is here where she was introduced to coffee as a community space and to her husband and business partner, Leon Grodski Barrera. She has been working in coffee since 2009 as a barista, coffee shop owner, roaster, and green coffee buyer. She proudly owns three shops called Cocoa Cinnamon and a roastery called Little Waves Coffee Roasters in Durham, NC. Areli is also the Recording Secretary and Board Member of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity.
Little Waves is the most recent winner of the prestigious Micro-Roaster of the Year Award and in this conversation we chat with Areli all about her and her husband Leon's journey in beginning, growing, and learning through Little Waves Coffee.
We cover:
- Bootstrapping and the uphill battle with a cart
- The range of challenges and emotions in entrepreneurship
- The mission behind Little Waves
- Surviving the pandemic
- How she defines success
- Applying values to daily work
- Open heartedness and growth
- Representation in coffee
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription)
Click here tp watch video of this interview on Roast magazine's YouTube channel!
Links:
- www.littlewaves.coffee
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
Welcome to Rate of Rise Live brought to you by Roast Magazine!
I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with Roast during the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston to have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds all about specialty coffee, roasting, risk management, teaching roasting, roast curve, inspiring stories of entrepreneurship and much more!
We are kicking off this series of interviews with the venerable Peter Giuliano!
Peter Giuliano is the Executive Director of the Coffee Science Foundation and the Chief Research Officer Specialty Coffee Association and one our industries best thinkers.
Recently the SCA presented their new definition of "Specialty Coffee" based on attributes to recognize a wider range of specialty expressions and this is exactly what I chawed with Peter about during the EXPO.
We cover:
- History of defining specialty coffee
- Establishing the new definition according to SCA
- Inclusivity and diversity in flavor, preparations, etc.
- What is “good” and “bad”?
- interchangeability, uniqueness, and blends
- What changes for how roasters approach coffee as a result
- How coffee shops help in celebrating diverse ways to be specialty
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription)
Links:
- SCA's New Definition
- Peter's past episode on KTTS about Customer Preferences
www.keystotheshop.com
Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com
After a rush, an event, or any situation where there is tension and the need to perform well as a team (pretty much any time) there are always a lot of thoughts and emotions that people have. Unfortunately we tend to simply carry on as though it never happened and thus lose out on a lot of positive growth and development that can result from debriefing.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the importance of debriefing as a team and how it creates better performance, communication, culture, and consistency in the coffee shop.
Related episodes:
229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
The One-on-One : How one meeting can dramatically impact your coffee shop’s culture and morale.
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
Shift Break: The Agreement
Tips for Conducting Great Staff Meetings
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Accurately tasting coffee can be a daunting task. Add to that the pressure of competition or just the daily work of the bar, and being focused, confident, and at ease while dialing in or making flavor determinations seems all but impossible. These are all however attributes that today's guest possesses and has honed over their career to be able to remain cool and taste coffees like a champion. Today we are talking with the 2022 U.S. Cup Tasters Champ, Julien Langevin!
Julien Langevin is the production roaster for Coffee By Design in Portland, ME. Langevin only just began learning how to roast after working for about four years as a barista in different iterations, and taking a brief hiatus from the industry to try his hand at being an electrician. His first real job was at Starbucks and worked through various shops in Portland while achieving his Bachelors of Fine Arts. After graduation he began to go to SCA events, acting as a volunteer and a sensory judge for the Barista competition, and then competing in the Nashville Cup Tasters qualifier in 2020. After a two and a half year separation from said community, Langevin found his way back to coffee somehow and is now the current 2022 US Cup Tasters Champion.
In this conversation we will get to learn about Julien's career path, tasting techniques, and hear words of wisdom for aspiring tasters and coffee professionals!
We cover:
- Journey and challenges in coffee career
- Techniques for tasting
- Grounding yourself
- Tasting when nervous vs relaxed
- Focus, Flow state, and visualization
- Preparing for competition
- Doing what you can where you are
Links:
Instagram @Julientheperson
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048 : How to taste coffee w/ U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Steve Cuevas!
297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee
078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris
037 : Chocolate & Coffee w/ Brian Beyke : Understanding Craft Chocolate
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Some of the reasons we do not take the next step to delegate management or take the next step in our business is because we feel we are not ready. It seems embarrassing to not have it all together when you've over authority to someone like a manager and you want to wait till you have a perfect system and suite of resources to hand them. Problem is that you will likely never truly be "ready". On top of that, you may be robbing them, and yourself, of the benefit that comes with working through and imperfect context.
Today on Shift Break we are going to be talking about why what you think is messy can and often is something beautiful for your business and the people who work in it.
Related episodes:
261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
Hiring for Future Leadership
Why "Next in Line" promotion Might be a Bad Idea
330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
267 : The Power of Delegation
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Our industry is one focused on creating memorable experiences for guests of our shops. Being detail oriented is part of our hospitality to people because we know that when all those little things come together, they deliver a real impact.
This is what driven today's guest throughout his illustrious career working for some of the worlds most prestigious hotels and Restaurants to deliver these experiences.
Nicolas Simon caught the hospitality bug upon graduating from one of the top business schools in France. From there, various experiences with Byblos Saint-Tropez, Four Seasons Paris, then Geneva and Plaza-Athénée defined his all-around profile in the industry, from F&B operations to finance and marketing. He was also the managing partner of three restaurants (two of them being awarded a Michelin star within the first year of operation), before being appointed Alain Ducasse’s Director of Operations North America and moving to New York City 14 years ago. In November 2016, Nicolas became the co-founder and CEO of Wilcuma – a full-service hospitality workshop that offers services such as consultancy, management, and real estate, and also has a portfolio of proprietary concepts planned for development and operation
Fueled by his passion for hospitality and executing at the highest levels, Nicholas has set his sights on the coffee world with the opening of the new El Condor Coffee Roasters in the West Village, NYC. El Condor seeks to create a transcendent and comfortable all-day cafe experience that delivers quality, consistency, and genuine connection.
We cover:
- Beginnings in hospitality
- Growing as a manager and leader
- The critical role of operations
- Philosophy on service and caring for guests
- Entering into the coffee industry
- The vision and goals of El Condor
- Advice for how to approach hospitality and systems for accountability
Links:
www.elcondor.coffee
www.wilcuma.com
Related Episodes:
030 : Casey Underkofler : Matching Your Service to Your Quality : How to Manage and Control the critical details of service so both the experience and product are excellent
330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
188 : Founder Friday w/ Jon Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Welcome to this special edition of the Founder Friday series! We have an incredible collection of interviews from some of the world's best coffee shop operators and entrepreneurs. Within each interview are gems of wisdom that help us move ourselves and the industry forward.
In this special edition of Founder Friday I went back into the archives to mine those gems from past guests around a specific topic, -hospitality and meeting people where they are.
Our industry of specialty coffee has worked hard to build itself up and now we see a mammoth effort to help welcome people into what we have built.
In this episode we will here form four past guests:
- Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
- Dorian Bolden of Beyu Cafe in Durham, NC
- Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar in Stone Mountain, GA
- Andrew Sinclair of Madlab Coffee in Los Angeles, CA
Each of these past Founder Friday guests brings a unique take and perspective on what goes in to hospitality and meeting people where they are. From accessible brewing, staff and self care - to friendly service encounters, values, and connecting beyond the transaction, I think this episode will deliver a concentrated dose of wisdom to help inspire us all.
Related Episodes:
- 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
- 225: Encore Founder Friday! Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC
279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar - 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
- 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
- 085 : How we Ruin the Specialty Experience
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It's one thing to make decisions when you work alone, but quite another thing when you work with others and your decisions have far reaching impact on different employees, leaders, and departments. What e and to do is force change into existing processes without regard for the wake those decisions leave behind.
In today's Shift Break we will be talking about building a decision pipeline that takes into account all the people and relevant down stream departments that this one, seemingly small decision, will affect.
Related episodes:
080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
Blog: Accountability goes both Ways
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Morgan Eckroth is the new U.S. Barista Champion! Part of the point behind competition is setting the stage for conversation around ideas ranging from social issues to the hands on craft of coffee. In both these areas there are far reaching implications for what the industry latches on to and is inspired to continue developing. On such theme is merging high-end experiences with accessibility in mind. Morgan Eckroth, known for her social media platform Morgan Drinks Coffee, has plenty of experience with connecting with an audience and in her presentation for USBC this year, leaned into the idea that specialty can be and should be experienced by more than just judges at the highest level of coffee.
Morgan is a barista and content creator, having worked in the specialty coffee industry for 5 years. With over 5 million followers across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, she shares her love for coffee through comedic customer service sketches, vlogs about her job, and educational videos. Morgan also released a line of coffee in collaboration with Wrecking Ball Coffee in December 2020 and is working to continue creating a link between baristas and their customers through a shared love for coffee and a dash of humor.
Today we get to sit down with Morgan and hear all about her innovative approach to the competition and all the ups and downs on her journey to victory in Boston.
We cover:
- Deciding to compete after years of life change
- Preparation for USBC and crafting a theme
- Innovation and challenges
- High level Accessibility
- Choosing the coffees
- Break down of beverage creation
- Goals and inspirations
- Advice to other competitors and shops
Links:
www.morgandrinkscoffee.com
Related Episodes:
257 : A Conversation w/ Morgan Eckroth of MorganDrinksCoffee!
099 : The Barista League w/ Competition Founder Steve Moloney
298 : A Trophy, or Atrophy?
173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
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As new processing methods become more popular and prominent, roasters must pivot and adjust how they approach them in order to get the best possible result. Processes like honey and pulped natural present unique challenges for even the most veteran roasters. The good news is that there is a growing family of best practices that will help you see success and consistency while embracing the new and emerging methods on the market. To help us sort through this topic we turn to none other than Mike Ebert of Firedancer Consultants.
As the founder of Firedancer Coffee Consultants, Mike is dedicated to helping clients create a personalized strategy to ensure long-term success. He works primarily with roasters, producers and retailers, drawing from his extensive experience in all facets of the specialty coffee supply chain to guide clients in reaching their potential. Ebert is an Authorized SCA Trainer; holding the professional level certificates in Green Coffee, Sensory Skills, Roasting and Brewing. He has had a hand in many positions up and down the supply chain and continues his volunteer work with the Specialty Coffee Association’s Education Advisory Council as Co-Chair of the Education Content Committee.
In our conversation we cover:
- Then challenge Pulp natural and other processes present
- Mistakes we make when roasting new processes
- Knowing your roaster and being vigilant
- Frame work for earlier success
- Taking into account the unique sugar changes
- Rate of Rise
- How learning new methods can help with old ones
- Shifting our minds to innovate new metrics
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! Use code "ROR" to get $5 off
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
RoR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee
RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
RoR #12 : Inside Coffee Packaging w/ Ever Meister
It's not uncommon to feel like the day get's away from us and that we are always being taken for a ride by the work. Heck, I can hardly remember entire years of my own career due to not taking on this one essential habit until much, much later.
On today's Shift Break we are going to talk about "Bookending" your day and how to use this time in the beginning and end of your work day to show up fully, mature decisively, and have maximum positive impact on your business, coworkers, and staff.
Related Episodes:
- The Counterbalanced Barista
- Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game Learning -vs- LEARNING
- Accurate Reflection : A very important end of year challenge and encouragement to the Keys to the Shop community
- Career Advice from Joe Marocco of Mill City Roaster : Mission, learning, goals, mindset
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How do you think about success and your coffee shop? For many people it boils down to financial metrics only which, in the long run, may not bring the kind of fulfillment the we seek when we first set out to begin in coffee. In fact without some more nuanced goals and metrics for success, even the profitability will and does suffer.
Today I want to talk about four ideas of what I believe success can look like that go beyond the financial and help balance our pursuit of profit in a way that bring sustainability to both you and the people you serve through the business.
We cover:
- Out normal understanding of sucess
- The importance of employee care
- Legacy and long term creation
- Intentionality and Community impact
- Personal and professional growth
Related episodes:
055 : Personal Growth & Development w/ Jared Truby, Cat & Cloud Coffee
293 : Thoughts on Defining Professionalism
206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger
009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk : Simon shows us how we should be thinking of numbers and their relation to our shops, baristas, and businesses
302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube
227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
Blog: Who we are and What we do
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I witnessed a heartbreaking scene unfold while at SCA EXPO in Boston. The situation was a common one in most of our cafes but in this context it really impacted me and inspired this Shift Break.
What are we doing in specialty? Is our talk about accessibility just talk? Are the best expressions of coffee the most exclusive? Lot's of questions rolling around the ol' noggin after this trip and today I wanted to chat about it with you.
As you listen, ask yourself what you would do in this scenario and how we as an industry might be able to do better in welcoming a larger variety of people into our spaces while we simultaneously pursue excellence.
Related episodes:
262 : Understanding the Homeless Community w/ Natalie Harris, Executive Director of The Coalition for the Homeless
338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Visit our Sponsors!!!
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It is the 5 year anniversary of episode #19 titled "10 Reasons to Love the Customer"!
Coffee professionals tend to pit themselves against the customer as and us vs them battle. The original episode in 2017 was inspired by a magazine article about what baristas hate about customers. This mentality does not good for anyone and because we easily fall into thinking negatively about the customer, I thought it was time we refocus and exercise thankfulness and positivity.
All of these reasons are general enough to be true of almost any car or coffee shop. Truth be told, beyond the general reasons, there are a ton more specific ones that are unique to your own community.
It is my hope that you take this episode and contextualize it, and put in place as a regular thankfulness practice for yourself and your team.
Related Episodes:
Ignoring the Customer
Spiders! What they can Teach us About Hospitality
045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
016: Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth
277: Encore Episode: How to respond to Negative Feedback
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We love the idea of developing a culture of trust. A place where it is safe to open up and be honest without worrying. Vulnerability is the new metric (among others) by which we judge how successful we are as leaders and I am happy that is. But if we are not carful then we risk using vulnerability as a weapon against people.
In today's Shift Break we will be chatting about how our desire to have a team where there is openness and trust can lead to us resorting to coercion and essentially forcing people into vulnerability, making it weird for everyone.
Related Episodes:
- Toxic vulnerability
- One on ones
- Above and beyond
- Reasonable expectations
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www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
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What does you baristas training produce? For many shops barista training is a loose and rushed experience that falls short in equipping staff with what is needed to succeed. It also creates stress in leadership who desperately want to see good results but through poor mindsets toward training, sabotage the chance of seeing them.
In today's episode we will be talking about what goals and outcomes you need to be shooting for when thinking of and developing your your training programs.
We discuss:
- Why we don't see the things we want
- What baristas need vs what we give them
- Pitfalls of rushed and overly wrought training
- Memorization and Understanding
- Standards and Consistency
- Excitement and Curiosity
Related episodes:
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
How do we get people to come to our shop? This is the question at the root of most of our marketing efforts. So many of us have stories of how customers will tell us, even after years of business, "I never knew you were here!". It's frustrating.
In todays Shift Break we will be chatting about how we have been limiting ourselves with the way we are approaching marketing and the change of mindset and tactic that I think may help get people in your shop and aware of your brand.
Related episodes:
215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
304 : Inside the Coffee Data Trends Breakout Report w/ Katie Von Der Lieth of the SCA
120 : Social Media 101 w/ Jenn Chen
234 : Actions and Strategies to Improve your Messaging w/ Garrett Oden
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The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
How do we test the energy efficiency, emissions, and impact of or roasting machines?. We all want to be responsible with our environmental impact but all we have to go on for data is supplied by marketing from the manufacturer. Wouldn't it be nice to have a real measure of the performance of a roasting machine? Well that is exactly what today's guest is out to provide.
Today on the Rate of Rise series from Roast Magazine we are going to be talking with Dave Baxter about The Norm Roast Protocol!
Dave Baxter has avidly roasted coffee for more than 15 years. He applies an analytical approach to master the enigmatic art of coffee roasting. Dave joined the Artisan team in 2015 and is a founding member of the NORM-ROAST Consortium. Many of the analytical tools and other features in Artisan were created by him. Dave is an inventive engineer with over 60 granted patents.
In our conversation we cover:
- How Norm Roast Protocol was conceived
- Verifying Marketing claims
- Key components of the protocol
- Establishing specification for the protocol from research
- Incentivization of manufactures to adopt a universal protocol
- How to begin using the protocol
- Balance of Innovations focus on emissions vs maintaining quality
- Mass adoption as key to create efficacy
- Small vs large roasters
- Optimizing existing equipment for efficiency
Links:
www.norm-roast.org
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! Use code "ROR" to get $5 off
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
RoR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee
RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
RoR #12 : Inside Coffee Packaging w/ Ever Meister
In order to have clarity on how to operate effectively in coffee we need to view it thought a global lens. The tapestry of people and cultures that make up our industry are rarely represented and even less often do they benefit from coffee culture. The answer to this problem is something that today's guest calls "The Sepia Coffee Project".
Martell Mason is Co-Founder of the Sepia Coffee Project(SCP), a boutique roastery based in Detroit's North End. Although a native of the city, Martell has lived a very nomadic life with years spent throughout Asia, East Africa and Scandinavia. With a BA in International Affairs and grad work specializing in Sustainability and Coffee Value Chains; Martell continues to search for ways to bridge the gap from "farm to cup" while ensuring there is greater representation of all persons involved with an emphasis placed on those of color.
In 2017, he established Arabica Trading House in Istanbul, Turkey, being one of the first specialty traders to import high-quality, transparent coffees direct from origin. Pivoting after the shocks of the pandemic, Martell arrived back in the US in 2021 and saw an opportunity to be of service to a young, yet vibrant coffee community in Detroit.
Sepia Coffee Project's mission is to make specialty coffee more accessible to underserved markets, creating a more inclusive and equitable platform for coffee consumers, industry peers and the greater community at large.
In our conversation today we are going to be learning about Martell's unique journey through coffee and how his experiences shaped his views and the work he does today to create equity and inclusion for all.
We cover:
- Getting into coffee and developing a broad perspective
- Global travels and working in coffee
- How story adds value
- Learning by connecting directly with people
- Improve systems through deeper understanding
- Looking at what quality is and who defines it
- Farmer livelihoods and mainstream coffee
- Celebrating a wider range of coffee
- Addressing "Coffee Deserts"
- The establishment and goals of The Sepia Coffee Project
- Bringing coffee to the underserved and marginalized
Related episodes:
116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
233 : A Conversation w/ Anthony Ragler, Black and White
297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee
092 : Tony “Tonx” Konecny of Yes Plz : Consumer Accessibility, roasting, 3rd wave, subscription
227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
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www.coffeefest.com
Diana Martinez is one of those people that I am thrilled to see find success in coffee. She had a dream to open a coffee shop and consistently pursued knowledge and experience right out of the gate by working at a roastery and coffee shop then setting up a table on a sidewalk in her neighborhood to serve good coffee to those who did not have access to it. Today she has a brand new brick and mortar shop and the loyal support of her community. I dod not come easy though and that is what today's conversation is all about.
In this Founder Friday we will get to hear details of Diana's journey into coffee entrepreneurship, the challenges, lessons, opportunities, and mission that drives her to continue to build this dream. Not just for herself but for her culture and her community.
I know you will be inspired by this one!
We cover:
- How the dream began during COVID
- Gaining experience and taking the first step
- Starting on the sidewalk to serve the underserved
- Getting a loyal following and the role of social media
- Lessons learned in catering
- BET Awards and other opportunities
- When things got real
- How getting in “trouble” led to a brick and mortar
- Realities of finding and building a space
- Community reception
- Advice to other entrepreneurs
Links:
www.cafecalle.com
Instagram @cafecalle
Related Episodes:
236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
284 : Founder Friday! w. Jackie Nguyen of Cafe Cà Phê | Kansas City, MO
187 : A Conversation with Nikki Outlaw of Anecho Coffee
097 : Founder Friday w/ Erica Escalante of The Arrow Coffeehouse
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!
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The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Giving up control and taking on a new role can be scary. As a result a lot of owners and managers rely on rigid and controlling way of leading that ends up doing more harm than good.
In today's Shift Break we will be talking about the value of flexibility for both owners and managers and how it benefits the new context we find ourselves in when leading and delegating leadership.
Recommended episodes:
261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
Shift Break: The One-on-One
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
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The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
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It's not very often you come across someone who has spent decades as a true example of what it is to be an exemplary manager, leader, and professional. When you do find them you better be prepared to absorb their wisdom and let it help guide your own career.
Well, today we are privileged to sit down with some one who has done exactly that. We are talking all about leadership, management, and training, with Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee!
Selina Viguera is well-known in specialty coffee mostly for being an amazing and dedicated barista. She leads the Barista Guild Café at Specialty Coffee Expo and U.S. CoffeeChamps; she’s been a lead barista at TED in Vancouver, as well as TEDxWomen and TEDxMed; her latte art is featured on the Pacific Barista Series Oat and Rice packages. And she’s been “the face” of Blue Bottle, especially in her adopted home in Los Angeles, for years. Selina Viguera is a coffee professional who has worked in the industry for over 20+ years. Selina has managed some of the busiest Blue Bottle cafes in the North American market such as San Francisco’s Ferry Building location and LA’s Abbot Kinney location, where she is currently the cafe leader for over 7 years. In our conversation we explore here long career and the experiences that have shied who she is as a leader today. We cover: * Discovering the work of the cafe and then specialty coffee * Connecting with customers and becoming a leader * Leading the change to specialty in her first cafe * Learning to train and teach * Doors opening for management and leadership * Leading "Team First" and the metric of staff happiness * Training and onboarding effectively * Empowering feedback and conflict resolution * Balance of structure and culture * Embracing difficult conversations and being courageous * What she is most proud of accomplishing * Advice to fellow managers
Links:
Instagram: @sellybean_13
Email: Selina.viguera@gmail.com
Recommended Episodes:
329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee
306 : A Conversation w/ 2004 U.S. Barista Champion, Bronwen Serna!
305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
In Praise of Long Term Imperfect Employment
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We have talked a lot about your career development on the show and for the most part I would say this show advocates that you find a place that is right for you. There are times though, when we are in what could be considered the right place, but the difficulty prompts us to move on too quickly, leaving opportunity for growth behind.
In todays Shift Break we will be chatting about how long term employment in a place that can sometimes be deeply challenging can actually be beneficial and deepen your growth.
Be sure to also listen to the linked episodes below. They provide other perspectives that will help you wrap your mind around your current situation to make a mindful and solid decision.
Related Episodes:
Hard Work is Hard 077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work
015 : What to do if You don’t Advance w/ Anne Nylander : How to take the next step in your barista/coffee career
260 : Wait! Is your current Job actually the right Job?
331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts
Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
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The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Most of us would say we represent farmers with our work. Few of can say we literally work for farmers. Increasingly we see the need for business models that don't just give financial reward to farms but that shift the power balance to them. This is where the example and work of Pachamama Coffee shines as an example of what is possible with true farmer ownership. Today we are going to be exploring this model with the CEO AND co-founder, Thaleon Tremain.
Thaleon Tremain is the CEO and co-founder of Pachamama Coffee Cooperative, a vertically-integrated cooperative representing more than 240,000 smallholder coffee farmers around the world. Launched in California in 2006, Pachamama is the first coffee roaster in North American to be 100% owned and governed by farmers in Africa and Latin America. Thaleon has led Pachamama Coffee’s formation and growth since 2003.
Pachamama Coffee is wholly owned by its five member-cooperatives and its board of representatives is entirely composed of farmer representatives. Pachamama allows farmers to maintain quality control of their roasted coffee, while creating a brand and a simple path to share their own story with their own customers.
Thaleon’s passion for the cooperative business model began at an agricultural cooperative in rural Bolivia, where he worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the mid 1990s. In pursuit of a better ownership and governance structure for economic development, Thaleon is a dedicated advocate for the cooperative model. He lives in Sacramento with his wife and two sons.
In our conversation we will be exploring the founding and development of Pacahamama, its growth, goals, and isights they have gained over the course of almost 20 years of changing the landscape of farmer equity.
- The beginning of pachamama
- True farmer ownership
- Working for farmers
- True partnerships
- Patience and building long term solutions
- The importance of marketing, branding, and the consumer
- Communication of preference to farmers from the market
- Long term viability through community
Links:
www.pachamamacoffee.com
Instagram @pachamama_coffee
Related Episodes:
Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
A them of this show has been to infuse grace and patience into your leadership. For the most part, when we exercise patience and extend grace to baristas in the cafe it is a good thing that brings about positive results. There are times though, when it turns into something detrimental and it is hard to tell where that line is.
Today on Shift Break we are going to explore why patience is not always the best play and what you can to avoid letting your emotions prolong a bad situation.
Recommended episodes:
Hard Work is Hard
Reasonable Expectations
The Problem with "Should"
Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
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Working in customer a customer facing environment like a coffee shop means that we get to serve and experience all different types of people in the course fo the day. While so many of our interaction are within the expected range of emotions, there are times where things get pretty tense and situations escalate past where we are comfortable.
What do we do when confronted with these circumstances? Are we prepared for and confident in deescalation? Sadly we often fail in this area which means bad situations often get worse leaving staff and customers feeling demoralized and without much hope for resolution.
This is a really important topic and To help us learn how to approach deescalation and make it a real process in our shops we are talking to Melissa Tucker or Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace.
Melissa graduated with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from University of Hawaii Hilo, in August 2015. She worked for five years, in Hawaii, as a crisis mobile responder for youth, as a counselor at the domestic violence shelter, as a counselor for a private outpatient substance abuse clinic, and as the clinical supervisor providing training, counseling, parent education and services to staff and Child Welfare Services mandated clients. After moving to Washington State in 2019, she began providing private coaching and training in Motivational Interviewing, supervision, and counseling skills. She also worked for Crisis Connections as a supervisor and trainer for counselors and non-clinicians in Mental Health related skills. She currently works as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate in private practice in addition to doing private training.
In today’s conversation we cover:
- What leads to poorly handled conflict
- The unique context of the coffee shop
- Caring for staff needs and safety
- Listening and understanding
- The right mindset and cultlure
- Inoculating baristas against conflict
- Making policy a conversation
- Modeling behavior
- Principles and techniques of deescalation
Links:
Pathways to Peace Training
https://www.mindovermattersinstitute.com
EMAIL: info@pathpeace.org
Related episodes:
125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
262 : Understanding the Homeless Community w/ Natalie Harris, Executive Director of The Coalition for the Homeless
052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel
330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
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www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Coffee shops are notorious for overcomplicating their menus, concepts, and services. Most shops, if left unchecked in this, will have a significant number of poorly thought through drinks, back stock of unused inventory, and frustrated staff and customers either leaving bad reviews or leaving the business. The answer is not what we can add to our already burdened shops to find success, but what can we do less of to focus more on the few things that will bring success.
On today's Shift Break we are going to discuss how to approach building your capacity and ability to make good decisions by embracing simplicity and learning what you business needs and what it can handle as you go.
Related episodes:
327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster”
240 : What to do before your Build your Bar
Exclusivity is a Bad Strategy
Blog: Soul Searching in the New Landscape of Retail
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
We are living in a time where the average consumer is both spoiled for choice and simultaneously vexed at the sheer number of options available for great coffee and brewing equipment. What used to be a need for more and better green and gear has shifted to a need for how to choose and then use it all to get the best results for you. At the same time professionals, who represent coffee to the consumer, are increasingly hungry for reliable knowledge beyond their shops but lack the time that home enthusiasts tend to have more of.
In the field of resources for making sense of coffee, today's guest, Lance Hedrick, stands out for his friendly, accessible, and well reasoned and researched approach to demystifying brewing for both pros and the average consumer.
Lance Hedrick is a PHD student truanted coffee student who gave up his path in academia and pursuing a professorship in philosophy and linguistics to pursue coffee science and equipment.
In Lance's time working in coffee, he has worked bar, in a kitchen, bagging coffee, making deliveries, roasting, quality control, managing, opening a shop, consulting, designing bars, servicing equipment, training, and is currently overseeing wholesale for the west coast and international accounts for Onyx Coffee Labs.
As an accomplished competitor Lance has won somewhere over 30 latte art throw downs, is a 2 time CoffeeFest Latte Art World Champion, and has won 3rd and 2nd, respectively, in the US Brewers Cup Championship. Finally, he has been a coach to Andrea Allen in the Barista Championship since joining in 2018.
Lance has taken his passion for academia and coffee and combined them to create his popular Youtube channel where he breaks down the complex world of coffee and coffee equipment to make enjoying the best coffee accessible to all.
In our conversation today we are going to hear a bit of Lances story and dive deep into the subject of how he approaches research, coffee education, and the importance of creating in roads for consumers to more fully enjoy specialty coffee.
We cover:
- Abandoning academia for coffee
- Discovering specialty
- Becoming latte art famous
- Developing skills for training and teaching
- Starting to develop online material
- Making coffee education accessible
- The education gap between consumers and professionals
- Equipping our customers well
- Methodology for what is right vs what is best
- The importance of investing training and education
- Barista education as the key equipping and embracing consumers
Links:
Lance Hedrick YouTube
Lance on Instagram
Related Episodes:
- 188 : Founder Friday w/ Jon Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab
- 024 : Chermelle D. Edwards, The Coffeetographer : Documenting Art and Culture Through the Lens of Specialty Coffee : Barista Culture, Consumer Experience, Movements in coffee culture
- 321 : Marketing and Moral Injury w/ Josh Tarlo of Kiss the Hippo
- 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
- 297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee
- 312 : How to Choose the Right Machine for Your Shop w/ Chad little of La Marzocco
- 197 : Getting the most from your Equipment w/ Melissa Vaiden of Counter Culture Coffee
- 035 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
- 069: Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes : 7 Guidelines
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On this Founder Friday we go to Jakarta, Indonesia to explore the story of Kopikalyan! This ground breaking roaster retailer sources, roasts, and serves exclusively Indonesian Coffees. Innovation, Hospitality, and relationships are what drive this fantastic company and in today's episode we get to talk to Iman and Putri, two of the co-founders about how they took this business from idea, to reality
Iman & Putri are two of six friends who co-founded Kopikalyan, both studied in Melbourne, Australia, one of the best cities in the world to enjoy coffee. The idea to start a coffee shop business happened over a casual conversation in 2016 and today Kopikalyan has 4 outlets in total, 3 in Jakarta and 1 in Tokyo, Japan.
Iman is an ex-banker who turned into a full-time entrepreneur due to his interest in F&B Business. Upon entering the coffee industry, he got interested in enhancing the synergy between upstream & downstream, particularly on how coffee shops could directly support a better life for farming families of Indonesia through fair prices.
Putri is an architect who previously worked on many hospitality projects. What interests her most about designing a coffee shop is the limitless possibility of always creating something different, in terms of customer’s experience as well as branding identity. She believes that visuals are an important aspect of showcasing great coffee. A coffee shop should be representing and spotlighting the coffee as well as the people behind that cup of coffee.
We cover:
- Their inspiration to start
- First year success and challenges,
- Learning coffee and roasting
- Growing the business , and staying true to values
- Differentiation through sourcing and innovation
- Building relationship with farmers
- Scaling and metrics
- Balancing intuition with dataLinks
Links:
www.kopikalyan.com
Instagram @kopikalyan
Related Episodes:
256 : Founder Friday w/ Varat Vichit-Vadakan of Roots Coffee Roaster in Bangkok, Thailand
247 : Founder Friday! w/ Ritesh Doshi, CEO of Spring Valley Coffee, Nairobi, Kenya
289 : Founder Friday w/ Ochen Simon Eidodo of Chariots Coffees, Uganda!
171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
134 : Founder Friday w/ Jeremy Zhang of M2M Roasters & Uni Uni Coffee in Nanjing ,China
294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!
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The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!
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Do you have an agreed upon way that you and your staff talk to each other? Poor communication is one of the most cited issues in exit interviews yet we rarely end up doing much to address it specifically.
Since we have been focusing on values in action lately today on Shift Break I thought it would be good to discuss how to collectively establish rules of engagement that will help guide how everyone in the business thinks about, approaches, and works with each other.
291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You
244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
Scaling Values
Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
We all make mistakes. It's part of the learning and growth process for everyone. As you go in your career you will find that there are certain types of mistakes that are worse than others in that they have a greater negative impact on you and those around you.
I have been doing this coffee thing long enough to have amassed a nice list of those types of mistakes and today I want to share that list with you and elaborate on each one. I am pretty sure most if not all the listeners here will experience or are currently mired down in one or more of these mistakes and it's my hope that by shedding light on it in this episode you will be able to correct course sooner than I did!
We cover:
- Arrogance
- Being Overbearing
- Taking it Personally
- Not listening to my boss
- Poor Heath
- Overwork
- Passive approach to development
Related Episodes:
083: 6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth
243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
266 : Building Physical Resilience W/ Dr. David Dahl DPT, CAFS
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Your coffee packaging holds more than just coffee. It holds an incredible amount of potential for communication of values, impact on the supply chain, and how coffee itself is percieved and succeeds in the global market. Packaging might not seem like the most compeling topic but the package itself may be on of the main tools that compels consumers and how we approach it matters greatly.
Today on the Rate of Rise series from Roast Magaine we will be exploring pacaging and beyond with the author of the Sept/Oct 2021 article "The Perfect Package", Ever Meister.
Ever Meister has worked in the coffee industry for 20+ years in a wide range of capacities, but primarily she is a journalist, educator, and communicator whose work focuses on issues of access, equity, and ethics. She is the author of New York City Coffee: A Caffeinated History (The History Press, 2017) and the host of the coffee-marketing podcast In Good Taste on the Sprudge media network.
A conversation with Ever will always lead to the deep and existensial issues at the root of our industry and this one is delivers that in spades along side some extremely practical tips and advice to put into action as your develop your own coffee packaging.
We cover:
- Evolution of packaging
- What are the main considerations
- Decisions fatigue
- Customer experience
- Judging Quality control claims
- Investing in vendor relationship
- How do we decide what to prioritize
- Time budgeting
- Sustainability
- The give and take of waste
- Messaging on the bag
- Constraints and values
Links:
Ever Meister on Instagram: @justmeister
Meister@justmeister.com
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! Use code "ROR" to get $5 off
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
RoR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee
RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
We often talk about charitable assumption and being proactive to address the needs of our guests. But how often are we considering the way we approach the relationship between owners and managers? There are a lot of expectations going both ways but not always a lot of understanding.
Today on Shift Break we are going to talk about how if we can lean into communication and the spirit of mutuality then I am going to guess a lot of bad blood can be avoided.
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141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
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The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
Good intentions are nice and all, but how do you make sure that you can actually deliver on your ideals for quality, service, and beyond? The answer is systems. Unfortunately many shops are organizationally flying by the seat of their pants and delivering an inconsistent and frustrating experience. A well developed set of processes, lists, and procedures will give consistency to the standards we strive to offer our baristas and guests as well as aid us in developing a culture where people feel confident and cared for.
But how do we create, establish, and refine systems and processes so they serve our shops and people well? That is exactly what we are going to cover today in a pretty thorough examination of the steps needed to make and launch systems in your cafe.
We cover:
- Beginning mindsets and assumptions
- Leaders role
- Observation and feedback
- Rules for prioritization
- Writing for detail and for realism
- Training, coaching, and refinement
- Advice for both the new and existing shop
Related episodes you must listen too!
329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
007 : The 4 Keys to an Effective Checklist
Feedback Culture : Making feedback a part of what you do not just something you sometimes do
The Impact of Absence
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
When the customer first walks in the what do you think about them? Well chances are your immediate thoughts will be based on your assumptions formed in conversation with fellow baristas and the inside jokes we have at their expense. Yes, customers can say and do very similar things but why is our default to seek out ways to dismiss and make a caricature of them rather than trying to serve them with the benefit of the doubt as individual?
Today on Shift Break we are going to talk about the problem with our natural tendency to train our brain to react to and think about customers in ways that ends up creating an unfair and less than stellar coffee experience.
Related Episodes:
Gossip: How this toxic element destroys community in the coffee shop and what to do instead
019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio
Encore! Curbing Their Enthusiasm
329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
Visit our Sponsors!!!
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
It's pretty easy to write our a set of company values. But how do you teach them in such a way that your staff own them and live by them? Now THAT is not easy. If you want to teach your staff the company values so that you are confident that they know, understand, and act according to them, even if you are not there, then todays episode is for you. We will be talking with about the five tips and methods needed to teach values effectively to your baristas and create a culture the lives those values out every single day.
We cover:
- Creating meaningful values
- Your daily example
- The tools you use
- Cultural saturation
- Speaking the language
- Seeking connections to values
- Being open to change focus
Recommended Episodes:
Learning -vs- LEARNING
Scaling Values
Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
The Conversational Reality of Your Business : Thought on how to approach creative projects in the new year
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
One of the questions I get asked a lot by consulting clients is when they should instal or think about hiring a manager. I see lots of coffee shops get into the mindset that they “should” have a manager but I don’t often see people give competing reasons other than it is part of the coffee shop structure they see elsewhere.
Today on Shift Break we are going to chat about a couple reasons you should delay the installation of a manager and why doing so will help you make a better management decision when the time is right.
Recommend Episodes: Hiring for Future Leadership Helping Managers Avoid Burnout Tips on how to Replace a Manager 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers 129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO Visit our Sponsors!!!
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Navigating our way through the coffee industry can be a daunting task. Especially if you want to make a difference. As you go you are confronted with many challenges that threaten your stability and test both your resolve and faith in the reasons you began the journey in the first place. Through it all though, there is a kind of wisdom, strength, and perspective that you gain if you use your experiences, good or bad, as opportunities to refine yourself, what you do, and why you do it.
Today we are going to be talking with the co-founder of Metric Coffee in Chicago. Xavier is someone who has had all these experiences and more working in the heart of the specialty coffee world since the early 2000's as a barista, roaster and roasting manager, and now for the last 8 years founding and running his own roastery and cafe space along with business partner, Darko Arandjelovic.
Metric Coffee was born from a common desire of both founders to create a better way for themselves and for those producers they represent as roasters. A Good Food Award winning company, Metric definitely roasts and sources excellent coffees, but the relationships and commitment they develop along the way with producers is a hallmark of what makes Metric truly special.
In today's conversation we are going to hear Xavier detail his own beginnings in coffee, growing in skill but also restlessness, developing resiliency through personal and professional trials, and of course the values, mission, and motivations behind starting Metric Coffee.
This conversation gets deep and hopefully speaks to your heart and mind and gets you to see the world around you and your business in a clearer light.
We cover:
- Developing values early in life
- Learning as a roaster
- The catalyst fo beginning Metric
- Revelations via relationships
- Using your position to build solutions
- Developing resiliency through hardships
- Personal responsibility and not blaming others
- Why it’s not a race
- Iterating the mission
- Long term relationships
- Intuition and who to work with
- Inspiration to pay it forward through business
- Having a serving heart
- Representing the coffee well in a cafe
- Resourcing staff
- Defining success
Related Episodes:
Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
060 : Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research
265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience
288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Today we get to talk with a pillar and foundational member of the specialty coffee community, Phuong Tran of Lava Java
For 20 years now Phuong Tran has been the owner/operator of the famed coffee shop, Lava Java in Ridgefield Washington. There she discovered a passion for coffee that led her to not only craft the shop into a beacon of hight standards in the beginning of the 3rd wave of coffee, but she also became inspired to begin competing to in barista competitions as a way to improve. She won the U.S. title in 2005 and amidst the notoriety of the win simply continued to run a great cafe and teach coffee to her staff and through the SCA.
I am lucky to consider Phuong a friend who I have known since back in 2006 or so. I have been inspired by her consistency, focus, values, and the simplicity with which she runs her shop and crafts her life.
Today we get to explore her story from buying a business, discovering specialty coffee, and taking on new challenges - to competition, teaching, and advice to other owners from her extensive experience.
I hope you really enjoy this one!
We cover:
- Beginning coffee as an owner
- Buying an existing shop
- Learning the industry and taking on challenges
- Changing and refining things at the shop
- Establishing standards and finding specialty coffee
- Motivation for Competition
- Winning the U.S. Title
- Scaling to a 2nd location
- Choosing simplicity
- Self care and balance
Links:
www.lava-java.com
Recommended Episodes:
305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
Founder Friday! w/ Adam Obrátil of Industra Coffee, Brno, Czech Republic
252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark
232 : Founder Friday w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou’s Porch
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
As we set out in our coffee journeys as either entrepreneurs or professionals within a company, we tend to seek out and cultivate groups of people around us who offer affirmation almost exclusively. Not matter what we are doing, the mindset we have and therefore the mindset we want other to have is to only offer positive and encouraging words. Trouble is that sometimes those words can cover up real needs that should be explored which makes some encouragement irresponsible.
In today's Shift Break we are going to talk about this personal echo chamber and the need to pursue reality in the face of our own and others misguided desires to keep us far from it.
Related episodes:
Stop Lying Keeping it Real 277: Encore Episode: How to respond to Negative Feedback 283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop Taking Offense to Critique Visit our Sponsors!!!
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www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
The smell of coffee is one of the great joys in this life. As professionals we take this important sensory aspect of coffee and build tools and protocols around it so we can fully and accurately assess a coffee's quality and ultimately serve something consistently wonderful to our customers. In order to do this we need to bring balance, calibration, and objectivity to the personal tastes and experiences we all bring to the cupping table.
Today we on the Rate of Rise series from Roast Magazine we will be diving into this subject of scent and calibration with the author of the Jan/Feb 2022 Roast Magazine article "Exploring Scent", Sandra Elisa Loofbourow!
Sandra is the Director of Coffee Content for The Crown, a certified Q Grader and Assistant Instructor, and a Q Processing Generalist. She brings with her a depth of experience as a roaster, green buyer, and barista. Sandra is co-host of the bilingual podcast Cafetera Intelectual and chair of the Good Food Awards Coffee Committee.
In this conversation we cover:
- Journey of honing her own sensory skills
- The role of scent
- Passion guiding sensory pursuits
- Emotions and scent
- Why this sense is underdeveloped
- Consensus and price discovery
- Bringing objectivity to personal experience
- How big does your circle of calibration need to be
- How we are always calibrating
- Le Nez Du Cafe
- Having clear goals
- First steps and resources to improve your sense of smell
Links:
https://royalcoffee.com/the-crown/
https://www.cafeteraintelectual.com
Subscribe to Roast Magazine! Use code "ROR" to get $5 off
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
RoR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee
Everyone's favorite coffee culture commentator and meme lord, Alan Jarrar is in the house! If you are like me and follow the account "50%Arabica" on Instagram, you know full well that there is more to the funny content than what you see on the surface. There is a world of professional coffee experience and philosophy that fuels not just the great memes at 50%Arabica but now the great coffee being roasted by Alan and his partner Kalliope at Jokes Aside Coffee.
Alan has been in coffee for the last ten years honing his craft as a coffee professional at various coffee bars and roasters in the Czech Republic where he has lead the bar, trained, managed, and roasted at a high level.
He is a past competitor and is currently running Jokes Aside Coffee Roasters with his Partner, Kalliope who also owns Faine Coffee in Brno.
After a successful first year, Alan and Kalli are in the midst of planning to open a new espresso bar in their home of Brno along with a production facility.
In our conversation today we will get to hear how Alan found coffee, developed as a barista, then roaster, competitor, and eventually business owner and an influential voice in the industry. Many different subjects and ideas are covered here as we get under the surface of what it means to have a thriving career in coffee and to have a sense of humor along the way.
We cover:
- History of coffee in Brno
- Alan’s entry in to coffee
- Early impressions of coffee
- Becoming a professional
- Learning to roast
- Experience in competition vs real cafe work
- Change of perception of the industry
- Starting 50%arabica
- Memes exposing the truth
- Humor as a tool for openness and self care
- Customer sophistication
- Memes overcome our barriers to feedback
- Starting Jokes Aside Coffee
- Lessons in being a business owner
- Plans for the future
- Advice for a great coffee career
Links:
www.jokesasidecoffee.eu
@50%Arabica on Instagram
@JokesAsideCoffee on Instagram
Related episodes:
071: Taking a European Coffee Trip w/ Ales Pospisil
119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies
Founder Friday! w/ Adam Obrátil of Industra Coffee, Brno, Czech Republic
031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
We have to get the shop closed! Fast! Question is, at what cost? For most of us we engage in pre-close with an aggression that lies our stated commitment to hospitality. Customers are frequently put off by how we go about re-closing and we a frequently behind the eight ball with unrealistic expectation fueling our aggressive attitudes towards it.
Pre-closing is crucial part of the day's work that can be done in a way that benefits the cafe the staff, and still allows for customers to enjoy their experience in the cafe when it is open.
Today will be talking about pre-closing and principles related to doing it well.
Related Episodes:
098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work
243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
259 : Solving Toxic Customer Service Culture
Blog: Spiders and Customer Service
019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio
Visit our Sponsors!!!
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
When you have a trainer on staff there are specific responsibilities you have as a leader that will determine their success and how happy you are with their performance. Often we can set someone in a position and let them loose with little to no guidance. Of course this is a recipe for disaster and today we are going to be talking about how to provide structure for trainers hat you lead and also we will be talking to trainers about proper focus and mindsets going into the role.
When bosses come along side trainers and give structure, guidance, and leadership everyone has a better chance for satisfying work.
We cover:
- Job descriptions
- Admin time
- Focus on basics
- Commissioning and following through on projects
- Due dates and clarity
- Getting lost in esoteric coffee knowledge
Related episodes:
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee
025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
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Customers have opinions that we disagree with. This is a forever truth of running a business. They have preferences and sometimes they will be disappointed in their experience and take to Yelp to voice their opinion. That can be very frustrating, especially if you feel you are doing everything "right".
The temptation is to be defensive, fight, and essentially make the reviewer the enemy. Problem is that this approach, as cathartic as it may seem, shows insecurity and shuts down opportunity for growth and connection.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how to adjust our perspective on critique and embrace the fact that we are here to serve the customer before ourselves.
Related Episodes:
151 : How to Respond and React to Negative Feedback : 5 Step Process
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio
Visit our Sponsors!!!
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Community exists all around us. When we start a coffee shop we see the blossoming of community in our customer base, baristas bonding with one another, and then across the industry people of similar interests who are desirous to learn, grow, and connect make an effort to establish friendships. One of the ways these communities thrive is when people step up and organize.
Today on Keys to the Shop we are going to re-listen to a great episode with Javier Alvarez and Joseph Gonzalez of Espresso State of Mind in NYC. They have been tirelessly and selflessly organizing throw downs, events, fundraisers, and all manner of efforts to enrich their community. This episode was recorded pre-COVID and from where I sit, having continued to see and interact with them, they have continued this effort even in spite of a global pandemic.
We get to learn from Javier and Joseph the history of ESOM, the steps of faith required, planning, best practices for organizing, and their philosophy on community.
I love these guys and hope that if you are wanting to organize your community that you will be equipped and encouraged by this encore episode!
Links:
https://espressostateofmind.com
Related Episodes:
How to host a Throwdown w/ Justin Shepard
Founder Friday w/ Jason Card
Mastering Latte Art: Interviews w/ the Best
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Hiring baristas can bring a lot of uncertainty. It is because of this we tend to go for people who may not make great leaders but default to following. Problems come when it is time to appoint a manager or have people take on. more responsibility and you don't have any candidates that are right for the role.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we should be hiring for future leadership and why it makes sense for your coffee shop.
Related Episodes:
301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
013 : Leadership & Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia : Leadership | management | hiring | career
314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak
Visit our Sponsors!!!
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Welp, KTTS is now 5 years old! In this time KTTS has aired 560 episodes and is closing in on 2 million downloads around the world and it simply feels surreal. I have been so blessed by the guests on this show, you the audience, and most of all, my biggest supporter, my wife.
SO...on this episode my lovely wife Lynnsy takes to the microphone again to interview me about the journey over the past 5 years as well as getting to know a bit more about me and some of the things that make me tick. She has seen this thing take shape closer than anyone and it was really fun to get to talk with her about all of this.
Thanks, babe. You're the best.
You guys are cool too.
We cover:
- How and why KTTS was started
- What I have learned
- How I've changed as a person
- Favorite/most surprising episode
- Tenacity and overcoming hardships
- Dealing with fear and taking risks
- The importance of story and discovery
- Why my wife is awesome
Vote Keys to the Shop for best Coffee Podcast!
https://sprudge.com/vote
Related Episodes:
Bonus Valentine's Day Episode aka "My wife made me do it"
305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
081 : Founder Friday w/ David Schomer of Espresso Vivace
315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast!
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Chances are good that if you are listening to this podcast, you want to grow in your career or your business. That makes sense especially since that is one of the goals of this show! That said, there are some problems with growth and the expectations we have related to it that create a dissatisfaction, self sabotage, and rob us of the joy of where we are right now
I want take this last Shift Break of 2021 to address all with you all and offer some encouragement on how to balance your pursuit of growth going into this new year.
I would be honored if you would vote for Keys to the Shop in the 13th annual Sprudgie Awards for best coffee podcast!
Click here vote!
Visit: www.keystothshop.com/consulting
Related episodes:
- 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- Limiting New Things
- Turning the Ship Slowing down your Response Time
Visit our Sponsors!!!
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Relationships are what the coffee industry is built on. The quality of those relationships determines the strength of the supply chain and the success of all involved. One of the most important relationships that is not talked about very often is that between green buyer and the broker.
Today we on the Rate of Rise series from Roast Magazine we will be diving into this subject with the author of the October 2020 Roast Magazine article "What your Broker Wishes you Knew", Scott Merle!
Scott has worked in specialty coffee since 1988 and has experience in every aspect of the value chain from Barista to Roastmaster. He has extensive knowledge of green coffee sourcing, purchasing, roasting, and blend development, and is proficient in various types of coffee evaluation. Scott has participated in multiple international cupping panels, was a founding member of the Executive Council of the SCAA’s Roaster’s Guild, serves on the Editorial Board for Roast magazine, and has served on multiple committees and councils within the SCAA, including eight years on the SCAA Sustainability Council where he spent a three year term as chair. Scott has dedicated his career to furthering coffee quality throughout the value chain, and has emphasized and exemplified fair pricing practices to hard-working producers every step of the way.
In this conversation we cover:
- Communication
- Honesty and follow through
- Game planning and
- Capacity as parallel parking
- Setting parameter for your size
- Brokers and quality control decisions
- Reasonable differences in QC/Assessment
- Getting better at cupping
- How and why to Pay your bills
- Collaboration and problem solving
- Complexity at origin
- Impact of our decisions on farmers
- Defaulting to generosity and relationship
Links:
www.laminita.com
Subscribe to Roast Magazine!
www.roastmagazine.com
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
RoR #9 Inside the Roaster’s Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
Creating a path forward and up in the coffee industry sometimes requires we take matters into our own hands and build the opportunities for ourself and others that we don't see. This is exactly what today's guest, LaNisa Williams did with Barista L.A.
LaNisa Williams has been in coffee over 14 years as a barista, manager, trainer/educator, and all around inspiration. At a critical point in her life and career she decided that coffee was not only her route to a better life, but that she would create a platform to spotlight and give opportunity to the black coffee community.
Barista Life L.A. is a full service coffee brand that provides training, education, and consulting to individuals and companies. Under the Barista Life L.A. banner, LaNisa founded Black the platform "Black in Brew" which highlights black excellence in coffee. In addition LaNisa provides private events, in home brewing demos, and also runs the retail expression of Barista Life L.A., "Hustlers Cup".
In all this her goal is to create a safe space for people of all colors, genders, and backgrounds in hopes to educate, restores, and uplift them in the coffee community.
In today's conversation we will be talking about how LaNisa got her start in coffee, how it provided a path for a new life, and the story of founding Barista Life L.A. and the experiences, lessons, and impact it has provided.
We cover:
- Developing a love for coffee and the industry
- The drive of Hospitality and people
- Getting a second chance on life through coffee
- Addressing the lack of opportunity for black people in coffee
- Starting barista life LA
- Expanding the view of what a barista is
- Educating and training and putting yourself out there
- How the journey has shaped who she is today
- Receiving feedback and avoiding self doubt
- Paying attention to your customers
- Helping people succeed beyond the bar
- Advice on overcoming obstacles
Links:
www.bristalifela.com
IG:
@Baristalifela
@hustlerscup
Related Episodes:
233 : A Conversation w/ Anthony Ragler, Black and White
315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast!
116: Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
159: Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop
139: Founder Friday w/ Phil Sipka, Kusanya Cafe
067: 6 Truths about Power
235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
The best event for building a successful retail coffee business!
www.coffeefest.com
One of the ways we like to make our mark as leaders is by introducing various ideas, initiatives, items, and changes to the shop that we hope will make an impact. I know I have certainly seen putting new things in place as my main service to those I was tasked with leading. Thing is, instead of creating a positive impact as we hope, it often does the opposite.
On this Shift Break we chat briefly about why it is a good idea to limit new things as a way to avoid burning your staff out and to refine the things you currently have in play.
Related episodes:
080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
267 : The Power of Delegation
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
Grass Roots Improvement: Tapping into the power of your staffs observations and ideas
Source vs Supplement
Slowing down your Response Time Visit our Sponsors!!!
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
How we market our values to potential employees and the consumer is often at odds with what we actually do. In a past episode we called this the “Values - Action Gap”. Question is, what is the result of this gap on the people who sign on with us and believe our marketing only to discover it was insincere at best or an outright lie at worst? For many the result is a condition called “Moral Injury” and it often has deep and long -term consequences on the individual, the company’s and the industry at large.
I first heard the term “Moral Injury” from a short but compelling Instagram post from todays guest, Josh Tarlo. In it he described both term and how this was and unfortunate part of many peoples experience working for specialty coffee businesses. After recording a short video in response I realized it is a much deeper topic and invited Josh to discuss it on the podcast.
Josh Tarlo has been in coffee for over 18 years.Josh has moved from working in cafes in Toronto to heading to Australia to work at places like Seven Seeds and Veneziano, where he got some time behind a roaster to ending up in the UK as a green buyer at Origin and now running the roastery operations and wholesale departments for a coffee company in London called Kiss the Hippo.
Josh also came 3rd in the Australian brewers cup before heading home to Canada to take gold and getting third in the world in 2013. After that he roasted coffee for competitors with 7 of the last 9 podium spots in the UK and took the title himself in 2018.
He has spent time in over a dozen coffee producing countries over dozens of trips. In the travels he judged for Cup of Excellence and had the pleasure of working with many producers directly.
On today’s show we take a deep dive into marketing, values, moral injury, and how we can create a more cohesive and consistent reality that backs up our marketing and creates environments of trust and integrity.
We discuss:
- Meaning and values in coffee
- Financial success as a value
- Consolidation and false examples of success
- What is moral injury and its results
- The impact of belief and passion on consistency
- Marketing values you don’t live out
- Peoples expectations
- Proactivity and communication
- Building a business that lets you live you values
- Living values as a reward unto itself
- Authenticity and delivering a human experience
- Being careful of where you place your identity
- The power dynamic
- Why, as an owner, you get back what you give
Links:
www.joshtarlo.com
www.kissthehippo.com
https://www.instagram.com/josh.tarlo/
Related Episodes:
Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
318 : Why Your Shop is Key to the Success of Coffee
Commit Before You Communicate
Small steps = Big Impact
244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
The best event for building a successful retail coffee business!
www.coffeefest.com
It's Founder Friday! Today we are going to be exploring the story of a ground breaking and standard setting Italian coffee roaster and cafe. Our guest on this last Founder Friday of 2021 is the founder of Caffe Artigianale, Francesco Sanapo!
From learning the classic Italian way of coffee working for his fathers coffee bar at age 14 - to discovering specialty coffee eventually becoming a 3 time Italian Barista Champion and WBC finalist, Francesco wanted to take his knowledge of Italian coffee history and make it beautiful again through a progressive specialty lens.
Since founding Ditta Artigianale in 2013 as a roastery the company now has 3 cafes and a 4th coming soon internationally and is regarded as one of the best cafes in all of Italy.
In our conversation with Francesco we will be exploring his ounrey into coffee, the values and philosophy he developed over his career, and the ins and outs of how he founded and grew this wonderful coffee business.
We cover:
- Working at his fathers cafe
- Italian coffee culture
- Respecting history and making it beautiful again
- Studying daily as key to success
- Success in competition and beginning the company
- First steps, challenges, and expansion philosophy
- Selecting staff, training, and delegating
- Making it all work between stores and scaling
- Sticking to your values
- How to introduce customers to specialty
Links:
http://dittaartigianale.it
Francesco IG
Ditta Artigianale IG
Francesco's 2013 WBC performance
Related Episodes:
205 : Inside Caffe Florian, the World’s Oldest Coffee Shop ! | Venice, Italy
308 : A Conversation w/ Italian Brewers Cup Champion, Alessandro Galtieri
198 : The Evolution of the Coffee Shop w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris
252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
We love to train our baristas to up-sell as a way to increase our over all ticket amounts. The way we do this tends to be focused more on getting money in the short term for our benefit than helping customers get things they will like which will benefit everyone in the long term.
Today on shift break we will be talking about how to approach up-selling and the art of using it as toll to serve the needs of the customer rather than making it a rooting and disconnected process.
Related episodes:
Exclusivity is a Bad Strategy Are you Excited?
271 : Why the Cash Register Controls Everything
276 : Six Ideas for Increasing your Revenue
Visit our Sponsors!!!
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
This year the World Barista Championship was held in Milan, Italy. The winner of that competition accomplished not only a historic win as the first champion to hail from a producing country, but accomplished a life long dream born from a long history of developing as a person and a professional all to better serve others.
Today we get to talk with the new World Barista Champion, Diego Campos of Colombia!
Diego is a 3 time Colombian Barista Champion who has been a coffee professional for 13 years ever since staring work with Colombia's famed Amor Perfecto. Once there he first started working as a roaster, then barista, all the while honing his skills as a competitor and growing as a person who was determined not just to win, but to inspire, and give of himself to his customers, peers, and the world.
On top owns and operates a coffee farm with his family called Diamante Coffee Farm.
In our conversation with Diego we get to hear the story of how he came to coffee, his growth, challenges, accomplishments, and his goals for how he wants to use his influence to help consumers and professionals alike.
We cover:
- Choosing coffee as a career
- Beginning as a roaster
- The difference between a bar barista and competition barista
- His philosophy on what it means to be a professional
- Why you need to be a good person
- Why technical perfection doe not win hearts
- The value of developing the sensory experience
- Serving humans and connecting with consumers
- Goals for the future and advice to other coffee professionals hungry to grow
Links:
- Diamante Coffee Farm
- Amor Perfecto
- Diego on Instagram
Related Episodes:
294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience
Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
251 : Fermentation and the Future of Farming w/ Lucia Solis
061 : You Don’t Know Beans about Brazil w/ Kelly Stein, Coffea Podcast
288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
Brazil
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Are you open minded when it comes to coffee? How open minded do you need to be? What is the difference between being ignorant or dismissive of a type of coffee and simply having a preference?
Choosing the right and best coffees to present to your customers is both easier and harder than it has ever been. As we navigate through a sea of options with limited time and budgets for purchases we need to know that what we decide is fitting for us and those we are serving.
On this episode of shift break we will be exploring the balance between exploration, open-mindedness, experimentation, and making decisions for your coffee business and its customers.
Links:
David Train on Instagram: Don't Judge the Process
Related episodes:
- 048 : How to taste coffee w/ U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Steve Cuevas!
- ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
- The Dark Roast Night of the Soul
- Taste the Rainbow
- Curbing their Enthusiasm
- Building an Accessible Coffee Menu
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
- 078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris
Visit our Sponsors!!!
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
The pressure and business of the daily work can easily blind us to the impact that we have on the greater reality of the "Industry". We often think of the industry as existing outside our own shops but the reality is that our we are the industry and ever decision we make as individual professionals and cafes cultivate wha the industry becomes.
Today we will be talking about the influence our mindsets, focus, and actions have to either steer the industry to a positive or negative ends. The shop truly is the most important link in the supply chain. If we want to change the world for the better then it starts with excellence in what we do right where we are.
We discuss:
- The roll of the shop in the industry
- Our attitudes and mindsets
- The ripple effect of our decisions
- What areas to always focus on
- How we guide customers to accept or reject coffee
- Coffee quality is not enough
- Why your shop is not from ethioia
- Gaslighting the customer
Related Episodes:
Commit Before You Communicate 308 : A Conversation w/ Italian Brewers Cup Champion, Alessandro Galtieri
Small steps = Big Impact
Scaling Values Long Game Management
Blog: The Customer of Tomorrow
016: Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth
019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!
www.groundcontrol.coffee
The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Small businesses like coffee shops are known for their ability to be resourceful and get things done with what they have. However, when you set out to open a shop or create a new initiative in an existing coffee bar, there can be a tendency to reflexively buy in the things you will serve and to under-explore doing or making some things yourself.
In today's shift break we will talk about some of the benefits of doing it yourself, where to start, what to consider, and if it is for you.
Related episodes:
You Can't Automate Quality
High Expectations + Low Control
117 : Coffee and Cocktails w/ Amanda Whitt
Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!
www.espressly.co
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
What happens when we allow ourselves to get caught up in comparing ourselves and our businesses to those around us? The simple answer is that we stifle growth and kill off the joy of what we have and who we are doing it all for.
Way back in 2017 we released an episode called "Death by Comparison" that explores this idea and I thought now would be a good time to bring it back. Why? Simple. Our ability to connect with each other has only increased over the last 4-5 years and with that connection comes the increased likelihood to despair that we do not look like or do the same things as our peers instead of being inspired by them or even happy for them.
So today I hope you listen to this blast from the KTTS past and that it has just as much impact and relevancy for where you are today.
Enjoy!
Related Episodes:
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
- 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
- 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
- Your peers are not your Customers
- Priorities and Deep Thankfulness
- Who do we Serve?
- The Neighbor's Tree
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
This month's Founder Friday has a TON of heart! The story of Heartwood Coffee Roasters is on of perseverance, constance in values, and a deep dependency and connection to amazing people. Today we will be talking with Heartwood founder Jim Sanders who realized the dream of leaving a long and successful but unsatisfying career to do something he was truly passionate and energized by. Coffee.
Jim Sanders is the founder, owner, and leader of Heartwood Coffee Roasters - a specialty coffee roasting company based out of North East Ohio. Jim started Heartwood in 2014, all the while maintaining a full-time plumbing career, with the goal of bringing better coffee to the region with a greater sense of hospitality. Heartwood now has two cafes and continues to grow every year, and Jim has managed to transition into running the cafes and roastery full time.
In our conversation we will be taking you through the beginning of Jim's unique journey and how he and the business have grown since then.
We cover:
- Getting started in coffee while full time as plumber
- Growing in the beginning
- Building online first
- The first step toward profitability
- Managing Full time career while building the business
- Learning leadership and management from past work experiences
- Hiring an leading people
- Extreme DIY
- Having amazing people and trusting
- Being responsive as an owner
- Going full time in his business
- Leveling up quality and operations
- Growing for the benefit of all
Links:
https://www.heartwoodroastery.com
@heartwoodcoffee
Related episodes:
295 : Founder Friday! w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY
204 : Founder Friday w/ Jeff Taylor of PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. & Bird Rock Coffee!
156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe, Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Fransisco
108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe in Durham, NC
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
This time of year I am thinking about what I am thankful for and also I am thinking about how hard it is to enter into thankfulness vs other more accessible emotions and mental states. So much of this, to my mind, has to do with the all consuming nature of a business like coffee. When you own your own business or you are so passionate and invested in your role and place in the industry it can be easy to be always on and never allow yourself to practice thankfulness, reflection, and the resulting prioritization.
Today on Shift Break I want to chat with you all about our need to regularly practice thankfulness and prioritize the things in our lives that are integral to who we are as human beings.
Related Episodes:
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
Thankfulness : The key to joy in the journey Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Back in 2018 at a Coffee Fest in Baltimore I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Stephen Zinnerman, owner and founder of (along with his wife Natasha) The Coffee Enthusiast: A Brewing Company (TCE).
Back when we first met on the show floor, he was just starting TCE and since then they have experienced A LOT of growth both in their family and in the business, especially on the roasting side. Through the challenges, late nights, iterations, and lots of giving and receiving from the specialty coffee community TCE has emerged as a known and established industry presence that promotes connection and great coffee experiences.
On top of running TCE Stephen has recently joined the roasting team at Counter Culture Coffee and is also a board member of The Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity
Stephen’s background outside of coffee is higher education, where he has worked for over 10 years in different areas, from University Housing to Environmental Research & Education. He is a graduate student, studying Environmental Policy & Management with a concentration in Environmental Sustainability.
Stephen is one of the most dedicated, hardworking, and (not surprisingly) enthusiastic people you can meet and it has been a pleasure to follow his progress over the years and now to get to have this conversation exploring his journey 3 years later.
In this interview we discuss:
- Starting small and getting feedback
- Beginning to focus on roasting
- Learning to listen and serve
- Creating something to give his kids
- Continuing to learn and invest in yourself
- Taking action as an individual
- Showing appreciation
- Taking on a commercial coffee roasting position while running TCE
- The hard work of commercial roasting
- Advice on how to learn and grow
Links:
www.tcecoffee.com
TCE on Instagram
Related Episodes:
079 : Interviews from Coffee Fest Baltimore (First interview w/ Stephen)
149 : Celina Velez, Head Roaster of Merit Coffee in Austin, TX
180 : A Conversation with Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale
Blog: Who we are and What we do
233 : A Conversation w/ Anthony Ragler, Black and White
232 : Founder Friday w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou’s Porch
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Where do we even start when choosing tools for our roastery? There are an incredible number of options from basic and inexpensive -to complex and costly. In the most recent issue of Roast Magazine, today's guest, Kat Melheim gives us an outline of tools and resources through the entire roasting process that can help clarify this dilemma.
Kat Melheim (she/her) is a roaster, barista, artist, and writer. She founded Coffee People Zine, a publication that celebrates the creativity of the coffee community, in 2018. Through her work in the coffee industry she has been fortunate enough to travel, meet exceptional people, and taste delicious coffees all over the world. Kat strives to connect with others, share what she’s learning, and entertain with joy and enthusiasm.
On today's RoR episode we will be diving into the subject of getting the right tools for you specific roasting operation,how Kat's own career has been helped by having or lacking resources, and her advice to us on how we should approach developing ourselves as technicians and artists.
Lots of wonderful thoughts and insights here. Enjoy!
Links:
www.coffeepeople.org
Instagram: @coffeepeoplezine
Instagram: @coffeekatheryn
Instagram: @roasterkat
Kat's YouTube channel!
On this episode of RoR from Roast Magazine
- Her career path in roasting
- Resources and opportunities that helped her
- Prioritizing tools by impact
- Importance of roaster “Quality of Life”
- Discerning what is essential for your context
- Levels of need
- Importance of time on the roaster
- Being a taster
- Taking care of your body
- Kats Recommended tools
- The importance of feedback and communication
- Advice for growing as an artist and technician
Subscribe to Roast Magazine!
www.roastmagazine.com
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
In competition we stress about the performance and we practice the skills repeatedly in order to be able to do well on the day. While this approach is needed, there is another approach to preparation that goes deeper and helps ensure that, no mater what you are wanting to do better in (Latte art, management, leadership, etc) you will show up consistently and with minimal stress.
Today we will be talking about how we show up at work and in life and how we should approach intentional practice to thrive in our roles.
Related episodes:
- Laziness & the Most Important Decision
- Study the Rules
- 243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
- Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
- 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Do you feel like you need to be good at everything in order to be a good leader? That is a pretty common thought but the fact is that this way approach to leadership stifles both you and those you lead. Instead we should focus on what qualities will allow us to lead people with different skills than us effectively.
Today I want to talk about six things that we develop in succession as leaders in the coffee shop that allow us to lead a variety of people and ourselves sustainably.
Related Episodes:
228 : Cracking the Leadership Code w/ Alain Hunkins
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Hustle culture teaches us that we should be working pretty much all the time. In order to succeed we need to sacrifice a lot and where the limit is nobody quite knows. What happens too often is we only really start to back off when we burn out but by then it's too late.
Recently I was ask by an attendee at Coffee Fest, "How can I get over feeling guilty for taking a day off?" That is a heart breaking question and today on shift break I want to talk with you all about this question and hopefully help anyone of you that might be wondering the same thing.
Related Episodes:
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
Professional Distance (Blog)
When Going Above and Beyond Goes too Far
258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
Interested in consulting or coaching? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Training and education is an ongoing process. Not just for those we are training but also for ourselves as trainers and educators. If we adopt the same type of "always learning" mentality we want to see in other, then the way we understand and conduct training will change over time. Today we will be exploring training and education through the career journey of someone who has crafted several training systems in world class coffee bars and talk about what he has learned from the mistakes and successes along the way.
I am thrilled to welcome to the show, Michael Phillips, of Blue Bottle Coffee!
Michael Phillips has worked in Specialty coffee since 2006 and was a co-founder of LA based Handsome Coffee Roasters before joining Blue Bottle Coffee. Throughout his career he has held Director of training positions at Handsome Coffee, Intelligentsia Coffee and Blue Bottle Coffee. His work at Blue evolved into supporting new cafe openings internationally helping to launch cafes and new markets from Boston and DC to Tokyo and Seoul. He also holds two United States Barista Championship titles from 2009 & 2010 and one World Barista Championship title from 2010. His current role at Blue Bottle Coffee is as the Global Director of Education & Engagement where he focuses on creating consumer facing educational content.
In our conversation we cover:
- Highlights of his completion career
- The things that shaped his outlook on training
- When training ideals go too far
- Importance of realistic and practical expectations
- How entrepreneurship helped set the stage for a new approach
- Shaping the training at Blue Bottle
- The 10/20/70 rule in training
- Logistics of training across borders and cultures
- Delegation / Centralized vs localized training
- Why training is a culture not an event
- Choosing what to focus on and the limitation of one-on-one training
- Calibrating your team and building something sustainable
- Creating a great cafe experience
Links:
Michael Phillips on Instagram @1shot4theroad
Blue bottle Coffee YouTube
Related Episodes:
296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
178 : Training Masterclass w/ Emma Haines of London School of Coffee and Caffeina Consulting
119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
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How we think of money and its place in our coffee shop's culture will have huge implications for how your staff either engage or disengage with the success of the store. The first step is to examine our mindset and then connect the metrics to meaningful outcomes.
Today on shift break we will chat about how we can shift the conversation around metrics and money from secrecy to celebration.
Related episodes:
311 : Why Your Coffee Shop Needs Open Book Management w/ Larry Chase
302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube
009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk : Simon shows us how we should be thinking of numbers and their relation to our shops, baristas, and businesses
304 : Inside the Coffee Data Trends Breakout Report w/ Katie Von Der Lieth of the SCA
Interested in consulting or coaching? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Making a decision on an espresso machine can come with a lot of stress and uncertainty. With so many different options, configurations, styles, and promises made by manufactures it is hard to know that you will be happy with what you end up with. On top of that, will it be able to serve the needs of the business? Really it boils down to wants, needs, and the balance of the two. Today we are going to be exploring some very important mindsets to help you make the right decision for your situation with our guest, Chad Little of La Marzocco!
Chad Little handles sales and business development in the midwest for La Marzocco USA.
In the coffee world Chad has worn many of hats from technician and educator with Counter Culture Coffee, business developer and manager at Ipsento, along with a host of other roles in the world of fine dining and other coffee outfits since the late 90’s. For five years Chad was also an owner/operator of an audacious restaurant called Arbor in Logan Square.
Professionally Chad enjoys helping people bridge the gap between knowing what they like and knowing what they want; and beyond that helping connect the dots for people who want to make a difference or be part of a solution, but don’t know how or where to start. In addition, he uses these skills as an advisory board member for a workforce development and entrepreneurship organization for disadvantaged young people based in Chicago, called Workforce High and Meta 24.
In this episode we cover:
- Early career and finding his guiding values
- Prioritizing people
- Serving people through the user experience
- Listening to the community
- Common misconceptions of espresso machines
- Learning the right things to consider
- Balancing wants and needs
- Being decisive and a decision matrix
- Over and under estimation
- Humility’s role and growing intelligently
Links:
www.lamarzoccousa.com
chad@lamarzzoco.com
Related episodes:
089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday : Leadership, Innovation, service, heritage
042 : Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rhinehart: Prima Coffee
128 : Terry’s Top 10 w/ Terry Ziniewicz : Best practices for how not to kill your espresso machine
240 : What to do before your Build your Bar
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
"We are the only coffee shop in our town that serves this!" I will bet that you have thought or said this, or some version of this phrase, yourself as you have planned or run your business. Being the only one to have something is exhilarating at first, but then it tends to fade as the thing we thought would be our defining differentiator, becomes more available and common.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why exclusivity is a bad strategy and what we need to spend our energy on instead if we want to build a lasting and truly unique business.
Related Episodes:
The Power of "No" Differentiation Takes Time! Digital Hospitality 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
Interested in consulting or coaching? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Have you ever wondered how you can get your staff energized and highly invested in the success of your business? This is one of the struggles that a lot of coffee shop owners have. Turns out the best solution for this challenge is to give your staff a real stake in the outcomes of the business and trust them like partners. Today we will be exploring Open Book Management and The Great Game operating system with Great Game coach and trainer, Larry Chase!
Since 1997 Larry Chase has been a craft brewer leading teams at some of the nations best breweries. All along the way he has studied finance eventually becoming a long time board member of the Brewers Association as the Treasurer and Finance Chair. His career has taught him how to break down complex topics into simple terms to train bring understanding to staff. He is now taking his decades of experience in both finance and leadership and helping businesses achieve success through Open Book Management as a Great Game of Business coach.
On today’s show we will be talking with Larry about this operating system and it power to involve, activate, and engage staff in impacting the core financial levers of your business.
I find this way of management very promising for coffee shops and Larry does a masterful job of walking us through the what, why, and how of
Larry teaches, supports and coaches businesses wanting to build a lasting healthy culture and empower employees to make positive financial impacts on the business.
We Cover:
- Open book reporting vs Open Book Management
- Creating great work cultures
- What makes up OBM?
- Tapping into peoples desire to learn
- Financial literacy
- Unlocking employee innovation
- Line of sight to impact the business
- The importance of reward
- Servant leadership
- How to take the first steps
- The learning curve of implementation
- Involving others
Links:
www.greatgame.com
Larry Chase email: lrjchase@gmail.com
Related Episodes:
302 : Data’s Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube
009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk : Simon shows us how we should be thinking of numbers and their relation to our shops, baristas, and businesses
304 : Inside the Coffee Data Trends Breakout Report w/ Katie Von Der Lieth of the SCA
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
This Founder Friday is such unique success story! What started as a dream between two best friends (one an actor, the other a classical opera singer) has now been a 7 year coffee journey that is easily the most important and rewarding performance of their lives. From a humble garage to now an award winning roastery with 4 cafes and countless culinary collaborations, we will be diving into the story of Mostra Coffee with co-founders Jelynn Malone and Beverly Magtanong.
Jelynn Sophia Malone is a Filipino-American entrepreneur, businesswoman, philanthropist, actress, TV host, producer, wife, and mother of 2 beautiful daughters. She is a co-founder, owner, and acting Chief Marketing Officer for Mostra Coffee, With over 15 years of marketing experience in Hollywood, Jelynn has been instrumental to the growth and international success of Mostra Coffee. She is dedicated to creating positive change that uplifts entire local and global communities.
Beverly Magtanong is a Filipino-Canadian-American entreprenuer, businesswoman, philanthropist, wife and mother of 5 children. She is a founder and co-owner of Mostra Coffee, As a classically trained opera singer with no prior business or coffee experience, Beverly is inspired to empower others to find their true, authentic selves, and make intuitive and empathic entrepreneurship the norm.
Mostra Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster located in San Diego, CA and the recipient of the international and coveted 2020 Micro-Roaster of the Year award by Roast Magazine.
They have been featured on Forbes, Us Weekly, Buzzfeed, Gear Patrol, Huffington Post, Conde Nast's Bon Appétit, as well as ABC, NBC, FOX, KTLA, ABS-CBN, TFC, Alaska Airlines and Google Talks at Google HQ.
Mosta is focused on providing an excellent experience for their customers through the tireless pursuit of perfecting their craft and being the beauty in humanity.
I hope you enjoy and are inspired by the Mosta Coffee story!
We cover:
- From entertainment to coffee
- Philippines and the Mission of Mostra
- First steps t launch Mostra in a garage
- Genesis of their first retail space
- Dialing in their quality through feedback
- Cold brew, beer pioneers
- Creating the first brick and mortar retail experience
- R & D and utilizing early versions
- Interview and hiring process
- Being and spreading goodness through authenticity
- Navigating growth and planning the future
- Perspective and the magic needed to say no
- Harmonious partnerships
Links:
www.mostacoffee.com
Mostra Coffee on Instagram
Mostaland 7th year Celebration
Related Episodes:
284 : Founder Friday! w. Jackie Nguyen of Cafe Cà Phê | Kansas City, MO
Special! “Thinking Differently” Series | Filipino Coffee w/ Ron Dizon of Teofilo Coffee!
256 : Founder Friday w/ Varat Vichit-Vadakan of Roots Coffee Roaster in Bangkok, Thailand
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
Confrontation and difficult conversations are things we tend to avoid. One of the outcomes of this is an increasingly passive-aggressive style of management that seeks to take care of the issue without having to face it.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about this common issue in coffee shops and how we can reframe confrontation and do away with passive aggressive management for good.
Related episodes:
125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
067: 6 Truths about Power
221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
Visit our sponsors!
Interested in consulting or coaching? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Few things are as essential to the global barista community as Barista Magazine. For 16 years they have been "Serving people Serving Coffee" and advancing the knowledge, craft, and profession of the barista with every issue. Barista Magazine gives a platform and voice to the vibrant and amazing people who make amazing coffee and today we get to talk with the founders, Sarah Allen and Kenneth Olsen, All about how it started, grew, and their perspectives on the growth of the industry they have been faithfully reflecting all these years.
Sarah Allen, the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Barista Magazine, has been a driving force in the international barista movement from its outset, writing thoughtfully and compellingly about the barista craft, as well as contributing numerous stories on the subculture of baristas to multiple magazines and newspapers.
Sarah has worked in a variety of editorial positions in her 20 years of professional publishing experience, as a staff writer for The Oakland Tribune in the San Francisco Bay Area; as a staff writer for The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Ore.; as a freelance writer for such publications as WebMD, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, and The Hollywood Reporter; and as the Editor of Fresh Cup Magazine.
She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore., and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California in Davis, California.
Publisher Kenneth R. Olson has more than two decades of experience working as a writer and editor for both mainstream and specialty coffee publications. Kenneth’s work has appeared in a number of publications, including academic journals, Oregon Humanities, and The New York Times.
Kenneth holds a Master’s degree in Communications from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
I am old enough to remember when Barista magazine first came out only 6 years into my own career in coffee and what an impact it made. I have known Sarah and Ken for a good portion of that time and so getting to interview them here on this show feels truly magical.
I hope you enjoy this conversation!
We cover:
- Beginning at the perfect time
- Creating and curating the first issue
- Highlighting baristas and connecting the community
- Listening as essential to serving well
- Providing tools, education and lifting up the barista
- Accessibility of information
- Global spread of barista culture
- Rise of barista in producing countries
- Providing clear learning pathways
- Why there is no “right” answer
- How owners can meet barista's needs right now
Links:
www.baristamagazine.com
Instagram @baristamagazine
Related Episodes:
306 : A Conversation w/ 2004 U.S. Barista Champion, Bronwen Serna!
305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
This question gets brought up often when people are discussing their plans to open a coffee shop. The answer, as you might expect, is not as easy as saying yes or no. Ultimately we need to explore what is behind the question. Why is it being asked and how can you answer it for yourself.
Today on Shift break I will be giving you my perspective on this question in hopes that it encourages you to pursue the best paths of preparation for the coffee journey ahead.
Related episodes:
283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop
269 : What to Focus on after you Launch
258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
Interested in consulting or coaching? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Italian coffee has shaped how the world understands coffee and cafe culture. These days there is a movement to take the traditional Italian way of of getting a coffee and elevate the quality and the experience making it a truly specialty coffee experience. At the heart of that movement is Aroma Caffe todays guest, Alessandro Galtieri.
Alessandro has owned and operated Aroma Caffe since 1994 and has been a coffee professional since 1991. As he ran the cafe he began to shift it into a beacon of progressive specialty coffee amidst the traditional coffee culture landscape of his city of Bologna, Italy.
Alessandro is the 2018 and 2019 Italian Brews Cup Champion and 3rd place finisher in the 2019 World Brewers Cup. He has published several books/ manuals on professional barista work and training, is a certified SCA trainer, and is tirelessly working to serve his customers the best quality and to make them happy through coffee.
In today's conversation we will be covering his beginnings in coffee, becoming an owner, the challenge of shifting to specialty, and his vision for the future of Italian coffee culture.
We cover:
- Learning under older traditional Italian baristas
- The road to owning his own bar
- Changing the business model to specialty coffee
- Training and educating both baristas and customers
- Experiencing resistance to new ways from traditionalists
- What makes Italian coffee culture?
- What is the future of Italian coffee culture
- The most important behaviors of a barista
- How loving our coffee helps its sustainability
- Constance and temperance
Links:
Aroma Caffe on Instagram @aromacoffeelove
Website: https://www.ilpiaceredelcaffe.it
Alessandro's Brewers Cup Routine
Related episodes:
198 : The Evolution of the Coffee Shop w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris
205 : Inside Caffe Florian, the World’s Oldest Coffee Shop ! | Venice, Italy
019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio
299 : 5 Rules for a Successful Coffee shop
Blog: The Customer of Tomorrow
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
How coffee is processed after harvest has an incredible impact on the final quality in the cup. Today we have the luxury of choosing form a wide variety of processing techniques. Whether you are a roaster or a farmer, understanding what these methods contribute to the coffee as well as their impact on the environment, and the industry is critical.
On this episode of RoR from Roast Magazine, we will be discussing post-harvest processing methods from a scientific, philosophical, and practical perspective with guests, Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients.
Siva Subramanian is Vice President & Head of coffee Innovation, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI). He has 27 years of extensive experience in the food industry working in multiple countries including India, Singapore, and the United States. Prior to joining OFI, Siva worked with Hindustan Unilever at the Global R&D center in Bangalore, India Siva holds degrees in Chemistry, Chemical Technology & Food Technology from the University of Mumbai, India. Currently, Siva is leading a team engaged in creating new processing techniques to enhance the aroma, flavor, and taste of coffee & creating novel food ingredients.
Byron Holcomb is the Specialty Coffee Manager, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI. Byron likes to say he is a strong generalist in coffee but not an expert at any one part of coffee. In 2009 he competed as a barista with coffee from his own farm in the Dominican Republic. He was a coffee buyer for Dallis Bros Coffee in NYC for a few years before moving to Brazil to manage a couple farms in Sul de Minas. There he tried to bring better post-harvest management to the operation. At least one of the farms made it into CoE the 5 years he was there. Recently he received the QP3 certification. For the last few years he is based in Guatemala City supporting the Specialty business in Olam/ofi.
We cover:
- How processing has evolved
- What happens in the washed, natural, and honey process
- The illusion of sweetness
- Role of stress, microorganisms, acids, metabolites, and sugars
- Mechanical harvesting impact on flavor
- Why honey process is not ideal
- How much does processing contribute to the bean’s true terroir?
- What methods are most scalable and sustainable?
- How roasters can make mindful selections to support farmers and serve customers well
- Experimental processing, quality, and marketing
- Pendulum of experimentation
Links:
www.olamspecialtycoffee.com
www.asic-cafe.org
Subscribe to Roast Magazine!
www.roastmagazine.com
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
It seems like we as an industry want two conflicting things. On the one hand we want baristas to create excellent drinks and to come to work with the mentality that they will not just be on autopilot and phone it in. On the other hand, we have a tendency to believe that the right configuration of recipes and equipment will solve the problem.
Today on Shift Break we will be discussing why machines and recipes cannot replace people in providing the kind of quality we seek, and how, ultimately, we need to take ownership over creating the environments where quality can achieved.
Related episodes:
298 : A Trophy, or Atrophy?
296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
Interested in Consulting? Reach out! Chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Our coffee shops are the sum total of many different small and large things. When business gets going it can be easy for some of the simpler and more nuanced elements of running a coffee bar to fall by the wayside. The impact these have over time can be and is felt by both your staff and your customers.
Today you and I will be covering ten ways you can upgrade how your employees and patrons experience your cafe. These will be practical/physical changes as well as mindset shifts. As you listen, I would challenge you to select one or two of these and really create an initiative to implement them in your shop long term. As you go through the whole list I believe you (and everyone else)will see some remarkable changes.
We cover:
- Bathrooms
- Bar cleaning
- Condiments
- Seating area
- Aromas in the shop
- Service standards
- Prioritizing feedback
- Upgrading and maintaining
- Focusing on your work
Related Episodes:
057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
Spiders
299 : 5 Rules for a Successful Coffee shop
128 : Terry’s Top 10 w/ Terry Ziniewicz : Best practices for how not to kill your espresso machine
253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
Fix the Small Stuff! : Management, Morale, Coffee Bar Culture
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
The question of who to promote to available positions is one that coffee shop operators wrestle with a lot. As with any hiring decision, we can make great choices based on solid reasons or we can make a choice we will regret later that was based on shaky reasoning. One of those not so great reasons to promote someone is that they are "next in line"
Today on Shift Break we will explore the idea of "next in line" promotion, why it may not be a great idea, and what to do to make the best decision for your baristas, the customers, and the cafe.
Related episodes:
172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
Blog: Good Communication is “For Here”
232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak
301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Today we get to chat with 2004 U.S. Barista Champion and legend, Bronwen Serna! Bronwen has been a practicing Coffee Professional since 2000, a Professional Barista, Roaster, and Barista Trainer, a Certified Instructor and Assessor with the Specialty Coffee Association. Her love of coffee precedes her experience, where she manages to frequent many coffeehouses all over the world and became a Barista after having drunk many cups of coffee and inspired by a trip to Italy.
What has driven her all these years has been her love coffee and people. Bronwen is currently working with Counter Culture Coffee in LA, as she continues to build excitement and knowledge for clients and coffee professionals in the Specialty Coffee scene.
This is quite a special episode. I have known Bronwen since the early 2000s. Having both grown into our careers during the same era of specialty coffee and in the same professional barista community I have witnessed first hand Bronwen’s dynamic and inspiring impact in the industry and it is a tru privilege to welcome her to the podcast to share her story and wisdom with the KTTS audience!
In our conversation today we will be exploring Bronwen’s early years in coffee, and by default the early years of the 3rd wave that she was helping to shape. We talk about training, education, hospitality, business models, and how all these things have developed and what she believes are the timeless truths that contribute to a thriving community and career in coffee.
I hope you enjoy this episode and that it helps you mindfully pursue building a great future coffee history with what you presently set your hand to.
We cover:
- Formative years in coffee and 3rd wave
- Being a life long learner
- Roasting as a career springboard
- Competition and expanding horizons
- Tailoring education
- Evolution of the industry
- Universal truths and practices of barista and coffee work
- How to best serve our customers
- Simplicity as a virtue
- Biggest needs in the industry
Links:
Bronwen on Instagram
www.bronwenserna.com
Counter Culture Coffee
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Boy do we have a Founder Friday for you! Today we get to talk with the founder of MadLab Coffee in L.A., Andrew Sinclair.
Andrew has been in coffee for over a decade going from an enthusiast to barista, head barista, manager, then owner and operator all before he started MadLab in 2015.
Mad Lab’s mission is to love people a whole lot more, instead of a whole lot less and to push everyone that encounters our coffee, to be the person they needed when they were younger. These mantras are the compass for how they present themselves and practice business with their everyday customers and thier partners that become our friends and family.
In today’s conversation we will be exploring Andrew’s unique path into the coffee world and the peaks and valleys that mad him and his company what they are today.
This is one of the most encouraging, passionate, and genuine interviews to date and serves as a real dose of inspiration to put integrity and people at the center of all we do.
We cover:
- The difficulty of being in hospitality in LA.
- Becoming a barista, manager, owner
- Looking after people first
- Viewing things as opportunities
- Serving the needs of the neighborhood
- Flag planters vs hometown roasters
- Adventures in learning to roast
- Our hospitality and staff care mindset
- Taking over an existing space at the right time
- How the homeless community saved MadLab Coffee
- MadLab service mantras and the importance of mentorship
- Why it's not about money
Links:
www.madlab.co
MadLab on Instagram
Related Episodes:
045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
232 : Founder Friday w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou’s Porch
129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO
075 : Founder Friday w/Jill Killen of Cloud City Coffee, Seattle Washington
107 : Kyle Glanville & Charles Babinski of G&B Coffee and Go Get em Tiger
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
Looking out into the world of specialty coffee and the sheer number of complex problems both locally and globally that need to be addressed, it is easy to get overwhelmed. The question of, How can I make a difference? Is often left unanswered because the opportunities for contribution seem too small. Or we try to answer the question in with unsustainable efforts that fizzle out and make us worry of trying again.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how small steps toward a goal can bring about massive change and bring consistency to how we walk out our values in our daily business for the benefit of all our staff, customers, and the greater community.
Related Episodes:
Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe
Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Consumers. What we assume to be the end of the value chain in coffee, may in fact be the the beginning. In reality, as we will learn today, coffee is more a circle than a straight line, and in many ways it begins and ends with the consumer.
How we serve, market to, and communicate with the consumer, literally shapes the industry through curating the demand that we then supply.
The question for all of us who have influence in creating the expectations, and therefore the demands and behaviors of consumers, is, how do we build guide them to options and habits that create long term sustainability?
With the help of some of the most incredible and influential people we dive deep into the world of the consumer to discover what makes them tick, what part we play, what makes sustainability movements sticky, how to create a narrative and supply options that encourage mass change through local effort, how farmers are creating direct to consumer models, and where we can start in our own businesses to create sustainable change.
As we end the series on this episode I hope you take these ideas and find a way to start applying them as soon as possible. The road to sustainability is being built by many hands around the world working together for a common goal.
Let's make sure we join hands with them.
Our Guest for this episode include:
- Erika Vonie: Coffee Consultant at Erikavonie.com
- Felipe Croce: Farm manager for F.A.F. Brazil
- Heather Ward: Content Strategy Director for the SCA
- Spenser M. Ross PHD: Assistant Professor of Marketing at University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Manning School of Business.
- Dr. Sukhbir Sandhu: Senior Lecturer in Sustainability and Ethics at the University of South Australia Business, and researcher w/ Centre for Workplace Excellence (CWeX)
- Thaleon Tremain: CEO and co-founder of Pachamama Coffee Cooperative
Guest Links:
- Erika Vonie
- FAF Brazil
- SCA.COFFEE
- Spencer M. Ross
- Dr. Sukhbir Sandhu
- Pachamama Coffee Cooperative
Show Links:
- www.biocaf.com
- Download the Free PDF Program Guide
- All Episodes of The Sustainability Series
Related Keys to the Shop Episodes:
- 035 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
- 304 : Inside the Coffee Data Trends Breakout Report w/ Katie Von Der Leith of the SCA
- 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
- 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
- Blog: The Customer of Tomorrow
- 272 : Coffee for Dummies w/ Major Cohen
- 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
Remember!
- Visit www.biocaf.com for more resources on sustainability!
- Visit www.keystotheshop.com for hundreds of episodes focused on helping you and your coffee business thrive!
- Follow @keystotheshop on Instagram!
As we have explored all that has gone into the product of coffee and the many ways that sustainability can be achieved in farming, Importing, and Roasting. Now we come to the place where coffee's potentially is ultimately on display. The cafe.
Next to the farm, the cafe has been the focus of much of our sustainability efforts, and with good reason. The cafe is hands down the most wasteful link in the value chain in product, materials, energy, and even in potential as businesses often cannot sustain themselves longer than a few years.
In this episode we will be talking with some brilliant minds whose work and ideas have created seismic shifts in the way coffee shops can view and pursue sustainability in an accessible and effective ways.
As we talk about everything from shifting our mindsets, zero-waste initiatives, and energy saving innovations --to navigating social pressure, communicating values to customers/staff, and committing to small steps and building simple systems, I believe this episode will stoke your desire to start or continue your own shop's sustainability efforts.
Our Guest for this episode include:
- Cosimo Libardo: CEO, La Carimali Group
- Karen Lickteig: Marketing & Sustainability Director for Nossa Familia Coffee
- Umeko Motoyoshi: Author, Not Wasting Coffee, Host, A Better Table Podcast
Guest Links:
- La Caramali Group
- Nossa Familia Coffee
- A Better Table Podcast
- Not Wasting Coffee / Umeshiso.com
Show Links:
- www.biocaf.com
- Download the Free PDF Program Guide
- All Episodes of The Sustainability Series
Related Keys to the Shop Episodes:
- 275 : The Changing Landscape of Cafe Spaces w/ Dr. Jennifer Ferreira
- 206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger
- 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
- 057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
Remember!
- Visit www.biocaf.com for more resources on sustainability!
- Visit www.keystotheshop.com for hundreds of episodes focused on helping you and your coffee business thrive!
- Follow @keystotheshop on Instagram!
Sustainability is a collaborative effort that relies on solid networks, relationships, and communication. This is mainly the responsibility of importers and roasters whose job it is to provide connection, accurate representation, and to realize the potential of the now harvested coffee and the farmers who grow it.
While providing these platforms to those they serve, importers and roasters must also look out for the stability and sustainability of their own businesses in order to make progress long-term.
In this episode we will be talking with some seriously inspiring importers and roasters to discuss their practices, perspectives, accomplishments on what it means to be holistically sustainable.
From commited importing relationships, balancing the needs of roasters and farmers, and exploring the roasters role in the value chain -- to roaster cooperatives, creating values based culture, and navigating supply challenges, there are some incredible points and actionable insights in these conversations.
I hope this inspires you to take consistent action, even in small ways, to add to the positive momentum!
Our Guest for this Episode include:
- Jeanine Niynzima-Aroian: Owner of JNP Coffee / Founder of Burundi Friends International
- James Tooill: North American Sales Manager, Ally Coffee
- Joe Marrocco: VP of Coffee Sourcing and Product Development at FairWave Coffee Collective
- Monica Firl: Director of Sustainability, Coop Coffees
- Lee Wallace, CEO, Peace Coffee
- Andi Trindle Mersch: Director of Coffee, Tea, and Sustainability with Philz Coffee
Guest Links:
- JNP Coffee
- Ally Coffee
- FairWave
- Coop Coffees
- Peace Coffee
- Philz Coffee
Show Links:
www.biocaf.com
Download the Free PDF Program Guide
Series Link:
- All Episodes of The Sustainability Series
Related Keys to the Shop Episodes:
- COVID-19 Focus: Perspective form Burundi w/ Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, JNP Coffee
- 020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop
- 078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris
- Special! “Thinking Differently” Series | Radical Sustainability w/ James Combs of Combs’ Coffee
- 152 : Essential Advice for Starting a Roastery w/ Jen Apodaca
- “Rate of Rise: Elevated Conversations on Roasting”
- RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
- 265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
Remember!
Visit www.biocaf.com for more resources on sustainability!
Visit www.keystotheshop.com for hundreds of episodes focused on helping you and your coffee business thrive!
Follow @keystotheshop on Instagram!
Welcome to the Sustainability Series from Biocaf and Keys to the Shop!
To kick off this series we will be exploring sustainability where all the potential of a coffee and the foundation of our industry is concentrated. The farm.
How we define and understand sustainability here creates a ripple effect that impacts every action we take along the value chain.
As we explore sustainability on the coffee farm we will be discussing everything from organic production, farmer cooperatives, and climate change - to legacy, genetic/crop diversity, and organic production. All of this with the aim to create clarity on the issues and highlight the movements currently making positive change that we can be inspired by, work along side of, and support in their big for sustainability on the farm.
Our Guest for this Episode include:
- Marcos Croce: Owner of Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF) Brazil
- Esperanza Dionisio: General Manager of the Pangoa Cooperative in Peru
- Erika Koss : SCA instructor and Sustainability Consultant at "A World in your Cup"
- Kim Elena Ionescu: The Chief sustainability Officer for the SCA
- Vern Long: CEO of World Coffee Research
- Stefanie Tye: Climate Resilience Researcher with The World Resources Institute
Guest Links:
- F.A.F. Brazil
- Pangoa Cooperative
- Erika Koss "A World in your Cup"
- SCA
- World Coffee Research
- The World Resources Institute
Show Links:
www.biocaf.com
Download the Free PDF Program Guide
Series Link:
- All Episodes in this Series
Related Keys to the Shop Episodes:
- 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
- 265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
- 288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
- 060 : Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research
- COVID-19 Focus: Perspective form Burundi w/ Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, JNP Coffee
- 072: Taking an Origin Trip w/ Kim Elena-Ionescu : How to go to origin in a mutual beneficial way
- 020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience
Remember!
Visit www.biocaf.com for more resources on sustainability!
Visit www.keystotheshop.com for hundreds of episodes focused on helping you and your coffee business thrive!
Follow @keystotheshop on Instagram!
How do we gauge the markets our coffee shops serve? On top of being engaged in our own local ecosystems we must also pay attention to large scale trends as they influence the perception and habits of our customers. The SCA and NCA have recently teamed up to produce a robust, first of its kind report called, "The National Coffee Data Trends Break Out Report" that is free to the public and chock full of very useful and actionable information.
Today we will be discussing many of this reports findings and how they impact our shops with the SCA's Katie Von Der Lieth!
Katie von der Lieth is a Research Program Manager at the Specialty Coffee Association and Coffee Science Foundation, where she supports and grows the coffee research program. Prior to joining the SCA, Katie earned master’s degrees in International Agricultural Development and Agriculture Resource Economics from the University of California, Davis. She also helped design and teach an undergraduate course about coffee and has conducted small-scale coffee research projects in Brazil and Ecuador.
In this conversation we will cover:
- The making of the report and its goal
- Defining specialty and non-specialty
- Exposing customers to options
- Definitions and How report was compiled
- Trends in socio-economic, ethnicity, geographic distribution
- Surprising results of the study
- Relationship of consumers to home vs cafe experiences
- Discussing causes, impact, and customer trust
- Reason for the study
- Implications of the findings on marketing
Links:
SCA.COFFEE
Download the free Report!
Related Episodes:
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
- 069: Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes : 7 Guidelines
- 092 : Tony “Tonx” Konecny of Yes Plz : Consumer Accessibility, roasting, 3rd wave, subscription
- 035 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
- 297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee
- 270 : A Conversation w/ Mark Michaelson of Michaelson Consulting!
- 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
- 048 : How to taste coffee w/ U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Steve Cuevas!
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
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www.coffeefest.com
Exciting news! On Wednesday, September 22nd, Keys to the Shop along with Biocaf, will be releasing a 4 part narrative series focused on exploring sustainability all along the value chain.
Throughout the series will be talking to 20 of the most inspiring farmers, roasters, managers, importers, thinkers, and academics to both understand what real sustainability looks like, and how their ideas and work is making an impact.
We will be focused on:
- The Farm
- Importing and Roasting
- The Cafe
- The Consumer
Through this journey of arranging, conducting, compiling, and editing these interviews into their final form, this much is clear - This is just the tip of the iceberg.
I hope that what you hear is surprising, encouraging, educational, and ultimately inspires you to dive deeper yourself into how you and your company can continue to pursue and refine what it means to be a sustainable specialty coffee industry.
You can download a PDF program guide that highlights all of the guests that are featured on the series.
A huge and humble thank you to my friends Jesse Hartman of The Coffee Podcast and Kojin Tashiro for their priceless help on the storyboarding and editing respectively.
This series will be release in total on Wednesday the 22nd at 12am EST
Visit Biocaf for more valuable content on sustainability and be sure to tune in on Wednesday the 22nd for the Keys to the Shop Sustainability Series!
Baristas are obsessed with it! The question we have to ask is, why?Most of us don't need to get people interested in latte art. In fact many of you probably wish your baristas would focus on other things. Contrary to what we might assume, baristas that gravitate toward latte art are not trying to avoid work so much as they are compelled by what latte art offers.
Today we will be talking a little about why, if we want staff to engage holistically with the cafe, we will make all work like latte art.
Related episodes:
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
162 : Discussing “Baristastainability” w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee
047 : Mastering Latte Art : Some of the worlds best latte masters weigh in!
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Ideally, the nature of your relationship with your wholesale customers is less like a transaction and more like a partnership. How do we approach caring for those who have decided to serve our coffee in a way that is true to our values, supports their success, and creates growing trust and mutuality? In this episode these questions and more are answers as we talk with the Partner Program manager for Cat and Cloud Coffee, Marc Gessler!
Marc has been in coffee now for 7 years. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, he began his career at Verve and after following the progress of Cat and Cloud he landed a job as a barista and quickly moved into working in the wholesale partnership program. Marc now leads this program that seeks to build authentic and values based relationships with all the people who partner with Cat and Cloud.
In this conversation we will talk a bit about Marc's own journey into coffee, then dive into the work he does in supporting all the Cat and Cloud wholesale partners on a day to day basis, how they manage challenges, and continue to improve their standards and communication.
I love the passion Marc brings that absolutely resonates with what I know about the whole team over there at Cat and Cloud. You are sure to gain some very valuable insight that you can apply to your wholesale department after listening to today's episode.
We cover:
- Where do leads come from
- Values and authenticity as prerequisites
- Managing partner relationships
- Training and customization
- Trusting your clients
- Meeting people where they are
- Dealing with difficulties and when to part ways
- Keeping track of partner progress and needs
Links:
www.catandcloud.com
Related Episodes:
246 : Selecting a Wholesale Coffee Provider
133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond
233 : A Conversation w/ Anthony Ragler, Black and White
235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
If you want to do well in competition you have to study the rules. Without this you are flying blind and will probably get a less that stellar result for your effort. The same thing is true for your career.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the importance of learning the "rules" as it applies to your professional journey in coffee and why doing this will give you a much better chance of success.
Related episodes:
- Laziness & the Most Important Decision
- 243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
- 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
- Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
- 014 : A Barista’s Guide to Advancing: How to take full advantage of where you are and set yourself up for success in coffee
- The Barista Slump
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Elevated batch brew and so much more!
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The best espresso machines in the world!
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There is a lot of information available to us through our POS systems that show us the numbers behind the business. Owners and managers read these numbers to get a sense of not only how the business is doing, but also to get an idea of where it needs to go and what decisions need to be made to make that happen. So it is quite important that we have a sensible way to approach and use the data so the conclusions we come to and actions we take benefit the business long term.
Today I am so pleased to be talking with Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of PerfectCube!
After they sold their financial technology business to Charles Schwab, Mark and Jim pivoted to the retail space by opening a gelato shop. They ultimately wanted to learn the retail business so they could create a better software solution for mom-and-pop stores and small franchises.
The result is PerfectCube, an online platform that allows small retailers to easily track their performance and even forecast the near future. In the space of a few minutes, users can get a read on sales, inventory levels and other important metrics. PerfectCube can assess what hours of the day have the highest sales and which individual products sold fastest, not just today, but last week, last month and last year.
Mark and Jim give a great work shop at Coffee Fest trade shows called -Real Number in Your Cafe- and today they are going to be discussing with us their path to retail, approach to the numbers, and how owners and operators should be managing the metrics to make the best choices for how they run their cafes.
We cover:
- From big data to gelato
- Learning the key points of focus for retail
- Taking care of customers
- Looking at what was behind the data
- Short term thinking, long term damage
- False positives and confirmation bias
- Iportance of easy visualization
- Metrics to pay attention to
- Next steps to get and use data well
Links:
www.perfectcube.co
PerfectCube on Facebook
Related episodes:
009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk
170 : Why your Inventory Counts w/ Albert Amar and Pierre-Francois Rio of SwiftCount
172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
Visit our amazing Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
If your shop does not have specific standards for the products your serve and the way you serve them, then you are leaving a lot of the success of your coffee shop up to chance. Question is, how do you go about setting standards? Where do the parameters come from?
In today's Shift Break we will be discussing an equation for how to set up the basics of your cafe's quality standards in a fashion that is informed, practical, and flexible.
Related Episodes:
- 298 : A Trophy, or Atrophy?
- 235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
- 172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
- 123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
- Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat
- Your Peers are not your Customers
- How to ruin a Game of Telephone
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
These are the two most important and intensive processes in the cafe yet they often are the most rush and poorly thought through. The preparations we make and the actions we take when hiring and training staff will and does create a ripple effect that is felt by everyone who interacts with your business for years to come.
Maybe more than ever, a proper focus on hiring and training with excellence is the key to creating resilience and sustainability in our coffee shops. Strong investment in the beginning helps alleviate issues down the road.
Today we will be going through a detailed presentation I delivered at Coffee Fest that dives into some very practical advice to equip you to bring on, and care for well, the right people for your coffee shop and customers.
We cover:
- Values based hiring and the problem of false-promises
- Building the role and job description
- Steps of the interview process and the role of feedback
- Ways to attract staff
- Proper views toward training and onboarding
- Structures to equip baristas
- Patience, follow through and intentionality
- Manuals and teach trainers to teach
Related Episodes:
- Hiring Friends and Making Enemies
- 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
- Hard Work is Hard
- Training TMI
- Shifting the Shadow Shift
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
- 123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
- 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
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New York City is undoubtedly one of the coffee capitals of the world. With a seemingly endless number of options to choose from, it is hard to stand out and create something that makes people notice and even hard to keep their attention and patronage. Birch Coffee in NYC was founded with the intention to level up the hospitality and customer service one can expect in a coffee house and has been busy building and making this a reality since 2009. Today on Founder Friday we get to talk with the Co-Funder of Birch Coffee, Jeremy Lyman!
Jeremy Lyman is the co-founder of Birch Coffee, a New York City-based coffee company. Since its first store opened in 2009, the company has grown to become one of New York City's premiere and most loved independent coffee shop chains. With more than a dozen locations throughout the city, the focus of Birch is on customer service.
Service is something Jeremy believed was lacking in the Specialty Coffee industry and being that both he and his partner Paul are consumers first and worked in bars and restaurants for years before, they realized that this was what was necessary to stand out in the industry. In order to grow the company, he has overseen the development of not only a high level of service, but methods in which to hone and develop those skills amongst his teams.
Jeremy, Paul, and their team have also figured out creative ways to stand out. From eliminating wifi and introducing conversation starters to designing extraordinarily unique napkins, they have caught the eye of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and Forbes who have paid specific attention to these differentiators.
In this conversation we will not only her the story of Birch Coffee’s founding and growth but we will also be hearing about Jeremy’s journey as an owner through the years as he owns up about hard lessons, values, the impact of vulnerability, and what we considers the most valuable thing owners can focus on at any stage of their cafes development.
I loved this talk and was greatly moved by Jeremy’s honesty and candor. I hope you enjoy this episode but more than that I hope it helps inspire you to new levels of personal and professional excellence.
- Excellent customer service
- First steps and lessons learned early
- Overcoming arrogance
- What makes a great partnership
- Recovery and Vulnerability
- Being honest and self aware
- Making good decisions
- Healthy and unhealthy fear
- The vital role of feedback and observation
- Training baristas for real world scenarios
- Looking for the lessons in everything
- Advice for entrepreneurs
Links:
www.birchcoffee.com
Follow Birch on Instagram
Email: Jeremy@birchcoffee.com
Related episodes:
177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia
228 : Cracking the Leadership Code w/ Alain Hunkins
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley
017 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee: Entrepreneurship | Coffee Business | Hiring | Barista Culture | Growth
Visit our sponsors!
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At work there is unnecessary difficulty and then there is just…necessary difficulty. The trouble is that sometimes we can blur the line between the two and generally will default the thinking all difficulty is to be avoided or is a sign of something wrong with the system, ourselves, or the people we lead.
On this Shift Break I channel my inner old man (kinda) as we will be discussing the necessary difficulty of work and how to avoid blaming others, and why embracing hard work as a blessing and not a curse can change you and your business.
Interested in consulting services? Reach out to : Chris@keystotheshop.com
Listen to these episodes next:
- Laziness & the Most Important Decision
- 056 : The Sleepwalking Barista
- Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
- 6 Truths about Power
- 283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop
- 226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan
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What makes a successful coffee bar? This whole show is dedicated to exploring the depths of the question and yet there are a few fundamental elements that, if practiced, will greatly help your coffee bar succeed. Were are not going to be talking about the common things you might associate with success such as location, Cost of Goods, and great customer service. Those things and many like them are definitely important but even if you have the major pieces in place, there are aspects of your shop that are quite nuanced and are responsible for hold those big pieces in place.
Today we will be exploring the top 5 rules for a successful coffee shop, why they are important, and what it looks like to implement them to make your cafe sustainable for you and everyone associated with it.
We cover:
- Doing the right thing facing reality
- Celebrating staff and community
- People-first systems
- Pursuing humility, empathy
- Iterating your business
- Passion and realism
- Feedback and communication
- Accepting different means to and end
- Values in various contexts
Recommended episodes related to this:
- 173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
- 276 : Six Ideas for Increasing your Revenue
- 269 : What to Focus on after you Launch
- 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
- 057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
- 108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe in Durham, NC
- 043 : Founder Friday w/ Kathy Turiano: Joe Bean Coffee Roasters
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Quality control and assurance is common in most well established coffee shops. Even if it is not a dedicated position, it at least is an area where we invest a lot of time and effort. What we don't see very much of is a focus on care. How do the staff and customers experience the business and what are we doing to make sure we are dialing in that experience?
Today on Shift Break we will talk about how investing in care assurance is a critical to success.
Related episodes:
- Fear and Trust
- Systems as Care
- 208: Building a Company that Cares w/ Kyra Kennedy of Baratza
- 162 : Discussing “Baristastainability” w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee
- 085 : How we Ruin the Specialty Experience
- 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
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The best espresso machines in the world!
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Winning coffee awards and competitions is pretty cool. There are many benefits to pursuing accolades for your coffee shop through such as marketing opportunities, sharpening skills, energizing staff, and networking. The question we have to ask ourselves though is, just how critical are competitors and awards tot he success of our shops and what metric should we be using to gauge the health of our businesses?
In today's episode we will be talking about how the pursuit of awards can often become a means to ignore the more foundational issues within the shop and actually contribute to further disfunction by prioritizing external validation over internal health.
We discuss:
- Benefits and place of competition
- Where we go astray
- Why "Best of" doesn't mean what you think
- The consequences
- Feeding our ego
- Mindset for ROI no matter what
- Escaping responsibility through community
- Focus on "first things" and internal health
Related Episodes:
- Icing on the Cake: Competitions vs. the Shop
- Accurate Reflection
- 010: How Are Competitions Relevant? w/ Jess Steffy: Barista competitions / Coffee Shops / Employee engagement / Professional growth
- 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
- 173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
- 158 : A Management Masterclass w/ Jon Felix Lund, VP of Operations for Coava Coffee Roasters / Portland, OR
- 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
On a daily basis we have opportunities to take a customer's genuine curiosity and excitement and either affirm it and guide them or to stamp it out and push them away. In coffee shops all over the world the former scenario play out but what we see too much of these days is the latter. Customers being essentially scolded for their budding enthusiasm for coffee.
Today on Shift Break I am re-airing an old episode called "Curbing Their Enthusiasm". In it we explore the problem, what it causes, and how to fix our mindsets so we can be effective and genuinely excited guides for our customers.
Related Episodes:
Customer Experience - vs - Coffee Quality Making the customer the Enemy
Gossip: How this toxic element destroys community in the coffee shop and what to do instead
Managing Anger : Tips on how to deal with getting angry behind the coffee bar in a healthy way
Visit our awesome Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
A big issue with coffee education is accessibility. Much of the practical information that leads customers and coffee professionals alike to understanding, buying, and brewing great coffee is either locked away in our roasteries and cafes or hurried in a sea of misinformation. That's where Leaderboard Coffee comes in.
Today we are going to talk with the founder of Leaderboard Coffee, Suneal Pabari. Suneal is the co-founder of The Roasters Pack, Matchmaker Coffee, This Coffee Co. & Leaderboard Coffee, based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He’s passionate about creating interesting coffee experiences and elevating specialty coffee. Leaderboard is a subscription based tasting competition that brings together passionate consumers and professionals to taste some of the best coffees in the world and win a place on the leaderboard at Leaderboard.coffee
In our conversation we discuss the origins and logistics of Leaderboard as well as the state of coffee education today and what it can be, and needs to be moving into the future.
We cover:
- Origins of Leaderboard
- The importance of accessibility
- Connecting consumers with professionals
- How gamification aids education through urgency
- How to approach coffee duration in the future
- Logistics
- Experimental coffee vs conventional
- Sustainability
- Creating community
Links:
www.leaderboard.coffee
Youtube
Related Episodes:
296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
282 : How to Listen to your Customers
250 : Planning better Events w/ Steven Moloney of The Barista League
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
168 : How to get the Best from your Coffee w/ WBC 2013 Champ, Pete Licata
163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Little Field
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
How do I motivate my staff? This was a question I received at Coffee Fest regarding managers and I believe the answer is applicable both to baristas and to managers. Heck, it's pretty much true for anyone. It starts with culture.
In today's Shift Break we will be talking about a few of the usual ways we motivate staff in the coffee shop and then discussing why creating a great culture is the primary way to motivate and incentivize and see people really engage.
Related episodes:
139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
105 : Leadership & Management Masterclass w/ Maria Cleaveland
074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
004: Leadership in the Cafe : 10 Steps to Being a People First Leader
Visit our sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Training staff to become productive, competent, and confident members of the team is a massive challenge all coffee shops face. In spite of our best efforts we often end up with baristas who have completed training but are still not ready to work the bar effectively and this brings about frustration for everyone. There is a better way and today we are going to explore that way with one of the nations top barista trainers, David Castillo.
David has worked in specialty coffee for the past decade as a barista, manager, and trainer, and has competed in a few barista competitions along the way. Originally from New York, he moved to Los Angeles in 2018 and is now the Training Manager for G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger.
David's philosophy and best practices in training have come about through a massive amount of focused experience in the field. Through failures and success he has honed in on what I think are the most critical element to successfully train baristas and the and create the professionals we need in our coffee shops.
We cover:
- Early experiences + Connecting music to coffee
- Learning to learn and train
- Biggest mistakes
- Training lab vs reality
- The role of the manager + Effective feedback
- The “why” and the “how”
- Becoming open minded
- Revamping the training process
- Training the whole professional
- Redefining success in training
Links:
- www.gget.com
- GGET Instagram
- David IG
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It's Founder Friday! I am very pleased to be presenting a conversation with someone who I have wanted to have on a Founder Friday for quite a while. Not just because he has been quite successful, but because in the course of achieving that success he has created a model of a healthy and resilient business through rooted and wise decision making, refinement, expansion, and putting values into action. Today we are talking with Justin Shepherd of Spencer's Coffee in Bowling green, KY!
Justin left a career in journalism to purchase a coffeeshop, along with his wife, Shelley, back in 2005. In the years since, he and his team have transformed Spencer’s Coffee from a quaint downtown cafe to a sustainable and ever-growing company, boasting two locations and a third set to open this fall). In addition to a full menu of coffee and espresso, house-made pastries and made-to-order breakfast items are served at both locations, and the original downtown location also features a full lunch menu, along with a rotating selection of craft beer.
In our conversation we will be taking you through the whole story of how Justin started, early and hard lessons, navigating change, and building a firm foundation with the community in mind.
We cover:
- Early lessons taking over an existing business
- Getting through initial challenges
- Learning about coffee and business
- Asking for help and becoming confident
- Serving what is right for your community
- Managing customer retention and changing standards
- Knowing the numbers and profitability
- Stages of expansion
- Hiring and Managing
- Keeping the community as your center
- Justin's proudest accomplishment
- Advice to other owners/entrepreneurs
Links:
www.spencerscoffee.com
Related Episodes:
146 : How to Host a Throwdown w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY
145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley
083: 6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth
196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
Visit our sponsors!
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Here's some good news...Burnout is usually a result of a long string of unaddressed stressors that build up until they reach critical mass. Why is that good news? It's good because it means with a few shifts of our thinking and approach we can address the issues that lead to burnout before it happens.
Today on Shift Break we will be discussing a few of the ways we can either set managers up for failure or success based on how we create roles, expectations, and the degree to which we practice being agents of clarity and resourcing.
Episodes to listen to next:
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
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We generally assume that roasting happens once green coffee leaves its county of origin taking much of the coffee's value along with it. But there is a growing movement of entrepreneurs who are keeping their coffee's value right at home by roasting at origin and shipping direct to shops and consumers. 25 years ago that movement was catalyzed and led by today's very special guest, Luis Fernando, Founder of Amor Perfecto in Colombia.
Luis' quest was to bring the freshest, best tasting Colombian coffee to the world and he started by breaking the law. It was illegal at the time to roast and/or sell quality beans locally but through his passion, championing roasted at origin Colombian coffee, Luis not only was able to get the law changed but has today built global team of FNC-affiliated growers, agricultural technology companies, master roasters, baristas, packagers, chefs and coffee aficionados all brining the finest Colombian Coffee to the entire world.
Luis and his team at Amor Perfecto have won a host of awards for their coffee, barista skill, and business. The most impressive result of all Luis' work though is his legacy and the impact Amor Perfecto has had on countless professionals, farmers, and like minded entrepreneurs.
In this episode we cover:
We cover:
- From flowers to coffee
- Adding value at origin
- From illegal operation to trail blazer
- Changing laws to revolutionize coffee culture in Colombia
- Barista competitions and networking
- Learning to roast and developing the business
- True local coffee
- Exporting origin roasted coffee
- Advice to other entrepreneurs at origin
- Developing professional barista culture
- Partnering with growers
- Sustainability legacy and future farmers
Links:
www.amorperfecto.com
Episodes to listen to next:
288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
061 : You Don’t Know Beans about Brazil w/ Kelly Stein, Coffea Podcast
Visit our sponsors!
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It is a blessing and a curse. Being in a position of management or any type of authority means you likely can see when things are wrong or don't quite fit the ideal. That is a valuable skill set that is worth cultivating. As a result we tend to skew negative and become primarily focused on what is wrong which inevitably leads to an anemic and rather bleak outlook in the coffee shop.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how we can balance our natural tendencies with mindsets and actions that skew positive.
Related episodes:
The Affirmation Vacuum
Are you Excited? Bridging the Values-Actions Gap Visit our sponsors!
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What is professionalism? Is it aprons? Using the right greeting? The way the space looks? When it comes to coffee shops and coffee professionals we often use metrics that are more surface than substance and the result is that we create an experience that misses the mark when it comes to making real connections and, I would argue, misses the mark on what true professionalism is.
Today we will be chatting about what professionalism is, what it is not, and how to create an authentic expression of hospitality through your craft that matters.
I am pretty passionate about this subject and hope that this helps inspire some deep thoughts on how we seek to present ourselves and build our industry.
We will cover:
- What we believe about professionalism
- Why it is problematic
- The results of pursuing synthetic expressions on staff, customers, and business
- The universal values of true professionalism
- How to build with substance and grow with grace
- The future we and our customers want
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On some level we all can justify ignoring customers in our coffee shop. Seems pretty crazy right? I mean, why would we do that knowing how important it is to give a great experience to the one keeping the lights on?And yet it happens all the time. What starts out as a one time act of giving into convenience, turns into a full blown culture.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about an experience I had recently that illustrates this and thinking through why it happens, why it hurts us, and what to do about it.
Episodes to listen to next:
019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio
Spiders! What they can Teach us About Hospitality
045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
016: Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth
For consulting reach out to: chris@keystotheshop.com
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Who is driving our career? Most of the time we attribute our careers current state to outside forces or fate. Rarely will we consider that we ourselves are the primary driver of our success. The good news is that there are lot's of things that we can both do to take control and start really steering thing in the direction we want to go. Lucky for us today's special guest has written a couple books on this subject, one of which we will be discussing in depth. I am very pleased to welcome to the show, Ed Evarts, Author of the new book "Drive your Career: 9 High-Impact Ways to Take Responsibility for your Own Success"
Ed Evarts is the founder and president of Excellius Leadership Development, a Boston-based coaching organization. He works with successful leaders to increase their self-awareness so they can manage themselves more productively; with successful teams to ensure their time together is as productive as possible; and with smaller organizations, at a pivot point in their evolution, to help them plan strategically and purposefully.
Ed is also the author of "Raise Your Visibility & Value: Uncover the Lost Art of Connecting on the Job" and the host of Be Brave@Work, a weekly podcast in which leaders share stories about bravery—or the lack of it—in their careers, and the impact their choices have had on their career progression.
In today's conversation we will be going in depth on several of the tactics from the book Drive your Career and discussing how to apply them in your context.
We cover:
- Passenger vs driver
- Creating a positive relationship with your boss
- Being a helper
- Self awareness and action
- Writing yourself back into the equation
- Feedback
- Understanding vs being understood
- Curiosity and culture of fear
- Bell curves and personal resiliency
- Empathy
Links:
Website: www.excellius.com
See Ed in action: https://bit.ly/2Zr29Kp
Episodes to listen to next:
260 : Wait! Is your current Job actually the right Job?
258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
203 : Empowering Women in Business w/ Katherine Knapke
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan
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Don’t hire someone with experience! At least that is what I hear quite often. The idea being that you won’t have to untrained old habits. I many people’s mind experienced employees are more of a pain than they are willing to deal with.
But where does this assumption come from? Is this a fair rule to have for hiring? I honest don’t think so. The truth is that experience is only a liability in the hands of certain people.
On today’s Shift Break we will be exploring just how experience can turn into a liability and how to approach baristas with experience in a fair way.
Related episodes:
235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
For consulting reach out to: chris@keystotheshop.com
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Have you ever thrown your hands up in frustration and said something like, "Why won't my staff listen to me?!" I get this type of question a lot from people attending my lectures at Coffee Fest. Managers and owners alike have this moment often. I know I have. We desire nothing more than generating buy-in and to be at peace knowing that our employees are not only listening but will faithfully carry out what has been communicated. Unfortunately this just is not the case and today we will be exploring what some possible causes and suggesting some fixes to help you finally be able to trust your staff, and yourself.
We will cover:
- Your approach to communication
- Expectations and engagement
- Approach to Leadership and communication
- Feedback and honesty
- A culture of ignoring the boss
- Your focus and energy
- Hiring the wrong people
- Systems of support
Episodes to listen to next:
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Sample roasting is a critical part of any roasting operation. But sample roasting is not simply used for finding defects or even just for making purchasing decisions. It is also very important to use as a tool to illustrate what a coffee can do and where it fits in your line up according to your's and your customers tastes. Today we are going to be exploring what our guest, Mike Ebert calls, "Illustrative Roasting", and giving you tools, insights, mindsets, and best practices to use your sample roaster to its fullest capacity in helping your coffee reach its highest potential.
As the founder of Firedancer Coffee Consultants, Mike is dedicated to helping clients create a personalized strategy to ensure long-term success. He works primarily with roasters, producers and retailers, drawing from his extensive experience in all facets of the specialty coffee supply chain to guide clients in reaching their potential. Ebert is an Authorized SCA Trainer; holding the professional level certificates in Green Coffee, Sensory Skills, Roasting and Brewing. He has had a hand in many positions up and down the supply chain and continues his volunteer work with the Specialty Coffee Association’s Education Advisory Council as Co-Chair of the Education Content Committee.
In our conversation we cover:
- Sample roasting for defect vs Illustrative
- Roasting with Objectivity and planning use of coffee
- Priorities of sample roasting frequency
- Sample roast and cupping for buying vs development
- Taking into consideration the end user
- Translating from sample roasting to production roasting
- Selecting the right sample roaster
- Assumptions that get you in trouble
- SOPs and System for any and all roasters
Links:
www.firedancercoffee.com
www.roastmagazine.com
Subscribe to Roast Audio Articles!
https://www.roastmagazine.com/audioarticles/
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
Turnover is inevitable. Even though we expect it, it's not easy. When it comes to replacing managers though, it becomes 10x as difficult because they occupy a specialized position and typically possess a certain skill set that made them effective.
On today's shift break we are answering a question posed by a listener on how to go about replacing a manager who is moving on.
This is a great episode for both managers and bosses of managers alike. Succession planning for your admin positions is critical and I hope this episode helps guide you down the right path.
Related episodes:
For consulting reach out to: chris@keystotheshop.com
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Today we get to explore the ever growing Central African coffee farming industry with some one who's company is creating inroads, resources, and opportunities to improve farmers lives and the global demand for their product.
Keith White Jr. is the founder of Paraiso Trading. Paraiso Trading was created to connect Central African Farmers and their high quality organic produce directly to world markets. The company initially focuses on organically produced Coffee, and Cocoa. However as it grows and adds more farmers to the network it will expand the product portfolio.
Working with women farmers, as well as priding ourselves on only working with farms and Cooperatives that we have actually visited and exceed our social and transparency standards in accordance with those required to be apart of the global economy. They work hard to promote the product at a higher price, work with farm owners and managers to assist in obtaining certifications, educate farmers and others on the benefits of improved sustainability and environmental consciousness, as well as educating consumers on the history behind their cups of coffee and who is producing it.
Having grown up the son of a sharecropper in the south and a farmer himself, company owner Keith White has lived the frustration of growing some of the highest quality products on the market yet still struggling to make a living while others became wealthy from the very same product. We aim to be a part of the change happening in the specialty coffee industry!
In our conversation today we talk all about how the company was founded, the opportunities, challenges, and needs associated with bringing central African farming to the greater market, and what we need to know about what goes on behind the scenes in getting providing a stable and thriving life for farmers.
We cover:
- Getting started in coffee and founding pqraiso
- Finding the potential and ways to help farmers in Cbetral Africa
- Brining the coffee to market
- Partnering with farmers
- Certifications and the role they play
- What goes into creating stability for farming communities
- Importance of organic and responsible farming
- Helping shift methods
- Improving land management
- Addressing concerns about supply
Links:
www.paraisotrading.com
Related episodes to listen to next:
288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
103 : The Colombian Coffee Connection w/ Ervin Liz
078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris
265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It's Founder Friday and we are talking with the founder of Chariots Coffees in Uganda, Ochen Simon Eidodo!
Chariots coffees and Barista Academy was established in 2018 by Ochen Simon Eidodo one of the most renown Ugandan professional barista and 2018 Ugandan Barista Champion, whose experience in coffee brings a high level of quality in the coffee value chain in Uganda helping to promote the highest level of coffee quality from farm to cup.
Chariots Coffees and Barista Academy was designed to be the best buyer and seller of high quality coffees in Uganda. They also are training up a highly professional and passionate barista community in Uganda who will brew the best quality their very own Ugandan coffee. The result is the promotion and boosting of the rate of domestic consumption of Ugandan coffee.
In today's conversation we are going to hear the story of both Simon and Chariots Coffees and the incredible impact they are having on the coffee industry in Uganda. I love hearing about producing countries creating change, increasing internal consumption, and building a stronger coffee community right where the coffee grows. Enjoy!
We cover:
- Beginnings in hospitality industry in Uganda
- Simon's shift in perspective on coffee
- His competition experience
- Influence on Ugandan barista and coffee scene
- Adding value at origin
- Starting Chariots Coffee
- Challenges in starting and running the business
- Expanding services
- How the Ugandan barista and coffee scene has changed
- Learning the roasting process
- Passion, purpose, love
- Advice to entrepreneurs at origin
Related Episodes:
247 : Founder Friday! w/ Ritesh Doshi, CEO of Spring Valley Coffee, Nairobi, Kenya
171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
256 : Founder Friday w/ Varat Vichit-Vadakan of Roots Coffee Roaster in Bangkok, Thailand
153 : Exploring the Peace Trade in the Congo w/ Mighty Peace Coffee
www.chariotscoffees.com
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The day is full of issues calling for your attention. Most of the time there are a few urgent problems that need to be addressed and once they are, new ones seem to rush in to fix the void. Where do big problems come from?
On today's shift break we will be discussing the origin of most big problems, why we miss them, and what do do about it.
Related episodes:
278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
The Impact of Absence 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees Fix the Small Stuff! : Management, Morale, Coffee Bar Culture For consulting reach out to: chris@keystotheshop.com
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The problem of cheap coffee keeps producers trapped in cycles of poverty and keeps the power in the hands of those least impacted by what is at best a global crisis. What has led to this current state of the industry and how can we be informed and equipped to make changes with the power we each posses to create a better future and tip the scales in favor of those whose lives are literally on the line? Well that is the subject of the new book "Cheap Coffee" by today's guest, Karl Weinhold.
Karl Wienhold is a consultant, researcher and organizer of postcolonial rural development. He is dedicated to trying to better understand and undo extractive economic power structures that have oppressed people and degraded ecosystems to enrich others since colonial times. He studies coffee, microeconomics, agroforestry, circular economies, and generally fitting square pegs through round holes. He spent several years working as a management consultant specializing in international trade, later shifting to rural development economics and focusing on improving agricultural value chains of tropical cash crops for public, private, and third sector clients. Since founding the farmers' collective Cedro Alto in 2013, he has been supporting smallholder coffee farmers in Colombia, advocating for them in export markets, and moving physical coffee around the world. He has an MBA in global management, resides in Colombia, and is the author of the book "Cheap Coffee.
In our conversation today we talk about Karls journey in coffee and how his experiences, research, and philosophies have developed and contributed to this book. We explore many facets of Cheap Coffee and discuss questions related to the mechanisms behind the crisis and what we need to be aware of in order to take more informed actions as individuals and business owners.
We cover:
- Sustainability and the need for definitions
- Power structures
- Changing for long term benefit
- How we market and what we practice
- The complexity of both the problem and the solutions
- The mechanisms at work behind the scenes
- Perpetuating poverty porn
- Ownership of images and the supply chain
- Better business models
- Helping without condescension
- Curiosity, investigation, and purposeful partnerships
Links:
www.cheapcoffeebook.com
Karls Youtube Channel
Related episodes to listen to next:
265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
072: Taking an Origin Trip w/ Kim Elena-Ionescu : How to go to origin in a mutual beneficial way
061 : You Don’t Know Beans about Brazil w/ Kelly Stein, Coffea Podcast
020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Baristas are often the subject of much complaining from leadership. "They just don't get how hard it is" we hear them say. We talked about this last week in the Shift Break "Understanding and Bitterness". Baristas however, are also just as likely to construct the same type of unreasonable expectations of owners and leaders that they don't want put upon them.
Today we are going to be chatting about the barista's role in all this and continuing to emphasis the need for mutual empathy, boundaries, and communication.
Related episodes:
Understanding and Bitterness
Who you are & What you Do 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career 044 : Navigating Mistakes and Failure : Best Practices for overcoming the problems we bring with us to the cafe 077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work 111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
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Whether you are behind the bar making drinks, or behind a laptop making the schedule for your baristas you cannot rely on just one mindset to achieve the best results in your coffee shop. Just like building an agile business that can pivot well in a variety of situations, our minds must be able to shift between preparation and performance. Today we are going to be exploring some of the most critical mindset shifts with the author of the book "Shift your Mind", Brian Levenson!
Brian Levenson is the founder of Strong Skills, which provides executive coaching and mental performance coaching, speaking and consulting to elite organizations, performers and leaders. He has been fortunate to work with CEO’s, professional athletes and with teams in the NBA, NHL, and MLS, Division 1 athletic departments, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Homeland Security, Hilton, Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and many other organizations.
He also has a weekly podcast, Intentional Performers, where he interviews a diverse group of elite high performers. His new book, Shift Your Mind, is taking the performance and mindset world by storm!
On this episode we are going to be discussing the concept of minds shifts, why they are necessary, and how to practice them.
We cover:
- The preparation mind and the performance mind
- Humility vs Arrogance
- Perfectionism vs Adaptability
- Analysis vs Instinct
- Fear vs Fearlessness
- Present vs Future
- Selfish vs Selfish
Links:
www.strongskills.com
Intentional Performers Podcast
Related episodes o listen to next:
253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
211 : Straight Talk from the Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
135 : Stay Motivated in the midst of Difficulty
121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
On this show we have talked about how leaders are typically seen by staff with some degree of skepticism and/or suspicion due to leaders having authority and how, over time, that gap is closed through building trust and empathy. If that does not happen then that usually leads to bitterness. What we haven't hit on yet is how bitterness can be generated from owners to the staff due staff not understanding what owners or leaders are responsible for.
On today's shift break we are going to chat about how the desire for understanding can breed bitterness and what we should expect and do to keep things professional and build more trust in our business relationships.
Episodes to listen to next:
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
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The best espresso machines in the world!
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Roasting practices have come a long way in the past few decades. Today enjoy an incredible wealth of information, resources, and sharing of technique to help us be better roasters. With all these tools a techniques available to us it can be hard to sort out the most helpful and practical bits to apply to our coffee roasting operations. This is precisely the problem today's iconic guest, Scott Rao, set out to solve with his latest book, "Coffee Roasting: Best Practices"
Scott Rao has been in the coffee business for over 25 years as a cafe owner, roaster, consultant, and author. The Coffee Roaster’s Companion and Coffee Roasting: Best Practices have influenced a generation of roasters and shaped the global roasting vocabulary and conversation. Scott’s popular Instagram account @whereisscottrao offers expert-level tips and discussion about coffee brewing and roasting.
I have known Scott for a long time and he has truly been a catalyst and force for deeper exploration of coffee brewing and roasting inspiring a lot of conversation and adoption of techniques that push the industry forward to higher levels of consistency and quality.
In this conversation we are not only going to be diving deep into technical aspects of his new book, "Coffee Roasting: Best Practices" but we will also be talking about the philosophies and mindsets toward roasting that we have had in the past and need to have in the future if we are to grow and faithfully represent a coffee's potential to our customers.
We will cover:
- Major shifts in roasting over the years
- What roast curves can and cannot tell you
- Most common mistakes roasters make
- How software revolutionized roasting
- Defining “Best Practices”
- 2 most important factors in approaching a new coffee
- Factoring in moisture levels
- Setting reasonable parameters
- How our roasting impacts the producer
- Sample roasting
- Development Time Ratio (DTR)
- How to cup others coffees to assess
- Scotts thoughts on what closely held beliefs will change in the future
Links:
www.scottrao.com
Instagram : @whereisscottrao
Related episodes to listen to next:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
168 : How to get the Best from your Coffee w/ WBC 2013 Champ, Pete Licata
Visit our sponsors!
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
We have an incredible range of options available to us when it comes to the green coffees we purchase. Right now our habit as an industry is to spot purchase small amounts of coffee from a wide variety of producers in hopes of getting the pest of the best. The trouble with this is that, while we might believe our method is helping promote great coffee, it is actually undermining the success of the producer and the process.
On this 6th edition of RoR we will be exploring how buying from fewer producers but with a commitment to buy more from the ones we partner with, does more for them AND for the sustainability and thriving of specialty coffee.
To do that we are talking with the author of the Roast Magazine article, "Buy Less, Do More", Ever Meister!
Ever Meister has worked in the coffee industry for 20+ years in a wide range of capacities, but primarily she is a journalist, educator, and communicator whose work focuses on issues of access, equity, and ethics. She is the author of New York City Coffee: A Caffeinated History (The History Press, 2017) and the host of the coffee-marketing podcast In Good Taste on the Sprudge media network.
In our conversation today we are going to explore the shifts in mindsets and actions needed to create lasting, long term, quality partnerships with producers that will truly do more good for all involved.
We will cover:
- Why we buy so little from so many?
- Transactional vs relationship based buying
- Owning our behavior
- Commitment, Compromise, Communication
- Conflict resolution
- Risk distribution and mitigation
- Making incremental shifts
- Choosing partners through values
- Setting standards and expectations
- Utilizing a wider range of coffee form fewer producers
- Remaining competitive
Links:
Ever's email: Meister@justmeister.com
www.roastmagazine.com
Subscribe to Roast Audio Articles!
https://www.roastmagazine.com/audioarticles/
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind”
Interested in coffee consulting? Let's talk! Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
Hiring your friends or relatives can seem like a very convenient solution to the problem of staffing. After all, you know them well and trust them right? What more is there to consider? Well, as it turns out, a lot more.
On today's shift break we are going to be discussing why hiring friends and family can breed toxicity and how you can build preventative measures to guard against it.
Episodes to listen to next:
018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
066: Shaping and Developing your Team w/ Beth Garrison
221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
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If there is one thing that is certain it is that, as you grow your roastery, you become pulled in a thousand different directions. The need to maintain the operation, drive sales, maintain relationships, improve quality, etc becomes overwhelming to the point where you are not sure if growing is a blessing or a curse. Luckily for use, as the industry of roasting continues to expand too too do the resources we have at our disposal to help us beat overwhelm and recapture time and energy. In this category RoastTools is leading the charge to help you streamline, optimize, prioritize and focus on the right things for your roastery to truly thrive,
Today we are going to be talking with the founder of Roaster tools Jon Ewald.
As the founder of the award-winning sales and operations software platform for coffee roasters, RoasterTools, Jon Ewalt spends his days strategizing, coding and talking with coffee roasters on how they can get more coffee out the door.
Jon isn’t just another developer who got the coffee bug; he spent eight years building a successful roastery with his wife in the tiny community of Bayfield, Wisconsin, where he developed systems that helped his small team roast, package and deliver thousands of pounds of coffee per week. They sold that business to focus on building (software) tools that help the roasting community achieve that same level of success.
Jon is passionate about helping others avoid the mistakes he made, and freeing up founders to spend more time with the things that drive real change in their businesses: their team, their customers and the coffee itself.
In today's conversation we will be covering:
- Entrepreneurship and Improving operations
- Developing systems and inventing RoasterTools
- Solution to burn out
- Scaling through automation and delegation
- Clarifying your identity and focus
- Current shifts in the industry
- How Roaster Tools helps roasters
- Managing Sales channels
- Curse of over optimization
Episodes to listen to next:
217 : Should you roast your own Coffee w/ Joe Marrocco of List & Beisler
270 : A Conversation w/ Mark Michaelson of Michaelson Consulting!
152 : Essential Advice for Starting a Roastery w/ Jen Apodaca
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
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www.coffeefest.com
I am very excited for this Founder Friday! When we talk about coffee shops we often talk about culture, authenticity, and relationships. I have the immense pleasure of presenting to you a conversation with someone whose business and way of operating in the world of coffee exemplifies those things. Today we are talking with the dynamic Jackie Nguyen, founder of Cafe Cà Phê, a ground breaking Vietnamese coffee shop based in Kansas City, MO.
Jackie is a first generation, Vietnamese American, daughter of a refugee. Born and raised in sunny San Diego, California. After graduating California State University, Fullerton with a BFA in Musical Theatre, she moved to New York City to pursue a career on Broadway. Some of her favorite jobs were performing on stage with Reba McIntyre, Ashlee Simpson, many holiday seasons with How The Grinch Stole Christmas the Musical and most recently traveling the country with the Broadway Revival Tour of Miss Saigon.
After ten years of being a New Yorker, ten International and National Broadway tours, she decided to take a career pivot, relocate to KCMO and pour her heart into Cafe Cà Phê. Spending 8 years of being a barista, a trip to Vietnam last year, and a yearning for entrepreneurship, the idea of a Vietnamese coffeeshop was born.
I have had the honor of having Jackie as a client since the start of her business and am so excited for you to hear the story of Jackie and Cafe Cà Phê's mission, development, and impact on the KCMO community and beyond.
In this conversation we cover:
- Her unique way of researching the concept
- Pivoting from the world acting to coffee
- Responding to changes in the plan due to COVID
- The difference of the Vietnamese cafe culture
- Overcoming huge operational challenges
- Making a place for the KC Asian community
- Learning to run a coffee trailer from scratch
- Networking and building relationships
- Finding locations to pop-up and a long term residency
- Authentic expression and vulnerability
- What is next for Cafe Cà Phê
Links:
https://www.cafecaphe.com
Episodes to listen to next:
281 : The Vietnamese Coffee Revolution w/ Sahra Nguyen of Nguyen Coffee Supply
279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
199 : Founder Friday w/ Mario Jimenez of Banana Dang Coffee, Oceanside, CA
086 : Founder Friday w/ JoEllen Depakakibo / Pinhole Coffee
097 : Founder Friday w/ Erica Escalante of The Arrow Coffeehouse
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
Systems, efficiencies, and optimizations of your business are needed elements to make sure it is healthy and thriving. There is, however, a dark side of optimization. When taken too far and left unchecked it becomes obsessive and starts to drain the life from the very thing it was meant to serve.
In today's shift break we will discuss over optimization and how to balance your pursuit of systems and efficiencies with the heart of what makes your coffee shop run.
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People open coffee shops for many reasons. Some good and some-not so good. It really all depends on how you approach the "why" behind your business that determines your success. In a time where the barrier to enter the coffee house space is quite low we see a deluge of new cafes opening and quickly struggling then closing due to a lack of proper preparation born from a lack of proper mindset going into it.
On today's episode we will be chatting about five of the most common reasons people open a coffee shop and why they might not be the best reasons for beginning this journey.
-
The Dream
-
My Own Business
-
The Money Maker
-
The Community Hangout Space
-
The Vanity Shop
Episodes to listen to next:
223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
202 : Mastering your Finances and Accounting w/ Keila Hill-Trawick of Little Fish Accounting
202 : Mastering your Finances and Accounting w/ Keila Hill-Trawick of Little Fish Accounting
022 : Founder Friday w/ Colin Harmon of 3fe Coffee, Dublin Ireland & Author of the new book, “What I know About Running Coffee Shops”
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
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www.coffeefest.com
Every shop has that one barista that seems to attract more attention the the rest. The comment is made by customers often about this person that they are my "favorite" barista. The question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well as with any situation involving people-it depends.
Today we are going to be discussing how we should approach and react to the issue of the "favorite barista" in a way that creates an improved experience for staff and customers alike.
Listen to these episodes next:
- Exceptions to the Rule : Toxic Traditions
- Good Baristas aren't born, they're Made
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Running a coffee house is all about making sure you are able to serve the needs of your customers and to do so consistently. In order to do that you need to be able to not only listen to them but you need to know how to then respond to what they say.
For a ton of coffee shops there is either not enough listening going on causing the cafe to miss out on service opportunities, or there is too much where the shop ends up doing everything they hear the customer say out of fear they might lose them. There is a better way.
Today we will be discussing the art of listening to your customers and how to determine what to put into action so that it serves both their interest as well as the interest of your shop.
We cover:
- Market awareness
- Co-creation
- Asking for feedback
- Listening to the right things
- Dangers of listening
- Service and surprise
Episodes to listen to next:
Scaling Values 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds Source vs Supplement Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Marrocco 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
We like to be in control. The shop is your baby and you have all the authority in the world to assert yourself into the operations and correct things you see that are off. Trouble is that this is not always helpful and often can create more problems and confusion. Today on shift break we will be discussing the need to exercise self control and create structured communication in order to effectively solve problems, address concerns, and support your staff.
Listen to these episodes next!
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
Don't You Forget About Me Visit our Sponsors!
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The best espresso machines in the world!
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"Vietnam is the future of specialty coffee!" Today we are going to unpack this statement and discuss how the Vietnamese coffee movement is creating opportunity for a marginalized coffee variety and people with our very special guest, Sahra Nguyen!
Sahra Nguyen is the founder & CEO of Nguyen Coffee Supply the first-ever specialty Vietnamese coffee company importing and roasting in Brooklyn, New York. On a mission to transform the coffee industry through diversity, inclusion, and transparency, Nguyen Coffee Supply has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, VICE, New York Magazine, New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, and honored with the 2019 StarChefs Rising Star Award. Early January 2020, Imbibe Magazine featured Sahra Nguyen as one of the #Imbibe75 -- people, places, and directions that will shape the way you drink in 2020. She is a Gold House Collective Founder for Spring 2020 cohort, a leading network to celebrate and elevate the Asian American community.
In this conversation we get to hear the story of how Sahra founded, grew, and now leads Nguyen Coffee Supply on a mission to flip the script, change the narrative, and create a place in specialty coffee for Vietnamese coffee and coffee culture.
We cover:
- The current marginalization Vietnamese coffee
- Why Vietnam and robusta are the future of coffee
- The people behind the coffee
- Learning to import and roast and start her own supply chain
- Creating opportunity to improve
- Feedback to farmers and long term relationships
- Vietnam coffee culture
- Holistic perspectives on coffee origins
- Making room in our community for diverse expressions and origins
Related Episodes to listen to next:
256 : Founder Friday w/ Varat Vichit-Vadakan of Roots Coffee Roaster in Bangkok, Thailand
247 : Founder Friday! w/ Ritesh Doshi, CEO of Spring Valley Coffee, Nairobi, Kenya
236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
209 : Founder Friday! w/ Linda Thach of Little Skips, Brooklyn, NY
171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
Visit our sponsors!
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
Time and color in the roasting process are inextricably linked. We are fairly used to using time as a tool but what about color? Turns out that the color of your coffee is actually one of the most important but under-utilized, and poorly tracked metrics for determining flavor in the final roasted coffee. On this 5th edition of the Rate of Rise series we are going to be talking with Morten Munchow, the co-author of the Roast Magazine article: Flavor Development-The Relationship Between Time and Color in Coffee RoastingMorten Munchow To help us dive into this
Morten Munchow is the Founder of Coffee Mind a coffee roasting academy, research, and consultancy company based in Denmark. Morten is a scholar of biology who through over ten years of intense practical and scientific research and application gained a unique insights that have pushed the specialty coffee industry forward worldwide. He is a sought after speaker and presenter having published several papers in scientific journals.
In our conversation today we will be discoing the relationship between time and color and how we as an industry need to start regarding color and its subsequent tracking as a primary tool in creating consistency, quality, and serving a product that delights our customers
We will cover:
- Obsessing about minutia
- Reaching wrong conclusions
- Sensory impact of color
- Relationship between Tim and color
- Tracking color in your production
- Determining a starting color and your roasters range
- Developing intelligent intuition
- Investing in equipment
Links:
www.coffee-mind.com
Example of color meter
www.roastmagazine.com
Subscribe to Roast Audio Articles!
https://www.roastmagazine.com/audioarticles/
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak
Interested in coffee consulting? Let's talk! Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
When we seek to change things in our coffee shops we often underestimate the amount of time and investment it will take to actually turn things around. I have experienced this both in my consulting as well throughout my career in cafe management helping cafes scale and refine operations.
On this shift break we will be discussing how to approach making big changes to your company in a sustainable and effective way.
Episodes to listen to next:
Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks
191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
Visit our Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
Questions and conversation. They are powerful tools to bring clarity and inspire action. Perhaps nobody knows this better than those of us whose job it is to ask questions of experts across our industry to bring understanding to a global audience. Today I am so please to be sitting down for a conversation with one such person. He is the host of The Coffee Podcast, Jesse Hartman! The Coffee Podcast has been a passion project for Jesse for 6 years now since its initial founding in 2015 with his best friend Wes. From a budding coffee nerd to an accomplish coffee professional managing and opening several shops, Jesse's growth in coffee inspired him to start the show to deliver the same coffee conversations that transformed him to the greater world to bringing clarity on a wide range of topics and inspiring action toward positive change. Today we get to hear about both Jesse's and the Coffee podcast's development over the years and the critical insights and lessons that have been gleaned from conversations with some of our industries foremost coffee experts. We cover: * The romance of coffee vs the reality * Bringing consumers into the fold * The early years of TCP * Learning through embarrassing mistakes * How Jesse choses formats and topics for the show * Sustainability, Conversation, and action * Future of coffee * Advice for retailers who want to effectively represent value chain
Related Episodes to listen to next:
265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge
072: Taking an Origin Trip w/ Kim Elena-Ionescu : How to go to origin in a mutual beneficial way
060 : Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research
020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience
140 : A conversation w/ Erika Vonie, Director of Coffee at Trade Coffee
237 : Thoughts on Post -COVID Coffee
Visit our sponsors!
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www.pacficfoodservice.com
www.coffeefest.com
It's Founder Friday! Today we get the honor of hearing the story of Gilly Brew Bar in Stone Mountain, GA from Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas.
Started by Daniel Brown who was quickly joined by Nephthaly Leonidas, Gilly Brew Bar was founded with the mission to help people re-imagine coffee culture. This mission serves their main purpose, which is to disrupt norms and build better communities. Gilly came to be as an effort to not only make waves in the coffee industry being black owned, but to change the narrative of what it means to be a coffee company serving in the community alongside an amazing gang of baristas. Gilly is unique also in that they serve coffee and tea elixirs to story-tell. With this experience comes a whole new way of thinking and operating. Humility, connection, and people focused service define what Gilly is all about.
In today's conversation we are going to deep dive into the story of Gilly's founding, overcoming challenges of history and race, bucking the status quo and much more
We cover:
- Setting the table for guests
- Not being just a coffee bar
- People focus
- Challenges in first year
- Overcoming racism and obstacles
- Customer feedback and leading with humility
- Becoming a light in the community
- The unique elixir beverages and their story
- Hopes for the future
Related Episodes:
236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
222 : How to have Difficult Conversations about Race and Justice w/ Kwame Christian
177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia
116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
Visit our sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com
Ever get frustrated that your staff are not doing things the way you want? I'm guessing you have. In fact if you are like most leaders presented with an issue in the shop you have probably also said, "That "should" not be like that." or "They "should" know better."
The question we need to ask though is-why should they?
Today on this edition of shift break we will be discussing why using this word is often problematic and indicative of bigger issues with our communication and systems.
Related episodes to listen to next!
- Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat
- Don't Waste Problems
- Being the Point of Clarity
- How to ruin a Game of Telephone
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Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
A lot of how successful a shop is depends on the people who work in it. In the specialty coffee retail industry we can tend to hire based desperation, convenience, or nepotism. What we end up with then is problems in the work and culture that manifest themselves either immediately or down the road.
Instead we need to prioritize the hiring process as the main tool in creating a great cafe experience. In today's episode you and I sit down to talk about some best practices in the hiring process that will make getting the right fit for your cafe way more likely.
Be sure to listen to the recommended episodes below that are related to this topic.
We cover:
- Why "It's hard to find good people" is flawed
- Your values lens
- Applications and resumes
- Should you hire experienced or no-experience?
- Hiring for potential
- Interview tact and goals
Related episodes:
The Myth of the All-Star Team My #1 Interview Mistake The Right People? 232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak My Favorite Interview Question 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop Visit our sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com
Even though you might want to, you can't just chuck items in the garbage willy-nilly. I have been there, done that, and suffered the wrath.
There is a better way to keep the menu fresh and get rid of items humanely and with deference to the customer and the staff. Today we will discuss this important part of curating a great menu.
Interested in consulting or coaching? chris@keystotheshop.com
Related episodes:
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
Visit our Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
www.lamarzoccousa.com
How we respond to negative feedback will have a big impact on how our business grows. The trouble is that we tend to not take kindly to negative feedback and respond with either dismissiveness, avoidance, or defensiveness. We leave a lot of value on the table when we don't embrace critique and use it to our advantage.
Today we are re-airing an episode from 2 years ago that takes you through my 5 step process for responding and reacting to negative feedback in a way that opens up lines of communication, builds good will, and actually strengthens your business in the process.
Let's dig in!
We cover:
- Why we get defensive
- The value of our staff and customers
- Deciding your response ahead of time
- Humility and self-reflection
- Refining the feedback
- Filling in missing info
- Responding with generosity
Recommended episodes:
- Building a Feedback Culture
- Coffee Compass Article: The Wrath of the One Star Review
- Shift Break: Stop Lying
- Shift Break: Creating a Feedback Culture
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In conversation with employees we are often too quick to accept the first answer or the first explanation of and issue. In order to help we need to have the right information. Unfortunately, often due to the power difference between boss and employee, the information only scratches the surface.
Today we will be discussing how exercising positive doubt and being curious can help open people up as well as open more solutions to the issues being communicated.
Related episodes to listen to after:
Toxic Vulnerability
074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel
052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
151 : How to Respond and React to Negative Feedback : 5 Step Process
Visit our Sponsors!
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The best espresso machines in the world!
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Welcome to the last episode in the "Thinking Differently" series brought to you by Ground Control!
We are ending on an amazing episode this week as we are going to be talking with the amazing, James Combs of Combs' Coffee in Corinth, Texas!
James Combs founded Combs' Coffee in 2013 by visiting East Africa on a sourcing mission with a friend that he met while working in the finance industry. He fell in love with tea and coffee while visiting the birthplace of coffee and seeing how incredibly difficult it is to produce. Upon the arrival of the first shipment of coffee James began roasting coffee with arguable the worlds smallest solar powered coffee roasting operation at his house in Corinth, Texas. Fast forward 8 years and James is now operating the worlds largest solar powered coffee roasting operation with a 30 KW solar array and 3 commercial machines housed within a 100+ year old Coca Cola bottling facility. He currently imports tea & cacao as well as offers local wine and craft beer. James is also a Q-Grader, COE judge, and certified Wine Taster.
In our conversation with James we are going to be covering a lot of ground as we explore his tenacious pursuit of building a highly sustainable and quality focused coffee business that also gives back to his local and global community. Fittingly, James has a boundless energy to offer all the current and future projects at Combs' Coffee. Whether we are talking about building a hydro battery, the virtues of mason jars for whole bean coffee, or creating platforms for other businesses to thrive and be sustainable, Combs' Coffee is anything but your typical coffee company, they are the epitome of thinking differently!
We cover:
- Discovering coffee and tea
- Pusuing Q grader
- His radical commitment to sustainability
- Scaling sustainable values
- First impressions of the industry and early challenges
- Learning roasting and embracing challenges
- Creating structures and project to serve the community
- Building a legacy
- Running sustainable cafes
- Upcycling, recycling, eliminating waste
- Amazing future plans
- Facilitating opportunities for others
Be sure to check out the bonus content only available on www.groundcontrol.coffee/ktts as we continue the conversation with James and talk about:
- How do we start out pursuing sustainability on our business?
- Doing more with less
- Embracing the hard way
- Being consistent with your business path
- Hopes for the future of coffee
Links:
https://www.combscoffee.com
https://combscoffeeorigins.com
http://cabstation.net
Related Episodes:
Special! “Thinking Differently” Series | Filipino Coffee w/ Ron Dizon of Teofilo Coffee!
Special! “Thinking Differently” Series | 1% Better w/ Paul Magda of Pause Coffee House
Want to brew things differently? Visit our Sponsor!
www.groundcontrol.coffee/ktts
How do I make more money? Which areas of the business can I adjust to increase my profitability? These are the questions on the minds of most coffee entrepreneurs. Running a coffee bar means you make your money via low profit margins that compound when scaled. It is not as easy as simply introducing a new flavor, choosing the right rewards program, or offering tempting discounts and deals. In fact, a lot of the usual tactics are money drains not money makers and are definitely not sustainable. Many of the ways to make more money are hiding in plain sight.
In today's episode we are going to talk about six proven methods for increasing your shop's revenue that are both achievable and sustainable. Not to mention they offer the benefit of strengthening your companies foundations and culture in the process.
We will cover:
- Service + Speed
- Well curated specialty item programs
- Cost + Inventory
- Retail placement
- Getting out of your shop
- Investing in culture
Related episodes to listen to next:
223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
211 : Straight Talk from the Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
160 : The Smart Way to Approach Money w/ Jill Schlesinger
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoodservice.com
When we serve coffee, who are we serving? If you were to listen in on many conversations about coffee over the counter you would think we are just serving ourselves based on the narrow range of coffees we tend to favor as professionals. We serve both the customer and the farmers interest and how we do or do not cultivate enthusiasm for all the coffees we offer has huge implications for our industry's future not to mention the health and sustainability of your own business.
On today's shift break we are going to chat about cultivating a new mindset that will help us show up at work ready to serve our customers both in our communities and on the farm.
Related episodes:
Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Marrocco How to talk to Customers about Coffee The Dark Roast Night of the Soul 270 : A Conversation w/ Mark Michaelson of Michaelson Consulting! Visit our Sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The best espresso machines in the world!
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sb
Welcome to the next episodes in the "Thinking Differently" series brought to you by Ground Control!
On today's episode we are going to be talking with the co-founder of Pause Coffee House in Sacramento California, Paul Magda!
Paul and his business partner Edward are 1st generation immigrants who for the past 6 years have worked diligently to create Pause Coffee House and have learned and grown an enormous amount in the process. Their background is primary in construction and fabrication with a dash of medical experience but they entered the coffee space with a dedication to making Pause Coffee House the best experience for their staff and customers possible. Their story is one of managing incredible amounts of change with the mantra of being 1% better everyday.
In today's conversation with Paul we will be discussing their start-up story, their personal and operational challenges taking on and changing an existing business, and how they have thrived through partnerships, teamwork, and a focus on the operations of the business.
We cover:
- Opening the business and early mistakes
- Being creative in problem solving
- Change management
- Growing as leaders
- Testing vision for authenticity
- Leaning on other people for help
- Learning the coffee business while dealing with cover
- Being 1% better daily
- Developing the operations
Be sure to check out the bonus content only available on www.groundcontrol.coffee/ktts as we continue the conversation with Ron and hear some pretty amazing advice for operators and owners who also want to make a difference with their business!
Links:
www.pausecoffee.house
Related Episodes:
Special! “Thinking Differently” Series | Filipino Coffee w/ Ron Dizon of Teofilo Coffee!
Want to brew things differently? Visit our Sponsor!
www.groundcontrol.coffee/ktts
Markets shift and trends change, impacting how we do business as retailers and also how consumers perceive and interact with what we offer. In the last few years there have been incredible amounts of change taking place that we would do well to both pay attention to and embrace as we strive to meet the consumer where they are as well as do our part to help shape the market.
To help us wrap our heads around what is happening now in the landscape of cafe spaces and global trends is past guest and researcher Dr. Jennifer Ferreira!
Dr Jennifer Ferreira is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Business in Society (CBiS) at Coventry University. She is an active member of both the Economic Development and Inclusive Economies cluster and the Sustainable Production and Consumption cluster within CBiS. A large part of her research interest is in the expansion and development of the coffee and coffee shop industries, in particular the role of coffee shops and coffee shop cultures in different locations and economies, the importance of sustainability, and the role of the circular economy. She has publish many studies as well as articles the you can find on her website www.cafespaces.wordpress.com.
In our conversation today we are going to discuss the most relevant movements in the market that impact both consumers and brick and mortar retailers.
We cover:
- Chain stores and growth trends
- Customer education in coffee
- Cafes reactions to COVID
- The spread t suburbia
- Home coffee brewing
- Sustainability and the story of coffee
- Digital interactions
- Markets to pay attention to
- Best next steps for coffee retailers
Related Episodes:
090 : Researching the Cafe w/ Dr. Jennifer Ferreira
206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger
198 : The Evolution of the Coffee Shop w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris
140 : A conversation w/ Erika Vonie, Director of Coffee at Trade Coffee
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Thermodynamics is what makes coffee roasting possible. Having an understanding and control of it is what makes great roasting possible. But what aspects of thermodynamics should we be familiar with and what methods of controlling it are best? In this month's installment of the Rate of Rise series to you by Roast magazine we will be addressing these questions and much more with none other than Candice Madison.
Candice Madison has worked in specialty coffee for over a decade, as an accomplished barista, roaster, and trainer. She is a Q Arabica Instructor for the Coffee Quality Institute, an Authorized Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Trainer, teaching on SCA certified campuses, as well as at the annual SCA Event, World of Coffee and Coffee Roasters Guild Retreat. A past World Coffee Events Head Judge, Candice is currently the Director of Roasting at The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab and Tasting Room. She oversees production roasting for the Tasting Room, as well as contributing to the Crown Jewel program, and hosting original and SCA roasting education. She is also a published writer on a range of topics concerning specialty coffee. Additionally, Candice was a member of several SCA committees, including the Equity Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, Candice is the Vice President of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity (CCRE).
In our conversation today we are will diving deep into the practical knowledge, application, and methods for harnessing the power of thermodynamics in the roasting process.
We will cover:
- Difference between heat and thermal energy
- Systems that impact roasting
- What probes actually measure
- How to control and track thermal energy
- Understanding your machine
- Main mistakes made in the roasting process
- What to measure to monitor thermal energy
- Between batch protocol and how much data is too much
- Learning and teaching roasting
- Does your roaster make your coffee taste particular ways?
- Cupping against data and managing reactions in the roaster
- Practical next steps to control thermal energy in your roaster
Links:
www.royalcoffee.com
Royal IG
Candice IG
www.roastmagazine.com
Subscribe to Roast Audio Articles!
https://www.roastmagazine.com/audioarticles/
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
Interested in coffee consulting? Let's talk! Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
When we want to delegate authority, install a manager, or hire a barista we rely on a job description. We know the power a well formed and detailed job description has for setting up expectations and communicating clearly the what and why of the work, but what about owners?
Today we will chat about how a job description is not just good for your staff, but vital for you as well.
Related episodes:
Tips on Job Descriptions Systems as Care Should You be Behind the Bar Right Now? 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team 267 : The Power of Delegation Visit our Sponsors!
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Welcome to the first in a series of three episodes focused on "Thinking Differently" brought to you by Ground Control! On today's episode we are going to be talking with the owner of Teofilo Coffee Company, Ron Dizon. Teofilo started as a farmers market stand roasting and serving Filipino coffee. Having been born in the Phili[oiines and raised in the U.S. in a Filipino household, Ron turned the obsession of Filipino Coffee into a passion built to give back to the Philippines. Over the years as Teofilo has grown, Ron has learned a lot about operating what is now his brick and mortar shop as well as his pop-ups and roasting operation. In our discussion with Ron we get to hear about his journey in starting, growing, and running Teofilo and the extraordinary opportunities that have resulted from his relentless pursuit of doing hard things and thinking differently about coffee and business. We cover: * Understanding Filipino coffee * Approaching business differently * Big ideas and small beginnings * Sourcing and opening up opportunities for Fillipino coffee * Evolution of quality control in roasting and brewing * Working with and supporting the community * Striving to be better and trying to fail * Inspiration from community
Be sure to check out the bonus content only available on www.groundcontrol.coffee/ktts as we continue the conversation with Ron and hear some pretty amazing advice for operators and owners who also want to make a difference with their business!
Links:
https://www.teofilocoffeecompany.com
YouTube
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U.S. Coffee in Good Spirits champion Matt Foster is here to guide you to specialty drink success!
We all want to have a menu that includes unique signature beverages that we love making and customers love drinking. Trouble is, making creative specialty drinks that in your shop that are delicious, practical, AND profitable is not an easy task. It requires intentionality, knowledge of ingredients, and discipline to consider all the areas of the business you menu will impact.
As we set our sights on future seasonal and signature drink menu plans I thought it would be great to have the specialty beverage champion himself, Matt Foster of The Annex - Coffee and Foods in St. Louis !
Matt is a long time specialty coffee pro whose fascination with beverages and coffee started at an early age even before becoming a bartender and barista. On top of being a barista he was also the wholesale trainer for Kaldis Coffee in St. Louis and is now the FOH - and Beverage Manager for The Annex - Coffee and Foods. In 2019 Matt won the U.S. Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, a competition combining his two favorite things - coffee and cocktails. Obviously Matt has a deep knowledge of both these areas and knows what it takes to be successful when creating a menu.
In this episode we dive into a ton of practical information, best practices, and advice that will not only help you create and execute a successful menu, but help you strengthen your team and community in the process.
We cover:
- Early career and inspiration
- Competition shaping creativity
- Finding yourself and authentic expression through creativity
- Meeting people where they are while expressing yourself
- Difference between barista work and bartending work
- Depth vs breadth of knowledge
- Bridging the gap between industries
- The most common hurdles to making great creative drinks
- First steps and considerations to implement a great menu
- Workflow considerations and keeping it practical
- How to propose new drinks to your boss
- What Matt’s perspective on what we need to be focusing on right now in the industry to be inclusive and find common ground.
Links:
Matt's Instagram
The Annex - Coffee and Tea
Related Episodes:
117 : Coffee and Cocktails w/ Amanda Whitt
002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Little Field
031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoodservice.com
I am thrilled to get to feature Anne Lunnel and Charles Nystrand of Koppi: Fine Coffee Roasters on this month's Founder Friday!
Founded in 2007, Koppi not only established itself as of Sweden's preeminent third wave coffee companies but also as one of the world's best roasters. Both Anne and Charles have one the Swedish Barista Championship and additionally Anne has won the Swedish Brewers Cup finishing 6th in the world.
Their business was established as a roaster retailer in their home town of Helsingborg where they focused on sourcing and serving amazing coffees through a dense of relationship and sustainability. After 1 years they made a dramatic with to only roasting that both simplified their life and their business resulting in an even more healthy company.
In today's conversation with these world class roasters we will be exploring their story from founding through present day and the lessons, experiences, and values that have guided them along the way.
We cover:
- Early days of barista work and competition
- The learning curve to starting a retail/roaster
- Principles of quality and doing coffee differently in Sweden
- Sourcing values of relationship and accessibility
- The move to close the retail shop
- Lessons in personal and professional balance
- Advice and hopes for the coffee industry today
Links:
www.koppi.se
Related Episodes:
252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark
Founder Friday! w/ Adam Obrátil of Industra Coffee, Brno, Czech Republic
171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoodservice.com
We need systems in the coffee shop. As we pursue them it can be easy to complicate the process and end up with something that was meant to be helpful but ends up being intimidating or not useful at all.
Today we are going to talk about the virtues of keeping your systems simple and how doing so will actually create more momentum for positive change.
Related episodes:
057 : SOP’s FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
Systems as Care
Interested in over the phone consultation? Reach out! Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
How we talk about coffee, relay information about coffee, and represent coffee to our customers and consumers in general, not only determines their attitude toward coffee but will literally shape the coffee industry. Often we get bogged down with details, side tracked with minutia, and overwhelm people in our bid to show them how precious coffee is to us. What is needed is a distilled and approachable treatment of the industry the opens up opportunities to more learning. That is what today's guest has accomplished through his new book Coffee for Dummies. I am thrilled to welcome back to the show, Major Cohen!
Major Cohen is a coffee lover who has enjoyed a dream realized. After being a teacher of photography and film at the high school level for 20 years, his second career brought his passion for teaching and passion for coffee into alignment and he worked as a coffee educator for more than 25 years for Starbucks.
His work for Starbucks began in 1995 when, as a Barista, he leveraged his passion and curiosity for coffee and business and after 8 years in operations in 5 roles was invited to move to the Seattle headquarters and join the coffee team. In the next 17 years he had the opportunity to be part of some of Starbucks most innovative efforts, and during his final 7 years traveled extensively in Asia as a coffee educator and brand ambassador. Although recently retired from Starbucks, Major is continuing his involvement with education in his role as an Authorized Specialty Coffee Association trainer, AST, and has written his first book, Coffee for Dummies.
In today's conversation with Major we get to hear the story of how this book came to be, what went into deciding its content and we dive deep into discussion about communicating with consumers about the drink we all love!
We cover:
- Connecting past and present day industry
- Creating impactful and simple content
- Distilling the topics
- The danger of making coffee too precious
- What makes information valuable
- Opening doors to further learning
- How we can effectively communicate with customers
Links:
Buy the book here!
- Wiley
Link to Starbucks video:
https://coffeeexperiences.starbucks.com
Related Episodes:
127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
198 : The Evolution of the Coffee Shop w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris
215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoodservice.com
Going from a single store store to multiple locations brings with it the question of how to replicate the culture and values across the shops. Making continuity between your various retail expressions a reality will take some purposeful planning and actions.
Today on shift break we are going to talk about a couple key actions you can take to scale your companies values as you grow.
Related episodes:
- Are you Excited?
- Bridging the Values-Actions Gap
- Example > Words
- Before you Expand
Interested in over the phone consultation? Reach out! Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
One of the most neglected areas of the bar happens to also be the most important. The register. Not because it is where we handle money (although that is important) but because it is where we make first impressions and guide the experience of both the customer and our coworkers. The register controls everything but we treat this station as though it is simply a place to avoid when on shift or a place to hastily put new underprepared baristas. If we hope to win people over to specialty coffee and deliver a great experience then we need to start focusing at least equal amounts of energy on how we prepare ourselves and others to working this station with the respect it deserves.
Today we are going to be discussing behaviors and habits that are core to creating an excellent service and work experience beginning at the cash register.
We cover:
- The status quo for register work
- How the register steals the experience
- Skewing positive
- Urgency
- Being detailed
- Communication
- Warmth and Empathy
Related Episodes:
- 122 : How to be a Cash Register Hero : 6 Essential Skills
- Episode 45: Simple. Powerful. Hospitality. w/ Philip Paul Turner
- Shifting the Shadow Shift
- 167 : Handing off the Shift : 4 Tips to Avoid Chaos
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Hiring a great team is the aim of every cafe. Often when we look for the right person we end up looking for the perfect individual vs the perfect fit for the team and culture of our shop. We want an all-star team but what we get can often just be a big collection of egos that don't work well together.
Today we will be talking about the myth of the all star team and how we can approach hiring in a way that creates harmony in the work.
Related Episodes:
121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak
226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan
221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
Interested in over the phone consultation? Reach out! Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
Coffee roasting legend Mark Michaelson is back on the show! Mark has spent the last 9 years as the Head Roaster for onyx Coffee Labs in NW Arkansas whee he was instrumental in helping them forge a path to being one of the worlds most respected coffee companies. One top of this Mark is the 2017 U.S. Roasting champion and top 12 finisher in the World that same year. Mark is an active member of the Roasters Guild and in addition to being a champion himself has roasted coffee for other champions including the Colombian Brewers Cup champion and also for 2020 U.S. Champion and Co-Owner of Onyx Coffee Labs, Andrea Allen.
So suffice it to say, Mark has had a very successful career in coffee roasting and has been an inspiration to production roasters all over the world.
In this conversation, as Mark Ventures out in his own Consulting business, we are going to be taking a look back at his time in front of the roaster and learning a great deal about how he has developed as a professional and gaining some wonderful and practical insights into the world of production roasting that will definitely help you on your own coffee roasting journey.
We cover:
- Trust the process
- What he has learned in 9 years of roasting
- Most common new roaster mistakes
- Quality control approach
- Including the team in feedback and trusting baristas
- Roasting trends Mark loves and trend Mark hates
- Listening to customers
- Investing in people
Links:
www.michaelsonconsulting.com
Related Episodes:
026 : What Your Roaster want you to Know w/ U.S. Roasting Champion, Mark Michaelson, Onyx Coffee Lab
196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
If this least year has shown us anything, it is that life is unpredictable and can sometimes throw a wrench into our plans, causing us to go into emergency mode. What do we do when this happens? What is our plan for when the roastery goes down? If you are like most busy owners, you probably don't have much of a plan in place for when these things happen. Having a robust and well rehearsed contingency plan can literally save your business and those who depend on it.
But where do you start and what should you plan for?
To help us figure this all out we are talking with Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee!
Andi Trindle Mersch is Director of Coffee, Tea, and Sustainability with Philz Coffee. In these roles, she oversees coffee and tea sourcing and quality and leads company wide sustainability efforts. Andi has held a variety of responsibilities throughout more than 26 years in specialty coffee. She has published numerous trade journal articles and lectured nationally and internationally on many topics in the coffee sector and more recently in sustainability. She has held a number of leadership and board roles within the broader specialty coffee industry and is currently serving on the Food 4 Farmers Board of Directors and the newly formed Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity.
Today Andi will expand on her 2 part Roast Magazine article on Coffee Plant continuity Planning and give us practical and insightful advice to take the first and best steps in making contingency planning a reality for your roastery.
We cover:
- Why it is critical to have a plan
- 1st steps in getting started
- Parts of your bunisess to prioritize
- Including all players in the planning
- Investment of time and money
- Choosing contingency partners
- Serving well in an emergency
- Planning in phases
- The benefit of networking and mutuality
- The ROI
I hope you enjoy!
This episode is brought to you by Roast Magazine! Visit them and subscribe over at:
www.roastmagazine.com
Subscribe to Roast Audio Articles!
https://www.roastmagazine.com/audioarticles/
Links:
https://www.philzcoffee.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andi-trindle-mersch/
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
Interested in coffee consulting? Let's talk! Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
Talking about, even announcing to our staff, what we are going to do and what we intend to do is a behavior displayed by leaders under the title of "Casting Vision". The question must be asked though, how many of those plans actually come to fruition and how many end up just being abandoned?
Today we will be talking about the power your words have and the necessity to communicate responsibly to those you lead in the coffee shop.
Related Episodes:
244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
228 : Cracking the Leadership Code w/ Alain Hunkins
Interested in over the phone consultation? Reach out! Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
Starting a coffee bar means you have to focus on several hundred different things at once. It can be maddening! All of this to get to the point where you can open the doors and finally let people enjoy what you and your team have created. But what happens after you launch? Where do you put all that energy you have been used to spending getting ready?
Today we are going to cover several key areas that you need to focus on after you launch your shop in order to create the best chance of success. Even if you are well along in your shop's life, you will still benefit from today's episode because it is never too late to give proper focus to the core elements of your business and each time you open a new location you will want to make sure these areas are well covered.
Related episodes:
173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
I am so excited to share this interview with Adam Obrátil, the co-founder of one of the Czech Republic's most well known and foundational cafes, Industra Coffee!
Founded in 2013, Industra brought a newer specialty coffee experience to the Czech coffee scene that was just beginning to get established. Both Adam and his partner Petra Střelecká are long time coffee pros who cut their teeth in some of London's busiest cafes before starting the shop. Both Adam and Petra have competition experience and Petra is 3x Czech Brewers Cup Champion and 6th place finisher at WBrC.
Through the years of running the shop they have grown from just the two of them working behind the bar, to now a staff of 10 people serving a large and loyal, growing customer base.
In my conversation with Adam we learn about their history, their road to ownership, the biggest lessons along the way and how they have approached service, quality, delegation and what their plans are for the future!
- Early cafe experience
- The journey to ownership
- Bringing a new style of coffee to the Czech scene
- Attracting all ages from a traditional culture
- Hiring for hospitality
- Navigating the different between being a barista vs owner
- Growing and delegating in order to scale
- Handling COVID
- Serving community and supporting each other
- Plans for the future
Links:
https://www.industracoffee.cz
Related Episodes:
107 : Kyle Glanville & Charles Babinski of G&B Coffee and Go Get em Tiger
129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
How people experience the service we provide them has a lot to do with the pace we keep in the process. Sometimes we go too fast! Sometimes we go too slow! What is the balance here?
Today we are going to talk about how to properly apply speed and intentionality behind the bar to produce an experience that customer will want to come back for again and again.
Related Episodes:
163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Little Field
084 : Crushing the Rush : Tips and Best Practices for Busy Times
002: Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
We have a control problem. Specifically we don't like to give up our control of the processes and operations of our cafes out of fear for what might happen when others take the wheel. The difference between a successful shop that has capacity to both care for its people and grow and one that is stifled and limited, comes down to your ability to delegate.
Today we will be talking about wha delegation is, what it can do when practiced responsibly, and how to begin the process of changing the way you act and think as a leader in the coffee shop.
We cover:
- Fear driven control
- The danger of not delegating
- Testing your systems
- Building your people
- Delayed gratification
- Expanding capacity
- Cultivate trust
Related Episodes:
Don't just do it
Prioritizing your Work
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
I hear all the time how we want baristas to be excited, motivated, up-selling, engaged etc. Those are all great ideals and goals. The problem is that we tend to expect that to just appear out of thin air.
How we invest into those who we rely on to represent the business determines what kind of representation they give. Today we will. be talking about the truth that, if you want to have staff the are excited about your business, you have to be excited about them!
Listen to these related episodes:
Bridging the Values-Actions Gap The Affirmation Vacuum
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
The health of our bodies plays a huge role in determining the quality of our life both at work in the shop and outside of work. When we are pursuing our health holistically we are making an investment that pays us back immeasurably. The question is, how do you begin to approach caring for our physical health in a way that equips us to thrive? Today we are going to explore this subject with special guest Dr. David Dahl!
Dr. David Dahl DPT, CAFS is the owner and operator of Linchpin Performance based in Louisville, KY. Dave has worked as an outpatient physical therapist for the majority of his career treating and caring for the old, the young, the athlete, and the sedentary. Linchpin Performance is a company dedicated to helping active adults bypass the need for expensive surgery, pills, or injections. Working directly for people, Linchpin Performance is in a position to make decisions that are best for one's particular goals and aspirations. At Linchpin Performance they place a high emphasis on teaching, listening, and guiding people in their health and wellness journey.
In this conversation we cover:
- What leads to our physical ailments
- The end result of repetitive stress
- What pain means
- Discovering our why
- Prioritization
- The interconnected nature of the body
- Holistic health
- Surviving vs thriving
- Using good stress
Links:
www.linchpinperformance.com
Health related episodes:
095 : Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Wellness Counselor, Joe Sanok
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
213 : Coping with Corona using Emotional Intelligence w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
One of the most needed but conspicuously missing pieces of the coffee shop puzzle is accountability. Both leaders and baristas need accountability in order to thrive but we neglect to put in place as a real process because we are afraid of what it might uncover in us, or in them.
Today we will be discussing the two ways we tend to respond to accountability and what our responses indicate regarding our attitudes toward work and even our fit for the role itself.
Related Episodes:
173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
158 : A Management Masterclass w/ Jon Felix Lund, VP of Operations for Coava Coffee Roasters / Portland, OR
156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe, Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Fransisco
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
Transparency. We see it increasingly being used as a tool to signify responsible commerce and trade among coffee roasting companies. But what is it exactly? Are we approaching it in a meaningful way? How do we define and practice transparency in a way that will actually make the difference we want to see it make? These are questions that will get answered today as we talk with Jonas Lorenz, co-author of The Pledge.
The Pledge was designed to function A common code for transparency reporting in green coffee buying. Companies that sign The Pledge agree to share publicly a fixed set of variables when reporting on green coffee purchases. The aim is to create a common standard for transparency reporting that is applicable throughout the coffee world.
With a degree in political science, and 10 years in the coffee industry, Jonas dreamt of combining the ideas of the “direct trade/quality/appreciation for the product” approach of specialty coffee with the “farmer centric/ fair share of profits for all stakeholders in the industry/respect for people and planet” approach of the fair trade movement.
Co-Authoring The Pledge did just that.
In our conversation today we will be exploring how to meaningful define and practice transparency.
We cover:
- Price as the foundation of transparency
- Approach and mindset
- Negative litmus test
- Relationships with farmers
- How to get started in transparency
- Sharing information with our customers
- The dire state of poverty at origin
- The ripple effect of adopting transparency
- Being honest about where you are
Links:
https://www.transparency.coffee/pledge/
https://www.transparenttradecoffee.org
Related Episodes:
252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark
153 : Exploring the Peace Trade in the Congo w/ Mighty Peace Coffee
060 : Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research
020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
What is it we mean when we refer to "Quality?" If we take that a step further we might ask, how can we control quality? These questions are top of mind for most coffee roasters who, amidst a sea of complexity and moving parts, are desperately interested in providing a consistently excellent end product to their customers.
Today we are going to dive into the topic of understanding quality, quality control, and taking the first steps in making it a real part of your operation so you can comfortably navigate the multi faceted issue.
To do that we are talking with one of our industries brightest minds (and palettes), Spencer Turer!
Spencer is the Vice President of Coffee Enterprises, the first independent laboratory in the United States dedicated to quality analysis of coffee and a global leader in coffee quality testing and consulting throughout the farm-to-cup supply chain.
Spenser has been a professional coffee taster, analyst, and quality control expert since 1992 having previously held positions as General Manager, Sales Operations (Coffee Division), Mitsui Foods, Coffee Specialist, Kerry Food & Beverage, Waukesha, WI, and Supply Chain Manager / Coffee Technologist - Product Development, Dunkin’ Donuts
Additionally he is a member of American Society for Testing & Materials Evaluations: Food & Beverage Committee. Green Coffee Association Specialty Coffee Arbitration Panel and an ambassador with International Women’s Coffee Alliance.
As a long time Q Grader, co-founder of the Roasters Guild and widely published author, Spencer's incredible breadth of experience and expertise is going to help us tackle this question of quality as we discuss the how to approach the concept and the main issues we need to consider in our operations both large and small.
I hope you enjoy!
We cover:
* Defining quality
- Intrinsic vs extrinsic quality
- Factoring in the consumers preference
- Consistency
- First steps in QC
- Factors that contribute to quality
- Being able to identify issues and replicate success
- Danger of “Selling your problems”
- Balance of systems of control ‘
- How we set our own definitions
- Addressing the complexity of the supply chain
- Choosing the right things to measure
This episode is brought to you by Roast Magazine! Visit them and subscribe over at:
www.roastmagazine.com
Links:
www.coffeeenterprises.com
Specialty Coffee Professionals LinkedIn Group
Spencer's Audio Article: "Defining and Measuring Quality in Coffee From Production to Preparation"
Related Episodes:
RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters
078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris
Interested in coffee consulting? Let's talk! Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
I get it. You love coffee! You listen to this show after all and you cup, brew, read about, and live coffee. Your customers however, do not. Mostly they just drink it and if we are honest, that sometimes bothers us. How we talk to customers about coffee is more than just telling them what we know about it. It is about giving them the tools and understanding to enjoy it.
Today we are going to chat about how to meet customers where they are to help the continue to come get coffee from us!
Related Episodes:
085 : How we Ruin the Specialty Experience
Dark Roast night of the Soul
Taste the Rainbow
Curbing their Enthusiasm
Building accessible menu w/ Joe Marrocco
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
On today's episode we get to have a conversation with Abner Roldan who, along with his wife Karla Quiñones founded one of Puerto Ricos best coffee shops, Cafe Comunion. Abner is also Puerto Rico's latte art champion 2014 & '15, a member of the Barista Magazine Editorial Board AND the recent Sprudgie Award winner of Best Coffee Podcast! (La Crema)
In this interview we start right at the beginning to learn about Abner's entry into coffee, the story of founding Cafe Comunion, starting his award winning podcast, and his experiences as he has grown as a coffee professional serving both the Puerto Rican coffee community and the Spanish speaking coffee community globally.
We cover:
- Starting in coffee and building a career
- Starting the shop
- Deciding to building in Puerto Rico
- Connecting community
- Why the industry needs to expand its reach to other cultures
- Inspiring other businesses
- Not forgetting about your culture, language , and roots
- How to welcome more people and offer better resources
Links:
Abner's IG
Cafe Comunion IG
Related Episodes:
236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
061 : You Don’t Know Beans about Brazil w/ Kelly Stein, Coffea Podcast
072: Taking an Origin Trip w/ Kim Elena-Ionescu : How to go to origin in a mutual beneficial way
103 : The Colombian Coffee Connection w/ Ervin Liz
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Well now! Today we are going to get an inside look into one of the biggest and most successful coffee brands in the nation! We are talking with the Co-Founder of Biggby Coffee, Mike McFall!
Biggby Coffee was founded in 1995 in Lansing, Michigan a fast-growing $100-million-dollar coffee franchise with 250+ locations across the Midwest and quickly expanding into the East Coast in 2020. Biggby is one of the largest coffee chains in the USA.
Having originally started with Biggby in 1996 as a minimum wage barista, Mike has since held every subsequent position within the company, including his current title as co-Founder and co-CEO (May 2016). Mike believes his time in each of his previous roles has allowed him to form a bond with his employees based on understanding, credibility, and respect. Two decades later,
Mike also wrote and published the Inc. Original book, Grind, with the mission to help founders and entrepreneurs take their business concept and turn it into a positive cash-flow business. In the book Mike shares his personal experiences having led Biggby through survival mode, stability, and aggressive growth.
In our conversation today we will be hearing the story of both Mike's and Biggby's development from concept to present day and all the failures, lessons, and success in between.
This is a very insightful interview and Mike truly hits on some crucial keys to success that apply to everyone from coffee shops with 1-2 spaces to a large chains with hundreds.
We cover:
- The beginnings of the business
- The journey from barista to co-owner
- Mission and vision
- Catalyst for changing problematic leadership and management styles
- What is "Love in the workplace"?
- Commitment to support
- Why they chose the franchise model
- Selecting franchisees
- Biggby's keys to a successful store
- Why people are not the problem
- Self-awareness
- Your impact on others is paramount
Links:
www.biggby.com
https://grindthebook.com
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
All of us want to wake up, look around, and be happy with where we are and what we're doing. How we accomplish that is often thought to be in the "big breaks" and in exclusive opportunities. But in most cases, who we become and what we are able to do is based on the daily decisions we make that pave the way.
Today we will be talking about how we can most effectively build our careers by embracing this mindset.
Related Episodes:
243 : Encore Episode! “The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)”
Laziness and the most important Decision
Work Alchemy
"It's not my Job" & Self-Sabotage
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
How does your shop address and interact with the homeless community? If you are like most people, the answer is not very defined and born more from fear and misunderstanding than empathy and informed policy. As we provide spaces to serve the community, it is important that we focus in on how we interact with every person within it, including the homeless.
To help us rewrite the narrative and bring some understanding to the conversation on home we and our businesses treat the homeless we are going to be talking with the Executive Director of Louisville Coalition for the Homeless, Natalie Harris.
Natalie Harris joined The Coalition for the Homeless in April of 2010.
The Coalition is a nonprofit organization committed to advocacy, education and collaboration on the issues of homelessness. It is member agency of over 30 homeless shelter and service providers serving Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. They have a staff of twelve. Natalie was responsible for working to create Rx:Housing/Louisville and effort to end both veteran and chronic homelessness in Louisville.
Natalie was also the Chief Executive Officer of Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, a nonprofit supportive housing provider in Dayton, Ohio. Natalie also served as director of the Specialized Housing Resources Department at Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), the state housing finance agency. There, she was responsible for development, implementation and coordination of policies and procedures relating to special needs housing. She has served as a consultant to the U.S. Census Bureau, Corporation for Supportive Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Urban Institute on issues related to rural homelessness and supportive housing.
In this conversation Natalie gives us insight into the factors contributing to homelessness and helps give us practical and actionable steps to take to equip ourselves and our staff with the mindsets and tools to really connect with and help the homeless community in meaningful ways.
Please look into the links provided here to learn more.
We cover:
- Systems that create homelessness
- Profit over people
- Segregation
- Blaming the person
- Broadening your perspective
- Listening and connecting
- Coffee shops role
- Gaining more information
- Communicating with your staff
Links:
https://louhomeless.org
email: nharris@louhomeless.org
https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/take-a-course/
Related Episodes:
180 : A Conversation with Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale
182 : Founder Friday w/ Alec Tod of Indie Coffee Roasters
106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe Co-Founder, Phil Sipka
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
In the relationship between wholesale coffee roaster and client, there are things that do not get talked about as much as they should. Largely this is based the desire to maintain the relationship and any harder or awkward conversations present themselves in the course of business are subsequently ignored, often util they reach a critical point.
Today we are going to be discussing why honestly should be the cornerstone of this professional relationship and how it benefits both you and your client.
Related episodes:
246 : Selecting a Wholesale Coffee Provider
133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond
233 : A Conversation w/ Anthony Ragler, Black and White
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
When we set up a manager in the cafe we are not just delegating authority and freeing up some of our time, we are setting up the business for failure or success. All of it boils down to how we manage and lead them in their responsibilities and roles.
Today we are going to explore the basics of managing your managers and cover many aspects that get over looked. As I have said plenty of times in on this show, managers are one of the most important, if not THE most important role in the cafe. We need to determine to invest in their success from the beginning in tangible and consistent ways.
I hope todays conversation will help you do just that.
Be sure and listen, or re-listen to the recommended episodes below.
Related episodes:
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
013 : Leadership & Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia : Leadership | management | hiring | career
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We love to talk about coffee! So much so, we often fail to give people the information they need to be successful on the bar. If you have ever gone off on a tangent about extraction science and esoteric processing methods with a new hire (I think we all have) then this episode is for you!
Today we will talk about training TMI and how we should be approaching the communication of information if we want baristas to be successful as a result of their time in the training process.
Related episodes:
4 Tips for training your staff
Shifting the Shadow Shift
025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
Sometimes everything will seem to suggest that leaving our job or career in pursuit of something better is the best option. But is is always the best option? What if the job we have now is actually the perfect one for us? What might we be missing out on if we leave and how do we get clarity to make these kinds of decisions in the first place? Today we are going to be exploring these questions with returning guest, Scott Anthony Barlow of Happen to your Career.
Scott Anthony Barlow is the Founder and CEO of Happen to Your Career. He’s been featured on CNBC, Yahoo, CareerBuilder, Fast Company and Huffington Post and various Colleges and Universities as a top expert on Career Happiness. He gets way excited about careers, coffee, and helping people take control over their life and work.
In our discussion today we cover specific mindsets, frameworks, and questions to ask yourself in order to gain career clarity and truly know that you should either stay or go.
We cover:
- Reasons people leave jobs
- The danger of missing out on what your current job has to offer
- Questions to ask yourself to determine your values
- 7 Needs we have at work
- Contextualizing those needs
- Using the power you have to change your current circumstance
- Good stress and bad stress
- Wants vs needs
Links:
www.happentoyourcareer.com
www.happentoyourcareer.com/8day
Related Episodes:
077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work
073 : How to be Awesome at Your Job w/ Pete Mockaitis
121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Your customers are not just in the shop. They are not even just in your city. They are anywhere your digital footprint treads and how you manage that experience will determine the quality of the experience people have with your brand.
Today we are going to be chatting about the importance of digital hospitality and why it needs to of equal importance to in person service.
Related Episodes:
120 : Social Media 101 w/ Jenn Chen
227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
234 : Actions and Strategies to Improve your Messaging w/ Garrett Oden
215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
We have created a monster. Over the years our quest to please the customer has turned toxic as it ignores the well being of our staff and enables entitled, rude, and even abusive behavior. All this in the name of the miss guided notion that "The customer is always right".
In today's episode we will be exploring this toxic customer service culture, what is behind it, what its impacts are, and how to begin the process of replacing it with a heathy culture of boundaries and support that create a great experience for both staff and customers alike.
Link:
Food and Wine article
Related Episodes:
The Customer service pro is not Always Right
151 : How to Respond and React to Negative Feedback : 5 Step Process
248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Welcome to the new series produced in partnership with Roast Magazine, "Rate of Rise: Elevated conversations on Roasting"!
Every first Friday we will be interviewing roasting experts from around the world to discover wisdom and insights that will help you thrive in your roasting business. In this inaugural episode we are going to be talking with the amazing Anne Cooper or Equilibrium Master Roasters!
With over 25 yrs working in the Coffee Industry, Anne is an Australian Roaster who has gained extensive experience in many areas of the coffee industry as Barista, Café Owner/Manager, National Barista Trainer & Assessor, Head Roaster/Roasting Production Manager at both a National & International level. A certified Q Grader, Anne regularly attends, volunteers, competes in & judges coffee competitions in Australia, USA & Brazil. With her consulting company, Equilibrium Master Roasters, Anne continues to develop her extensive roasting skills & knowledge with exposure to a wide range of roasting companies & machines and various roasting techniques / industry relevant processes & protocols - she is really passionate about passing on skills & knowledge to the next generation of flame keepers.
In our conversation we focus on setting yourself up for success through data, equipment knowledge, establishing solid protocols, and balancing the use of software and tools with a deep sensory understanding of the roasting process.
There is a ton of fabulous information here to help you kick of 2021 the right way!
We cover:
- What's changed in roasting perspectives over the last decade
- Barrier to entry in the roasting profession
- The balance of software and sensory as tools to achieve flavor
- Data collection and decisiveness
- The importance of palate preference
- Are you roasting the coffee or the software?
- Finding your palate preference
- Getting to know your specific machine
- Common misconceptions of new and experienced roasters
- Why sharing roast curves is not really helpful
- Identifying human error before equipment error
Links:
Equilibrium Master Roasters
Roast Magazine Audio Articles
Related Episodes:
152 : Essential Advice for Starting a Roastery w/ Jen Apodaca
063 : What Your Roaster Wants you to Know w/ Rob Hoos, Author, Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee
078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris
082 : Knowledge and Flavor w/ Cosimo Libardo
This episode is brought to you by Roast Magazine! Visit them and subscribe over at:
www.roastmagazine.com
Last Shift Break of 2020! As this year wraps up and we set our sights on the next there are a few things I believe we would greatly benefit from focusing on in order to build resiliency and a thriving business. Today we will be discussing a few of these things and why focusing on them can transform your shop for the better!
Related Episodes:
Systems as Care
Bridging the Values-Action Gap
004: Leadership in the Cafe : 10 Steps to Being a People First Leader
257 : A Conversation w/ Morgan Eckroth of MorganDrinksCoffee!
170 : Why your Inventory Counts w/ Albert Amar and Pierre-Francois Rio of SwiftCount
223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
202 : Mastering your Finances and Accounting w/ Keila Hill-Trawick of Little Fish Accounting
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
This year has been a mental and emotional test of endurance like no other. Add to the pandemic the already existing stresses and pressures in the cafe as customer face professionals and you get a perfect storm of both feeling the need for mental health wile simultaneously feeling helpless to actualize it. Even though mental health has been top of mind, it can be hard to move it from a "Should" to "Must" and as we look forward to the new year at the close of this incredibly challenging one, resolving to prioritize our mental health will make a monumental difference both for us personally and the people we lead. To help guide us in this pursuit we are going to be talking with Dr. Lara Pence!
Dr. Pence attended graduate school at Widener University where she obtained her Doctorate Degree in Psychology (PsyD) and her Masters in Business Administration (MBA). In 2010, she opened her own private practice, Chief Mind Works, in Dallas, TX.
Early in her career she worked primarily with individuals suffering from eating disorders, anxiety, and depression both through individual work as well as intensive group workshops. She later branched out to work more specifically with entrepreneurs who were looking to elevate their leadership skills and execute more efficiently at work, and professional athletes who needed support in understanding the mind/body connection and its impact on performance. In 2018, Dr. Pence began consulting for Spartan Race, the largest endurance racing organization in the world to implement a curriculum that provides a mental pathway to change and transformation, and began hosting a weekly video series, Spartan MIND. Dr.
Pence also works at the Unbeatable Mind Coaching Program alongside Mark Divine, and has recently launched her own product – LIGHFBOX – a tool used to strengthen mental health and wellness. She also began a new podcast, Curious Minds with Dr. L, where she and her guests use curiosity as the cure for stagnation.
She has served on the Board of Directors for various non-profit organizations, and has been featured in various publications, media outlets, and podcasts, including Good Morning America, the BBC, Glamour, Vogue, WebMD, Psychology Today, and the Huffington Post.
In today's conversation with Dr. Pence we are going to explore many absolutely critical topics that will set us up to prioritize our mental health in the new year.
This is the perfect way to end the year and I hope you get a lot out of this episode!
We will be covering:
- Why dont we prioritize our mental health
- Taking stock of our relationships
- Making mental health practices stick
- How knowing our values guides our success
- Self and situational awareness
- The masks we wear
- Matching values to circumstance
- What are common things that degrade our mental health
- Setting boundaries
- The value of hard conversations
- Negativity bias
- Checking in with ourselves and others
Links:
www.drlarapence.com
Related Episodes:
201 : Igniting your Curiosity w/ Cody Gough
213 : Coping with Corona using Emotional Intelligence w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
095 : Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Wellness Counselor, Joe Sanok
111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Connection with our audiences has never been more important. How do we go about truly delivering value and building a strong community that resonates with or message all while staying true to our core "why" ? Well, today we are going to be talking with and learning from someone who has cultivated all of those things and has created the largest online coffee following in the world as a result. Today we get to have a conversation with Morgan Eckroth of MorganDrinksCoffee!
Morgan is a barista and content creator, having worked in the specialty coffee industry for 3.5 years. With over 5 million followers across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, she shares her love for coffee through comedic customer service sketches, vlogs about her job, and educational videos. Morgan also released a line of coffee in collaboration with Wrecking Ball Coffee in December 2020 and is working to continue creating a link between baristas and their customers through a shared love for coffee and a dash of humor.
In this conversation we will be exploring Morgans beginnings in the industry as a barista and competitor, then diving into the story of how MorganDrinksCoffee was born, how it has grown, and the insights and lessons Morgan has learned along the way.
When we look into what the future holds for hospitality, we need to fully embrace our distributed online audiences and create for them a specialty experience just like we do for those who frequent our in-person shops. Morgan shares a great deal of wisdom to help get us where we need to be as an industry.
We cover:
- The evolution of MorganDrinksCoffee
- Managing both cafe life and the social platform
- Creating a message that connects people
- Lessons in marketing
- Community inspiration
- Attracting the younger generation
- Balancing and curating the message at scale
- How to approach digital hospitality
- Not using celebrity as leverage
- Balance of sales and story in marketing
- Quantity of fillers vs quality
- Advice to baristas and owners
Links:
https://morgandrinkscoffee.com
TikTok
Morgan Recommends these IG accounts:
Glitter Cat
Erica Escalante
Umeko Motoyoshi
Related Episodes:
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
222 : How to have Difficult Conversations about Race and Justice w/ Kwame Christian
COVID-19 Focus : Erica Escalante, The Arrow | Acting Quickly, Leading Well, and Fighting for Connection
097 : Founder Friday w/ Erica Escalante of The Arrow Coffeehouse (Now Cafe Reina)
215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
210 : The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens | CEO of The Retail Prophet
Need consulting? Reach out! chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
One of the most counterintuitive ways to make progress in the right direction just may be slowing down your decision making and response time. We are bombarded with pressure everyday from all sides to make decisions about a myriad of subjects both large and small. Often we will resort to making quick decisions in the moment that we might regret later. In today's Shift Break we will be talking about why slowing your your response time can create a greater likelihood for good decisions down the road.
Related Episodes:
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark
253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
Need consulting or coaching? Reach out to KTTS Consulting!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
It's Founder Friday! Today we are visiting the wonderful city of Bangkok, Thailand as we have a very interesting and inspiring conversation with Varat Vichit-Vadakan.
On top of being the 2014 barista champion of Thailand, Vichit or "Tae" as his friends call him, is the founder of Roast Coffee & Eatery and Roots Coffee Roaster in Bangkok, Thailand. Over the years he has expanded to many other food and beverage concepts but always with the coffee at the center. At Roots Coffee Roaster they source 100% Thai coffee and they are heavily invested in creating a virtuous circle from farmer to consumer through their direct relationships.
In our conversation we get to hear about the early years where many important and hard lessons were learned that informed how they conduct business today.
This is a fantastic conversation that shines light not only on the great work of Varatt and his team, but also on what is happening more and more at origin as consuming markets in coffee growing countries are gaining momentum. After this I m sure you will want to pay a visit to to Bangkok and taste the awesomeness for yourself.
We discuss:
- Beginnings in coffee from a marketing career
- Hard lessons form early failures
- Tapping into success through listening
- Coffee culture in Bangkok
- Evolution of Thai coffee
- Building a customer base over time
- Expanding and evolving form past experiences
- The keys of service style and consistency
- The consumer market in Thailand
- Complete circle value chain in Thailand
- Sourcing and serving Thai coffee
- Meeting your customers where they are
Links:
www.rootsbkk.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Making decisions on the way things go on the bar can seem like a pretty easy thing to do once you are convinced as the leader or owner. The trouble is when you do not make your decisions with empathy and deference to the barista and how they will perceive it or how they are even able to accomplish it. This lack of regard and impatience produces a lot of stress and bad blood that can be avoided. Today we will talk about the difference that deference can make when we make decisions that impact the lives of those we employ.
Related episodes:
080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
Good baristas are not born, they're made
Your Employee Handbook is Worthless The Broken Chair Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
When we talk about equity we often we are just scratching the surface of what is going on deep in the structure of the coffee industry. Today's guest, Phyllis Johnson has dedicated much of her career to bringing to light the deeper generational inequities that hold people back. Her new book, "The Triumph: Black Brazilians in Coffee" profiles two families whose inspirational stories are rewriting the narrative for future generations of marginalized people in coffee farming.
Phyllis Johnson is the President and co-founder and CEO of BD Imports, and In addition to owning and operating a social enterprise over the past 16 years, has served as lead international consultant to the United Nations International Trade Centre, Women in Coffee Program. In addition Phyllis founded The Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to build greater racial diversity and equity in the U.S. coffee industry.
In our conversation today we will be discussing her new book but also diving into the issues that were a catalyst for this book. As we enter into a new year after such a strained and tumultuous 2020, our sights, more than ever, should be on how we can use our positions in the industry to help others, like those featured in this book, rewrite the narrative and create more opportunity, visibility, and representation across the whole spectrum of our global coffee community.
Among many things, we discuss:
- How we see black people in coffee
- The importance of landownership
- Creating space
- Interrupting the pattern
- Visibility and opportunity
- Representation
- Choosing coffees based on story and support
- Using our buying power for good
Links:
https://www.bdimports.com
https://coffeeforequity.org
Related Episodes:
183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
153 : Exploring the Peace Trade in the Congo w/ Mighty Peace Coffee
116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
245 : A Conversation with the World’s Youngers Q Grader, Frankie Volkema, Founder of Joven Coffee
COVID-19 Focus: Perspective form Burundi w/ Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, JNP Coffee
Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Oooh boy - This is a phrase frequently used often in coffee to determine whether or not an employee is exceptional or not. It is also a mentality that we use on ourselves to determine if what we are doing is worthy of praise or earning our keep. Going above and beyond may be a nice and generous thing to do, the problem though is when becomes a tool to unfairly judge employees and to unfairly judge ourselves. I and many others have suffered under unreasonable standards that have been both imposed by bosses and self-imposed out of insecurity.
Today we will be discussing how this manifests and what to do to avoid "going above and beyond" to the detriment of yourself and others.
Related Episodes:
200! : From Tragedy to Triumph! Navigating Change w/ Talor Browne of Talormade, Oslo, Norway
253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success
074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
095 : Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Wellness Counselor, Joe Sanok
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
This is an especially important time of the year for coffee shops. The holidays are where our hospitality skills are put to the ultimate test. In the midst of COVID lockdowns and never before seen strains on small businesses, the holidays are a great opportunity for us to more deeply establish our commitment to each other and to the customers through how we show up in the cafe.
In today's episode we will be discussing some important points to consider as we enter into this season of holiday hospitality and how they will give you, your staff, and your customers the best chance at having a wonderful holiday season in spite of the present circumstances.
We will cover:
- Empathy based action
- The gift significance
- Self-care, planning
- Organization and planning
- Attention and connection
- Honoring guests
- Checking in with and listening to staff
Related Episodes:
058 : Holiday Hospitality
045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
084 : Crushing the Rush : Tips and Best Practices for Busy Times
111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
Episode 32: Making Order Out of Chaos
Episode 57: SOPs FTW
Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Sometimes, when we are convinced that something needs to change in how we do things, the biggest obstacle is the pain of the change process. In effect it is the discomfort of detoxing and introducing something new or better that prevents us from seeing any substantive change take root. Today we are talking about this problem and how pain in the process a necessary apart of helping us make positive change.
Related episodes:
200! : From Tragedy to Triumph! Navigating Change w/ Talor Browne of Talormade, Oslo, Norway
228 : Cracking the Leadership Code w/ Alain Hunkins
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
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Actions are the products of mindsets and not all mindsets are beneficial. In fact, there are a few very common and very dangerous mindsets that will actually sabotage your success without you even knowing it. We will call it fate, the universe, circumstance but in actuality it could just be a problem in our minds.
In today's episode we will going over what I believe are some of the more pernicious mindset traps we fall into that I have seen sabotage progress isn success. I have personally experienced all of these over the years and also seen the havoc they create in cafes.
In addition to pointing out these thinking traps we will discover the mindset to replace it with in order to help you succeed and thrive.
So let's dive into these mindsets with an open mind and start the process of fixing how we think to fix how we act.
We will cover:
- Image vs. Substance
- Fast vs. Right
- Perfect vs. Good
- For power vs. From power
- Approval vs. Service
Links:
067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017
Your peers are not your Customers
Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
I am thrilled to present this amazing conversation w/ Klaus Thompson to you all today! The Coffee Collective is at the top of a very short list of the world's best and most influential roasters. Today's guest, Klaus Thompson, is not only a Danish barista champion but is also the 2006 World Barista Champion. In 2007 Klaus, along with his co-founders Peter N. Dupont and Casper Engel Rasmussen, founded the Coffee Collective with a mission to build a different kind of coffee business from the ground up. One the focused on sustainability and hospitality both at the farm and in the cafe. For the last 13 years they have been growing the company slowly, responsibly, and are what many consider the vanguard of direct trade, transparent business practices, and the epitome of quality from seed to cup. Today they have a thriving wholesale business, global web store, and 6 amazing retail locations, and continue their positive impact on the specialty coffee industry.
Of course, you don't get to this level without challenges, grit, determination, and lessons learned along the way. In this conversation we get an inside look into the story of the Coffee Collective from the first day until now and Klaus truly delivers some great insights and wisdom that we would do well to follow.
We discuss:
- What it took to get started
- The goal of transforming the way coffee business is done
- Challenges in the early years
- Site selection and lessons from failures
- The value of starting small
- How retail fueled wholesale
- Creating a practical and personalized space
- Scaling the business and engaging customers
- Becoming more professional
- Prioritizing areas of the business
- Approach to sustainability
- Become a B-Corp
- Their long term goal and why it is never about profit
Links:
www.coffeecollective.dk
Coffee Collective on Instagram
Coffee Collective Youtube channel
Related Episodes:
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
118 : Founder Friday w/ Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters founders, Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb
145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley
Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
It is very easy for us to slip into a place where we start to seek approval from employees through trying to just be "one of the gang". Put another way, we want to be likes and as a result we become ineffectual bosses creating relational messes in the cafe.
In today's episode we will talk about how you are NOT just one of the gang, why that is a good thing, and how to pull yourself out of that state if you have already gone down that path.
Related Episodes:
141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan
229 : 7 Tips for New Managers
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How coffee is processed after the harvest is integral to whether or not it reaches its full flavor potential. Farmers depend on their crop's quality and consistency but all too often what happens during processing produces inconsistency and a less than full realization of that coffee's potential. Enter today's amazing guest, Lucia Solis!
Lucia, specializes in "microbial demucilagination", or the use of microbes to process coffee following pulping. Born in Guatemala and raised in San Francisco, Lucia studied Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis prior to working in the wine industry in Napa Valley. In 2014 she started at Scott Laboratories and traveled to Central America applying commercial yeast strains at coffee mills to modulate flavors coming from the tank. Today she is an independent consultant working directly with coffee producers in origin countries to improve processing practices to increase quality.
In her work she is able to help farmers control the variables in processing their coffee in order for them to efficiently produce consistent high quality coffee that opens up more opportunity for them to scale and thrive.
In today's conversation we will be learning about her work and its implications for the future of farming. Additionally we will be discussing our role as retailers, roasters, and consumers in how we have communicated with and influenced the farming community in ways that have been potentially damaging and some helpful mindsets to adopt going forward that create a better chance of success for all parties.
We will cover:
- The role of microbes and fermentation coffee production
- Why fermentation has been undervalued
- Bridging the gap between consumer and farmer
- Creating efficiency and scale
- Do microdots really help producers?
- Romance vs exploitation
- Where do processing traditions come from
- How we shape production
- How consistency is key to quality
Links:
www.luxia.coffee
Related Episodes:
072: Taking an Origin Trip w/ Kim Elena-Ionescu : How to go to origin in a mutual beneficial way
060 : Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research
020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience
140 : A conversation w/ Erika Vonie, Director of Coffee at Trade Coffee
153 : Exploring the Peace Trade in the Congo w/ Mighty Peace Coffee
138 : Joseph A. Rivera on Organic Acids and the Importance of Coffee Science
Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We all have a collection of little things the annoy us, and the customers in our shops. What we don't talk about very much is the result of all of the little problems accumulating over time and what it would be like if they were not there. Today we will be discussing how your shop can benefit from the impact of absence.
Related Episodes:
- Working clean
- Fix the small stuff
- "It's not my Job" & Self-Sabotage
- The Customer Service Pro is not Always Right
- 2nd First Impression : Tips for Welcoming Customers Back
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
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www.espressly.co
These days community and connection are needed more than ever. There can be many hurdles to creating opportunities for having events whether in-person or online, but how we go about planning and execution those events does not have to be one of them!
For 6 years The Barista League has been at the forefront of what it means to produce a community driven and community connecting event in specialty coffee. Today we will be talking with the founder of The Barista League, Steven Moloney.
Steve Moloney is a two-time Swedish Barista Champion and founded The Barista League in 2015. Since then, his team has grown The Barista League's original coffee competition concept into a global brand across three continents. Whether it's throwing wild coffee parties, producing reality competition shows or running barista competitions, every project that The Barista League creates follows their three core values of Accessibility, Sustainability and Community.
Steven is also the author of the organization's brand new book The Barista League’s Guide to Planning Better Events - a practical guide of how to run coffee events for your community.
In todays discussion with Steven we will be talking about how things have evolved over the years and in response to COVID, plus we will dive into some of the most important points in this new book.
We wil cover:
- How they have grown and pivoted in 2020
- Connecting the barista community
- Producing a great event in-person and online
- Balancing entertainment with content
- Breaking down and focusing on the details
- Focusing on who you are serving
- Keeping everyone's attention
- Communication
- Staffing and delegation
Links:
www.thebaristaleague.com
Related Episodes:
163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Little Field
195 : Organizing the Community w/ Espresso State of Mind founders Javier Alvarez and Joseph W. Gonzalez
146 : How to Host a Throwdown w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY
Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
There comes a time in every service encounter where we need to decide to take the high road. Re-making a drink when there is a mess-up is one example of many that highlight an attitude we need to have toward service that will produce the best possible experience. Unfortunately, we (myself included) can sometimes default to pettiness rather than advocacy and generosity.
On today's shift break we will be talking about re-making drinks and the motive and the mindset that drives good in-the-moment hospitality decisions.
Related episodes:
030 : Casey Underkofler : Matching Your Service to Your Quality : How to Manage and Control the critical details of service so both the experience and product are excellent
016: Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth
045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
058 : Holiday Hospitality
084 : Crushing the Rush : Tips and Best Practices for Busy Times
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www.espressly.co
When we think about cooperative ownership related to the coffee shop we tend be fairly unsure what to think of it. Even though we tend to fear it as an unknown, it is actually a viable option to help secure your business and also to generate stability for your employees.
In today's episode we are going to explore this operating model by talking with Christopher Feran and Shane Hinde of Phoenix Coffee in Cleveland, OH.
After years of planning and research they just transitioned the business to being a worker owned cooperative. The values of Phoenix Coffee have always been to create a democratic and equitable company that supplies stable middle-class jobs to their employees. This is the latest step in many they have taken to pursue that.
In this conversation we will be exploring their experience in this process and what it means for the company going forward. You will definitely learn a lot from this talk and perhaps you will be inspired to pursue this model for your own shop.
We discuss:
- Values based operating culture
- Navigating the impacts on the business
- Establishing equity and driving commitment
- Beginning the process of becoming a coop
- Challenges in the process
- How their cooperative model works
- What changes now?
- How are decisions made?
- Developing skill sets and competencies
- How collective leadership looks
- Coops as an option to exit as an owner
Links:
www.phoenixcoffee.com
Evergreen Coops in Cleveland
Related Episodes:
237 : Thoughts on Post -COVID Coffee
Bridging the Values-Action Gap
6 Truths about Power
Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
As the saying goes, "The grass is always greener on the other side." We all know this to be true in one or more areas of our lives. In the coffee bar we can tend toward always comparing our selves against what others have or have accomplished with their careers or their shops. In today's Shift Break we are going to dive into this idea further as I give you some thoughts I had while pondering professional accomplishments and my neighbor's tree.
Related episodes:
You are not your Competition
046 : Death by Comparison : How we practice it and ways to avoid getting caught up in it
Episode 08: Finding Joy in Coffee / Nathanael May
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The main job of leadership is to give people the resources they need to do the work. Generally speaking, I have simply stated that staff need the tools to do the job. Today I want to go a little deeper and cover 5 elements of resourcing that must be in place for your cafe to work well. If any one of these thing is out of whack it will show up big time in the final product and experience.
We will cover:
- Planning
- Time
- Information
- Tools
- Training
Related episodes:
- 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- 158 : A Management Masterclass w/ Jon Felix Lund, VP of Operations for Coava Coffee Roasters / Portland, OR
Starting a shop -or-want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Part of the work we do entails some pretty gross things. In today's episode I will be reading 8 selected stories submitted by listeners about the grossest things they have experienced while working to bring great coffee to the people.
Story order:
- Dropping the Load
- Backed Up Bar
- Clean up in Everywhere Isle
- Elbow Room
- French Roach
- "Take Out?" Coffee
- Rabid Fire
- When Urine Trouble
Links to related episodes:
Working Clean
Reasons to love the Customer
Other resources:
Resource 1
Resource 2
Resource 3
Resource 4
The best Kenyan coffee tends to be exported to other countries. Spring Valley Coffee flips this on its head by sourcing, roasting, and serving the best for themselves and the local Kenyan community. Today we are going to be exploring this wonderful company's history, evolution, and impact as we talk with Ritesh Doshi!
Ritesh is the CEO of Spring Valley Coffee, Kenya’s oldest premium coffee roaster, a business he acquired in 2018. Having introduced the Flat White to Kenya, Ritesh wanted to combine his passion for coffee and his sense of purpose with his need to control his own supply.
Prior to Spring Valley Coffee, Ritesh founded Naked Pizza Kenya, a company he sold to Pizza Hut. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Ritesh worked in international finance in the US, Europe and Middle East for financial institutions such as Credit Suisse & HSBC.
In this conversation we not only get the overview of Spring Valley Coffee but we also explore how rites came to the company, the values and goals they are pursuing, why scaling, relationships, and integrity are cornerstones of success and much more.
I love the work they are doing at Spring Valley and I know you will as well!
In this episode:
- The coffee culture of Kenya
- Building resiliency and scaling
- Sourcing and serving Kenyan coffees
- Impact of relationships
- Challenges of politics
- Setting goals for the business
- Adding value in-origin
- The value of doing the right thing
- Kenyan coffee history
- Why company culture matters
Links:
www.springvalleycoffee.com
Instagram @springvalleycoffee
Related Episodes:
171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon!
108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe in Durham, NC
134 : Founder Friday w/ Jeremy Zhang of M2M Roasters & Uni Uni Coffee in Nanjing ,China
Starting a shop -or-want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Stay in coffee long enough and it will happen to you. The assumptions and dogmas we make when we first get into coffee are challenged or destroyed, and we are sent into a dark place of wondering who we are, and what we really even know about coffee. Today we are talking about how this moment every professional goes through is critical to maturity and should be more common for the health of the industry.
*Stay tuned for a Halloween special where I read the grossest cafe stories sublimed by KTTS listeners!
Recommended episodes:
Taste the Rainbow
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
Curbing their Enthusiasm
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Your business is built on partnerships. One of the most critical is the relationship between you and the coffee roaster you select. Entering into this relationship needs tp be done pretty methodically and the decision should be based on more than on just branding and your personal taste.
Today we are going to go over 10 things to consider when deciding on a wholesale coffee provider that will help you have the best chance at finding one that fits what your business and your customers need for the long term.
We cover:
- Values
- Cost
- Forecasting and capacity
- Variety
- Regional tases vs personal
- Flexibility
- Support
- Feedback
- Checking references
- Taking your time
Recommended episodes:
152 : Essential Advice for Starting a Roastery w/ Jen Apodaca
063 : What Your Roaster Wants you to Know w/ Rob Hoos, Author, Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee
026 : What Your Roaster want you to Know w/ U.S. Roasting Champion, Mark Michaelson, Onyx Coffee Lab
196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
217 : Should you roast your own Coffee w/ Joe Marrocco of List & Beisler
Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Marrocco
Starting a shop or want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
BOGO! 10% off! Get any item of equal or lesser value free!
We love to offer promotions and discounts in the coffee retail space. When numbers are down we go for deals, offers, and discounts... maybe a little too often. Combine this with the fact that most of the time these offers are executed sloppily and create more confusion than excitement and you turn that BOGO into an OHNO. (sorry, not sorry)
In todays shift break we will talk about how you can approach promotions in an organized and clear way that actually benefits your business.
Related episodes:
080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement
You need SOPs
Introducing Chaos
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
What an interesting and inspirational episode this was!
Frankie Volkema, at just 14 years old, is the world's youngest Q Grader and the founder of Joven Coffee, an organization that sources, roasts, and promotes coffee from young farmers around the world!
We are also joined by her father Tim Volkema, who is the CEO of Schuil coffee, Michigan’s first specialty coffee roaster. Schuil also owners the boutique brand Sparrow Coffee.
In this conversation we discuss the backstory of how Frankie came into coffee, her road to becoming a Q Grader, and the founding of Joven Coffee. Tim also adds operational perspective as to how Schuil Coffee works with Joven Coffee.
This was a great conversation and one I hope will inspire you to support Joven Coffee, look into supporting young farmers through your business, and take big steps to create change where it is needed.
Enjoy!
In this episode:
- The challenge young farmers face
- How Frankie became the worlds youngest Q grader
- Founding Joven Coffee
- The relationship between Joven and Shuil Coffee
- Having big goals as a young person
- Partnering with existing organizations on the ground
Related Episodes:
- COVID-19 Focus: Perspective form Burundi w/ Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, JNP Coffee
- COVID-19 Focus : Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira , COO, Ally Coffee
- 020 Joe Marrocco : Transparency, Origin Knowledge,and Your Shop : How to approach and apply coffee origin information to enhance, not detract, from the cafe experience
- 180 : A Conversation with Rugid Grind Founders, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale
- 106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
- 153 : Exploring the Peace Trade in the Congo w/ Mighty Peace Coffee
Starting a shop or want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
"I wish they would just get it!" Does this sound familiar?
Whether you have said this out loud or just ruminate on this and similar ideas, the frustration is very real. In today's episode we will explore this thought that pits a quick learner against a slower one and why letting this attuned go unchecked may be holding your business back.
Interested it consulting? Reach out! - Chris@keystotheshop.com
Related episodes you should listen to:
235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
178 : Training Masterclass w/ Emma Haines of London School of Coffee and Caffeina Consulting
130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies
066: Shaping and Developing your Team w/ Beth Garrison
025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks
121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
Now ore than ever coffee shops should be building stable and resilient teams to give them the best chance at success in an unstable market.
Unfortunately there are many needless problems and practices that plague cafes and are catalysts for unnecessary turnover.
Today we are going to cover what I believe are the top 10 reasons why we lose employees and what we should be doing to fix these problems. If we address these 10 things well then we will be on our way to creating an environment where staff never want to leave.
Links to related episodes:
221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan : A guide to defining and fighting the under management epidemic in your cafe so you can be the manager your staff need
Bridging the Values -Actions Gap
Need consulting? email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
The truth can hurt. In our minds, when we thing about "keeping it real" we are usually about to engage in some form of uncomfortable, confrontational interaction.
In today's episode we will be exploring this idea and how an alternative way of approaching it will actually help us really keeping it real.
Related episodes to explore:
The Affirmation Vacuum
Stop Lying
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I am excited to re-share this oldie with you. Mainly because it has a ton of very useful insights that I think we all need to ponder these days. Life (aka 2020) won't let up and the 7 things I talked about back in November 2017 could not be more relevant. In many ways, we spend a lot of our energies reinforcing self-sabotaging behaviors and habits. Thing is, even though I originally broadcast this as being for baristas, you can just as easily see these 7 things in your life as a business owner.
So on behalf of the Chris of 2017 and the Chris of 2020, I hope you enjoy this blast from the past!
Links to recommended episodes:
Main Episodes:
135 : Stay Motivated in the midst of Difficulty
083: 6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth
008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
207 : Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Coffee Roasters
Shift Breaks:
Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
2 Qualities of Quality Baristas The Barista Slump Your Peers are not your Customers The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
One of the main ways that coffee shops fail has a lot to do with the level of self awareness leaders. So many issues we experience can be traced back to this skill. It is a skill we need to practice in order to set up everyone in the business for success.
Today will be chatting about self-awareness and the critical role it plays in running a coffee shop and, more importantly, leading people.
Related episodes:
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
Selfish Self-awareness
067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
The Broken Chair
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
Your Own Branded App!
www.espressly.co
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
OK! Today we get to talk with coffee legend James Hoffmann! On top of being the 2007 World Barista Champion and Co-owner of Square Mile Coffee Roasters, a renowned roastery in London, James is also the author of the World Atlas of Coffee, and runs one of the world's most popular and fun coffee YouTube channels where he dives deep into everything from coffee equipment, coffee science, brewing, extraction, agronomy, taste, and really anything to do with coffee.
In essence, James is a purveyor of ideas for and about coffee that, over the years, have helped us all to better navigate the landscape of specialty coffee either as enthusiasts or professionals.
James is an excellent teacher and has a gift for clearly articulating his thoughts and ideas around topics and his approach to questions that can be at first a bit confusing, both disarms and welcomes people into the world of coffee.
In this fantastic conversation we get into a number of those questions that are at the heart of what we do in specialty coffee and the cafe. I believe James' thoughts here will be of great value as we seek to build a better industry and better businesses into the future.
We cover:
- What makes specialty coffee special
- How accessible should it specialty be
- What it means to be inclusive of customers
- What are good mindsets to have for business
- The role does the cafe plays
- When differentiators become a barriers
- Winning the trust of customers
- The problem of low barriers in starting a coffee business
- How cafes have contributed to problems in the industry
- Good business models post-COVID
Links:
www.jameshoffmann.co.uk
Subscribe to James' You Tube Channel
www.squaremilecoffee.com
James on Instagram
Related Episodes:
206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger
138 : Joseph A. Rivera on Organic Acids and the Importance of Coffee Science
223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
082 : Knowledge and Flavor w/ Cosimo Libardo
198 : The Evolution of the Coffee Shop w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris
085 : How we Ruin the Specialty Experience
022 : Founder Friday w/ Colin Harmon of 3fe Coffee, Dublin Ireland & Author of the new book, “What I know About Running Coffee Shops”
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Today on Founder Friday we get to explore the Coffee Maverick himself, David Morris!
David J. Morris is Founder and Co-CEO of Dillanos Coffee Roasters, based in Sumner, Washington. Dillanos sells wholesale coffee and other supplies to specialty coffee retailers across the U.S. and several countries. He is a serial entrepreneur, leadership expert, and commercial real estate investor. David, along with his brother Chris Heyer, have several business interests in hotels, apartments, office buildings and various other business ventures. David is also the co-author of several books including The Rolling Desk.
Dillanos has been in business for 30 years and has become the iconic brand it is today from the humble beginning of a small coffee cart in Sumner, Washington. Dillanos Coffee Roasters is consistently roasting some of the best coffees in the world, and is well known for their motto, "Help people! Make Friends! Have Fun!"
In this conversation with David we are getting a detailed and candid look at the very beginnings and evolution of Dillanos' three decades of operation. We the challenges, the secrets to their longevity, the lessons learned in relationships and business, and much more.
I hope you draw a lot of inspiration from today's discussion.
Enjoy!
We cover:
- Early growth and challenges
- Becoming only a roaster
- Scaling the business
- Knowing your strengths
- Following the vision
- The Evel Knievel connection
- Hiring standards
- Supporting + communicating w/ staff
- Impact of COVID
- Evolution their approach to coffee
- Curating the message and communicating the right things.
- Establishing customer expectations and delivering excellence
- Biggest lessons from the past
Links:
www.dillanos.com
David on:
Related episodes:
118 : Founder Friday w/ Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters founders, Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb
081 : Founder Friday w/ David Schomer of Espresso Vivace
204 : Founder Friday w/ Jeff Taylor of PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. & Bird Rock Coffee!
232 : Founder Friday w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou’s Porch
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Performance reviews have become a place where we tend to unload on the barista all the issues we have been seeing over the past months. They tend to be frustrating because they include some surprising bits o feedback that are news to the barista and generally end up being disheartening in stead of encouraging and motivating.
Today we will be talking about the what we need to be doing before the performance review to really make it effective and and create the positive impact on performance it can have.
Related episodes:
The One-on-One
172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
Being the point of Clarity
Communicate, duplicate, repeat
Tips for Great Staff Meetings
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
Designing a coffee bar requires a lot of forethought and attention to detail. Unfortunately, it is often he case that bars are designed for looks and not functionality. This creates a huge amount of problems down the road with the way you baristas work, the speed of your drink prep, the way customers feel when ordering, and much more.
In today's episode I am sharing a few tips that I use with clients whose bars I have helped design that will help you to build a functional bar from the very beginning. Even if you have already built your bar, these principles will help you rearrange it where you van, or build a better bar in store #2.
We will cover:
- Barista Workflow
- The role of the menu
- Customer order flow
- Ergonomics
- Designing with cleaning in mind
- Health department/ Regulations
Need help designing (or redesigning) your bar?
KTTS Consulting can help!
Email me:
chris@keystotheshop.com
Related episodes:
175 : How to Keep your Cool : A Fridge, Cooler, and Ice Machine Masterclass w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department!
169 : Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
042 : Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rhinehart: Prima Coffee
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Here we go! Stories from the Ground is a series of interviews that are designed to give you insights and guidance on how to thrive in the midst of the COVID crisis by hearing from amazing cafe owners and learning from their stories and experiences dealing with the shutdowns, caring for their staff, serving their customers, and keeping their businesses going.
In this 3rd and final installment of "Stories from the Ground" we are going to be talking with the co-owner of the Coffee Project NY, Chi Sum Ngai!
Chi Sum (Sum) Ngai is the co-founder of Coffee Project NY. Coffee Project NY, founded in 2015, has three locations, including their latest addition in Long Island City facility that includes a café, roastery and the only Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Premier Training Campus in New York State. At the Campus, Sum and partner Kaleena Teoh teach certified classes to coffee industry professionals seeking to further their education and career opportunities. Sum herself is a certified Q grader and roasting championship competitor who oversees the company’s roasting program.
Their starting goal was simply to share their passion for coffee with the neighborhood. They quickly received recognition for brewing delicious pour overs and deconstructing lattes to elevate the coffee experience; paying tribute to the craftsmanship of the professional barista.
Coffee Project NY has grown from a two-person-team to a team of professionals specializing in different facets of the industry
Sum gives us a shinning example of what it means to be a people-first organization and offers so many incredibly helpful insights in this conversation. A perfect way to cap off this series !
Enjoy!
- IMPORTANT! Be sure to down load the "Take Aways" for this episode at the link below!
"Stories from the Ground" is brought to you by Ground Control. Visit them to learn more about their amazing Cyclops Brewer.
www.Vogacoffee.com
-
Download the "Take Aways" from this episode. A PDF of all the takeaways and major points made by our guest!
-
Visit Coffee Project NY's Website
It can sometimes be hard to find qualified employees and when we see great baristas at other shops we "can't help" thinking of offering them a job in our place. But there is a bit of an ethical problem here. When we cross a certain line, we are violating an unwritten rule.
We are, in fact, poaching.
It's not black and white though, and in today's shift break we will chat about some of the nuances of this issue and offer some insight to help you avoid crossing the line and clarity to help you make peace with hiring decisions you've made where you think you might have crossed that line, but did not.
Related Episodes:
221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
My #1 Interview Mistake My Favorite Interview Question
The Right People?
Need consulting or coaching? Let's talk
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
The sheer number of things we need to focus on in small business is overwhelming. Amidst the sea of tips, tricks, and tools we know we "should" utilize there are a few things that are absolute musts.
Today we are going to hear from one of the world's leading voices in running a successful small business, Henry Lopez.
Henry has over 35 years of diverse business experience, including successful careers in the information technology industry, sales, sales training and business ownership. He is currently the Managing Partner of Levante Business Group (supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners and producers of The How of Business podcast), co-owner of iTopIt (a self-serve frozen desserts restaurant in Colorado Springs), co-owner of L3 Destinations (a Travel Agency co-founded with his wife), and a minority partner and investor in Office Evolution of Plantation (an executive suites and co-working business center franchise location). Henry currently resides in a suburb of Dallas, Texas with his wife Pam.
He has been directly involved in over 11 different small businesses since purchasing his first business in 1991. He has developed and launched his own businesses, and has bought and sold businesses as well. Henry also serves as a volunteer SCORE Mentor.
In this conversation Henry lays out the 5 things he believes are absolutely essential for a small business to do in order to have the best chance at thriving. We dive into the details of each one and let me tell you, there is a LOT of great insights that result form this interview.
We discuss:
- Systems and delegation
- Working on not in your business
- Keeping systems simple
- Hiring for the benefit of your businesses future
- Empowering staff
- Managing your money
- Prioritizing your profit
- The business owners mindset
- Taking action boldly
- Enjoying the journey
- Redefining what success and happiness
Links:
www.thehowofbusiness.com
Facebook: TheHOBPodcast
YouTube
Related episodes:
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
211 : Straight Talk from the Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We are back! Stories from the Ground is a series of interviews that are designed to give you insights and guidance on how to thrive in the midst of the COVID crisis by hearing from amazing cafe owners and learning from their stories and experiences dealing with the shutdowns, caring for their staff, serving their customers, and keeping their businesses going.
In this second installment of Stories from the Ground we are going to be talking with the owner of the amazing 392 Caffe, Jay Sanders!
392 Caffe was established in 2011, in Clinton, IA. The concept was conceived in/for Hollywood, CA by Jay & Jenna as they compared coffee shop visit notes in attempts to derive the “perfect” coffee shop setting. Two very different coffee shop consumers, individually they were seeking aspects of the coffee shop experience they’d have to create... namely, outgoing/engaging hospitality, upbeat vibes, a consultative sales - style ordering process, and an intangible takeaway of a new real-life relationship.
392 has become a brand that stands for love, inclusivity, and community. They challenge their customers to aspire to greatness and “Be the Light” through art in their cafes. They understand that a growing/thriving community is their only chance for long-term growth/success, so they give-to/nurture/feed it constantly. One of their slogans, #DrinkBetterCoffee challenges people to find a better product, but also leans on the underlying message to aspire for greatness in all you do.
I love this conversation with Jay. His intense passion for his team and the mission of their business is inspiring and is a great example of what it looks like to put values into action even in challenging circumstances!
Enjoy!
- IMPORTANT! Be sure to down load the "Take Aways" for this episode at the link below!
"Stories from the Ground" is brought to you by Ground Control. Visit them to learn more about their amazing Cyclops Brewer.
www.Vogacoffee.com
-
Download the "Take Aways" from this episode. A PDF of all the takeaways and major points made by our guest!
-
Visit 392 Caffe's Website
When we onboard new baristas we usually schedule them for a "Shadow Shift". he intent is that they are to learn the ropes, observe and absorb how things are done, which will help prepare them for work on the bar. That's the hope.
In reality it often turns out to be chaotic, stressful, and produces more confusion than clarity.
Today we will be discussing how to approach the shadow shift with what I call "Structured Shadow Shifts" and how they can deliver the amazing value for you and the new hire.
Related Episodes:
172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff
Your Employee Handbook is Worthless
Need consulting or coaching? Let's talk
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
Whether you employ in-house techs or you need to work with outside coffee tech services, today's episode is a must listen!
The cafe is a complex mix of many different professional relationships. The relationship between a shop and the coffee tech can be a tense one because it is centered around emergencies. In order to work well with the techs we hire, led our in-house techs, and serve our wholesale clients tech needs well, we need to explore the realities and perspectives of both parties. Today we are going to be talking with Hylan Joseph of Espresso Partners and the SCA's Coffee Technicians Guild.
Hylan Joseph is West Coast Service Manager for Espresso Partners. He is also one of the founders and current chairs for the Coffee Technicians Guild through the Specialty Coffee Association. Hylan’s career in coffee started in San Francisco in 1985 at a small café named the Blue Parrot Café. He was a dishwasher and training barista. For the last 16 years he has worked as a service operations manager serving both large and small customers through Espresso Partners. Through the Coffee Technician Guild, he wants to show baristas, store managers and people passionate about coffee that there can be career for them beyond the café.
In this episode we will cover:
- Managing owner expectations
- Common issues in the field
- Mindsets under pressure
- Practicing hospitality as a tech
- Having your techs represent you brand well
- Service agreements
- Curating culture through subcontractors
- What does it mean to be “professional”
- How to communicate
- Choosing / hiring a tech that fits your needs
- Being detailed and keeping records
Links:
- Espresso Partners
- Coffee Technicians Guild
Related episodes:
076 : Talking Tech! w/ Tom Ritz of Workhorse Customs : Best Practices for Machine Maintenance
128 : Terry’s Top 10 w/ Terry Ziniewicz : Best practices for how not to kill your espresso machine
197 : Getting the most from your Equipment w/ Melissa Vaiden of Counter Culture Coffee
175 : How to Keep your Cool : A Fridge, Cooler, and Ice Machine Masterclass w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department!
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Stories from the Ground is a series of episodes that are designed to give you insights and guidance on how to thrive in the midst of the COVID crisis by hearing from amazing cafe owners and learning from their stories and experiences dealing with the shutdowns, caring for their staff, serving their customers, and keeping their businesses going.
In our first installment of Stories from the Ground we are going to be talking with the owner of the award winning Sump Coffee, Scott Carey.
Scott gives us a very vulnerable look into the life and thoughts of an owner in the middle of the biggest challenge most of us have ever faced. We learn about Sump's beginnings then dive into how Scott and his team experienced and are still experiencing the crisis and what tools, measures, and tactics they have used to continue their day-to-day.
There is a lot of great wisdom here and I hope you are equipped and encouraged by it!
Be sure to down load the "Spec Sheet" for this episode at the link below!
"Stories from the Ground" is brought to you by Ground Control. Visit them to learn more about their amazing Cyclops Brewer.
www.Vogacoffee.com
- Download the "Take Aways" from this episode. A PDF of all the takeaways and major points made by our guest!
- Visit Sump Coffee's Website
Hiring is already a daunting process. There is a lot at stake for both the employer and prospective employee. That said, we tend to find ways to make make it harder to find the right person than it has to be.
In today's Shift Break we will be going into what I believe is the #1 mistake I and lots of other have made while interviewing people and how to do the opposite.
Related episodes:
018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
My Favorite Interview Question
The Right People?
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
There are a ton of opportunities to create resiliency and a better normal through how we approach out our mindset, leadership, staff, business, and customers. As the COVID crisis is still upon us, the question remains, "What happens after this?"
In today's epiodes I am presenting something I presented to the SCA on Post-COVID Coffee and outlining various areas and opportunities we have to improve and come out better than before. Preparation is key and viewing this time as an opportunity is essential.
Some of the things we will cover are:
- Vulnerability and trust
- Crisis as an amplifier
- Building future proof operations
- Creating a positive culture
- Retaining emotional connections
- Don't forget about mutual empathy
- Rebooting your systems
- And a lot more...
Links:
223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak
All COVID-19 Focus and Relevant Episodes:
On a Resilient Coffee Community
Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano
General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law
Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse
Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, IrelandÂ
The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens
Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee
Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA
Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis
Shift Break: Development in a Crisis
Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards
Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away
Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
"The little cafe, with a big heart." These words were spoken by Curtis Herrera who, along with his wife Miel, own Cafe Corazon in Kansas City, MO. Cafe Corazon is vibrant homage to Miel and Curtis' Latin roots (Argentina and Mexico respectively) and in the last year it has been open has quickly garnered praise for their warm hospitality, traditional drink including a wide selection of Yerba-mate, and their dedication to showcasing their culture in everything they set their hand to.
In our conversation today we will hear their story and the passion and challenges that went into creating this unique space, the lessons they have learned, and their advice to others in the industry. Cafe Corazon is the epitome of authenticity and a fine example of what the future of the cafe space can look like when we celebrate our diversity and dedicate ourself to serving our communities while being true to ourselves all along the way.
We discuss:
- Creating a safe place for the latin community
- Educating on culture
- Overcoming hurdles as minorities
- Staying true to your roots
- Building a traditional and creative menu
- Experiencing the hurdles of racism
- Hiring and training
- Growing as coffee professionals
- Eliminating pretension
- Dealing with COVID
Links:
http://cafecorazonkc.com
Related Episodes:
097 : Founder Friday w/ Erica Escalante of The Arrow Coffeehouse
232 : Founder Friday w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou’s Porch
225: Encore Founder Friday! Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC
199 : Founder Friday w/ Mario Jimenez of Banana Dang Coffee, Oceanside, CA
171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
" Hey! Did you see what so-and-so is doing?" "Oh! look at what _______ is starting to sell?" It's comments like these that are often a sign that we are a bit too obsessed with our competition. What do we gain from this preoccupation? Not much. What do we lose? A lot.
Today we will be talking about how you are not your competition and a healthy way to work toward betterment.
Related Episodes:
- 046 : Death by Comparison : How we practice it and ways to avoid getting caught up in it
- Your Peers are not your Customers
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
How do you ensure that what you teach in training is effective for both the employee and the business? Well, there are many different elements but amongst those element are four foundational mindsets and practices that serve to hold everything together. Today we are going to be exploring how focusing on minimum viable skills, patience, real-life training, and tracking/follow-up will completely transform your training program and build better baristas.
Related episodes:
- 025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks
- 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
- 178 : Training Masterclass w/ Emma Haines of London School of Coffee and Caffeina Consulting
- 130 : Anne Nylander | Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals
- 053 : Training, Trust, and Community w/ Reggie Elliott
- Drink Drills! : Guidelines for using this powerful training tool in the coffee shop to get baristas ready for anything
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We have developed a mentality that if we can just get the right manual, the best onboarding, the most effective hiring process then all will be well and staff will magically fall in line and our shops will run smoothly. The truth? It's not that easy, no matter how hard you work on those things. Today we will be discussing this propensity, why it is dangerous, and how the real work begins and ends with hands-on leadership.
Recommended episodes:
123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan : A guide to defining and fighting the under management epidemic in your cafe so you can be the manager your staff need
Systems as care
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
Don't You forget About Me
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader
179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
You are unique, but are you just marketing everyone else? How do you differentiate yourself as a business when the market has become so saturated with everyone saying the same things? Customers need clear messaging that delivers meaning, sets you apart, and drives loyalty to your shop. In a time where more than half of the ways we communicate with existing and potential customers is remote, having solid messaging is an absolute must. Today we are going to be discussing all of this with coffee marketing pro, Garrett Oden!
Garrett is a coffee industry native who left the cafe to pursue coffee marketing as a freelance copywriter and content strategist. He helps brands like Caffe Nero, Amavida Coffee, Alternative Brewing, and others across the industry find and communicate meaningful messages to customers through website writing, content marketing, packaging, and beyond.
Get ready to do a deep dive into actions and strategies that will help you make long term improvements to the way you represent your brand to the world.
You will learn about:
- The problem with our messaging
- True differentiation
- Connecting with your core audience
- Clarity of mission and focus
- Holistic branding
- 3 core actions to take
- Where to put your message
- Actions and values
- Hierarchy of messaging intensity
Links:
www.coffeemarketingschool.com/keys
Garret on LinkedIn
Garrett on Twitter
Related Episodes:
Bridging the Values-Actions Gap 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D. 059 : Founder Friday! Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We have a problem. Dreaming up a vision and writing out our list of core values, missions, etc. is an exciting and crucial part of any business. The problem is that most cafes stop there. The list of ideals an noble pursuits never make their way into reality and are soon relegated to only being invoked at staff meetings. So many of the issue we have with toxic work places, burned out staff, and needless turn over stem from the values-actions gap.
Today we are going to discuss this issue and how you can make sure your values are not just nice ideas, but are lived out in the real life of the business.
Interested in consulting & coaching : chris@keystotheshop.com
Links to related episodes:
- 156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe, Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Fransisco
- COVID-19 Focus : Jonathan Pascual | Taproom Coffee and Beer | Atlanta, Georgia
- Systems as Care
- 179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
Humility, serving wholesale clients, accessibility, and creating an inclusive community. These are some of the many topics discussed in this fantastic conversation with today's guest, Anthony Ragler! Native of Brooklyn, NY, Anthony Ragler is a coffee professional who combines his craft with his culture and upbringing to cultivate unique and individual experiences for those he encounters. From working as a wholesale manager, to roaster, and technician, Anthony’s experiences allows for him to adapt and connect to many different perspectives and people within and outside the supply chain. Anthony is a 2019 Glittercat Barista Bootcamp Cohort member, a 2020 United States Barista Championship finalist, a 2020 Re:Co Symposium Fellow and currently works as the Regional Developer for Black & White Coffee Roasters in Wake Forest, NC. In this conversation we get to explore Anthony's evolution as a coffee professional and hear the lessons and insights he has gained over the years of serving others and working to create community and support diversity. This is definitely ranks up there as being one of my favorite conversations to date. After you listen you will know why. Enjoy! We discuss: * Growing and learning through trials * Serving your customer vs serving yourself * Cultivating community for POC * Learning roasting, wholesale, and support roles * Benefits of competition * Tips for wholesale support and service * Tailoring your approach to the customer * How to know if you did a good job * The demand chain vs the supply chain * Playing favorites
Links:
Anthony's Instagram
Black and White Coffee Roasters
Related episodes:
230 : Making room for Community in your Shop 183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson Your Customer's Relational Baggage 159 : Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters 133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Writing a job description is the first step in getting the right people in the right positions in your shop. They seem pretty straight forward but there are some elements that you need to consider when creating these documents that, if applied, will create a document that is truly a resource that benefits the business and the staff. Today we will cover some of these elements and why they are critical.
Links to related episodes:
Broken Chair
Systems as Care
You need SOPs
Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
As we seek to rebuild our staff in the midst of the pandemic, many different questions come up about re-hiring, deciding who not to bring back, how to decide who to promote, and generally how do we do this in a way that is good for everyone involved. It is not enamors easy task but today we are going to gain a lot of clarity about these topics and more as we talk with the always insightful, Dave Stachowiak.
Dave founded Coaching for Leaders in 2011. Since them the podcast has been downloaded 12 million times and is consistently ranked as the #1 podcast in business, coaching, and management.
Dave was named in Forbes as one of the 25 Professional Networking Experts to Watch in 2015 and has also been featured in U.S. News & World Report.
He previously served as Senior Vice President with Dale Carnegie of Southern Los Angeles and led training programs for top organizations like the Northrop Grumman Corporation, The United States Air Force, the Boeing Company, and the University of California system.
In our conversation today we will cover:
- Why it is an employers market
- Making smart hiring decisions
- The consequences of poor staff placement
- Longterm thinking vs rushed hiring
- Assessing readiness
- Adjusting our decision mindset
- Job Descriptions
- Choosing the right person for the role
- Immediate steps to take in the right direction
Links:
www.coachingforleaders.com
Dave's past KTTS episodes:
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak
My past episodes on Dave's show:
How to Lead Part-Time Staff
415: Employee Retention in Small Business, with Chris Deferio
Related episodes:
172 : Why Tracking Performance is a Must!
074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan : A guide to defining and fighting the under management epidemic in your cafe so you can be the manager your staff need
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
When is comes to community and serving the neighborhood well through the cafe, you'd be hard pressed to find a better example than Franny Lou's Porch, in Philadelphia, PA.
Blew Kind began her entrepreneurial journey in 2010 with Leotah's Place in North Philly then, moving across the street and renaming it, she established Franny Lou's Porch. All along the way Blew's goals have been to create an inclusive, loving and distinctly human coffee shop experience. With an emphasis on activism, health, and the history, art, and culture of the black community, Franny Lou's Porch has been a dynamic for peace and change.
In today's Founder Friday interview we are going to explore the genesis of Blew's coffee career and also that of her shop and the challenges, lessons, and experiences that she has had seeing this vision into fruition.
This was a fantastic conversation and I hope it inspires you.
We discuss:
- Faith in your vision
- Setting up a board for accountability
- Serving community and co-creating the culture
- Starting again after moving locations
- Overcoming financial burdens
- Experiences of being taken advantage of
- Strength of vision but reliance on community
- The maternal, non-heirachical business model
- Discussing black owned business, wealth generation
- What can coffee do to be more accessible and equitable?
- Creating a place of humans and love
Links:
www.frannylousporch.org
https://www.gofundme.com/f/franny-lous-porch-covid-relief
On Instagram
Related episodes:
230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
You've heard of FOMO, but what about the insidious FOLO? This is the Fear of Limited Options and is a big mental hurdle that most coffee bars have to leap over. If you want to run a healthy business and not have your menu built on a very shaky foundation then today's episode is for you.
We are going to discuss what is behind FOLO, why you don't need to fall into or follow it, and what to do instead.
Recommended episodes:
- Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Marrocco
- 219 : Building a Winning Food Program w/ Marilei Denila, Culinary R&D Manager, Go Get em Tiger
- Taste the Rainbow! : Menu knowledge, tasting, flavor, coffee cupping approach to your offerings
- "Local" does not Equal Quality
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
This is going to be a deep dive into some foundational ideas related to your shop and the way it exists in your community. I wasn't planning this episode but I really felt a gut-level urgency about the message.
Thing is, if we want to build something that lasts and is resilient in the face of our resent and future challenges then prioritizing community what we should be doing. Do we we leave room for, or even really consider, the community when we set out to start and run our stores? What are the ramifications of not doing this and what are the benefits of focusing on it?
Today I am sharing some deeper thoughts that tap into the roots of the what and why of our profession and I hope you listen with an open heart.
Some things we will cover:
- Your experience-vs-the customer experience
- Co-creation and knowing your neighbors
- Connecting with and leaving room for community
- The relationship between the shop and the customer
- Stifling growth and giving up control
- The coffee bar as a platform for others
- Gentrification and cognitive dissonance
- The future of coffee bars and resiliency
Conversational nature of your business
139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
There is an abundance of stress to go around right now. I'd say it is likely the most tense and uncertain time I have seen in coffee in my 20 years of working in retail. Stress leads to more stress and as someone who is prone to stress/panic attacks etc I feel this reality all too well.
The question is, since it does not seem to be letting up, what do we do with it?
Today I wanted to briefly chat about not stressing about stress and turning the tables on it to use it to our advantage. Please follow the links below for more helpful resources and to listen to the great talk by Kelly McGonigal that was the inspiration for this Shift Break.
I love you all. You can do it.
Links:
TED Talk: How to make Stress your Friend by Kelly McGonigal
Related Episodes:
095 : Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Wellness Counselor, Joe Sanok
111 : Self Care 101: Taking care of yourself while taking care of others
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Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
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Entering into a new role, or even just taking over a new cafe or team, is a daunting challenge. Many burn out and the experience leaves a bitter taste in their mouth and a lot of destruction in their wake. In the midst of the reshuffling during COVID there are a lot of opportunities to establish a new way of approaching management in the shop and in this episode I am going to be giving what I think may be some the most important practices to put in place to thrive as a new manager or to make your management new.
As I recorded this I got the feeling that it may be one the most essential episode in the KTTS library on the subject.
Please listen deeply and share widely.
I can honestly say that if you practice these things consistently you will have a very strong foundation for the rest of your career.
We will dig into and expound on:
- Pacing yourself
- Gaining clarity
- Meaningful change + Small wins
- Trust based relationships and leadership
- Communication standards
- One-on-Ones
- Scheduling your week
Related and recommended episodes:
226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
The One-on-One : How one meeting can dramatically impact your coffee shop's culture and morale.
Visit our awesome sponsors!
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Not everything we do is fun. Actually, there are a lot of dirty, time-consuming, repetitive tasks that we have to do everyday on order for the cafe to function. Even though these tasks seem rather dull, we can transform them into something of great worth and in the process push ourselves and our businesses forward.
Today we are going to talk about how becoming a work alchemist will help you to turn the every thing you do into gold!
Related Episodes:
098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work
121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Strengths Finder Guru, Lisa Cummings
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
Leadership is a HUGE topic and it is easy to get overwhelmed with the never-ending opinions and techniques that are available these days. It is cruel in a way because in a time where we need good leadership the most we want to find good resources but the choice of what voice to listen to is often paralyzing. Enter todays guest, Alain Hunkins.
Alain Hunkins is a sought-after leadership speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. His recent book, Cracking the Leadership Code: Three Secrets to Building Strong Leaders launched as the #1 Bestselling New Release in Business Communication on Amazon.
Over his twenty-year career, Alain has led over 2,000 groups in 25 countries. Clients include Wal-Mart, Pfizer, Citigroup, General Electric, State Farm Insurance, IBM, General Motors, and Microsoft.
Alain has designed and facilitated seminars on numerous leadership topics, including teambuilding, conflict management, communication, peak performance, innovation, engagement, and change. Alain also serves on the faculty of Duke Corporate Education and has published over 400 articles on leadership.
In today's conversation Alain is going to give us some key insights from his bestselling book on how we can elevate our leadership and the leadership of our managers by creating better connection, communication, and collaboration with our teams and customers plus the habits necessary to make these best practices truly stick
You will learn about:
- What are the common traits and habits of the best leaders?
- How to spot institutional blind spots
- Self-awareness as the first step
- The role of feedback to advance your leadership
- Empathy
- Focusing on people over numbers
- Habits to make best-practices stick
- Much more!
Links:
www.crackingtheleadershipcode.com
www.alainhunkins.com
Related Episodes:
212: Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis
179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
Visit our awesome sponsors!
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We assume that if nobody is complaining and life seems to be going along smoothly that all is well. We enact the popular mantra of "Well, no news is good news!"
In reality though, "no news" is bad news. Why do we think this way?
Today we will be discussing why no news is bad news and what kind of mindset and actions we need o be cultivating in order to be in the know and certain about the true state of our coffee shops.
Related Episodes:
227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
Building a Culture of Feedback
Fear and Trust
Fear or Inspiration
Visit our awesome sponsors!
Elevated batch brew and so much more!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:
www.flairespresso.com
More than communication, we need connection! As we move forward through the current retail landscape the currency of connection with our guests and also our staff becomes more valuable. A focus on connection and conversational communication is what will separate the sustainable businesses from the unsustainable. Today we will be diving into the need for reaching the hearts and minds of our customers and staff and some practical tips that will help pull out out of the theoretical, utilitarian, numbers focused reality we are used to, and into the relational reality of what people experience in our stores and what drive resiliency and long-term healthy growth.
We will learn about:
- Communication vs. Connection
- Numbers and false positives
- Developing guest experience intuition
- Being curious about the whole story
- Self auditing and Gemba Kaizen
- Training your team to connect
- You staff as your customer
Related Episodes:
009 : How to Approach Data and Metrics w/ Simon Ouderkirk
Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Marrocco
201 : Igniting your Curiosity w/ Cody Gough
The Broken Chair
030 : Casey Underkofler : Matching Your Service to Your Quality
035 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Nobody likes to feel bad. In fact in management we are somewhat obsessed with avoiding negative emotions, confrontation, and challenging our staff out of a sense of self preservation or keeping the peace. We believe that if things feel good in the short term then things will go well long term. That is not necessarily the case.
Today we are going to be discussing the approach of long-game management and why utilizing this way of leading will create long term stability, mutual respect, and ultimately a resilient coffee shop.
Related episodes:
125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel
052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
Elevate your to-go coffee!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve!
BARATZA GRINDERS
Are you a "go-to" person? How do you show up at work in a way that gains trust and makes you an essential and indispensable member of the team? These are important questions to answer right now as many teams are being re-built and companies need to rely on their staff to come through more than ever. Today we welcome back to the show, regular guest and one of my favorite authors on leadership, career, and management, Bruce Tulgan!
Bruce is the founder of Rainmaker Thinking and the author of more than 20 books including the best selling "It's OK to be the Boss" and "The 27 Challenges Managers Face" He is regarded the world over as a leading authority on management and leadership and is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and many other international publications.
Bruce's brand new book, The Art of Being Indispensable at Work, cracks the code and, in typical fashion for his work, gives a practical and detailed road map for how to become the go-to person in your cafe without succumbing to burn-out and over commitment.
It is a book that is the epitome of timeliness as we seek to create value in our roles that leads to more security, trust, and growth. This is a very critical subject. Not only to apply to your own career, but also to help you facilitate these behaviors in those you lead.
In this episode you will learn about:
- Vertical alignment
- What is true influence
- Steps to being a go-to person
- Mistakes we make and beating overcommitment
- How to say yes and no
- Playing the long game
- Get the right things done
- Building trust
- Professionalizing your work
Links:
www.rainmakerthinking.com
Bruce on LinkedIn
Bruce on Twitter
Related Episodes:
224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan
028 : Why it’s Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
As we struggle through COVID and seek also to care for our staff, show hospitality, and address the needs of our community around racial justice, we need to lean on the example of people who have excelled in those areas that we seek to improve. Dorian Bolden was a guest on Founder Friday back in August of 2018 and was one of my favorite interviews ever. He has built a Beyu Caffe to be a solid, profitable, community focused, cafe even in the midst of the economic down turn of 2008. Dorian's values drive the company to be "The ultimate community gathering space" that puts a clear emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and hospitality.
Another reason why I loved this interview was how much Dorian shares about his own journey as an owner learning the ropes or entrepreneurship and having to over come some pretty significant personal and professional challenges.
I hope that Dorian's example and experiences help you, inspire you, and give you a focus on how you can run a great business and also help serve your community by making hospitality and diversity a part of your shops DNA.
Links:
www.beyucaffe.com
Related Episodes:
183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
132 : Baristas Speak Vol. 3 : Interviews from Coffee Champs, Nashville 2019
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We all can have a difficult time with serving the public. These days we may be putting on a literal mask, but if we are honest, we have been wearing a metaphorical mask for a while now. Much of how we show up on at work has to do with how we show up outside of work. If we want to thrive I the shop and bring in people who will create a genuinely caring culture then we have to focus ourselves outwardly. Today we are going to be talking about how we can cultivate a wholistic approach to service that will ease stress, create great experiences for staff and customers alike, and give you more energy for what you do because of who you are.
Related Episodes:
Your peers are not your Customers
055 : Personal Growth & Development w/ Jared Truby, Cat & Cloud Coffee
019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
Making the Customer the Enemy
031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career
Elevate your to-go coffee!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve!
BARATZA GRINDERS
What is essential? Many of us have been forced into a place of asking this question for the sake of survival and are now looking to create a new way forward for ourselves, our businesses, and our families. If we want our work and life to be imbued with purpose, joy, clarity, and thriving then we need to embrace this question not as just a survival tactic but as a normal state of being.
We need to become Essentialists.
Today I am honored to welcome to the show, Greg McKeown, author of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times best selling book, "Essentialism: The Disciplined pursuit of Less"
Greg McKeown has dedicated his career to discovering why some people and teams break through to the next level—and others don’t. This book challenges core assumptions about achievement to get to the essence of what really drives success.
Greg is the CEO of McKeown Inc. Clients include Adobe, Apple, Google, Facebook, Pixar, Salesforce.com, Symantec, Twitter, VMware and Yahoo!. His writing has appeared or been covered by The New York Times, Fast Company, Fortune, HuffPost, Politico, and Inc. Magazine. He is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review and he has been interviewed on numerous television and radio shows including NPR, NBC, FOX, and as a regular guest on The Steve Harvey Show. Entrepreneur voted his interview at Stanford University the #1 Must-See Video on Business, Creativity and Success.
McKeown is an accomplished public speaker. He has spoken to hundreds of audiences around the world and is also the host of the new show "The Essentialism Podcast" where he interviews amazing people from all over the world about their experiences practicing essentialism in work and in life.
In today's conversation we will be discovering the genesis of Essentialism and how we can take the first steps in overcoming the frazzled and overwrought lives we lead and spend our time on the vital few -vs- the trivial many.
You will learn about:
- What is Essentialism?
- How to discern the trivial from the vital
- Working out what is priority
- Protecting "The Asset"
- Taking the first steps
- Finding space for life and clarity
- Showing up as your best self
- What is vital for your business
- Practicing essentials in the midst of change
- Making room for Gratitude and creativity
Links:
www.gregmckeown.com
The Essentialism Podcast
Related Episodes:
008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
212: Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis Prioritizing your Work
The Power of "No"
Thankfulness : The key to joy in the journey
Managers Top 3
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Making hasty decisions about who you put into what position has always been the Achilles heal of the cafe. As we work to put our shops back together we are going to be under even more pressure to fill positions throughout the organization and the temptation will be to do this faster than may be healthy. Today we are going to talk about the importance of slowing down to make good decisions on who you bring back and put in place in the cafe so you can Both fill a need in the moment without a lot of regret later on.
Related Episodes:
018 : Hiring, Culture, and the Future of Your Shop My Favorite Interview Question
Elevate your to-go coffee!
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Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve!
BARATZA GRINDERS
Oh boy is this a critical episode! Which one of us does not want to have more financial security? Especially these days? It is not an understatement to say that the future of your cafe hinges on how well you manage your money now and how well you understand money's role in your business. So many of us are rebuilding from the COVID crisis and in need of guidance on how to create financial resiliency in order to both thrive in the coming recession and be prepared for other normal financial challenges that come our way.
Today's episode is going to deliver an extraordinary amount of information and actionable insights for you to build a financially sound business in the midst of uncertain times. We are joined by financial planner, CPA, and consultant Andrew Carroll of www.cfoandrew.com
Andrew Carroll has been advising people on business and their financial lives for over ten years. He has helped countless people and businesses with their taxes, investments, insurance, business strategy, operations, mergers and acquisitions, and accounting. As a CPA he specializes in personal finances and also specializes in management accounting where he helps bring understanding to how we use numbers to make decisions. He has an incredible gift of being able to articulate and break down financial concepts into language that is not only relatable and understandable, but really connects to the heart of what we need to hear.
This conversation is value-packed with insights that will change the way you see and run you business for the better.
We discuss:
- Our relationship with money and why money isn’t real
- How to build a war chest
- Creating financial strategy
- Creating resiliency
- Why you need to raise your prices
- Profitability and managing profit
- Zombie businesses
- PPP and EIDL Loan guidance
- Self-insurance and the waterfall system
- How to set your business goals
Links:
www.cfoandrew.com
Means of Production Podcast
Related episodes:
160 : The Smart Way to Approach Money w/ Jill Schlesinger
202 : Mastering your Finances and Accounting w/ Keila Hill-Trawick of Little Fish Accounting
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
210 : The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens | CEO of The Retail Prophet
211 : Straight Talk from the Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
You won't get it right...at least not right away. This is the nature of our pursuit in coffee and the relationships we have within it. These days we are surrounded by opportunities to engage in ways that can lead to greater depth o of relationship and a better quality of experience in the cafe. The problem is, we are often paralyzed by fear. Fear of failing, fear of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. We want to wait until we have the perfect or the best, before we engage.
Today, we are going to talk about the idea of taking action to achieve higher degrees of imperfection and how we can work toward a goal with grace to produce an outcome that builds up and deepens everything around us.
Links:
- Fear and Trust
- Feedback Culture
- One on ones
- Difficult Conversations about Race and Justice
- The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- Example > Words
Elevate your to-go coffee!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve!
BARATZA GRINDERS
Throughout history the coffee shop has been a catalyst for conversation. The subject of that conversation is as wide and varied as your clientele and your community. There are subjects of conversation that are very niche and only apply to a few people, and then there are subjects that are happening on a large scale and are relevant and impactful to everyone. Race and Justice is one of those subjects and the cafe as a modern 3rd place institution needs to be able to interact with it well in order to serve well.
We have several different relationships that we manage in the cafe space. Employees, customers, followers, and purveyors. As leaders we need to make space for, and engage in, these difficult conversations.
Today we are going to discuss how to approach these difficult conversations with my good friend, Kwame Christian, Director of the American Negotiation Institute. Kwame is best selling author of the book Confidence in Conflict, a sought after speaker, and the host of the worlds #1 negotiation podcast Negatiate Anything.
Kwame is dedicated to empowering others and has helped countless individuals overcome the fear, anxiety, and emotion often associated with difficult conversations through a branded framework called Compassionate Curiosity.
As an attorney and mediator with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, a Master of Public Policy, and a Juris Doctorate (Law Degree), Kwame brings a unique multidisciplinary approach to making difficult conversations easier.
In this episode we are going to explore how to approach these difficult conversations and the issues that can arise around them.
In this conversation we will cover:
- The importance of Empathy
- Compassionate curiosity
- Creating space and generating understanding
- Consequences of inaction
- How to gain self awareness
- Embracing awkwardness and imperfection
- Owning issues and building relationships
- Addressing social issues
- Emotional labor
Links and resources:
www.americannegotiationinstitute.com
Free Negotiation Guides
Related episodes:
183: Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
125: Finding Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian
159: Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop
116: Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
139: Founder Friday w/ Phil Sipka, Kusanya Cafe
220 : Founder Friday w/ Sarah Barnett Gill
067: 6 Truths about Power
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
In this time we need to take a good look at ourselves and how we are using the power we have been given. In the cafe, authority and power is a gift that is meant to be you used for the benefit of others. Yet, just we have seen in recent days, power often corrupts and is used as a weapon against those for whom it was supposed to benefit.
What is the purpose of the authority we have been given? How do we view and use the power we have in the cafe? Today I am re-airing an episode called "6 Truths about Power" from 2018 that I believe will help set us on the right course. The principles here are applicable both in the shop and beyond.
My hope is that we can refine our approach and actions to build a better future.
Related Episodes:
- The Broken Chair
- Systems as Care
- The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- Example > Words
- The Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
- Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson
- Founder Friday: Kusanya Cafe
Elevate your to-go coffee!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve!
BARATZA GRINDERS
We are in the people business. Having a great people program is a critical part of being able to thrive as a small business since the degree to which you care for your people, and they feel cared for, directly impacts how they care for the business and its customers. Now, more than ever, we need to lean into creating a people-first strategy for doing business in the future and today we will be learning from one of the best in HR the foundational elements that contribute to a great people program in your shop.
Dana Goodwin is an HR consultant working with clients in specialty coffee, food service, and retail. She partners with leaders to create intentional people programs and help find solutions to HR challenges. Her specialties include workplace culture, recruiting operations, and retention strategy. Dana has been working in retail and hospitality for over 20 years. She holds a master's degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Colorno, Italy and has led teams and recruiting and HR operations at Eataly, Dickson's Farmstand, and Blue Bottle Coffee.
This is a very good conversation the covers a wide range of HR related strategies, and concerns. I hope this empowers you in your efforts to truly care for your people in a systematic and intentional way.
You will learn about:
- Communication and transparency
- Leading while being vulnerable
- Approaching your staff in a crisis
- Creating space for focusing on people
- Asking questions and listening
- The power of consistency and follow up
- Managing the tension of the employer-employee relationship
- Setting expectations and giving clarity
- Planning and systems
- Tracking
- Navigating legalities
Links:
Dana is offering the KTTS audience free 30 minute advisory calls! Contact her here:
- Dana@danazgoodwin.com
More resource:
EEOC Website
Related Episodes:
123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel
151 : How to React and Respond to Negative Feedback
The Affirmation Vacuum
Feedback Culture
194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe
213 : Coping with Corona using Emotional Intelligence w/ Andrea Hoban
Join the community!
Keys to the Shop on Mighty Network
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
This Founder Friday is a wild, unique, and refreshingly honest experience. Today we are going to be talking with the one and only Sarah Barnett Gill, the owner of Mama Mocha's in Auburn, AL. Sarah has been in coffee since 2003 and for the last 7+ years has been operating one of the most unique, authentic, and welcoming coffee shops around. Mama Mocha's is a beacon of diversity, love, and simple honest enjoyment of people and coffee. In the pursuit of this Sarah has worked hard to grow her business from a small roastery in a $200/mo room of a bookstore to an established community icon of great coffee and charming hospitality that wins peoples hearts and taste buds.
This conversation covers a wide range of topics from the expected to the quit un-expected. Sarah is not afraid to take bold stands and is equal parts serious business woman, and fun loving protector of the marginalized. Plus, like me, she loves a good dark roasted coffee.
So, buckle up, this is going to be a refreshing and wild ride.
You will lean about:
- Starting small and building slowly
- Facing initial challenges
- Rejecting the 3rd wave
- Taking bold stances
- Diversity and Inclusivity
- Fighting cultural ignorance
- The balance between love and ass kicking
- Establishing a Unique Culture
- Dark roast revival
- Dealing with COVID and caring for your people
Links:
www.mamamochas.com
Related Episodes:
183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson 108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC 155 : A Conversation w/ T. Ben Fischer of Glitter Cat Barista 159: Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop
116: Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
139: Founder Friday w/ Phil Sipka, Kusanya Cafe
067: 6 Truths about Power
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
Join the community!
Keys to the Shop on Mighty Network
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Everyone in the shop is on high alert! Updates and changes to rules and regulations are happening almost daily and we are, as staff, very tuned into to the landscape of how things should be done in the shop. What about the customers though? Should we expect them to be just as vigilant and aware? How do we empathetically enforce the new normal with our patrons? Today we will be talking about the COVID communication bubble and how we can get out of it when our customers come back in.
Related Episodes:
Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
Being the Point of Clarity
Elevate your to-go coffee!
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve!
BARATZA GRINDERS
Coffee shops are not necessarily known for having the best food in town. That is the way it has been for a very long time. Recently though, we are seeing in increase in the number of coffee shops investing time, money, and passion into their food programs and customers are taking note. It is so critical, especially now to create a food program that is marked by intentionality and excellence. To help us develop a winning food program we are talking to Marilei Denila, the Culinary Research and Development Manager for the amazing Go Get em Tiger in Los Angeles ,CA.
GGET has become the standard bearer for high quality coffee and food in the specialty coffee world and their menu items are frequently winning top spots in "Best of" lists in LA. Marilei's leadership and discipline have played a huge role in this process and in this conversation she will be sharing with us a ton of foundational insights that will equip you in creating a next level food experience at your cafe.
You will learn about:
- Community specific menu design
- Systems for inventory and Quality control
- Staffing and scheduling
- Being creative and still relatable
- Should you chase trends?
- Managing the financial realities
- Smart product ordering and use
Links:
www.gget.com
Related Episodes:
A Conversation w/ Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski of G&B and Go Get em Tiger
Coffee and Cocktails
Coffee and Chocolate
Systems as Care
Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat
Feedback Culture
Working Clean
Your Inventory Counts
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
As shops slowly start to open to customers there are a ton of things to keep in mind and manage. Many of those things we have covered through other episodes or interviews some of which are available below. This time I want to cover 3 things that will be crucial to get right to welcome back those customers and take advantage of this 2nd chance to make a first impression.
We will be talking about why cleanliness, clarity, and creativity are crucial to the success of your business and how to execute on them to make lasting impact.
Related Episodes:
- Elevating Cold Brew/Matt Bushman
- Coping w/ Corona using Emotional Intelligence w/ Andrea Hoban
- Harnessing your Emotions at Work
- 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual
- Working Clean
- Simple, Powerful, Hospitality
- SOPs
- 10 Reasons to Love the Customer
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve
BARATZA GRINDERS
Not all bold brew is created equal! The difference between offering your customers an average experience vs an outstanding one comes down to basics, attention to detail, creativity, and a craft mindset toward the liquid juggernaut that is cold brew. As the cold brew season ramps up we need to elevate our cold brew offerings and boy do we have just the person to help us do it.
Matt Bushman is the Co-Founder of Alto Cold Brew, a company whose mission is to help shops elevate their cold brew through innovative products, unique perspectives, shared knowledge, and events. In the years since founding the company Matt and his business partner Joey Ruiz have not only created a great product but they have also created a robust and growing bank of resources to help their customers raise their cold brew game.
Today we get tactical and practical as we talk with Matt all about the basics of good cold brew, the overlooked essentials of execution, creativity, pit falls to avoid, sanitation, and solids steps you can take today to bring your cold brew to a higher level.
Summer is almost here. As economies begin opening back up, and people start heading back out to their local coffee shop, NOW is the time to take stock of how your cold brew program and really take it to the next level.
You will learn about:
- How Alto was created
- What makes quality cold brew
- Sanitation concerns
- Creative menu ideas
- Logistics and operations that scale
- How to approach cold brew as a craft
- Offering more to your customers
- The importance of systems
- Cold brew in the time of COVID
Links:
www.altocoldbrew.com
Related episodes:
- 6 Tips for Cooler Cold Brew w/ the Cold Brew Chick, Rachel Dillon
- 175 : How to Keep your Cool : An Ice Machine, and Cooler Maintenance Master Class w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department
- Coffee and Cocktails w/ Amanda Whitt
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Alternative forms of income have been helping keep many of you in business during the crisis. The grocery/pantry model has been a very interesting and successful pivot that allows you to continue serving the needs of your community beyond coffee.
One of the best examples of this model is being conducted by Penstock Coffee out in Highland Park, NJ. Penstock is a Good Food award winning roastery established in 2009 by Ben and Jessica Shellack. These are some of the best people you will meet in coffee and their commitment to do right by all the people involved in the supply chain shows in all they put their hands to, including how they have responded to the current crisis.
Today I sit down with Ben to get the details of their very successful grocery program. How did they start? What are the logistics and legalities? How did they set it up and how do they manage it? What are their quality control measures? These are some of the many questions answered in this in depth look at the grocery/pantry model.
As we are still very much in the middle of this mess, I hope this episode helps equip and empower you to perhaps take on a similar project in your business.
Links:
www.penstockcoffee.com
Penstock on IG
Complete list of COVID-19 related past episodes:
- On a Resilient Coffee Community
- Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano
- General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law
- Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse
- Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, IrelandÂ
- The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens
- Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee
- Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
- Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA
- Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis
- Shift Break: Development in a Crisis
- Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards
- Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away
- Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee
- Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian JNP Coffee, Burundi
- John King of Walkie Talkie Coffee
Remote coaching and consultation:
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
Joe is back! This time for a shift break episode focused on building a coffee menu from the ground up that is tuned in to meet your customers, and their taste buds, where they are on their coffee journey.
NOW is the time to really drill down and focus on customizing your offerings for accessibility, ease of use, wider availability, and thinking through how you will set the customer up to thoroughly enjoy the roasted coffee you sell on the shelf.
In this shift break we discuss the mentality, tools, and actions needed to build a great coffee program for the people!
Links:
www.list-beisler.coffee
Joe on Instagram
Joe on Twitter
List and Beisler on Instagram
CLICK TO JOIN THE MIGHTY NETWORK!
Related episodes:
026 : What Your Roaster Wants You to Know w/ U.S. Roasting Champion Mark Michaelson
063 : What Your Roaster Wants You to Know w/ Rob Hoos
Joe gives Career Advice
20 : Transparency and Origin Knowledge in the Cafe w/ Joe Marrocco
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve
BARATZA GRINDERS
Ah roasting coffee, many shop owners are planning what they want their business to look like in the future and how they can make it more resilient and roasters/retailers seem to have some more flexibility in what they can do in this crisis. the idea to roast coffee for yourself can seem fairly simple but there are more issues to consider than one may think.
What is the case for and against roasting your own coffee and how can you make the right choice for your business? What are the key considerations to work through that determine if you will be a good roaster or a bad one? Today we get to really explore this subject and generally the art of being a great roaster with the ever insightful, Joe Marrocco!
Joe is heading up the U.S. division of German based green coffee importer List and Beisler and has been an accomplished coffee professional since 2005. Joe has been a barista, a café manager, a roaster, an educator, a leader in the Barista Guild of America, and a barista competitor. Prior to List and Beisler he was the long time Sr. Sales Associate and Director of Education at Café Imports, and Educator in collaboration with Mill City Roasters and is widely considered the go-to guy in the industry for deeply useful and practical knowledge in all things roasting.
I am thrilled to have Joe back on the show to explore the subject of becoming a roaster and whether it is the right move for you to make or the worst move you could make. In typical Marrocco fashion, Joe lays out several well reasoned approaches to both sides of the issue and we leave having gained clarity and direction.
In this episode you will learn:
- Why you should or should not start roasting
- The logistical concerns behind the scenes
- Do you save actually money?
- The metric of joy and health
- Questions and Factors in profitability
- Benefits of retail before wholesale
- Manual vs automation in roasting equipment
- Tips for being a good roaster and avoid being a bad one
- Trends vs authenticity
Links:
www.list-beisler.coffee
Joe on Instagram
Joe on Twitter
List and Beisler on Instagram
Related episodes:
026 : What Your Roaster Wants You to Know w/ U.S. Roasting Champion Mark Michaelson
063 : What Your Roaster Wants You to Know w/ Rob Hoos
Joe gives Career Advice
20 : Transparency and Origin Knowledge in the Cafe w/ Joe Marrocco
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Operations, People, and Quality. These are three areas I focus on with all of my clients. Each on contains a myriad of subjects and components that we explore in detail to bring the whole business to a higher level. Today I want to discuss a few ideas within each of these categories that I believe are critical for you to pour energy into right now so you can enter into post-COVID business better than when this all started.
I cannot stress enough how important I think this particular conversation is and I hope it helps your thrive well into the future.
Related Episodes:
- One-on-ones
- Filtered Thoughts Podcast interview about "The Future of the Coffee Shop"
- http://keystotheshop.com/employeeculture/
- http://keystotheshop.com/organizationalknowledge/
- Changing things in the Cafe
- The Life Changing Power of Good Authority
- SOPs FTW
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve
BARATZA GRINDERS
Walkie Talkie Coffee was founded by Lindsey and John Kind in the Summer of 2019. The result of a ton of planning, dreaming, and raising support, the shop was an immediate hit offering coffees from Heart in Portland , OR, amazing service and hospitality, and a goal to create great social and coffee experiences for their neighborhood. Not even a one year in, Walkie Talkie is now facing what is arguably our industries most challenging time. In spite of this, Lindsey, John, and crew have been handling this with grace and a positive outlook that is rooted in their mutual concern and care for one another and the people they serve.
In this conversation I sit down with John King to hear how this all unfolded, the challenges of being a first year business going through this crisis, what they have done, how they keep going, and what they see for the future.
If you are in Canton, OH definitely swing by Walkie Talkie. I hope you enjoy this conversation.
Links:
Walkie Talkie Coffee
All COVID-19 Focus and Relevant Episodes:
On a Resilient Coffee Community
Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano
General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law
Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse
Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, IrelandÂ
The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens
Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee
Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA
Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis
Shift Break: Development in a Crisis
Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards
Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away
Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee
Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian JNP Coffee, Burundi
Keys to the Shop Consulting:
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
Home brewing is gaining more and more ground as our customers, who would normally come in to he shop, are brewing at home and looking for ways to replicator’s the coffee they love in the shop. This time in coffee history will likely lead to a permanent rise in the number of people brewing coffee at home and subequently a rise in whole bean sales. How we show up for them and help facilitate their success with our coffee really matters. We need to embrace and equip the home brewer and to help us do that we are hearing from the one and only, Brian Beyke, of the I Brew my own Coffee Podcast.
Brian is the Director of Coffee for Quills Coffee, Co-host of the Unwrapped Chocolate Podcast, and lover of all things bourbon and whiskey. He is also the host of the I Brew my own Coffee Podcast, an award winning podcast hosted by himself and Bryan Schiele talking about the stories, coffee, gear, techniques, philosophies, and people that make up the wonderful world of home coffee brewing. IBMOC is now officially and has relaunching after 3 years with Mr. Beyke at the helm.
Today we will be talking with Brian about our role in the shop to help people successfully brew coffee at home and build trust while doing it.
We cover:
- Accessibility and trust
- Importance of water
- Understanding the customers
- Communicating with customers effectively
- The state of home brewing compared to the industry
- Where we need to focus as we look to the future post-COVID
Links:
IBMOC Podcast
IBMOC Instagram
Brian's Instagram
Unwrapped: A conversation About Chocolate
Related Episodes:
37: Chocolate and Coffee w/ Brian Beyke
Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rhinehart
Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes
How to Taste Coffee w/ Steve Cuevas
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Today we are hearing from Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, the Founder and President of JNP Coffee, Burundi Coffee importer and exporter in operation since 2012.
Jeanine grew up in Burundi and left to pursue her education earning an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School and had a 20-plus-year international business career that helped her find her way back to Burundi and to coffee.
It was at a “Cup of Excellence” competition that she recognized the potential of the exceptional coffees of Burundi. She saw the opportunity to promote these coffees in the global market as a means of helping the farmers, her people.
Today JNP Coffee is known for the award-winning specialty coffees they source and the good works and leadership they provide at origin. As a licensed Q grader, she continues to advance the global specialty coffee industry. Her business model is driven by quality coffee and is based on strong producer partnerships, sharing knowledge, promoting gender equality, and supporting education in financial literacy and leadership, all to empower the farmers and their families in her native country.
Today we are talking with Jeanine about how JNP is responding to the current crisis and also how things look on the ground for the farmer she works with in Burundi.
This is a very important discussion as it give perspectives on the relationship between producers and consumers that I believe will inspire how we conduct business as retailers in the future.
It's all about empathy, connection, resiliency, and working with each other to increase access to the great coffees our customers have yet to discover.
Links:
JNP Coffee
Burundi Friends International
All COVID-19 Focus and Relevant Episodes:
On a Resilient Coffee Community
Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano
General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law
Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse
Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, Ireland
The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens
Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee
Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA
Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis
Shift Break: Development in a Crisis
Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards
Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away
Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee
Keys to the Shop Consulting:
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
The way we have seen people rise to the challenge, amp up communication, take on a sense of urgency, solve problems, and create a culture that is agile and empathetic is truly inspiring. It's the stuff that defines being "In this Together".
The question is, where does this all go once the crisis has subsided? Will our urgency, connection, and togetherness fade away?
Today we will be chatting about the need to use this time to craft a future for our shops where these qualities continue in the daily work and fabric of our shops.
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve
BARATZA GRINDERS
As we continue our focus series on the COVID-19 crisis and it's impact on specialty coffee, we get talk someone who has been leading the charge for business agility, staff/customer safety, and creating systems to support it all. Maxwell Mooney is the Owner of the award winning shop, Narrative Coffee in Everette, WA. A past guest on the show, Maxwell consistently brings a clear, level headed, and well thought through perspective to the table. What I enjoy most about Maxwell and his leadership is the integrity that drives what he does and allows him to make tough calls.
In this conversation we will be discussing, from beginning to present day, how the crisis unfolded for him and his team. Among other things we will cover:
- Not joining the "Cult of hustle"
- Creating and executing plans
- Hospitality in every context
- Making tough calls for safety
- Managing emotional impact on staff
- Leading in the midst of exhaustion and hard life circumstances
Links:
www.narrativecoffee.com
Founder Friday: Narrative Coffee part 1
Founder Friday: Narrative Coffee Part 2
COVID-19 Focused episodes:
On a Resilient Coffee Community
Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano
General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law
Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse
Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, Ireland
The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens
Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee
Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA
Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis
Shift Break: Development in a Crisis
Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards
Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away
Keys to the Shop Consulting:
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
Never before has it been more important to invest in your companies communication and marketing than right now. Connection to our customers and also our staff is the life blood of the cafe and drives everything we do. Additionally, the health of your shop is determined in large part by the health of the relationships you create with the consumer and those relationships are driven by how you communicate.
What are the guiding principles for effective communication? How are small businesses uniquely positioned to build great relationships? And how can we find clarity on strategy and methods that are sustainable long-term? All of these questions and more are going to be answered in today's master class on communication and marketing wit special guest, Spencer M. Ross, PHD.
Spencer M. Ross, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Marketing (and specialty coffee enthusiast) at University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Manning School of Business. His dual research interests focus on the intersection of marketing and public policy and on consumer engagement with digital marketing. In the transformative consumer research/public policy context, Ross is primarily focused on sustainable consumption behaviors; he has published work in the European Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Business Ethics on consumer dispositions toward prosocial consumption versus self-interest. He has also published on consumer sustainability issues in the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Affairs, and presented on consumer sustainability at the 2019 SCA Coffee Expo.
Today Spencer breaks down principles and approaches to guide you as you invest in your customer relationships through communication.
Amongst other topics we cover:
- How communication fits in your companies larger strategy
- Being Consumer-centric
- Tuning into local
- Consistency
- Investing in customer relationships
- Advantage of agility
- Internal marketing
- Creating a communication strategy that is doable long term
Links:
Spencer on Instagram
Spencer on Twitter
Paper on "Sustainable Decision Making"
JOIN THE KTTS MIGHT NETWORK!!!
https://keys-to-the-shop.mn.co
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
It's Founder Friday! Today I am excited to present this live interview with the Co-Founder of Mighty Oak Roasters in Astoria, NY, Peter Moses!
You may recognize Peter because he was one of a few people I interviewed on the floor of the 2019 Coffee Fest NYC trade show. At that time they were very much in the planning and build- phase but now Mighty Oak has taken root in Astoria and has gown to quickly become THE spot in the neighbor hood for amazing wood-roasted coffee and an ambiance that is second to none. Mighty Oak has deigned their 1,000 sq.ft. space to not only house a cafe but also all of their roasting and production which is one of the world most sustainable operations.
In this interview we go deep into their story, their operations, values, and plans. It was a thrill to see something like this come to fruition and I have no doubt you will get great value from this interview with Peter.
Amongst other things we talk about:
- Wood-fire roasting and its advantages
- Building a cafe space and roastery at the same time
- Space challenges
- Researching design and workflow
- Leading and hiring people
- Letting the business tell you how to grow
- Receiving feedback from staff
- Expansion insights
- Personal growth as an owner
Links:
www.mightyoakroasters.com
142: Entrepreneur Interviews from Coffee Fest NYC (Featuring Peter Moses)
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Within the fight to stay open there is a pervasive sentiment that we are "letting people down". I have seen and heard this from many sources of late, including from myself. This is a pretty familiar feeling for those of us in customer service jobs and this current context highlights it to the extreme.
But is it true?
Are you letting people down when you close your doors, or severely adjust service, or close a location indefinitely?
Today we are going to chat about this idea and I want to offer some encouragement and perspective that will help balance this thought in our mind and also help you get rooted in what the reality truly is.
Sponsors:
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve
BARATZA GRINDERS
To say our emotions are on high alert these days is quite an understatement. I, like you, have found it difficult to manage let alone even articulate the feelings that are constantly being triggered in the wake of the pandemic. At no time has it been more needed to talk about emotional intelligence and managing our emotions in a healthy way than now.
Today we welcome back to the show, Andrea Hoban to help us cope with Corona using emotional intelligence.
Andrea is Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer at Oji Life Lab, and has more than twenty years of experience in leading large teams and building business. She is a certified executive coach and leadership development practitioner who has helped hundreds of professionals learn to harness their emotions to achieve their goals.
Andrea is a sought after speaker, having presented at many state and national conferences. As an executive coach and facilitator, she works with individuals and teams to achieve goals and push past limitations. She has served as Board President of HerWisdom.org, School Board President at St. Perpetua School in California, Executive Director of the Portland Chapter of Women in Technology, member of the National Association of Female Executives. At Oji, she is reimagining the way we learn skills like emotional intelligence to directly impact the quality of our lives.
This conversation is designed to equip you with tools, habits, and insights to capture, re-frame, and manage your emotions in a healthy sustainable way. In edition this will give you some great tips on how to manage the emotions of your team and to use emotional intelligence to lead well both in this crisis and beyond.
We will learn:
- Using the Mood Meter
- Managing and Re-framing emotions
- Staying calm
- The positive side of being triggered
- Using Emotional Intelligence to effectively lead and mange your team
- Emotional contagion and co-regulation
- Adopting an emotional charter
- Embrace the awkwardness
- Permission to feel
Links:
- Coping with Corona (original)
- Leaders Edition
- HR Edition
- 176 : Harnessing our Emotions at work w/ Andrea Hoban
- Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- Self Care 101
- Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Joe Sanok
- TED Talk on stress by Kelly McGonigal
- Book: Permission to Feel
JOIN THE KTTS MIGHT NETWORK!!!
https://keys-to-the-shop.mn.co
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
So happy to sit down with Lauren Crabbe Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters for this episode of our COVID-19 Focus Series. Lauren was a past Founder Friday guest and has a wonderful style of leadership that prioritizes people and focuses on facilitating their success.
In this conversation Lauren details how the crisis has impacted Andytown and what they are doing now to continue to serve their community and their people including their ground breaking Coffee for Healthcare Heroes program that has inspired hundreds of similar programs around the country.
We discuss:
- Benefit of having an open book policy
- Switching up schedules
- Protecting the team
- Motivation as an owner when things are not in your control
- Running operations in crisis
- Coffee for healthcare heroes program
- Making systems to thrive in the midst of the new normal
- Hiring back employees from project success
- Continuation of current measures into the future when things are normal?
- How will work from home culture shape biz in the future
- Don't give up. Speaking up now, be loud, be heard!
Links:
www.andytownsf.com
156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe
COVID-19 Focused episodes:
On a Resilient Coffee Community
Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano
General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law
Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse
Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, Ireland
The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens
Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee
Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs
Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA
Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis
Shift Break: Development in a Crisis
Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards
Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away
Keys to the Shop Consulting:
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
Does this spark joy? Better said, do the components of your business give life to the business and are they sustainable? Many new programs and tools have been adopted by coffee shops in an attempt to stay in business during the crisis. Now that we have online stores, batching cold brew, delivery, curbside ordering etc...do we keep them?
Today we will be chatting about some basic questions to ask yourself about your systems, items, programs, and schedules, in order to determine whether you should keep and invest more into them or throw them away.
Links:
Founder Friday w/ Joshua Boyt
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve
BARATZA GRINDERS
The time to lean into optimizing your operations and how you show up as a leader is now. As we get used to the "new normal" everyday, we need to take time to look at some critical elements of the work we do in the middle of the crisis and how it what we can do to create excellence in the face of uncertainty, and inspiration in a time of fear.
Today you and I will go over 6 areas I believe need to be focused on and refined in order to thrive right now and to create a culture that both cares for the present while investing in the future.
Today we will cover:
- SOPs
- Importance of Communication
- Inventory/Ordering
- Accountability
- Power of Presence
- Using R.E.P.
- Value driven tactics
Links:
Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe
COVID Focus w/ Jonathan Pascual / Taproom Coffee and Beer
Man's Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl
Work from your Strengths w/ Lisa Cummings
SOPs FTW
10 Steps to being a People 1st Leader
Communicate Duplicate Repeat
Being the Point of Clarity
Why It's OK to be the Boss w/Bruce Tulgan
The Power of Good Authority w/Jonathan Raymond
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
This is a wonderful value-driven conversation with someone who is doing a fantastic job caring for his staff and the community as the crisis unfolds. Jonathan Pascual is the owner of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, GA. He was a past Founder Friday guest on the show and has returned to talk about how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted his business and what he and his team are doing in response. Jonathan has one of the healthiest approaches to professional life and in this conversation you will see how his values have driven his actions on behalf of his business, community, and staff.
We discuss:
- Reacting to protect, retain, and prepare staff
- Reducing risk
- Pivoting business models
- Giving staff a choice
- Economic viability of new operating measures
- Developing support systems for new models
- Stepping up as a leader
- The weight ownership bears
- Caring for yourself and others
- Work-life balance in the midst of crisis
Links:
www.taproomcoffee.com
Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual
In the middle of all of the upheaval we are fighting for some sense of normalcy and even more so, a sense of grounding. As we iterate and pivot business models and things change all around us, some of the normal conversations around to detail in service and and quality can take a back seat. Today we are chatting about why we need to look after and make sure to continue managing, talking about, and holding ourselves accountable to our usual standards even in the midst of this crisis.
Related Episodes:
- You need SOP's
- Effective Checklists
- One on Ones
- 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve
BARATZA GRINDERS
Brick and mortar retail is taking a huge hit right now. We are all trying our best to adjust and weather the storm. In the midst of this crisis there is still room for hope, connections, and there is an opportunity to serve like never before. All of this of course requires decisive and consistent action and to help motivate as we take those actions we are hearing from the worlds leading expert on brick and mortar retail, Retail Doctor himself, Bob Phibbs!
Bob Phibbs has helped thousands of businesses in hospitality, manufacturing, service, restaurant and retail since 1994. His clients have ranged from multi-national luxury brands to small businesses. With over 30 years of experience beginning in the trenches and extending to senior management positions, Phibbs has been a corporate officer, franchisor and entrepreneur.
A frequent guest on MSNBC's Your Business, he and his work have been featured in Entrepreneur magazine, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. In addition, Phibbs provides business makeovers for the Los Angeles Times.
He is the author of three books including "The Retail Doctors Guide to Growing your Business"
Today he is going to be sharing with us some straight talk on taking actions to not just get through this hard time but to thrive, connect, serve, and be prepared for what comes after this has passed.
I think Bob has some incredible insights here and hope you put them into practice in your business.
We will be discussing:
- The opportunities of this moment
- Believing the best as an owner
- Power of "Yes, and"
- Modeling confidence
- "How" vs "Why me"
- Optimizing with Hospitality
- Being brilliant on the basics
- Serve now you can sell later
Links:
www.retaildoc.com
Tell me Something Good About Retail Podcast
Earl Nightingale, "The Strangest Secret"
Related Episodes
The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens
10 Reasons to Love the Customer
Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth
30: Matching your Service to your Quality w/ Casey Underkofler
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
This crisis is having a massive impact on more than just coffee shops and roasters. It extends out to the farmers who rely on us to purchase and move the coffee they produce. To help us gain some understanding around the scope of the issue we are going to talk with Ricardo Pereira the Chief Operations Officer at Ally Coffee. We discuss what is happening on the producing side and how roasters should be preparing themselves as they consider green coffee acquisition into the future and ways they can help producers as with changing business models and focus.
www.allycoffee.com
We are shaped by hardship more than times of ease. How we are shaped and who we become after it is largely up to us and will help define our business for the foreseeable future. Today we are talking about the opportunity presented in the midst of tough times to choose generosity and lean into higher levels of leadership, service, and connection.
Links:
The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The future of retail seems pretty uncertain right now. Many of us are left wondering how things will look at the end of this crisis. What will happen to the physical shop and the customers that frequent it. Whenever we consider the future, it can be pretty murky. Today we get some clarity and direction on what the future holds for our businesses and what we can do to prepare for it.
I am very pleased to welcome to the show, Doug Stephens, CEO of Retail Prophet!
Doug Stephens is one of the world’s foremost retail industry futurists. His intellectual work and thinking has influenced many of the most widely known international retailers, agencies and brands. Prior to founding the consultancy Retail Prophet, Doug spent over 20 years in the retail industry, holding senior international leadership roles.
Doug is also the author of two International bestselling books - Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World and The Retail Revival: Re-Imagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism. Doug is also the nationally syndicated retail columnist for CBC Radio and sits on multiple corporate and academic advisory boards. His unique perspectives on retailing, business and consumer behavior have been featured in many of the world’s leading publications and media outlets including The New York Times, The BBC, TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company.
In our s=discussion today we are going to be discussing a wide variety of topics related to the future of retail. All of this is hugely instructive and clarifying in a time when we need it the most.
We will cover:
- What is changing for the physical store?
- How will online and digital influence consumers?
- The value of experience
- Luxury experience vs utility experience
- The human craving for social experiences
- Consumer reactions to crisis
- How to create great experiences through tech
- Connection between crisis and creativity
- The opportunity we have in this moment
- Branding vs advertising
- Mistakes to avoid making
I hope you find this episode helpful!
Links:
www.retailprophet.com
Related Episodes:
Designing the Customer Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
Social Media 101 w/ Jenn Chen
Death by Comparison
SB Your peers are not your Customers
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Karl Purdy is a coffee legend. Credited with kickstarting the specialty coffee movement in Ireland in 1996 he has since founded and run the amazing Coffee Angel in Dublin. From a humble mobile stand that offered great coffee and a smile, to now 5 cafes and roasting operation, Coffee Angel is an Irish coffee institution.
Since the COVID-19 crisis started Karls has had to make the painful, and now all to familiar, decision to close down all his shops, put his staff on unemployment, and now drives around the city delivering roasted coffee door to door in a fight to keep his business going for the sake of his community, family, and staff.
This is a conversation with someone who has seen a lot and been through a lot since 1996 and in this discussion we talk about the lessons he has from his history, how he communicated to his employees as things went down, his motivation that keeps him going, how he is pivoting to keep the business alive, his back-to-basics philosophy, and what his mindset is for the future in a post-pandemic world.
I hope you find this helpful and encouraging.
We are in this together.
Links:
www.coffeeangel.com
KTTS COVID-19 Focus Spotify Playlist
Today on Founder Friday we are talking with Linda Thach, the founder of Little Skips in Brooklyn, NYC!
Having come to the states as a Cambodian refugee with nothing, the comfort of food and family played a foundational role in setting the values that drive Linda today.
Little Skips is a communal, artistic, accessible, and fun coffee experience that seeks to create happiness in everyone. Since it's founding in 2009 it has quickly become a Bushwick institution. Now with 3 shops and 1 restaurant, Linda has been able to learn a lot through the peaks and valleys that inevitably happen when running a business and explores much of that for us here today.
I am thrilled to present this conversation to you because I believe Linda offers a critical message to owners that will help bring the clarity, freedom, and focus that is often sought but not found.
In this episode we will learn about:
- How and why Little Skips came to be
- What lessons were learned early on
- Philosophy on partnerships
- Systems that provide freedom
- Communication
- Self care as a priority
- Overcoming problems outside our control
- Reflection vs Rumination
- The unique culture of an individual store
Links:
www.littleskips.nyc
Little Skips Instagram
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Hurt feelings and processing grief are all too familiar to us right now. As an owner you have had to make some tough decisions for the sake of helping the business survive this time while also trying to do good by your staff and customers. No matter what the outcome is not ideal and staff will have some negative emotions to work through. The question is, how do you respond when they are upset at you, the situation, and the decisions made? How do you manage their bitterness or dejection when you are working like crazy to keep everything together? Today we will chat a bot about this tension and how to lead well in the midst of it.
Related Episodes:
The Broken Chair
6 Truths About Power
What you Must Know about Employee Culture
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Erica Escalante is no stranger to overcoming challenges. You might say that her experience in starting and running The Arrow in Portland, OR has prepared her to shine as a leader during this crisis.
Today Erica recounts how she prepared herself, her staff, and her business to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and offers an insightful, vulnerable, and passionate look into the world of an owner fighting to stay in business, maintain connections, and care for her family and staff through these hard times.
This is an awesome example of leadership and I hope Erica's words offer hope and strength to you.
Links:
Founder Friday w/ Erica Escalante
Erica's Instagram
One of the most unique things about Baratza, a legendary 20 year old home grinder company, is that people are not just loyal to them, but that those same people go out of their way to advocate for and recommend the brand to anyone who will listen. That does not happen by accident, it is cultivated and grown over time with am inset that sets out to care for and to be an advocate for the customer.
Today I am absolutely thrilled to present a conversation with the Co-Founder of Baratza, Kyra Kennedy!
You might say a concern for the well being of others has always been a core value of Kyra's having a background in environmental science before founding Baratza with her friend / Business partner Kyle Anderson in 1999. Their concern for the environment and being a sustainable company has been central to their identity from the start.
Innovation has also been their main calling card. Baratza has pushed the envelope, with innovative firsts for the Specialty Coffee market like macro/micro grind adjust system for fast and repeatable adjustment; Portaholder to grind hands-free into a portafilter; Grind by Weight; plus Grind by Weight directly into a portafilter (earning Best New Product Awards from SCA in 2011, 2013 and 2016). The full range of Baratza grinders and all their features, offer users the ability to create cafe quality coffee at home or on bar.
As we are currently in the midst of pivoting in the COVID-19 crisis we are deeper into teaching and promoting home brewing to our customers than ever before. Baratza plays a central role in making that possible. We are doing this because we want to continue to care for our customers even if we can't see them in the cafe. To me, Baratza embodies the kind of hospitality we would expect in the best cafes.
I have no doubt that this conversation and the insights Kyra gives into showing care as a company will inspire you as you continue to serve your community.
Enjoy!
Links and Related Episodes:
www.baratza.com
Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnot
Teaching Consumer Classes
Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rihnhart
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Today we are talking with past guest Marshall Fuss Attorney at Law. Marshall is attorney and general counsel to the Specialty Coffee Association, World Coffee Events, and Coffee Quality Institute and was a guest on episode 101 of KTTS "Avoiding Legal Pitfalls"
Today he joins me to offer some guidance to shop owners on how to actions to take in talking with your landlord and bank during this crisis. Things are moving fast and this conversation is meant to help guide you as you pursue action appropriate to you local context.
MEMORANDUM ON IDENTIFICATION OF ESSENTIAL CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKERS DURING COVID-19 RESPONSE
Marshall's Website
Related Episodes:
101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls w/ Marshall Fuss
125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : Negotiating for your career's and your coffee businesses best interest
These are hard times. It is difficult to know where to begin in discussing the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on our industry. I have, like many of you, spent countless hours trying to process this and attempting to help in any way possible. There have been tears and anxiety to be sure. There has also been many bright spots and encouraging moments as I see our community come together. That is what I want to focus on in today's extended shift break.
Resiliency, community, and the path forward in the midst of this unprecedented time in coffee history, that is what we are discussing today.
Ya'll...we have what it takes, we have each other, our community, and the heart for hospitality that drives us to keep serving, keep caring, to be creative, and ultimately to take this moment and use it for good.
Links to related episodes:
Spotify playlist of encouraging episodes
Resources:
The COVID-19 post from Christopher Feran (includes a list of resources)
Community-Contributed COVID-19 Resources from SCA NCRLA Guidance on COVID-19 Preparedness
Follow KTTS on Instagram as I boost ideas and resources through the Stories
If I can be any help to you in this time please reach out: chris@keystotheshop.com
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
In the midst of challenging times, there can still be hope and a way forward. Today we welcome back to the show Kathy Turiano to talk about finding hope in the face of difficulty.
Kathy is the Co-Owner of Joe Bean Coffee Roasters in Rochester, NY, an award winning Roastery and cafe in Rochester, NY that has consistently set the pace for specialty coffee in their city and beyond. Our initial interview with Kathy was a Founder Friday back in May of 2017 (link below). This interview was also focused on the overcoming difficulty and pivoting the business as that has been a theme of sorts since Joe Bean was founded.
During the last three years since we last talked, a lot has changed and they faced some of the biggest challenges to date. Challenges that crushed their spirits. In all of it they were able to find hope, light, and ultimately a better version of their business as a result.
My hope is that Kathy's story of overcoming hardships and letting it shape their business for good, will bring you hope in this very difficult time. To me it is a story of learned resiliency and taking things one step at a time. We will learn some pretty important mindsets to have and lessons in how to lead ourselves and communicate with other when things get really tough.
We need stories that encourage and I am certain this interview was meant for such a time as this.
Links:
www.joebeanroasters.com
Joe Bean on IG
Related Episodes:
043 : Founder Friday! Kathy Turiano / Joe Bean Coffee Roasters / A tale of overcoming challenges, new beginnings, and building a strong team, business, and community through coffee
200! : From Tragedy to Triumph : Navigating Change w/ Talor Browne of Talormade, Oslo, Norway
135 : Staying Motivated in the Midst of Difficulty
111 : Self-Care 101: Six Ways to Make Sure You are taking Care of Yourself While Taking Care of Others
Self-Betrayal and the Art of Action 008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Managing poor performance is one of the more frustrating parts of being a leader in the coffee shop. While in NYC for Coffee Fest I receive this great question, "What do you do if your manager or barista is not fulfilling the requirements of their role? Do you demote?" In this episode of Shift Break I will get into why I believe most bosses are too quick to blame the employee and slow to see themselves as the source of poor performance in the cafe.
Related Episodes:
Facilitating Success
Empowering Staff to Make the right Call
Being the Point of Clarity
Consulting opportunity!
Does having a regular one-on-one coaching session where you get to work out problems, develop solutions, and gain clarity on your business sound attractive? Reach out!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
The cafe is an institution of our social lives. More than just a spot to grab a quick coffee, the coffee shop is a place that carries with it a host of different sociological and emotional implications for the customer, the local and global community, and the ones who work within its walls. Having a grasp on these ideas is critical and today we are diving into the social intricacies of the coffee bar with sociologist, Noa Berger!
Noa is a PhD candidate at the EHESS (School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences) studying specialty coffee in Brazil and France
Her research is part of the PSL project "Emodities: How Emotions Become Commodities" directed by Prof. Eva Illouz, a theme explored in her PhD and in the seminars she teaches (on consumption and authenticity).
In addition to her studies, she teaches Sociology at both Graduate (EHESS) and Undergraduate (NEOMA) level and write for magazines (25 Magazine, Standart) and newspapers (Le Monde, Ha'aretz).
Her professional experience has revolved around studying and "doing" culture. Alongside research, she has gained extensive experience working in communications, event production and journalism in the cultural and culinary fields, experiences she now mobilizes in her research into the sociology of consumption and the anthropology of food.
We will be discussing many things today including what do we mean by "authentic"? What is emotional labor and how does it apply to both cafes and farmers? What does the design of our cafe say about our values? The benefit of understanding our messaging to customers, and how to ask questions like a sociologist.
I love the rabbit holes and layers of thought we go down in this conversation and am so thrilled to be presenting it to you.
Enjoy!
Links:
Noa on Instagram
Stimuli Project IG
Related Episodes:
The Evolution of the Cafe w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris
Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Our default in management can often be to live in the extremes. Either we are suspecting everyone and everything as a potential problem or we are way too trusting and offer no structure in order to avoid conflict. Both scare away your staff and make your shop a pretty miserable place to work.
Today we talk about why we need to live in balance with realism and trust in order to create a thriving coffee shop and happy staff.
Related Episodes:
Fear or Inspiration
104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel
074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
028 : Why it's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
300 Years! That is how long Caffe Florian in Venice, Italy has been in continuous operation serving Venice and the world. In those years Cafe Florian has served as the cultural hub for millions of Venicians and travelers privileged to experience its art, events, unique service of food, coffee, drinks, and chocolate. Today it is all carried out in the original way past patrons like Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, and Casanova would have experienced it.
To celebrate today's 300th broadcast of Keys to the Shop (including our shift break ep.) I sat down with the resident authority on all things Florian and Venice, Stefano Stipitivich. Stefano is the Art Director for Caffe Florian and has worked there for 33 years! We will be speaking to him through a translator, Cristiana Rivolta, the Sales & Marketing Manager at Florian. (You will hear Stafano in the background mostly and Cristiana in the foreground.)
In our conversation we discuss the history of Florian, how it has evolved, the secret to it's longevity, how they hire and train their staff, how they keep up with the times while being true to the past, the values that drive their dedication to delivering a perfect customer experience, and more.
I have read about Caffe Florian in coffee history books and to get to speak with them is surreal and an honor indeed. It all really impresses upon me the the kind of impact coffee houses have had over time and will continue to have through you and I.
Enjoy!
Links:
Caffe Florian Website
Caffe Florian Instagram
Related Episodes:
The Evolution of the Cafe w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris
Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
It's Founder Friday! I am thrilled to be able to feature a conversation with an old friend and coffee OG, Jeff Taylor.
Jeff is the Co-Founder and CEO of the legendary PT's Coffee Roasters in Topeka, KS and the Owner/ President of Bird Rock Coffee in San Diego, CA.
In todays episode we dive into Jeff's 27 year journey from founding a small shop called PT's with his business partner Fred Polzin to now being at the helm of an amazing team of coffee professionals that run 10 cafes and two wholesale roasting company’s in 3 states.
Jeff left a very successful career in photo journalism to work fully in coffee and I am so glad he did. PT's has been at the forefront of many of our industries firsts. Jeff worked with a select group to develop what eventually became the United States Barista Competition (USBC), dating back to 1999. Jeff made the transition to Coffee Buyer for PT's Coffee in 2004 and began the process of building relationships with producers around the world which led to forming one of the first Direct Trade models. (Today, PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. Coffee and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters (acquired in 2017) source approximately 85% of our coffee’s directly from farmers)
Jeff also served one term on the Specialty Coffee Association of America's Board of Directors through 2010 after which he returned to focus on growing the business sharing sourcing responsibilities with his wife, Maritza Taylor, and Director of Operations Brent Pipiergerdes, so that he could lead the transition and purchase of Bird Rock Coffee Roasters in San Diego, CA. In 2016.
This has been a long and winding path leading to what is undeniably a great coffee career. Patience, relationships, stubbornness, dedication, and trusting your gut are just a few of the themes that emerge here and I feel like we can all see a bit of ourselves and our star in Jeff's.
I hope you enjoy this episode. Like Jeff's career, it's a bit on the long side but worth every minute to be able to learn from one of the original specialty coffee professionals.
Links:
www.ptscoffee.com
www.birdrockcoffee.com
PT's Instagram
Bird Rock Instagram
Related Episodes:
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
174 : Saying Yes to Business Opportunities w/ Kyle Wells of Torpedo Coffee & Close Quarters
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Mindset is at the heart of our effectiveness as leaders. As the work of the cafe piles up it is easy to forget about what your role's primary responsibility is. Today we are going to be chatting about how facilitating success of the people you lead is the cornerstone mindset that supports and gives momentum to everything else you do.
Links:
Acceptance of Dysfunction
179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
Manager's Top 3
Visit ourSponsors!
Painless and accurate ordering and inventory
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
In the world of specialty coffee we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to creating a context where women are given the same bias-free consideration as their male counterparts. As a result, having the confidence necessary to thrive and advance in the cafe can be hard to come by. In today's episode we will be exploring how women can cultivate confidence in business and how those who run businesses can empower the women in their organizations. To that end I am so excited to welcome to the show, Katherine Knapke!
Katherine Knapke is the Chief Operating Officer at the American Negotiation Institute. Katherine is passionate about using her experience as a Psychiatric Nurse trained in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) and as a Certified Mediator to address the psychological, emotional, and societal concerns that impact women in the workplace. Her goal is to use her expertise to help women develop the skills and confidence they need to get more of what they want and deserve in the workplace.
Katherine also uses her healthcare experience to lead our work within hospital systems and in public health departments. Lives depend on the crucial conversations that happen in healthcare every day. She helps healthcare professionals manage conflict in order to improve communication, persuasion, and patient care.
Katherine is the host of our newest women’s focused negotiation podcast, Ask With Confidence, designed to empower women and to help them gain the confidence they need when engaging in difficult conversations.
Some of what we will cover:
- The power of asking
- Why women don't need to be like men
- Structuring meetings for inclusion
- Competence vs confidence
- Overcoming over-apologizing
- A frame-work for negotiation and difficult conversations
Links:
Ask with Confidence Podcast
Negotiate Anything Guides
IWCA
#Shestheroaster
Related Episodes:
131 : The Strong Women of Coffee w/ Laura Gonzalez
125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian
104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel
052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
014 : A Barista's Guide to Advancing
015 : What to do if you Don't Advance w/ Anne Nylander
Shift Break: Career Advice from Joe Marocco
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
We seem to be addicted. Not to coffee, but to coffee loyalty programs. Whether it's a card or points on the POS, we can't imagine running a business without them. But what if cards and programs don't actually create loyalty? Today we are chatting about mindsets and practices as it relates to achieving true customer loyalty and why what we have accepted as a means to that end has really led us astray.
Links:
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit ourSponsors!
Painless and accurate ordering and inventory
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Too often an otherwise promising business is compromised from lack of attention, simple systems, and tools to manage the finances. This leads to many cafes going under way before their time. There is a lot going on when you are just starting out and accounting/finances are often the first things to get compromised.
Well, today we are going to talk about best-practices, mindsets, tools, systems, and strategies to help you take control of your cafe's finances and accounting with our very special guest, Keila Hill-Trawick of Little Fish Accounting!
Keila is strategic business advisor who partners with freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses owners to plan and reach their financial goals . After spending over a decade working in both the government and private sector, Keila launched Little Fish Accounting to serve as a trusted partner in financial and tax planning to drive business results and growth.
Keila holds a BBA in Accounting from Georgia State University, an MBA from Mercer University, and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. She has held multiple senior level accounting and finance positions at corporations such as Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, UPS, CNN/Turner Broadcasting, Comcast, and various Federal agencies. Based in Washington, DC, Keila now services small businesses nationwide through Little Fish Accounting.
This is a critical primer for foundational financial health of cafes everywhere and I hope it empowers you to take control of your accounting, the future of your business absolutely depends on it.
In this episode you will learn:
- Why so many entrepreneurs mismanage their finances
- What systems are key when first starting out
- How to make your systems and tools give you what you need
- Keeping track of the various departments of your business
- Pitfalls to be aware of
- When you have money but should not spend it
- Financial management whole scaling
- Purchasing and invoicing wisdom
Links:
www.littlefishaccounting.com
Little Fish on Instagram
Related Episodes:
160 : The Smart Way to Approach Money w/ Jill Schlesinger
101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Coffee Retail w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law
108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Okay, so today the tables are turned and I get interviewed by my loving and lovely wife, Lynnsy. Doing something like this podcast requires a good deal of support, encouragement, and patience from the people around us. My wife is the epitome of those things and more. When she came to me with this idea was very hesitant but she has convinced me to let her interview me for a Valentines Day episode to explore some fun stories from my career, completion, and also how coffee brought us together. Seems pretty appropriate right? Coffee brings us all together.
So if you want to hear about how latte art got me married, why you should check your ego before you blog, what happened to me in that I needed to call my wife from a pay phone in Vegas, and more, then this episode is for you!
Thanks, Lynnsy. I love you more than coffee.
Visit our sponsor! (My wife)
Storytree Creations
It can be hard to organize all the responsibilities you take on when in a leadership role in the cafe. When we don't order our work well it leads to giving too much time and energy to things that seem important in the moment only to get further behind. Today we chat about three categories to place our work under and how to prioritize you work to thrive as a manager or cafe leader.
Related episodes:
Please Clarify
Don't Just do It : Delegation
Managers Top 3
Links:
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit our Sponsors!
Painless and accurate ordering and inventory
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Curiosity is the reason we got into coffee. As we go on in our careers though, the world we thought was so big becomes much smaller. We learn the rules, the ropes, and we get busy with the business of coffee often at the expense of being fascinated by it.
Today we will be discussing the importance of curiosity and how it has a tremendous impact on our personal and professional lives. To do this I am joined by someone who's job it is to inspire curiosity in people around the world, Cody Gough!
Cody Gough is the executive producer and co-host of Curiosity Daily, an award-winning daily science podcast from Curiosity.com. Curiosity Daily was recognized as the Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2019 Discover Pods Awards, and was recognized as the Best Science & Medicine Podcast at the 13th Annual Podcast Awards. Cody's broadcasting background includes more than a decade of experience working at Chicago’s 720 WGN Radio in both on-air and production roles. He’s also a seasoned podcaster with The GonnaGeek Podcast Network, an accomplished commercial actor, and former cooking show host.
I am so happy to have gotten a chance to speak with Cody. I really enjoy his podcast and believe that what we discuss here today will, not only ignite our curiosity, but will help us break out of our ruts and explore the world around us a bit more deeply. The return on investing in curiosity is immeasurable.
We will discuss:
- How Cody has developed more curiosity through the show
- What role curiosity plays in producing Nobel Prize winners
- Why curiosity makes you better at hospitality
- The importance of outside interests and hobbies
- Steps to take in igniting your curiosity
- Some of the coolest hangs Cody has learned from his show
Links:
www.Curiosity.com
Cody on Twitter
Related episodes:
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
137 : Essential Books for your professional Development
112 : The Power of Story w/ James Harper
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Problems come up all the time in the cafe. We deal with them as best we can but often we are leaving a lot of value on the table with the ways we attack the issues we encounter. Today we are chatting about how get your problems to work for your companies benefit and not let them go to waste.
Related Episodes:
SOPs FTW
Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat
Being the Point of Clarity
Links:
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
Visit ourSponsors!
Painless and accurate ordering and inventory
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Batch Brew like you never thought possible:
Ground Control Cyclops Brewer
Navigating unforeseen change brings about a ton of challenges that, in the moment, seem insurmountable. Today we will be exploring this subject by hearing an incredible story going from tragedy to triumph with the ever-awesome, Talor Browne!
Talor Browne is a 20 year specialty coffee veteran and pastry chef that ended up in Oslo via Paris and Melbourne. Former head roaster of Tim Wendelboe and founder of Talor&Jorgen, she is currently on the cusp of opening the first of three stores of her new roastery and doughnut shop, Talormade. Talor was a guest on our show back in May of 2018 for Founder Friday. Talor&Jorgen was a force of nature that was massively successful and showed no signs of slowing. Not too long after our interview though, the 16 hour days and 300 hour months began to take their toll on Talor. This all culminated in her business partners trying to force her from her from the company she founded. After an ugly lawsuit, settlement, and the best interest of the employees in mind, Talor stepped away. Now, after 7 months of preparation and planning she has the best equipment in the industry and a renewed determination to do it all over again, just bigger and so much better. Talormade was born from the ashes of this tragedy. So many questions...How did she do it? What was this journey like? What mistakes did she make in the first company? What is different about this new venture? What insights and advice can Talor offer us that will help us navigate unforeseen changes that we may face? This interview answers those questions and much more. I can think of no better way to celebrate a 200 episodes than to share this real-life inspirational coffee story with all of you. Please listen with open hearts and minds as Talor shares her story and wisdom gained as a result. Links:
www.talormade.no
Talormade on Instagram
Related Episodes:
Founder Friday w/ Talor Browne of Talor + Jorgen
Self Care 101
Avoiding Legal Pitfalls w/ Marshal Fuss
The BEST in commercial coffee equipment
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
It's Founder Friday! Today we get to talk with Mario Jimenez one of the owners of Banana Dang Coffee in Oceanside, California!
Mario and his wife, Thanh-Thanh Dang started Banana Dang back in 2007 in Rincon, Puerto Rico before eventually relocating to Oceanside, California. Back on the island, they served Puerto Rican coffee and homegrown bananas in all their smoothies. Dubbed the “World’s First ALL Banana Smoothie and Specialty Coffee Bar,” Banana Dang became an institution in the Caribbean surf town. After selling the property in Rincon in 2014, they returned to California and opened the second Banana Dang shop in Oceanside in 2015.
Banana Dang is lovely and unique business in the specialty retail space with a simple mission and a lot to teach us. In today's interview we will be exploring the founding and evolution of Banana Dang in depth with Mario and learning all about the heart behind it and the insights gain from over 13 years of operation.
You will learn about:
- How Mario went form band leader to shop owner
- Why they are "Bananas about Coffee"!
- Why coffee is like music
- Winning with simplicity
- Standing out as a brand
- Staying true to your values
- Closing a successful store to re-opening stateside
- Cultivating culture
- The balance between discipline and fun
- Serving their community
Links:
www.bananadang.com
Related episodes:
Simple, Powerful, Hospitality
Founder Friday w/ Joshua Boyt
Founder Friday w/ Luaren Crabb / Andytown Coffee Roasters
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It is easy for us to be consumed with work. Especially if you are passionate about it and desire to achieve great things, to move the needle in the company, and to help those you lead. Trouble is hough, we tend to blur the lines between work and home and end up burning out for lack of clear borders. Today we will talk about three tactics that will help bring balance and ultimately keep you healthy and thriving at work and at home.
Related episodes:
Blood Sucking Bosses
Self Care 101
Asking for Help
Links:
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
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Coffee and the coffee shop have an amazing history. From the Ottoman Empire to your favorite 3rd wave coffee bar, there have been many evolutions and critical pints in time that have led us to where we are today. In order to move forward well, we need to be well informed of our industry's past. To help us in this effort we are chatting with coffee historian, Prof. Jonathan Morris
Jonathan Morris is a Research Professor in History at the University of Hertfordshire, specializing in the history of coffee. His latest book Coffee: A Global History explains how coffee became popular the world over, and why tastes in coffee differ all over the world. Jonathan was the European Editor of Coffee: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry (2013) and directed the Cappuccino Conquests research project which traced the history of Italian-style coffee from the origins of espresso through to the global coffee shop chains of today.
In this episode we are talking with Prof. Morris about some key points in the evolution of the coffee shop that impact us today.
We will discuss:
- The democratic intent of the cafe
- Eras of the cafe's evolution and why they were significant
- Alcohol’s connection to the cafe and what is concerning about it today?
- The social importance and role of the cafe in society
- Coffee prices in the shop and politics
- Differentiating ourselves to the consumer
- Are we niching down too far?
- What things should we be focusing on now as we write this next chapter of cafe history
Links:
thecoffeehistorian.com
Buy the book on Amazon
prof.jonathan.morris@gmail.com
Related Episodes:
Your Peers are not Your Customers
090 : Researching the Cafe w/ Dr. Jennifer Ferreira
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On bar, things get stressful. We are not just managing the physical space but we are also managing and navigating our emotions. It's all too easy to let our pride keep us from asking for help when we most desperate need it. In this shift break I talk about a recent experience I had that inspired the episode and we dive into vulnerability, team support, communication, and ultimately allowing ourselves and others to be humans at work.
Related episodes:
When you're Losing it
Harnessing your Emotions at Work
Self Care 101
Dealing w/ Stress in the Cafe
Links:
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
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It's tech time! Equipment breaks, that is just a fact of life. How and why it breaks depends on the way we maintain (or don't maintain) it over the corse of its life. right now there are thousands of bars working on machines that are either about to break or are well on their way because of improper care. Today we are talking with Counter Culture Coffee NYC equipment tech extraordinaire, Melissa Vaiden. The goal of our conversation? To help us avoid an untimely demise for the equipment we depend on.
Melissa Vaiden is a service technician for Counter Culture Coffee in the NYC region. After working as a barista for years, she found a tech internship at Boxcar Coffee that sparked her love for fixing coffee equipment. She speaks on panels sharing her experience as one of the few women working in the technical field. She also is a stage manager for the Coffee Champ's Cup Tasters competition.
In this conversation e cover a LOT of information and best practices for your brewers, grinders, espresso machines and filtration. If you follow Melissa's advice here you will be sure to save yourself a world of suffering form needless maintenance issues.
We cover:
- Preventative maintenance for Espresso, brewer, grinders
- Why so many businesses get behind in their machine care
- Mindsets for getting the most from your equipment
- Budgeting for inevitable costs in machine care
- Filtration best practices
- Purchasing the right machine for your business
Links:
Counter Culture Coffee
Related episodes:
Talking Tech w/ Tom Ritz
Terry's Top 10: How not to Kill your Espresso Machine
Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rhinehart
Got questions, comments, feedback? Want to work with KTTS Consulting? Chris@keystotheshop.com
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How do you inspire people? This was a question I was asked recently while conducting a day-long workshop for a group of cafe managers. The answer is easy to give, but hard to live. You can think of this also as policy -vs- relationship.
Today we are going to talk about our tendency to try and force inspiration, why it falls short, and what to do instead.
Related episodes:
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Introducing Chaos
Self-Betrayal and the Art of Action
The Broken Chair
Reach out!
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
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Learning about consumer trends and preferences keeps us sharp and relevant. How well our shops do will have a huge impact on everyone in the value stream of coffee and in order to do our best work we need to be paying attention to what the research says as well as doing our own research locally. Thankfully the SCA has been doing intensive consumer and retail research for over a decade and what they have found may shift the way you view your customers and your business.
To discuss the data with us today we are talking with the great Peter Giuliano, Chief Research Officer of the SCA and the Director of The Coffee Science Foundation. Peter has been in specialty coffee for over 30 years. In his long and illustrious career he has occupied almost every role both in the retail shop and roastery. You might also know him as being the former Director of Coffee and Co-Owner of Counter Culture Coffee. He has been deeply involved in SCA training programs, serving as Training Committee Chair from 2005-2007 and has been a volunteer for the Coffee Corps and other CQI programs.
Peter has always been a champion for coffee science and is truly thriving in his current role helping connect scientists, economists, sociologist, etc. with the coffee community to produce robust analytics to inform our moves into the future.
In this conversation we will dive into some of their findings from the consumer and retail research and discuss how it applies to what we do in the shop.
I hope you enjoy!
You will learn about:
- The importance of scientific research
- What "Specialty Adopters" and "Super Specialty" are
- How people get their taste preferences
- How to respond to large-scale studies
- The importance of local research
- What does the data show is encouraging and challenging
Find out more information here:
www.sca.coffee/research
Peter on Twitter
Related Episodes:
Researching the Cafe w/ Dr. Jennifer Ferreira
Designing the guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
Joseph A. Rivera on Organic Acids & the Importance of Coffee Science
The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott
Got questions, comments, feedback? Want to work with KTTS Consulting? Chris@keystotheshop.com
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It's easy to create an environment in the coffee shop where staff feel they are bound by tight rules and restrictions. In this environment we don't get to see much creative hospitality in the form of solving problems for customers. Today we are chatting about the need to empower your staff to make calls on the bar that reinforce the the values and spirit of the organization.
Related Episodes:
Fear or Inspiration
6 Truths about Power
The Power of "Good Authority"
Reach out!
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
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Getting your local coffee community to come together can be a powerful way to build networks, friendships, and careers. This is what today’s guests have made their mission.
Javier Alvarez and Joseph W. Gonzalez are long time professional baristas who founded Espresso State of Mind in 2017 to give their fellow baristas a platform to showcase talents, meet one another, and excel in their careers. Besides consulting, content creation, and catering, their main focus is on hosting latte art throw downs.
In our discussion today we are going to get an inside look into Espresso State of Mind and walk away motivated by the lessons they have learned, the advice they give for starting something in your own community, and the passion and drive they express for just going out and making your dreams a reality.
Enjoy!
Links:
www.espressostateofmind.com
Related episodes:
How to host a Throwdown w/ Justin Shepard
Founder Friday w/ Jason Card
Mastering Latte Art: Interviews w/ the Best
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
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The hardest part about building a team is building trust. It does not happen overnight and requires patience, but more than that, it requires consistency in small and big ways. Today we are going to talk about how you can cultivate trust in your staff by building your "Trust-credit".
In the New Year there will be many goals you set for yourself and your business. It is my hope that the message in this episode will help you see those goals come to pass.
Happy New Year!
Reach out!
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
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That's it! The year is done and to help us ring in the New Year I am re-airing a classic from way back in the day. January 17 2017 is when "Leadership in the Cafe : 10 Steps to being a People First Leader" first aired. Now, three years and 274 episodes later, the message rings just as true and is just as relevant as ever before.
If there is anything you need to do to secure a great year for yourself, your staff, and your business it is focusing on how we show up as leaders in the specialty coffee retail space. This episode gives you some great first steps to achieve that.
I hope you have a happy New Year. Thank you sincerely for listening, sharing, and allowing Keys to the Shop to play a part in your coffee journey.
As you seek to unlock new levels this coming year just remember that YOU... are the keys to the shop!
Related Episodes:
100: Why YOU are the Key
013 : Leadership & Managment Master Class w/ Eva Attia
089 : La Marzocco USA General Manager, Andrew Daday
105 : Leadership & Management Masterclass w/ Maria Cleaveland
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome
028 : Why it's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
The Affirmation Vacuum
Click here to vote for Keys to the Shop for "Best Coffee Podcast" in the 11th Annual Sprudgies!
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
www.prima-coffee.com/keys
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link!
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
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It's Founder Friday! Today we get to sit down not once, but twice with Colin Whitcomb of the newly opened Canary Coffee Bar in Milwaukee, WI.
In this episode we talk with Colin a couple months before Canary opened and then 3 months after to get a detailed look inside the planning and running of a new business
Along with being an amazingly nice guy, Colin has been in coffee for 14 years having worked in some of the nations tope coffee bars. He is also a BGA Executive Counsel member and a long time barista competitor. Colin knows coffee and coffee shops and this move to open his own cafe is quite exciting.
There is a lot covered in this 2 part episode and I hope you get a lot form Colin's experiences as an entrepreneur.
You will learn about:
- Canary's unique business concept
- The value of having people help you in the build out
- Dealing with the city
- Learning to let things go
- The most rewarding parts of starting a coffee bar
- The challenges of staffing and gauging business needs
- Self care and time management
- Why you should over capitalize your business
Links:
www.Cararycoffeebar.com
Related episodes:
184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
111 : Self-Care 101
002 : Master Your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
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When you start or run a coffee bar you are going to be faced with a ton of options for what products and ideas you will adopt. Saying yes to any and everything can get you and your business in trouble down the road. Today we are going to be talking about why saying "No" can open up more opportunities for success than it closes off and why limitations in the beginning produce freedom in the long run.
Related episodes:
- Before you Expand
- Differentiation Takes Time
Reach out!
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
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27 Million. That is the number of people who are trapped in modern day slavery. It is a number that may leave many wondering what they can possibly do in the face of such a daunting statistic. However, today's guest decided that she needed to take action and try to make a difference. Esther Hope-Gibbs is a veteran coffee professional, AST instructor, and the Director and Founder of Manumit Coffee Roasters.
Manumit Coffee offers dignity & hope to survivors of modern slavery through training & employment. Their coffee is roasted by men and women who have suffered horrendous exploitation at the hands of traffickers and modern slave traders but are now rebuilding their lives through coffee.
In today's conversation we get to hear the Story of Manumit Coffee and all the positive impact it has had over the last two and a half years since its founding. I am so honored to talk with Esther and love that we get to share this episode about giving people the gift of freedom through coffee on Christmas Eve.
I hope this is inspiring and encouraging!
In this episode you will learn:
- How Manumit Coffee was born
- The unique challenges of training a vulnerable community
- The importance of boundaries
- The necessity and benefit of structure
- How Manumit has facilitated success for survivors
- How to be prepared to take on work with vulnerable people in your business
Links:
BUY MANUMIT COFFEE! www.manumitcoffee.co.uk
Related Episodes:
Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
Solving Teen Homelessness w/ Rugid Grind
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
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Most everyone has had fun playing this game as kid. While it's a great game parties, it's not so great for the coffee shop. Today we talk about how this game gets started in the cafe and what we can do to "ruin" it before it creates major communication and quality problems in our business.
Related episodes:
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The Art of Deep Listening
Please Clarify: Being on the same page as your boss
Reach out!
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
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Has it been a while since you last trained the staff and practices are outdated or ineffective? As a business grows the need for raising the standards in the shop becomes an absolute necessity. The new year is approaching and if you seek to bring in a new level of quality to you operation then making the right steps in implementing these changes is key to determining whether they stick in the long term and your business stays relevant and competitive.
Today we get to talk about the 3 phases of successfully taking on retraining in the shop and some of the pitfalls to avoid in the process.
You will learn about :
- Taking ownership over status quo
- The value of knowing the details
- Organizing and planning
- Setting up the training sessions
- The right mindset to have in this project
- Creating new normal
Related episodes:
- Changing things in the Cafe
- What you must Know about Employee Culture
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
In the coffee shop there are so many expectations placed on us but often the results of the work are not fully within our control. When you combine these two things it is a recipe for stress and burnout. Today we are talking about how we can approach the situation with grace and facilitate staff success rather than blaming them for things that they cannot control. Every shop deals with this in some way and I hope this helps inspire better understanding as we strive for excellence together.
Links:
wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting
chris@keystotheshop.com
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Writing the schedule is one of the hardest things a manager has to take on. It is also one of the primary ways to care for the staff and the success of the cafe. It determines labor cost, quality of service, consistency of standards and more. If there is one thing that I focus on a lot with my consulting clients it is scheduling well.
Today we will be discussing 6 tips that will aid you in the schedule writing process and save you and your staff from getting caught in the cycle of feeling perpetually unprepared, behind, and stressed out.
Links:
Working from your Strengths
One-on-ones
Hiring, Culture, and the Future of Your Shop
Founder Friday w/Casey and Jeremy Miller of The Mud House
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
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The idea of transactional is not what most of us have in mind when we think about hospitality. We tend to think of that more in relational terms and hold the transactional out as the antithesis to hospitality. What if we are wrong? What if we are mischaracterizing transactions and in the process failing to give our customers the hospitality they want and need?
Today we chat about these ideas and how our mindset surrounding this can help us through the business of the holidays and beyond.
Links:
Keys to the Shop Consulting
Related episodes:
- Simple, Powerful, Hospitality
- 10 Reasons to Love the Customer
- The Consumer Revolution
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While tea is a staple menu item in virtually every coffee bar around the world, our understanding of tea can be fairly limited and the selection of teas often stagnates over the years. Much of this maybe because we don't know where to start with tea and need some guidance in our approach and in setting up a dynamic tea menu. All this and more is what will be addressed on today's episode talking about tea with special guest, Jeffery Champeau, Vice President of Business Development at Rishi Tea!
Rishi Tea and Botanicals has been an importer of organic teas and botanicals from the very best sources since 1997. Their Direct Trade is founded upon long-standing, personal relationships with growers who cultivate ecologically sustainable gardens in remote locations around the world. They offer a highly curated. variety of teas and botanicals from Ooolong, green , white, and pu-erh - to matcha, chai, botanicals, and more.
Jeffery has been with Rishi since 2011 but has been fascinated by and immersed in the culture and world of tea for the better part of his life. He possesses a deep understanding of the history and culture of tea as well as its preparation and is passionate about advocating for the farmers who make it all possible.
As Jeffery has traveled the world experiencing tea in many different settings I am excited to talk with him specifically about where we stand coffee shops his advice to help us present tea with the same care and mindfulness we give to our coffee.
In this episode you will learn:
- A little history of Rishi and of Jeffery's path into tea
- How does Rishi curate their offerings?
- Building sustainable relationships with tea farmers
- Basics of tea and tasting tea
- What has changed in how coffee shops approach tea over the years
- What are we doing wrong
- Best practices should be adopted to make great tea
- How to build a great tea menu
Links:
www.rishi-tea.com
Related Episodes:
037: Chocolate and Coffee w/ Brian Bykke
117 : Coffee and Cocktails w/ Amanda Whitt
039: Lessons from the Restaurant Industry w/ Eric Cattiatore
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In just 7 years, Onyx Coffee Lab has become one of the industry's most recognizable, respected, and progressive coffee companies. Whether you know them from their championship performances on the barista, brewers, or roasting competition stage - their multiple Good Food Awards and Golden Bean coffees - or their effort in transparency and exquisite retail shops, Onyx Coffee Lab is an inspiration in presentation AND in substance to the global community of specialty coffee.
Today we get to talk with one of the founders of this awesome company, Jon Allen, and dive into the details of how he and his wife, Andrea Allen, built, grew, and operate this business.
I am thrilled to have been able to talk with Jon and to present this very insightful conversation to you all!
Enjoy be sure to check the links below to learn more!
In this episode you will learn about their:
- Vision and business philosophy
- Early and current expansion
- Discovery of strengths and weakness
- Delegation and appointing of leadership
- Development of their roasting program
- Approaches to hospitality
- Who they are aiming to serve as their primary audience
- Hiring practices
- Marketing and branding
Links:
- Onyx Coffee Lab
- Onyx on Instagram
- Interview of Andrea Allen reflecting on her 2018 performance on "Legacy"
- What your Roaster wants you to Know w/ Mark Michaelson, Onyx Coffee Lab.
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Shop Local! Small Business Saturday! Independently Owned! These are phrases we use to get people to come in to our stores and support the local economy. That's all well and good but do we deliver the quality people expect? Or do we rely a bit too much on being local to cover up for our shortcomings? Today we chat about this issue of using our small business status to excuse ourselves from improving and the better approach to delivering value where it counts.
Related Episodes:
- How we Ruin the Specialty Experience
- 10 Reasons to Love the Customer
- Toxic Traditions
- Customer Experience vs Coffee Quality
- Acceptance of Dysfunction
- Feedback Culture
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Opening a pop-shop is one of a number of great ways to get started in specialty coffee retail. It is a lower start up cost, you get to test the concept, and you get to know your community (and they, you) in the process. Today's guest, Nikki Outlaw, has just wrapped up her first year running her pop-up coffee shop, Anecho Coffee.
In this conversation we get to hear about her journey into opening Anecho, her experiences in this first year, what she has learned about business, operations, and herself along the way.
I hope you are encouraged by Nikki's story and the dedication she has to improving the business and providing great hospitality experiences to those Anecho serves.
Enjoy!
Links:
- Anecho Coffee
Related Episodes:
115: Finding Success in Mobile Coffee
174: Saying yes to Business Opportunities
55: Personal Growth and Development w/ Jared Turby of Cat and Cloud
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting services? Let's talk Chris@keystotheshop.com
Get on the Keys to the Shop email list and get the transcripts, bonus audio, and extra resources! Click Here!
5% off your purchases at Prima Coffee form now until January 31st! Just use the code "HOLIDAY5" when you visit this link! www.prima-coffee.com/keys
Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?
www.pacificfoods.com/food-service
Ignore your baristas, but listen to podcasters. Ignore your staff, but listen to authors. It is too easy for us to immediately turn to outside resources and , in the process, discount and overlook the resources we have under our very noses. Today we chat about the proper mindset to have when you pursue resources and the problem of being blind to what we have.
Related Episodes:
- 165: The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
- Shift Break: "I'm Sorry"
- Don't You Forget About Me Visit our sponsor Odeko to make inventory and ordering a breeze!
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Growing and learning from the experiences of others is what this show is all about. A lot of growth and learning happened this past weekend in Tacoma during the Coffee Fest PNW trade show where I was able to record three interviews with people I met during my seminars.
In order of appearance we will be hearing from:
Scott Palmer who, along with his wife Alana is opening Palmer House in Grand Rapids, MI in the Spring of 2020.
Next we talk with Kristine McRae who owns Bering Tea and Coffee in Nome Alaska.
Finally we wrap up with Stephanie Kayser, Director Operations for Dalina in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
All three of of these interviews offer unique insights that will help and encourage you in your coffee journey and it was a joy to get to meet them and hear their stories.
Some of the things we will learn about are:
- Building a shop to truly serve the customer
- Listening to your staff
- Having empathy and the big picture in mind
- The importance of communication and constant learning
Expect another one of these Coffee Fest interview episodes next time for Coffee fest NYC. This time with even more interviews and tons of value.
Links:
Dalina
Bearing Tea and Coffee
Recommended past episodes:
079 : Interviews from Coffee Fest Baltimore 2018
142 : Entrepreneur Interviews from Coffee Fest NYC! 2019
157 : Four from the Floor : Interviews from Coffee Fest Indianapolis 2019
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Managers are looked to all day long as agents of clarity. Questions are a constant and this aspect of management is core to being able to drive results in creating a great culture and a successful bar. That said, it can be frustrating since you don't always have the answers and the steady drip of questions and need for clarifying information can wear you down. Today we are going to chat about the importance of being the point of clarity and the issue around it.
Related episodes:
- Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat
- Creating a Feedback Culture
- Why it's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
More great episodes on www.keystotheshop.com/episodes
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One of the world's most compelling cafes is also run by one of the world most iconic and trusted espresso machine companies. Located in the lobby of KEXP, the La Marzocco Cafe in Seattle, WA has been operating for almost 4 years. Every 4-6 weeks the cafe is taken over by different world-renowned roasting companies who design a full experience that represents their brand to the guests visiting the shop.
La Marzocco Cafe staff and management are not only tasked with representing the coffee well in each residency, learning new workflows, and information - but they must also be able to communicate the ethos and vision of the resident roaster to the customers who come to experience what that particular roaster has has to offer.
When you are essentially opening a new cafe every month you need systems, communication, and the right people to work in this environment of constant change.
This is what we will be discussing today with the two people who head up this mammoth effort, Program Director, Amy Hattemer and Cafe Manager, Carolyn Reddy. Between the two of them we get an inside look at how the cafe came to be and how it operates such an amazing concept so successfully.
In this conversation you will learn about:
- The genesis of the La Marzocco Cafe
- Their hiring and training process
- Operation of a residency
- The values that drive the cafe
- The importance of feedback
- Managing change seamlessly
Links:
www.lamarzoccousa.com
La Marzocco Cafe on Instagram
LaMarzocco Blog
- Get the bonus audio and transcript! Get on the email list HERE! *
Related Episode:
089 : Andrew Daday, GM of La Marzocco USA : Leadership, Innovation, Service, Heritage
163 : Lessons from Crush the Rush w/ Josh Littlefield
084 : Crushing the Rush
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Creating a new role in a coffee shop is often done when we face the prospect of losing on of our key staff members. We scramble and promise the world if they would just stay. This is missing the mark in several ways and today we will be chatting about a better approach that will actually serve the business and your staff better long term.
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Running a successful business is all about the quality of your decisions. Whether large or small, each one plays a part in shaping the company and either strengthening or compromising it. To help give us a frame-work and foundation for making quality decisions we welcome back to the show, Dave Stachowiak.
Dave is the host and founder of Coaching for Leaders, a top-rated management podcast downloaded 10 million times. With more than 15 years of leadership at Dale Carnegie and a thriving, global leadership academy, he helps leaders discover practical wisdom, build meaningful relationships, and create movement for genuine results.
Dave is also founder of the Coaching for Leaders Academy, a year-long leadership development cohort. The Academy is an intimate group of managers, executives, and business owners who work personally with him and other participant leaders to develop their leadership excellence -- and empower each other through global relationship building.
Among other great things, you will learn about:
- Modeling habits
- The role vision plays
- How to develop courage
- The value of moving
- Community and accountability
Links:
www.coachingforleaders.com
Dave on LinkedIn
Book mentioned by Dave on Vision: Vivid Vision by Cameron Harold
Related past episodes:
059 : Founder Friday! Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee
135 : Staying Motivated in the Midst of Difficulty
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This is a truly scary reality that so many cafe employees have had to deal with. Symptoms of getting bit by these bosses looks like overloaded schedules, no boundaries, burnout, stress, and unhealthy self-sacrifice to "prove" yourself to the company.
Today we are going to chat about this reality and what we can do to avoid it, deal with it , and not to be a blood sucking boss ourselves.
Be careful out there!
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Creating a coffee bar and working in retail all boils down to practicing hospitality. We want to practice this on behalf of our guests and our staff but without taking a critical look at how and who we welcome in, we are not really showing hospitality. We need to look at our thoughts, behaviors, and actions critically in order to grow in any area of life and it is in that spirit that we are going to be exploring diversity today with one of our industry's most accomplished and impactful thought leaders on equity, diversity, and inclusion, Phyllis Johnson!
Phyllis Johnson is the co-founder and president of BD Imports, an award-winning social enterprise focused on responsible sourcing of specialty coffees. The company is the recipient of numerous awards including, Responsible Business of the Year and Diverse Supplier of the Year. A pioneer of the women in coffee empowerment movement, Phyllis led the conversation at the United Nations to secure initial funding and work to support women in coffee initiatives. She has consulted for the United Nations International Trade Centre, leading the formation of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance chapters in east Africa. She has had the pleasure of sharing her perspective and the value of working with women entrepreneurs at the World Trade Organizations and United Nations. Her work has been the subject case studies taught at Oxford University and Harvard Business School.
Phyllis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Harvard Kennedy School, Barbara Jordan Award for Women’s Leadership. Her work was recognized by a 2019 Maggie Award for Roast Magazine article, Strong Black Coffee, Why Aren’t African Americans More Prominent in The Coffee Industry.
Phyllis has served on numerous boards including the Specialty Coffee Association, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance, Coffee Quality Institute, and the National Coffee Association
In this episode we will be encouraged, challenged, and equipped with insights to take the first steps in making diversity a reality in the shop or anywhere we have influence.
Among may things, we discuss:
- The power of self examination
- Getting over the fear found in discussing diversity
- The business benefits of a diverse shop culture
- Avoiding tokenization
- Unconscious bias and blind spots
- First steps to take and the scale of our action
Links:
www.bdimports.com
Phyllis' Instagram
Phyllis LinkedIn
Related Episodes:
159: Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop
116: Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
139: Founder Friday w/ Phil Sipka, Kusanya Cafe
067: 6 Truths about Power
165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
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Today we are talking about scaling and transitions with the founder of Indie Coffee Roasters, Alec Tod!
Founded in 2013 with a home roaster on his back patio, the business has undergone several stages of change and growth over the years to get them to where they are today in their new retail / roasting facility serving the people of Indianapolis, IN.
Today we are not only hearing the story of Indie Coffee Roasters but we are focusing on life in the transition points. What was it like to scale the business and what was the impact it had on the relationships of those in charge of the business.
It has been 7 years of pretty constant growth and change and Alec lays out what contributed to their success in navigating these inflection points behind the scenes.
Some of the things you will learn:
- The role a solid vision plays in helping guide growth
- Finding great partners
- The benefit of taking on investor/partners
- How to decide what to buy and where to change
- Being comfortable with role displacement
- Learning to not let the business run you
- Avoiding burn-out
Links:
www.indiecoffeeroasters.com
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Sometimes we can overestimate how bad the customer is and in the process make ourselves out to be so very righteous. It is a reality in every bar I have seen that we are blind to the double standard for what we accept from the customer vs what we allow for ourselves. Today we talk about this pesky little habit and how we should move forward and away from our tendency to think we are always right.
Related Episodes:
10 Reasons to Love the Customer
Simple, Powerful Hospitality
Self Care 101
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How well do you know your business? I'm not talking about the numbers and the stuff that is accessible through the POS or spreadsheets. I am talking about the life of the business and the people and cultures that make it up. The incredible number of intangibles that create the life of an organization. A lot of us assume we know well enough and instead to being curious and diving deeper into what we have, we search for answers, meaning, insight, etc outside of our organization.
Today we are going to be chatting about 7 things to consider when seeking to have organizational self-knowledge.
Just like having personal self-knowledge is critical to leading others well, organizational self-knowledge is critical to being able to lead your company.
You will learn:
- Why proximity does not equal knowledge
- How we rob our staff of attention
- Attitudes and actions to inspire curiosity
- The key role of feedback
- How owners de-value baristas
- The needed balance to high standards
- Should you go for big or small changes?
Related episodes:
SB : Feedback Culture
80 : Changing Things in the Cafe
179 : What you MUST Know about Employee Culture
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We tend to have a mindset toward systems that breeds a lack of clarity, break downs in communication, and generally an unpleasant and even toxic environment in the work place. Today we are going to chat about viewing systems as a primary form of showing care to staff and where to start in embracing them as such.
Related episodes:
SOPs FTW
The Broken Chair
4 Keys to and Effective Checklist
Building Empathetic Systems
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Coffee is more than just a drink. It can also be a vehicle for change. Ending teen homelessness through coffee is the vision of today's guests, Brian Washington and Averett Barksdale, the founders of , Rugid Grind.
Established in 2019, Rugid Grind is a for-profit coffee provider that, as of now, acts as the sole supporter and funder of The Oneighty Project, a nonprofit dedicated to ending teenage homelessness around the world.
Through rigorous studying of the process and the building of their headquarters in Houston, Texas, they quickly built their branding into one that serves a greater purpose while also serving a quality cup of coffee.
Rugid Grind is dedicated to giving our customers a quality beverage they can count on, but the goal they have committed ourselves to is much bigger than the beverage they serve.
As pastors and frequent leaders of mission trips and outreach projects, Washington and Barksdale have seen the epidemic of teenage homelessness firsthand. Over a million American teenagers will go to sleep tonight without a home, and countless others are teetering on the verge of homelessness.
The direct funding we provide to Oneighty helps them execute their vision of ending teenage homelessness and giving the at-risk teens of the next generation a greater chance at success. By purchasing, leasing, and developing houses and finding caretakers who are fit for roles of mentorship and parental guidance, Oneighty seeks to create safe, nourishing environments for homeless adolescents not only in Houston, but all around the world.
In todays episode you will learn:
- What it took to found Rugid Grind and the vision behind it
- Their coffee learning curve and their adventures in trying to source coffee form Haiti
- What Brian and Averett experienced when introduced to the specialty community.
- How they plan to use coffee to end teen homelessness
- The value of action and having a vision that is bigger than yourself
- How a community can come together to support a worthy goal
- What shops can do to take action in their own towns
Buy Rugid Grind coffee and support their vision!
www.rugidgrind.com
Instagram: @rugidgrindcoffee
Related episodes:
106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe Co-Founder, Phil Sipka
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Bringing a new employee onto the bar is often a hasty effort. Unfortunately, when we do this, we end up paying for it in the long run. Today we chat about the sink or swim mentality of on-boarding and what managers need to practice in order to mitigate the negative consequences such a mentality produces.
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As goes the culture, so goes the company. This is just a fact. All of us want to be able to say that our employee cultures are strong, vibrant, and dedicated to the vision we have set for the company. Unfortunately though, it aint that easy.
Today we are addressing this with what I believe may be the most powerful series of insights you’ve ever heard on employee culture and how to work for and with it to amazing success.
I am so pleased to be talking with the amazing, Stan Slap, author of one of my most recommended books, “Under the Hood : Fire up and Fine-tune your Employee Culture”
Stan is the founder and CEO of SLAP company and has spent the last 3 decades specializing in achieving fierce support from manager, employee and customer cultures. They believe within each of these groups there is one problem that has the biggest impact on the enterprise and one solution that is most valuable, coveted and elusive. The SLAP company has cracked the code on these problems and their solutions are highest rated in many of the world's highest rated companies. They are currently working in 44 countries countries and ahave achieved amazing results in employee culture at companies like Oracle, CNN, Timewarner, Google, Starbucks, eBay, Viacom, and Microsoft among many others.
I don’t know of a more potent example of what good and bad employee cultural engagement than the elbow-to-elbow laboratory that is the coffee bar. This episode is absolutely a game changer and foundational listening if you want to create and lead an amazing employee culture.
In this episode you will learn about:
- 4 of the "7 Deadly Sins of Cultural Engagement"
- How culture is formed and what it cares about
- Best practices for engaging and guiding a culture
- How do we fail our employees?
- Secrets to scaling culture
- How to create “cultural legends”
- Why you cannot coax a culture into giving you what you want
- Tactics for true communication
- How do customers factor into your employee culture?
There is honestly so much more here and I implore you to get the book "Under the Hood", listen to this episode several times, take notes, and see how big of an impact these insights have on your company.
Links:
www.slapcompany.com
Remember to sign up to be put on the Keys to the Shop email list to get weekly resources, bonus audio from todays guest, transcripts, and more. Just click HERE to sign up!
Related Episodes:
083: 6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth
6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth
018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
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There are many qualities that contribute to being a solid professional in the coffee shop. Today we are going to focus on two particular qualities that are very critical to get right in the beginning and can set you up for success in the future. Please share this and the related episodes below with your barista staff!
Related episodes:
ep14: A Barista's Guide to Advancing
ep31: Essential Advice for New Baristas
ep56: The Sleepwalking Barista
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We all know that training is one of the most critical skills to master in the professional coffee world. Entire careers are made or broken by the influence of a great or a terrible training experience. It stands to reason then that we would go out of our way to find the best examples of training done right and learn from their sucCess in helping others grow their skills. Today that is exactly what we are doing as we talk with the amazing, Emma Haines of London School of Coffee and Caffeina Consulting. Emma is a SCA AST Barista Skills, Sensory & Brewing and has worked in hospitality and catering training for the last twelve years.
For the last eight years, she has focused on coffee training, in particular specialty coffee training and how to incorporate specialty elements into commercial environments. She works all over Europe and beyond and is a resident trainer at London School of Coffee.She has a strong passion for inclusivity, as reflected in her role on the SCA Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity Taskforce.
Emma’s delivery of training ensures that the ability to grow to love coffee and turn it into a passion is available to all, regardless of background.
The heart of what drives Emma is summed up in how she describes her role as trainer, "Facilitating a students learning journey" and in this conversation you will be given many insight into how you can better facilitate your students learning journey.
I am so excited to share this interview with you all!
We discuss:
- Emma's unique road to training
- Her philosophy and approach
- Methods for facilitating true learning
- Being confident and caring
- Providing a safe place for questions
- How to encourage learning vs rote memorization
- How to balance what people want vs what they really need
- Managing outcomes
Links:
www.londonschoolofcoffee.com
www.caffeinaconsulting.com
Related Episodes:
Training Masterclass w/ Gwylim Davies
Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak
Training Principles for Specialty Coffee w/ Anne Nylander
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Coffee! Beer! Founder Friday! Today we get to talk with founder and owner of Tap Room Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, GA. Jonathan founded Tap Room in 2014 and since then has seen great success creating amazing coffee and beer experiences for both his staff and customers.
As an Atlanta native he and the shop have been embraced by the community very well and have a deep passion to serve that community with all they have.
In addition to running Tap Room, Jonathan serves as a coach and consultant for entrepreneurs and coffee startups. He has a passion for genuine personal connection and helping others discover and fulfill their life’s calling. As you will see in this interview, Jonathan strives to maintain a healthy balance between business, being involved in the community and church, and living a joy-filled life with his wife and four kids.
This conversation dives into the story of what led Jonathan to start Tap Room and the details of operating the shop, recent expansion, balancing life and work, and managing all the relationships and responsibilities that come with owning your own coffee retail business.
In our conversation we cover:
- Risk and business relationships
- Customer retention
- Hospitality to staff
- Building relationships
- Balancing life and entrepreneurship
- Funding the shop
- Different set up and build out for beer and coffee
- Advice to other coffee business people
Don't sleep on this interview! It is sure to inspire, inform, and get you thinking about ways you too can create more margin for life amidst work while still having excellence in you shop.
Links:
- www.taproomcoffee.com
- Taproom on Instagram
- Sprudge Feature on Ground Floor Coffee
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There is a little problem we need to talk about that may not seem like a biggie but can wear away at morale and breed needless frustration. The bar area can sometimes attract a variety of staff members who are not on shift or are from other departments. Over time the bar starts to be treated as a pantry or lounge and not a professional work environment. Today we are chatting about this devolutionary phenomenon and some solutions to aid in developing respect for the bar and the people who are tasked with its upkeep.
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We will always have our emotions with us at work. In the fast-paced customer facing work of coffee retail we can cycle through a whole host of emotions in just one shift and not all of them are helpful to the situations we find ourselves in. One way we have tried to deal with it is by denying our emotions and detaching. Today's guest is going to challenge us to become emotion scientists and embrace the emotions we have at work to harness them for both great business outcomes and our over-all health as we engage in daily emotional labor.
I am so pleased to welcome to the show, Andrea Hoban! Andrea is Co-Founder and head of learning at Oji Life Lab, and has more than twenty years of experience in leading large teams and building business. She is a certified executive coach and leadership development practitioner who has helped hundreds of professionals learn to harness their emotions to achieve their goals. At Oji, she is reimagining the way we learn skills like emotional intelligence to directly impact the quality of our lives.
I believe this episode is one of the most important ones you can listen to. Emotional intelligence has such a profound impact on not only our careers and personal lives, but on those we lead and the people we serve. If we want strong people, teams, and businesses then harnessing our emotions at work is the first step in that direction.
In this episode you will learn about:
- The correlation between emotions and achieving business outcomes
- How the leaders emotions impact the company
- How to use negative me potions for good
- Mood regulation
- Increasing self-awareness
- Noticing blindspots and biases
- Healthy approaches to emotional labor and much more!
Links:
www.ojilifelab.com
Andrea Hoban on LinkedIn
Related Episodes:
Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
Self Care 101
Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Joe Sanok
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When it comes how we divide our attention and energy we can tend to skew to one side or another. This leaves us with too much focus on one area and not enough in another which ultimately makes a sustainable coffee job impossible.
Today on Shift Break we are going to talk about the importance of recognizing the need for balance and how to achieve it on shift for a great career.
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When the fridge goes down, the ice machine is not making ice, and the display case is making weird sounds...it's time to call a tech ASAP! Well that is exactly what we did in this episode. Today we get to talk to master refrigeration technician, Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Dept.
The point of this conversation today is to give you the knowledge and tools you need to properly care for the other pieces of non-coffee equipment that keep our businesses running well.
Not many of us take measures to install, use, and maintain our refrigeration equipment properly and as a result we end up out of commission and paying huge bills. This can all be avoided and Luke is here to tell us how!
Be sure and subscribe and share this episode with a friend!
LINKS:
The Maintenance Department
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Bar backing is one of the most important roles in the cafe. Either as a dedicated position or as a set of responsibilities shared, when it is embraced and executed well, it makes the whole shift successful.
Today we chat about this critical part of the bar and some mindsets and best practices for bringing it into focus and working as a bar back with joy and pride.
How do you decide which opportunity for expansion is good and which one is not for you? If you are in business you will get offers to open a location in many different contexts but when you are knee deep in operating your first store it can be challenging to see the next step clearly.
Today we are getting the perspective of one entrepreneur who is expanding to a second location within the first year of opening his first shop. Kyle Wells is the co-owner of Torpedo Coffee in Denver, CO and a past Founder Friday guest. I wanted to bring Kyle back to give us insight into his own process of accessing opportunities and making the decision to say yes to one of many the have been made since opening.
Kyle and his wife Falene are are true entrepreneurs and Kyle communicates very clearly and with a balanced perspective about that life and in this interview he lays out a lot of very useful information that you can use to help you on your own journey
In the conversation you will learn:
- How this opportunity won Kyle over
- The signs that you are ready to say yes to expanding
- How to prepare yourself for the added responsibility
- How to prepare you team and invest into the current culture
- The importance of delegation, systems, and trust
- The importance of working "on" your business not "in" it
- Kyles advice for how to assess opportunity
Links:
@Torpedocoffee
@theclosequarters
www.torpedocoffee.com
Founder Friday w/ Kyle Wells "Before and After"
Need consulting or training? Lets talk!
chris@keystotheshop.com
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Customers impression of your business is going to be filtered through the lens of their past experiences in coffee. Unfortunately that is too often a bad thing and the memory of bad experiences far outlasts the memory of a good one.
Today we chat about the important role we play in delivering positive experiences to re-write the script for our customers and their default view of coffee and service work in general.
For consulting and training contact : Chris@keystotheshop.com
Or visit: www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
Related Episodes:
10 Reasons to Love the Customer
Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
Why YOU are Key
To be successful in retail coffee today you need to be able to give your time and attention to the things that will truly make a difference. The standards for what makes a truly great and sustainable shop is as high as it has ever been.
Today we are going to be talking about five areas that are critical for you to focus on in today's retail coffee industry. I cannot tell you how strongly I feel about the importance of these points as I have seen many shops either fail or succeed based on their omission or adoption of them.
Please take the time after listening to reflect on your situation and see how you can take steps to improve in these five areas:
- Hospitality as Priority
- Accessibility
- Genuine on-line presence
- Customer Education to Equip
- Quality Leadership and Accountability
In this episode you will learn:
- The place of hospitality in a shop to fuel success
- Why quality coffee is not enough
- The next level of customer education
- Managing expectations and living values on-line
- The critical state of leadership in shops and what to do about it
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Related episodes:
- Social Media 101
- 6 Truths About Power
- Good Authority
- Instant Specialty Coffee
- Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes
- 10 Steps to Being a People First Leader
It is easy to be so focused on comparing yourself and your business to what you see in the industry that you end up ignoring your customers and the community your shop serves. Today we are chatting about this all to common mentality and what it looks like to be put the priority on serving your actual customers.
This is absolutely critical! One of cornerstones of running a coffee bar is the ability to stay in tune with the performance of the people that work in it.
Having a system for tracking behavior that is either praise worthy or in need of correction is a must. Many shops that just shoot from the hip when it comes to correction or affirmation end up seeing their best people frustrated and their problem people hide out too long in the ranks, spreading toxicity to the others.
Today we are going to talk about some ideas and steps you can take to make tracking a performance a reality in your cafe so you can have a vibrant and thriving team the knows that the leaders are paying attention and are there to facilitate their success.
In this episode you will learn:
- The importance of tracking performance
- How to prepare yourself to launch a system and actually stick to it.
- Ideas for tracking and rewarding praise worthy behavior
- A step by step process for corrective action
- The cultural hazards of correction applied poorly
- Your role as a coach in the corrective process
- The importance of having a balanced view of your staff
Links to related episodes:
The Affirmation Vacuum
Why its OK to be the Boss
Interested in consultation or training for your coffee business? Reach out and lets have a conversation! Reach out!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
The Indian specialty coffee market is growing by leaps and bounds. Today's guests Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana and their company, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, are part of the reason why Indian people are switching from instant and drink more amazing Indian coffee at home and in cafes.
From humble beginnings working shoulder-to-shoulder packaging their roasted coffee in a home's 2 spare rooms - to now 25 cafes, over 300 staff, and partnerships with over 25 Indian coffee estates, Matt and Namrata have been able to build an incredible business that makes Indian coffee the star, creates amazing coffee professionals pouring resources and training into their staff, and successfully introduces the average Indian coffee consumer to the wonders of specialty coffee grown in their own backyard.
I had such a great time talking with Matt and Namrata, I know you will find this to be inspirational especially if you are a coffee pro or business owner in a producing country.
In this episode you will learn about:
- The specialty landscape in India
- How Blue Tokai started, scaled, and structure their business
- The challenges of operating in a producing country
- How they overcame the hurdles and won the trust of the farmers
- The value of connecting with your customers on their level
- How blue Tokai has empowered their female staff
- What role presence and communication plays in breaking through harmful social norms
- What Blue Tokai does to continually develop their quality as they grow
LINKS:
WWW.BLUETOKAICOFFEE.COM
More about Matt and Namrata:
Namrata Asthana - Co-Founder Namrata graduated from Vanderbilt University with a major in Psychology and a minor in
Anthropology. After working in design in Chicago, she moved to New Delhi to work with the
American India Foundation where she managed the Service Corps Fellowship (now the Clinton
Foundation Fellowship) for three years. Namrata then worked with PepsiCo India as the
Communications Manager for four years and moved onto working as Communications Director
for the Centre of Development Finance at the Institute of Finance Management and Research. In
addition to this, Namrata has also worked with Alliance India and has authored a book on
migration and education for the American India Foundation's Learning and Migration
Programme. In 2012, she co-founded Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters with her husband, Matt
Chitharanjan.
Matt Chitharanjan – Co-Founder
Matt graduated from NYU's Stern School of Business with a B.S. in finance in 2003. He spent a
number of years working in economic research and real estate investing for a boutique consulting
firm and hedge fund in Berkeley, California before pursuing an M.A. in economics from the
University of British Colombia. After graduating in 2008, he spent several years working on
impact evaluation in international development in Jordan and the U.S. before moving to India in
2011 to work on SME access to finance research with IFMR. In 2012, he decided to put his past
roasting experience to good use by starting Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters with his wife, Namrata Asthana. www.keystotheshop.com/bluetokai
Which one best describes how staff react to your presence in the cafe? The problem is that, no matter what, management will always be seen in a different light than a barista. The authority managers carry creates a certain tension and that tension either will lead to people fearing you, or being inspired by you. Today we will chat about embracing your authority, breaking down needless tension, and investing in your staff to create a culture that sees your authority in positive light and avoids the all to common fear based authority that drive people from your business.
Related Episode:
6 Truths About Power
This episode was inspired by a talk I gave to the wonderful retail managers of Phoenix Coffee. If you want me to come to your business for training/ workshops./ or speaking contact me here: Chris@keystotheshop.com
What you have on your shelf is of the utmost importance. Tracking it and evaluating its performance is key to being able to make good decisions that will increase the health of your business. Unfortunately we in coffee tend to rely on either our own personal knowledge of what we can see on our shelves or on very rudimentary systems that don't give us enough information. Today we are going to be exploring the importance of accurate counting and tracking of your stores inventory with special guests Pierre-Francois Rio and Albert Amar of SwiftCount.
Swiftcount is a cloud-based inventory management solution suitable for small to midsize businesses in a variety of industries. It has been designed to make taking inventory simple, accurate, and easy to manage. Especially nice is the reporting it gives you on the back-end to help you track the flow of inventory, profitability, performance, and more.
Albert and Pierre take us through why the company was formed and detail a ton of examples, mindsets, and actionable solutions we can take to get a hold of our inventory which is life blood of our shops.
I hope you take notes and apply what is presented today because the importance of this aspect of our businesses cannot be over-stated!
In this episode you will learn:
- What inventory tracking does for your businesses' cost of goods and cash flow
- Why we tend to rely on faulty ways of measuring this important area of business.
- Examples of businesses that have seen success from proper inventory management
- How SwiftCount works
- The steps we can take to get a hold of our inventory today
- The mindset to infuse into yourself and your culture so that these practices last well into the future.
LINKS:
WWW.SWIFTCOUNT.COM
Need consulting of training for your coffee business? Reach out!
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
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www.prima-coffee.com
www.pacificfoods.com
Being self-aware is over-rated. Why? Because without action following it up, self-awareness becomes useless and quickly creates a situation where we seek scoring status points for being aware and then never do anything about it the thing we are aware of. In short, our self-awareness becomes a vanity virtue and we, and those we lead, suffer for it.
Today we chat about this problem and what actions we can take to take action and complete the self-awareness journey.
The design of your shop communicates the level of care you have for your customer and the community. Crafting the details of your space to evoke a sense of connection to place and a feeling of hospitality that matches the quality is absolutely critical. Today we are going to learn about the specific physical and social dynamics that guests look for in a coffee shop with special guest, Dr. Lisa Waxman!
Dr. Lisa Waxman, Ph.D. is an award winning professor and chair of the Interior Architecture + Design department at Florida State University. Her research includes topics related to the design of spaces that foster community, sustainable design, and design for special populations. She also serves on the board of directors for the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA).
Dr. Waxman has many scholarly and creative works to her name but we will be focused on one particular study "The Coffee Shop: Social and Physical factors Influencing Place Attachment"
In this study we learn of the 5 design considerations that customers most appreciate as well as specific social dynamics that all together influence whether or not a customer will feel a special attachment to the shop, which in turn inspires return business!
We dive into this study in today's interview and hit on several other great points to consider when you approach the design of your space.
I am truly excited for this episode and the impact it can have on the landscape of specialty coffee retail.
LINKS:
"The Coffee Shop: Social and Physical factors Influencing Place Attachment"
Article: https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/coffee-shops-build-employee-loyalty-according-to-science.html
Dr. Waxman's Full Bio
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WWW.PRIMA-COFFEE.COM
www.pacificfoods.com
We communicate either care or apathy depending on how we conduct ourselves on the bar. The way we expertly handle all the work necessary to provide a great experience in the cafe is by nurturing a sense of urgency in all we do. This means the difference between run of the mill, low expectation experiences - and amazing service and quality that wins customers and gives life to your work.
Today we are chatting about urgency and the critical role it plays for you and your business.
Inventory & Ordering Magic with ODEKO!
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
www.urnex.com
Dialing in your coffee can be hit or miss. There are so many factors to consider for the extremely large variety of coffees we are tasked with brewing. Methods, recipes, and philosophies abound yet still the complexity of brewing remains a barrier to getting the best from your coffee. That is the problem that todays guest, 2013 WBC Champ, Pete Licata has set out to solve in his new book, "How to get the Best from your Coffee".
In the book Pete identifies and expounds on 4 fundamentals in brewing: Water, Device & Filter, Grinding, and Variables. He takes readers through his process of identifying key practices and insights into each of those categories that will yield a predictably great cup every time, whether or not you are familiar with that coffee.
In this conversation you will learn:
- How to choose temperature based on coffees density
- Which material is best for brewing
- What about our water makes a coffee shine?
- Is grind uniformity truly the best for brewing?
- The importance of questioning and curiosity
- Why our obsession with celebrity is regressive
- So much more!
Go get this book:
"How to get the Best from your Coffee"
www.licatacoffeeconsultants.com
When a customer comes into our bar they expect that they will be taken care of and the best cafes strive to get the details of the guests visit right. Over time though, there is a migration away from the details. The customer begins to be familiar and with that familiarity there is a falling off of the vigilance and attention to detail that was what made them a customer in the first place.
Today we chat about this phenomenon and how we can re center our service to our best customers so they continue to feel cared for.
Inventory & Ordering Magic with ODEKO!
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
www.urnex.com
The most confusing moments in the day are when the shifts switch. People finishing tasks, gathering items to leave, and others coming in tying to get caught up to speed, get situated, and find their place. It can get chaotic and customers are often left wondering which one of the haired people behind the bar is going to notice that thy are waiting to be served. It rarely goes very well
Unless of course, you have a plan.
That is exactly what we are going to talk about today in this episode. With just a little bit of intentionality and communication we can take what is usually a tangled mess and straighten it out to something that sets up the staff for success and the customer for a good experience even if they do happen to show up during the switching of the shifts.
Links to related episodes:
Working Clean(Shift Break)
4 Keys to an Effective Checklist(Shift Break)
SOPs FTW
You Need SOPs (Shift Break)
From the Founder Friday vault we are diving into the subject of how to care for your staff, staff culture, and setting up yourself and your people for success with amazing past guests Lauren Crabbe of Andytown Coffee Roasters San Fransisco, Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe and Beyu Blu,Durham, NC -Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee Company NYC, and Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Roasters in Rochester, NY.
I have pulled out some clips from each of these amazing founder's episodes that will address this subject.
We have now had 30 conversations with some amazing founders here on the show and one of the things they all have in common is that the care for their people is of primary importance. In fact, the cornerstone of the most successful shops is that they are in constant, substantive conversation with their staff about their needs and the needs of the shop as they experience it.
I hope will inspire you to make the care for your staff a tangible and consistent foundation of your leadership and business.
LINKS:
Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe of Andytown Coffee Roasters
www.andytowncoffeesf.com
Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe / Beyu Blu
www.beyucaffe.com
Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee Company NYC
www.joecoffeecompany.com
Founder Friday w/ Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Roasters
www.joebeanroasters.com
Sometimes it seems like everything is crashing down around you. You break a cup, your co-workers are annoying you, customers are frustrating, you're tired, you can sense that your are 2 seconds away from biting someone's head off, and it's only 8am!
In short you feel like you're about to lose it.
We have all been there. The question is, how do we get ourselves out? How do we overcome this thing that threatens to overcome us?
Today we chat about some powerful things to do to reclaim emotional control of this familiar situation and I share a bit about my personal struggle with anxiety, and how the tools detailed in this episode have helped both on the bar and in life.
Inventory Magic with ODEKO!
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
www.urnex.com
When we listen, we tend to stay on the surface of what is being said but rarely ever venture into the deeper meaning of what is being communicated. This means we enter into dialogue with staff and customers only hearing a fraction of what can be perceived and as a result our personal and business relationships fall short of their potential.
Today we are going to take our listening skills to the next level and learn about the art of "Deep Listening" with our guest, Oscar Trimboli.
Oscar is an internationally recognized coach, mentors and speaker who spent over ten years with Microsoft Office leading the Australian division to great success. He created extraordinary opportunities for through the "Microsoft Protege" program that gave young professionals in the company access to mentors and coaching.
Oscar is also the author of the new book "Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words". In this book Oscar codifies into a very intuitive and easy to understand format the art of becoming and taking on the practice of being a Deep Listener. It is essentially a field guide that will transform you from the inside out and take your communication skills to a level that honors and explores the depth of each conversation you have.
In this conversation you will learn:
- The 125/400 rule
- How we miss each other in conversation
- Overcoming distraction
- The cost of not listening
- Simple actions to change of your physical state to prepare for listening
- What we gain from deep listening
- Tactics for fixing the way we listen
- Why listening to yourself is the first step
- The 5 levels of listening
- The 4 villains fo listening
Please do yourself and everyone around you a huge favor by visiting Oscar's website:
www.oscartrimboli.com
Download the 5 Levels of Listening and buy the book:
Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words
Here are some related episodes:
Shift Break: Feedback Culture
Solving Co-Worker Conflict
Confidence in Conflict
Shift Break: The One-on-One
This phrase is rarely heard in the cafe, especially not from leaders. Too many shop cultures are void of genuine and humble apologies as those with authority wrongly suppose that doing so would compromise their position. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today we will chat about the power of a good, heart felt apology, and three do when measures to take if you want it to make a difference.
This is such an important leadership skill and one that, if practiced well, can stop a huge number of dysfunctions from springing up further down the road.
Manage your inventory with ODEKO!
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
www.urnex.com
For so many people cold brew is the first step into the world of specialty coffee. In order to truly serve our customers well we need to make sure that, when we offer cold brew, we do it in a way that is engaging, fun, relatable, and helps showcase to them the vast possibilities of specialty coffee. Well, today we get the privilege to talk with the someone who has spent year exploring, tasting, and talking to creators of some of the best cold brew out there.
Rachel Dillon is the host of "The Cold Brew Chick" podcast. A show that takes a deep dive into the multi-faceted world of cold brew and the story of those who produce it. Today she sits down with us and gives us 6 tips on how how we can level-up our cold brew game from all that she has learned from her own conversations and experiences as the ultimate cold brew consumer
You will learn about:
- Why Nitro may not be for you
- What immersion cold brews can offer
- The power of samples
- Flash chill vs cold brew
- The importance of integrity in marletign
- How to stand out when you bottle your cold brew
- Helpful and customer focused mentalities toward cod brew
Links:
www.coldbrewchick.com
Related episodes:
Consumer Revolution
Decoding Decaf
10 Reasons to Love the Customer
Huge problems come up for staff and customers when we are not on top of the may unique situations that spring up on the bar. In spite of trying to be preemptive and plan for all possible scenarios you will have baristas who make drinks differently, customers who are not charged for things they should be charged for, and many other types of exceptions that will be made on the bar without your knowledge. Customers end up frustrated at inconsistency and baristas end up confused.
Today we are chatting about actions you can take to manage these exceptions now before they develop into toxic traditions later.
Manage your inventory with ODEKO!
odeko.com/keystotheshop
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
www.urnex.com
There is no better feeling than when the cafe gets busy, the pressure is on, and you and your fellow baristas dig deep, communicate well, get orders out quickly, accurately, and keep the bar clean in the process. You just crushed it!
This is the idea behind La Marzocco USA's amazing team based competition, Crush the Rush. A competition who's aim is to re-create a rush in a cafe under but with even more pressure than normal and to test team's ability to handle that pressure with professionalism and grace.
Today we get to talk to the one and only, Josh Littlefield, Events Manager for La Marzocco USA & the man spearheading Crush the Rush and its 2nd country wide tour.
In our discussion we chat about the competition's creation, goals, format, and the lessons we can learn from the both the mistakes and successes of the many teams that have all competed in Crush the Rush.
You will learn about:
- Grace under pressure
- Recovery from mistakes
- Accuracy and speed
- Good communication when it counts
- Handling unforseen challenges
- The importance of cleanliness and organization
Be sure and follow the link below to find more info about signing up for Crush the Rush!
LINKS:
La Marzocco USA Instagram
La Marzocco USA Blog
Listen to these related KTTS Episodes:
Crushing the Rush
Drink Drills!
Working Clean
Order out of Chaos
Caring for staff is one of the main functions of leadership. Unfortunately, the reality experienced by baristas the world over is that of a dysfunctional, ambivalent, sometimes toxic, or even abusive culture that disregards the welfare and voice of the employee and safe guards the disfunction of the system and the people who run it. Today we chat about how to approach this problem in a proactive way and the mindsets that will put you on the right path for properly care for the people who care for the shop.
Links:
For more info and stories from the group of baristas that inspired this Shift Break please follow:
@coffeeatlarge on Instagram
Below are curated links to past episodes that will act as a primer for being a great leader in the cafe:
#67 : 6 Truths About Power
#121 Working From Your Strengths
#4 Leadership in the Cafe :10 steps to being a People First Leader
#109 Leadership Abandonment Syndrome
#13 Leadership and Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia
#105 Leadership and Management Masterclass w/ Maria Cleavelend
#28 Why It's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
#55 Personal Growth and Development w/ Jared Truby
#18 Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
#80 Changing Things in the Cafe
Shift Breaks:
Don't You Forget About Me
Would You Hire You?
Self-Betrayal and the Art of Action
People Not Objects
Building Empathetic Systems
Please Clarify
Acceptance of Dysfunction
The Affirmation Vacuum
Toxic Vulnerability
The One-on-One
Manager Top 3
The sustainability of the barista profession is a subject that needs to be talked about more. Trouble is that we have accepted that the kind of turn-over we see within the ranks of baristas is how it will always be and cannot be helped. In truth, much of what contributes to a barista leaving their job or leaving coffee is entirely preventable by focusing on "Baristastainability"
My guest today, Jenna Gotthelf, is an 8 years specialty coffee veteran and educator with Counter Culture Coffee. Jenna spearheaded this critical professional development project that is based on the results of a globally circulated survey of owners, managers, and baristas.
The survey asks professionals about their training, being valued at work, human resources, compensation, working conditions, and other very pointed questions that shed light on some root causes for employee turn-over and professional burn-out.
In this conversation we will be talking with Jenna about some of the results of the survey and what kinds of actions and steps can be taken to correct course and build a more sustainable barista profession that in turn builds a stronger retail coffee industry.
This is important work and I am so glad for Jenna taking this on!
LINKS:
The presentation "Baristastainability" will be available at the link below soon. Stay tuned!
www.counterculturecoffee.com/learn
Drive-Thru coffee stands play a huge part in spreading the good word of specialty coffee. The convenience they offer makes both consuming coffee and getting into the business of coffee more accessible. Today on Founder Friday we are talking with a real drive-thru success story, Jasmine Diedrich Wilson, Owner of the Diedrich Espresso!
Jasmine started the company at 19 years old and has been at it for eight years. She started with two stands and now has a whopping sixteen. This is an all women owned and run organization that not only serves great coffee and hospitality to their customers but also gives back the their community every chance they get.
Jasmine is a wonderful business woman who, in the beginning, learned a lot of hard lessons and has since developed an inspirational skill for leadership, management, and the know how to run a multi-site coffee business.
We will learn about:
- Jasmine's story and the evolution of Diedrich Espresso
- Leading by empowering others
- Overcoming your past leadership mistakes
- Dealing with criticism for how you got your starting capital
- Elements of a successful drive through
- Curating the culture across multiple locations
- Ideal drive-thru menu
- Achieving hospitality in a drive-thru
- What are the financial standards for determining staffing levels?
- Choosing locations
ENJOY!
Links:
WWW.DIEDRICHESPRESSO.COM
As your competition increases, standing out becomes more of a struggle. We chase ways to be unique and often we grab hold of trends, products, and concepts that end up looking more like desperation than authentic expressions of your business and brands. Today we chat about the fact that differentiation, the kind that matters most, comes with time and is well worth waiting for.
_______________________
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The best cleaner for your coffee equipment:
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Amazing AI purchasing agent that predicts, fulfills, and manages your shop inventory!
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Managing money can be super stressful. This is especially true when you own and operate a coffee shop, the margins are thin, and there seems to be more going out than coming in. To help us work through our approach to our money we are talking with the Emmy Award nominated and Gracie Award winning financial analyst for CBS News, Jill Schlesinger!
Jill is the host of the "Jill on the Money Podcast" of the nationally syndicated radio show, "Jill on the Money" which one the 2018 Gracie Award for best national talk show. Jill appears on CBS radio stations all over the country and covers the topics of economy, markets, investing, and all things financial. She translates complicated business and economic news into understandable relatable topics for everyday people.
Jill is also the author of the new book, "The Dumb Things Smart people do with Their Money" where she reveals 13 costly mistake we are likely making right now with our money and how much of what causes us to make these mistakes are emotional blindspots related to our mindset on toward money.
We dive into this idea and more in this episode as Jill details smart and stable ways to approach money. The result is a conversation that will definitely set you on the a course for a more peaceful relationship with your finances.
In this conversation you will learn about:
- Developing a balanced mindset toward money
- Achieving and enjoying your goals
- What mistakes small biz owners make
- Why it’s important to pay yourself
- Developing endurance as an entrepreneur
- Who to take advice from
- A framework for making decisions
- Good practices once you are profitable
- Investing in your employees and business
- Creating an environment consistent with your values
- Setting the financial tone in your business
LINKS:
www.jillonmoney.com
Coffee is too cheap, and we all want customers to pay more for specialty coffee. How can we more effectively shift customers over to paying more, is it through higher quality or better experiences? Today we chat about why elevation of the customer experience is the ultimate leveraging tool for creating sustainable value and ultimately will be what determines whether people will consistently pay more.
What we think and how we act are inextricably linked. In the world of hospitality how our views and assumption about others influences everything form how we serve customers -to who we promote to leadership positions in the cafe. A large part of what contributes to our behavior is actually under the radar and as such goes unaddressed. Today we making a conscious effort to tackle and talk about unconscious bias w/ special guest , Lauren Lathrop of Mill City Roasters!
Lauren works as part of the education team at Mill City Roasters in Minneapolis, where she recently moved after 10 years in Portland, OR. She is an Authorized SCA Trainer, a Head Judge for the United States Barista Championship, and a certified judge for both the World Barista and World Brewers Cup Competitions. She has worked in the coffee industry for over 12 years as a barista, assistant manager, and retail coffee educator. She has also competed in Barista Competitions, earning a spot in the finals at the 2012 Northwest Regional Barista Competition. She now serves as Vice Chair for the US Barista Competitions Committee and has developed a number of new training programs for competitions, including an Unconscious Bias Training for Judges.
In todays episode you will learn about:
- The evolution of the Unconscious Bias Training and its impact on the competitions
- Our tendencies for bias in customer serve and in the shop
- Why unconscious bias is not intrinsically bad
- What can do to address it personally
- What we can do to address it systemically
- Helpful mindsets to adopt in the journey to explore unconsious bias
LINKS:
www.millcityroasters.com
Lauren's email: Lauren@millcityroasters.com
Everyday we have the opportunity to act on thoughts we have that would benefit others and never follow through. There is a whole world of encouragement lying dormant inside each of us that could greatly contribute to harmony within the bar and ease the relational tension that is such so prevalent in cafes around the world.
Today we discuss the concept of self-betrayal and how not engaging in it can bring everyone to a higher level.
www.keystotheshop.com
chris@keystotheshop.com
Being a manager in coffee ain't easy. There is no end to the number of different issues vying for your attention on any given day and it can seem like you are constantly trying to keep your head above water. Managers are the most important leaders in specialty retail and in order to do our best work we need to learn from the example of others. Today get to learn from the experiences of someone who has seen great success in cafe management, Jon Felix Lund.
Jon has been in coffee for close to 15 years and Currently VP Of Operations for Coava Coffee Roasters in Portland, OR where he has spent the last 6 years. He started as a trainer and quickly moved into management from there.
With an emphasis on developing his team, constantly improving communication, and deftly planning for the future the things that he will need to succeed, Jon is the perfect person to help us learn in this management masterclass
Some of the things you will learn:
- Relying on your team
- Delegating responsibly
- Focusing your time
- Good communication
- Planning out your time
- Coddling vs challenging staff
- Vulnerability as a manager
- Finding system solutions. Embracing confrontation
- Advancing as a barista
Where ever you are in your journey as a manager you are sure to get something useful and empowering from this conversation.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
www.coavacoffee.com
www.thegreatnorthpdx.com
Have questions or comments? Want training or consultation?
chris@keystotheshop.com
www.keystotheshop.com
Sometimes we can give ourselves a pass when it comes to being the type of professional that we want employees to be. Practicing self-awareness is tricky when the work continually distracts you but it is necessary in order to not become a hypocrite at work. Today we talk about why it is important to ask yourself this question and what to do once you have answered.
The beautiful thing about coffee is getting to explore the stories of all the wonderful individuals who make up the specialty community. Today we we do just that.
In this series of four short interviews from the show floor at Coffee Fest Indianapolis we get to sit down with Stephen Garcia, General Manager at Commissary Barber & Barista, Indianapolis, IN / Andy and Sarah Hassler, Owners of Blue Mind Roasting, Indianapolis, IN / Lizath Zorrilla, Co-Owner of La Finca Coffee House, St. Francis, WI / Natassa Contini, Owner of the nations first dog cafe, Chateau Le Woof in Astoria, NY
As we dive into their stories we get to hear about the pressures of ownership, self-care, team management, pursuing opportunities operating a hybrid model cafe, delegation, confronting racial bias in the shop, growing a business sustainably, managing power dynamics between boss and employee, and a whole heck of a lot more.
I hope you enjoy getting to know these folks. I definitely think you will find something that will encourage, inspire, or equip you for the road ahead no matter where you are in your coffee journey.
LINKS:
- Commissary Barber & Barista
- Commissary IG
- Blue Mind Roasting
- Blue Mind IG
- La Finca Coffee House
- La Finca IG
- Chateau Le Woof
- Chateau Le Woof IG
WWW.COFFEEFEST.COM
Need consulting or training for your shop? Lets talk!
chris@keystotheshop.com
“Like walking into your granny’s kitchen.”
That’s the goal Andytown Coffee Roasters founders Lauren Crabbe and Michael McCrory have for what people experience when they walk into their shops in the Outer Sunset of San Fransisco.
Starting as a single 600 sq ft shop, Andytown currently employs 49 people over 5 locations— four public-facing coffee shops and one private office cafe. All pastry, baking and coffee roasting is done in-house and they have a thriving wholesale business as well.
Today we get the honor of sitting down with co-founder, Lauren Crabbe to hear a detailed account of the founding, evolution, and the values that drive Andytown Coffee Roasters. This is sure to inspire!
In this episode you will learn about:
- The challenges and pleasant surprises that arose when Lauren and Michael first opened.
- The value of starting small
- Connecting with customers
- Delivering genuine hospitality even when busy
- The importance of delegation
- How they have grown their business
- Lauren's metrics for business success
Links:
WWW.ANDYTOWNCOFFEESF.COM
Tracking staff performance can be difficult when you are putting out fires and being pulled in a thousand different directions. Things fall through the cracks and that means we miss growth opportunities with staff who end up feeling forgotten about and not noticed. Today we talk about this issue and how to take action so you can track progress and deliver specific and meaningful feedback that will bring clarity for yourself as well.
Links:
Shift Break: Leadership Abandonment Syndrome
Do you need help in your shop? Reach out!
chris@keystotheshop.com
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
Less Bitter, More Glitter. That is one of the mottos for Glitter Cat Barista, a new barista competition training program designed to give marginalized and underrepresented communities the resources to shine on the competition stage and address the problem of representation in the USBC.
In it's first year Glitter Cat has made substantial impact on the diversity seen in barista competitions with four of the ten participants advance from qualifiers to nationals where two first time competitors made it to semifinals and one third-year competitor made it to finals.
All of this is the brainchild of today's guest, T. Ben Fischer.
T. Ben is a 6 year coffee industry veteran and has placed 2nd and 3rd in the USBC (2018, 2019) He is currently based in New York City as a Coffee and Retail Trainer for Blue Bottle Coffee. He joins us today to talk all about Glitter Cat's founding, the journey he has been on, and the lessons learned along the way.
In this episode you will learn:
- T.Ben's professional history and the catalyst for Glitter Cat
- What Glitter Cat does, and how it addresses the problem of representation in competitions, what it has accomplished in the 1st year.
- What support and resource can do
- Lessons for how to organize and take action on what is important to you
- Being prepared for the ups, downs, and nitty gritty tasks
- What owners can do to open their doors to and support underrepresented people.
- Plans for year 2 at Glitter Cat
I am so glad we got to have T. Ben on the show. He is a great example of what one person with a vision and the willingness to act can do to make a difference.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
WWW.GLITTERCATBARISTA.COM
www.keystotheshop.com/glitter
chris@keystotheshop.com
Communication is the cornerstone of a harmonious team. Problem is that we tend to see things that need correction and don't feel comfortable bringing them up to each other. Today we chat about how a mutual agreement between coworkers can help propel growth and prevent strife.
Links:
Shift Break on Gossip
Solving Co-Worker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
Decaf coffee has been much maligned over the years but it has been getting steadily better. What once was a joke amongst "serious" coffee nerds is now being focused on with the same care as its caffeinated counter part thanks to the efforts of companies like Swiss Water.
But while the death of "Death before Decaf" is eminent (I hope) there still remains a lot of confusion and bias around the subject and decaf drinkers around the world are suffering because of it.
Today we welcome the amazing Mike Strumpf to the show. Mike is the Director of Coffee at Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee and has an impressive list of coffee credentials – a Licensed Q Grader, Education Coordinator for the Canadian Chapter of the SCA, Authorized SCA Trainer (AST) in Green Coffee and Sensory, member of the Coffee Skills Program (CSP) Green Coffee Creators Group, SCA Barista Competitions Group Past Chair, and Head Judge for the World Barista Championship to name a few.
In this conversation he is going to give us an education and perspective shift on decaf and the critical role it plays in our specialty coffee community. Some of the things you will learn in this episode:
- How Mike's perspective has changed on Decaf since working with Swiss Water
- How the industry has shifted over the years to more fully embrace Decaf
- Swiss Water quality control measures
- How Swiss Water's Decaffeination process works
- Reasons why you should be embracing decaf
- Super practical tips for roasting and brewing decaf in your business
I hope you enjoy this episode with a coup of decaf (or regular) coffee and that it helps you lean into what is a blind spot for so many of us.
Be sure and visit the link below to get Swiss Water in your business!
LINKS:
www.swisswater.com
Expanding to a second shop is exciting but it can complicate things when the move to grow is not based on a solid foundation. Today we are chatting about some helpful things to consider before you decide to make the leap.
In a country torn by war one organization is literally sowing seeds of peace and hope through coffee. Mighty Peace Coffee is a next generation impact company working directly with coffee cooperatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo to end poverty and conflict, bring about economic transformation through community and capacity-building, and international advocacy.
Today we get to talk with 3 of the leaders of this organization: Liza Elena Pitsirilos, JD Stier, and Jim N. Ngokwey (See their bios below!)
They take us behind the scenes of Mighty Peace and discuss the founding, evolution, mission, and challenges they face in fighting for the people of the DRC. We also discuss their quality control, approach to marketing, and what hey believe is needed from retailers to help smaller producing countries like the DRC gain more traction and success in the global specialty market.
This is a great organization doing fantastic work and I hope you are inspired by this interview!
LINKS:
WWW.MIGHTYPEACECOFFEE.COM
Get roasted Congolese Coffee delivered : Patreon Monthly Membership
Mighty Peace Coffee on Facebook
Email for green buyers: info@mightypeacecoffee.com
Guest Bios:
Liza Elena Pitsirilos / CEO, Partner
Born and raised in New York City, Liza has developed her executive Midas touch as an expert educator, wellness leader, and successful entrepreneur, leading Fortune 500 corporate culture creation, coaching, and sales team retreats.
After earning a political science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Liza spent the following decade working overseas with high risk communities earning a Master's Degree in Education, working with immigrant populations, and mastering the art of corporate leadership through facilitating workshops and trainings for over 200 companies. In 2018, she began her Mighty Peace Coffee adventure.
Liza leads the all-women executive team from her homes in Madison and NYC, where she emphasizes family values, time with loved ones, respect for the land, environment, and planning sustainably for future generations. Liza leads health and wellness retreats for women in Miami, NYC, and all those a part of the Mighty Peace tribe.
JD Stier / Chairman, Partner
Born in Atlanta Georgia in the 1970s, raised by a civil rights attorney father and catholic faith leader mother, and with social justice at his core, JD began visiting the African Great Lakes as a university student alongside his housemate, a refugee from African Great Lakes conflicts. Over the decades, JD has worked with local communities as an organizer, human rights defender, award winning documentary filmmaker, and an advocate ally for the Congolese-led development of local economies. Invited to keynote at Harvard, Yale, Oxford, LSE, and over 100 centers for thought and policy leadership, JD argues the key to Congo peace is in charting its own economic path forward.
After having been asked to support local coffee cooperatives, JD offered to assemble the international business and marketing team needed to support the Congolese coffee cooperatives as they transform local economies. JD served in the Obama White House and has founded and led myriad initiatives aimed at ending armed conflicts and spurring economic development, including Stand With Congo. JD lives in New York City and Madison, Wisconsin with his true love, Liza, CEO of Mighty Peace Coffee.
Jim N. Ngokwey / Partner, Business Development
Jim N. Ngokwey was born in Senegal, lives in New York City, hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo and is a proud Pan-African. He is passionate about Africa, business and development and is committed to using his expertise and resources to empower African entrepreneurs and drive wealth creation. He is also actively involved in various non-profit organizations, as a management team member in Young African MBAs, a non-profit with a mission to bridge Africa’s management talent gap. He also proudly volunteers for Malaika, a school for girls in Kalebuka, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As part of his work with the Sub-Saharan Africa Chamber of Commerce, he conducted an exploratory trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo to study the country’s business environment. The outcome was the DRC Investment Opportunity Report which focused on the risks and rewards of investing in SMEs in the country. He is proud to lead Mighty Peace Coffee’s Business Development and is excited to play a role in helping the organization reach its immense potential.
We all feel awkward and impatient when we start in a new position. How we develop in these times will determine who and what we become later on. Today on shift break, a bit of encouragement and perspective to help those of you who have just been dropped into a new environment or a new role.
So you want to start a coffee roastery. Well there is a lot that goes into it and an overwhelming amount of information you can access to help you along the way. Rarely, though, do you get the opportunity to sit down with someone who is expert in both roasting coffee as well as helping other people establish their own roasting businesses. Today we get that opportunity as we talk with the great, Jen Apodaca!
Roasting since 2005, she has experience on scores of different types of equipment, has roasted for Blue Bottle, Intelligentsia, and Royal Coffee. She is the Vice Chair of the Roasters Guild, the founder of #shestheroaster, and currently runs The Pulley Collective Co-Roasting space in Oakland and has launched her own roasting business, Mother Tongue Coffee.
She has helped countless people get their start in roasting, and today we get to count ourselves among those who have learned from her guidance.
In this episode you will learn about:
- Selecting a roaster
- What do you need to set up a roaster
- The pro and con of using the SCA cupping form
- Customer focused roasting
- Developing yourself and your coffees
- Responsible use of instruments
- Guidance for inventory
- The best mindset for success
LINKS:
Jen on Instagram
Mother Tongue Coffee
#shestheroaster
Sometimes hospitality opportunities are just inconvenient. Often times we straight-up struggle to do anything more than the basic requirements of our job let alone talking to customers or extending ourselves past what we feel like in the moment.
Today we talk about this tension and how to handle it in a way that lifts everyone up.
LINKS:
Shift Break: Laziness and the most important decision
Simple, Powerful Hospitality
"The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield
We don't like to hear negative feedback. We get defensive and immediately start looking for ways to dismiss it rather than digging in to see if there is value there. I get it, the coffee shop is your baby, you take you profession personally. Handled the right way though, negative feedback can be your best friend.
Today on Keys to the Shop we are going to explore a 5 step process I have used for a long time to process critical feedback whether it is coming from a customer in the store, someone on Yelp, or from an employee.
LINKS:
Coffee Compass Article: The Wrath of the One Star Review
Shift Break: Stop Lying
Shift Break: Creating a Feedback Culture
VISIT OUR SPONSORS!
Pacific Barista Series
Prima Coffee
On this Founder Friday we are taking a look into the before and after of Torpedo Coffee in Denver, CO. I was able to interview Kyle Wells at the Coffee Fest trade show in Denver June 2018 before ehe opened his new shop. We then sat down and talked last week about how things have played out, what has he learned, and what advice does he have for others from the now 7 months of running Torpedo Coffee.
This episode is all about:
- What things look like in reality vs. the original idea
- Holding plans loosely
- Listening to feedback
- Pivoting quickly
- How to prepare yourself to embrace the things you cannot change or can't prepare for.
Torpedo is experiencing great success and is providing great coffee, connection, and community to their neighborhood. I am so thrilled to present this 2 in 1 interview with you today.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
WWW.TORPEDOCOFFEE.COM
VISIT OUR SPONSORS!
Pacific Barista Series
Prima Coffee
It is something we all do in ways we don't really think of as damaging. Lying to ourselves and others comes in the form of often well-meaning affirmation but, in the end, holds people back and erodes trust.
Today shift break we talk about how the lysing we do and the way forward toward a more truthful and trustworthy communication.
Celina is about to celebrate her 2 year anniversary of joining the specialty coffee community having started with no knowledge of coffee as a roasting assistant at the great Merit Coffee in Austin, TX. Through hard work, curiosity, and integrity she has worked her way to head roaster and leads a team of people producing some of the best coffee you can find.
Today we sit down and explore her story as a newcomer to coffee and what she has experienced in her first, very busy, 2 years as a coffee professional.
In this episode you will learn:
- How to approach learning as a newbie
- How we put un helpful pressure on ourselves to look good
- How Merit supports its employees through opportunity and healthy systems of communication
- What Celina lessons Celina has learned
- Tips for leading people
- Quality control principles for approachable coffee
- Celina's advice to people entering taking on new positions and challenges
- How owners can support their staff and set them up for success
LINKS:
WWW.MERTICOFFEE.COM
Merit Coffee on Instagram
VISIT OUR SPONSORS!
Pacific Barista Series
Prima Coffee
"Just show them the ropes" is a phrase we use when giving baristas the extra responsibility of helping bring up a new hire. This usually is done with little warning and almost never with any extra compensation for the barista who now must work twice as hard. Today we discuss this practice of designating unofficial trainers in the on-boarding process and how to approach it in a fair way.
We all want to extract the most out of our coffee. There are many methods and tools used to achieve maximum flavor but only a few machines offer innovation in a way that creates a substantial jump forward in brew quality and consistency. The Ground Control brewer is one of those machines and today we get to talk with the inventor of this machine, Eli Salomon, Co-founder and CEO of Voga Coffee.
Eli has roots in academia as well as in the coffee community having been on the ground floor (pun intended) of an innovative coffee equipment company then, seeing a need in the industry for higher quality batch brew coffee.
In this episode you will learn:
- What led Eli to the world of coffee and equipment innovation
- What inspired the invention of the Ground Control brewer
- Details of how the brewer works to extract more than people though they could get from a batch brewer
- Extraction science and what sets it apart from others
- How this can brewer help sustainability and contribute to the cafe experience
- Eli's perspective on where the industry is heading and how the Ground Control is helping push things forward.
It was great to talk with Eli and learn more about this great brewer. I hope you enjoy this episode and check out the links below for more information on the brewer as well as a helpful map Eli has made for us to locate shops in the U.S. (and some international locations) where the brewer can be experienced.
SHOW LINKS:
Ground Control Cyclops Information Sheet www.vogacoffee.com
U.S.+ International Map of ground Control Brewers
Thanks to our sponsors!
- Pacific Barista Series
- Prima Coffee
It's easy to write off someone and treat them in a way that dehumanizes for the sake of convenience. We tend to make ourselves out to be better, and others worse. Today we chat about treating people you work with in the cafe with like they are people...not objects.
*Stay tuned for next week's Shift Break as we talk about the problem with using regular staff to bring new people "up to speed" and my proposed solution.
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
Roasting is a hard job that happens behind the scenes. Even the championship itself is somewhat isolated from view! That is why I am so excited to share this talk with you. Not just because we get to learn more about roasting but because we get to learn from the Champ herself, Shelby Williamson of Huckleberry Roasters, Denver, CO!
In our conversation today we explore Shelby's path into coffee roasting as a profession, what a day in the life looks like as head roaster at Huckleberry, how she goes about developing coffee profiles, her experience as a woman in the coffee roasting space, what has contributed to her success as a roaster, and of course details about the roasting competition and what she did to prepare for it and win.
This conversation is loaded with insights and advice and I hope you enjoy it!
Links:
Huckleberry Roasters
HEY!
Be sure to visit our sponsors at EXPO in Boston!
Pacific Barista Series: Booth #776
Prima Coffee: Booth #418
With an abundance of available resources we tend to horde knowledge and never truly apply it to our lives. Is our quest to learn getting in the way of our growth?
Today on Shift Break we talk about how to learn and grow in a way that truly makes a difference.
Want to know what goes into hosting a killer throwdown that energizes your baristas and brings the community together? Well your in luck because today we are talking with the creator of one of the nation's biggest and most successful throwdowns, Justin Shepherd! Justin owns Spencers Coffee in Bowling Green, KY and has been hosting the "My Old Kentucky Throwdown for 7 years. With a 64 competitor bracket, thousands in prizes, and 10s of thousands raised for autism awareness, this throwdown is one we should surely be learning from. In this conversation Justin covers in-detail the most critical things you need to do to make sure your throwdown goes down without a hitch and is not just thrown together.
These tips are super insightful, practical, and born from years of learning by doing.
Enjoy!
Links:
www.spencerscoffee.com/kytnt
Today on Founder Friday we get to hear from Haden Polseno-Hensley, Co-Founder of one of my favorite coffee companies, Red Rooster Coffee Roasters in Floyd, Virginia! The values that drive the company, the quality of the people, the way they invest in their community and staff, and the quality of their coffee... all reasons why I admire Red Rooster and am excited to share this interview with you all today.
We get to talk about the evolution of their business, learning how to roast coffee, revamping operations, how they divide the business between retail and roasting, what they do to invest in staff, the story behind opening a day care in their shop, and advice for roaster retailers.
Links:
www.redroostercoffee.com
When we think of the work we do on a daily basis we are not typically prone to describing it as "fascinating". For many of us it is a mundanity that we want to escape from. Today on Shift Break we are chatting about how a shift in perspective in the shop regarding the world we take for granted can help energize and sustain us.
The Champ is in the house! 2019 U.S. Barista Champion, Sam Spillman of Dillanos Coffee Roasters joins me for this very special episode. In our conversation we discuss the evolution of her coffee career, her love for the community, what drives her as a professional, competition, challenges she has faced developing as a competitor, her first origin trip, balance in the pursuit of a goal, and what went into and inspired her stellar winning presentation.
I hope you are inspired by this interview with Sam. She is truly a humble champion who is equal parts amazing technical skill and compelling professional passion.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
Sam's Performance Skip to - 5:13:40 in the live stream video
www.dillanos.com
Professionalism is a loaded word that has been discussed a lot lately. It is a trait many of us want to be perceived as having but are sent mixed signals from bosses or judges as to what is, or is not, professional. Today we chat about professionalism and the need for a nuanced understanding of it that celebrates diverse expression of it. I hope you take the time to reflect on this one as I often see this element being responsible for a lot of the stagnation in coffee retail today.
It's an honor to welcome to the show the director of the 2nd Barista movie "Baristas", Rock Baijnauth! The first movie "Barista" was a huge success and brought the barista competition world to a very global audience. We are now only a month away from the release of the follow-up to that film, Baristas. In this episode I got to talk to Rock about the process involved in filming, the goals he and his crew had in making these movies, why highlight coffee as a film maker, who is in this film, what can we can expect from the movie, and what he has experienced and learned from the professional barista world through creating these documentaries. He also gives some advice to anyone hoping to make a documentary film of their own!
Enjoy!
Links:
http://baristafilms.com
It is easy to get caught up in the pursuit of the top position in any endeavor and base our value on the results. How we approach our goals will determine what we get out of it. Today we chat about winning, losing, and perspectives to help us stay grounded as we reach new heights.
I am so excited to share these interviews from the show floor at Coffee Fest NYC! I had the chance to interview the amazing British Coleman & Shabria Quinn Robinson who are in the very early planning stages of their business, "Pour Coffeehouse and Lounge" in Saginaw, MI. Then I got to interview Owner Peter Moses who is right in the middle of building out his company, "Mighty Oak Roasters" in Astoria, NY. Finally I chatted with Ryan Vaxmonsky, Owner of the retail/roaster business, Evermore Coffee Roasters which is now 1 1/2 years in business.
Each of these wonderful people brings a unique and inspiring perspective on the coffee industry and the road to business ownership. I hope you enjoy hearing their stories and learning, getting motivated by their passion, and learning form their experiences.
Links to visit:
http://mightyoakroasters.com
https://www.evermorecoffee.com
CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE!
It is often the case that we create systems in the cafe and then lose connection with the real impact those systems have in the lives of the staff and customers. Today we talk about the need for empathy in developing systems that serve the shop as well as those caring for the shop.
If you are in management you know that it is not each day can bring a new set of challenges. It just so happens that there are 27 particular challenges that are common to almost all managers and we are going to explore a few of these in todays episode with returning guest, Bruce Tulgan.
Bruce is the founder of Rain Maker Thinking and the author of 20 books including the book "The 27 Challenges Managers Face" and "It's OK to be the Boss". Bruce was on the show back in May of 2017 and now he is back to help us find solutions to the challenges of management.
In this interview we talk about the importance of the basics, how to approach your work if you are a new manager, and we then explore the 7 sections of this book that address some of the most compelling challenges we face as we lead people.
It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Bruce's work and approach to the subject of management and I think this book and today's conversation will go a long way to helping you navigate challenges of leadership.
Enjoy!
Links:
- www.rainmakerthinking.com
- Bruce Tulgan on Twitter
When you take on the role of manager you are hooked into a bunch of dynamic relationships not the least of which is between you and your boss. Unfortunately we can tend to miss one another in these situations and this breeds tension. Today we chat about pursuing clarity as a manager for the benefit of all.
I am so excited to welcome Erika Vonie to the show! Erika is the Director of Coffee for Trade Coffee and she is the professionals professional. Her long and accomplished career in coffee has been comprised of great success in retail, management, green buying, quality control, customer relations, event management, competition, and much more.
Erika's energy and drive to learn, grow, and contribute to the industry is made very obvious in this conversation with is essentially a retrospective of her career. We talk about the road into coffee, competition experiences, the highs and lows of retail, what motivated her to go into green buying and the producing side of coffee, what would she change if she could go back, what is she most proud of, and her advice on how to make a difference from our places in retail.
I think you will certainly benefit from and be inspired by what Erika shares here. Enjoy!
Links:
- Trade Coffee
- Erika on IG
- Erika on Twitter
NYC Recommendations:
- Felix Coffee Roasters
- Black Fox Coffee
- High Collar
- Joe Pro Shop
It's Founder Friday! Today we talk with the Co-Founder of Kusanya Cafe located in Englewood, Chicago, USA, Phil Sipka. Kusanya Cafe is an all resident owned and run non-profit coffee shop that has been providing an amazing gathering spot and 3rd place for the Englewood neighborhood for the past 5 years. It is truly a great example of what can happen when a community comes together and build something together.
In this conversation we discuss the vision of Kusanya, the years long struggle to get the cafe open, community organization, working as a non-profit shop, opening up the space to be guided and co-created with the neighborhood, hiring and empowering staff, winning the trust of the neighborhood, and much more.
This is a small but mighty example of what revitalization and renewal can look like in the face of gentrification.
Be inspired!
Links:
http://www.kusanyacafe.org
Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
Thanks to our sponsors!
www.pacificfoods.com
www.prima-coffee.com
Dysfunction in the cafe's functionality is something we all deal with and have to manage. Not everything works according to plan or the way it is supposed to. How we deal with this will determine how people see you as a leader and how they see the cafe. Will it be as apathetic and disengaged? Or empathetic and actively engaged? Today we chat about the acceptance of dysfunction the plagues cafes and what to do about it.
There is a whole world of chemical components that make up your cup of coffee. Knowing more about that world will help us become better operators and better professionals as it will enable us to increase the quality and consistency of what we serve. Today we get to learn a bit about organic acids and the importance of coffee science with the former Director of Science and Technology for the SCAA, and Director of Research & Technology for Coffee Intelligence, Joseph A. Rivera.
We will talk about his journey and work as a coffee scientist, what are the main organic acids to be aware of, what are some relationships between origin and processing and how much of a particular acid is in a coffee, caffeine, cold brew, and why we need to care about science in the coffee industry.
It is my intention to explore the science behind what we do in the shop in future episodes of Keys to the Shop and I am thrilled and honored to have Joseph on the show to start us off on that journey.
Enjoy!
Links:
www.coffeechemistry.com
Communication is a two-way street. The way we operate though makes it very difficult for communication to flow back up the chain of authority in the shop. This is a problem for both customers and baristas alike and today we chat about some ways to create a culture where feedback is prioritized and welcomed instead of forgot or avoided.
Nothing helps you grow like great books! In this Vol.2 of Essential Books we talk about 5 books that will have a huge impact on your career and business. They cover everything from team building, problem solving for managers, and managing up the chain of authority -to entrepreneurship and an in-depth look at the role the coffee shop plays in your community.
These are truly powerful works that I believe should be read by every coffee service professional.
Enjoy!
Coffee shop managers need to delegate and assign tasks to the team. This includes checklists, chore charts, and special projects. A critical part of effective delegation is holding people accountable for the work done in the cafe. Today we chat about how approving delegated work will empower you, your staff, and ultimately the shop.
Today is a special day because we get to chat with Deb Kaminsky, the Director of Food Service Marketing for Pacific Natural Foods. When you see the Pacific Barista Series, it's success in the market, and the incredible support Pacific gives baristas, that's Deb. Throughout her career her heart has been to nourish people and in this interview we get to know her story, the story of the Baristas Series' incredible growth, and the passion that that drives Deb to support, listen to, and advance the cause of the barista craft.
I love her encouraging and affirming spirit and I know you will leave this conversation thankful to have a leader like Deb as an example and cheerleader.
https://www.pacificfoods.com/food-service/
In coffee shops it is so easy for us to be blind to anything outside the world that calling for our immediate attention. We relegate the customer's palate to a lowly place in the hierarchy of influence in the cafe and in so doing cut ourselves off from incredible insights into what it is we are actually serving. Today we talk about embracing the customer as experts and the benefit it has for your shop.
Working in coffee can really wear on you. Often we find our motivation for the job is so low it is almost non-existent. It could be you are the only barista that really cares about quality, or you want to advance but there's nothing available, or you might be consuming a lot of content from the industry but non of it seems to be helping. How do we regain a proper view of our situation and gain a healthy perspective on growth and motivation when it seems like things around us are conspiring to keep us down and stagnant? Today I want to offer up an assortment of thoughts and perspectives that will address these, and a few other things, that are often at the root of our difficulties in the shop. I hope this give you some clarity, empowers you, and motivates you to take the first step in the direction of finding joy where you are in your coffee journey
It's Founder Friday and today we get to hear from the 2x Barista Champion of China and owner of M2M Roasters & Uni Uni Coffee , Jeremy Zhang. In this conversation we get a look into Jeremy's road to specialty coffee through competition and the founding of his coffee businesses M2M Roasters and Uni Uni Coffee.
We discuss the challenges that came with opening in a Nanjing's relatively new coffee market that is just waking up to specialty coffee, hiring and training staff, how they approach training, quality control, operations, and his goals and mission for coffee in China.
Jeremy's efforts are helping set the space for what specialty coffee can be in China and it' such an honor to get to talk with and learn from him on the show. Enjoy!
Links:
Jeremy's Instagram
It is easy for us to become jaded and to pass on our cynicism to the customer. How can we come along side them and be their guide tot this new world of specialty coffee and the your cafe? We chat a bit about this today on shift break.
Wholesale! It is a vital part of both your success as a roaster-retailer, and the success of specialty coffee globally. Setting up a program that is sustainable, true to your values, and serves your team and your customers well is an absolute priority. It is no small task to venture into the world of wholesale as there are a lot of complexities and hurdles that will need to be worked through along the way. Having a great foundation laid is the first step and today's guest, Sarah Richmond, does a fantastic job laying that foundation for us.
We discuss integrity, values, servant leadership, systems, pitfalls to avoid in wholesale, books you should read, and 5 key steps you need to take in setting up a program that will bring joy and growth to you, your team, your business, and your customers.
Honestly, Sarah is the kind of person any professional would want as a mentor and having her in the program is an absolute privilege.
Please listen deeply and enjoy!
LINKS:
Books:
- Mindset by Carol Dweck
- Dream Team by Shane Snow
Podcasts:
- Learning Leader w/ Ryan Hawk
Competitions are great for their ability to energize, challenge, and foster growth in baristas. The question is, are we doing the same for our staff? We chat about this important issue today's edition of Shift Break!
Baristas speak and we listen! Learning form others experiences and allowing the way we chart our course to be influenced by the best input from our peers is an essential element of healthy community.
I was able to attend the Coffee Champs event in Nashville where I had many great conversations with professionals from all over the country. I recorded and am sharing 3 of those conversations. I interview Adam Jacksonbey of the soon-to-be-open "Tell Coffee" D.C., Kat Melheim of The Coffee People Zine and Roaster at Allegro Coffee in Denver, CO, and Kristina Jackson of Intelligentsia Coffee in Boston Mass.
We talk about what drives them to pursue a career in coffee, what makes a great barista, what makes a great leader, what challenges did they have to overcome in heir careers, and how do they want to leave their mark on the industry.
I hope you leave these interviews encouraged and inspired!
Links:
Adam:
Kat:
- Coffee People Zine
- Allegro Coffee
Kristina:
- Boston Intersectional Coffee Collective
- Intelligentsia
There is always room for more clarity in communication. This is especially true in the coffee shop where so much vital information can fall through the cracks when it gets busy. Today we chat a bit about how duplication and repetition creates a better chance at getting cafe-wide adoption of any initiative.
Our industry is blessed to have so many wonderful women contributing their greatness and inspiring us all. Laura Gonzalez knows this to be true and founded the Strong Women of Coffee project to help them tell their story and give them a voice. Today we chat with Laura about her experience in running this project and what she has learned along the way. We discuss common challenges women face in the industry, double standards, and also what practices we can adopt in the cafe that she believes would help give more opportunity to women and other marginalized groups.
It was such pleasure to talk with Laura and I hope you gain some perspective and adopt some practices that make a difference in how you run your shop and lead your people.
Links:
www.strongwomenofcoffee.com
Follow on INSTAGRAM
There is more to a business than just our vision and goals. When we create anything we are involved in a conversation. Today we chat about how to approach your goals and creative projects in a way that takes into account the big picture.
If we want healthy businesses that produce amazing coffee experiences then becoming better at training and teaching coffee needs to be a constant pursuit. There are hardly any books out there that speak directly to the situations coffee trainers find themselves in...until now!
Anne F. Nylander has written the book "Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals" and it acts as a guide book that is foundational for success as a trainer, and consequently the success of your trainees! In my conversation with Anne we go over each section of the small but mighty book and talk about the details behind each of the principles she writes about from her over 16 + years in coffee/consulting/training. Subjects include learning about learning styles, managing a room, dealing with disruption, planning, setting standards, training roles, and tracking performance.
I love that we get to start off the year with such a useful episode with a ton of actionable insight!
Links:
www.annefnylander.com
The Mud House stands as an amazing representation of where passion, genuine love of people, and a consistent pursuit of quality can take you. For 10 years now Casey and Jeremy Miller have been operating one of St. Louis' best coffee shops that gives their customers a taste of excellent coffee, food, and hospitality all under one roof.
In this conversation they talk candidly about a host of subjects related to their journey opening and running The Mud House. We discuss the challenges of setting up the business, setting up the initial menu, the evolution and organic growth of their company's structure, how they hire, knowing your strengths, allocating money for repairs, leading by example, their vision for the ideal guest experience, and so much more.
I am so pleased to have Casey and Jeremy cap off 2018 and I hope their words inspire you as we enter the new year!
LINKS:
WWW.THEMUDHOUSESTL.COM
SHIFT BREAK #33 : As this year comes to an end and many of us are reflecting on 2018 and planning on what we want to pursue in 2019. As we think and put together goals there is one thing that we tend to miss, and in so doing rob ourselves and others of something beautiful. Today we will chat about accurate reflection and how to invest into areas that truly make a difference personally and professionally.
Thank you all for an amazing 2 years!
Your espresso machine is probably the most expensive thing you have in the shop. It is also the heart of your cafe's operation. Taking care of it should not be left to chance unless you want a pretty big repair bill or to have your ability to do business come to a complete stand still. To help us in our pursuit of maintaining a healthy espresso machine we are joined by the coffee industry's most experienced, respected, and knowledgable technician, Terry Ziniewicz!!!
We will be talking about his top 10 best practices to make sure your espresso machine keeps working and looking beautiful for years to come. We talk about how to implement them and also how to empower your staff to take on some of these responsibilities.
As this is airing on Christmas day, consider this a present from Terry, to you and your espresso machine!
Be sure to check the instagram post of this episode for details on how you can win a free one year "Baskets Gaskets, Screens, and Screws" subscription! "U.S. shipping only"
Links:
www.caffewerks.com
Caffe Werks on Instagram
Upcoming Coffee Fest classes:
Espresso Machine Preventive Maintenance Workshop
Coffee Shop and Restaurant owner operators often don’t think about the basic preventative maintenance of equipment until it is too late and it is cutting into their profits. This introduction to basic espresso machine maintenance will save you money in both long and short term. Properly maintained equipment will last longer and provide a higher quality cup of coffee for your customer. This 2.5 hour informational course covers the basics of preventative maintenance that is essential to keep your espresso machine functioning properly. This class is brought to you by Caffewerks and also offers participants a special offer to receive a free login to the Caffewerks video library of how to's as well as discounts on allied products. Advanced Espresso Machine Repair & Maintenance Workshop This hands on workshop focuses on the basic maintenance and repairs all café owner operators should know. Basic maintenance can save you hundreds of dollars in repairs that are quick and easy to remedy. Industry leader Terry Ziniewicz of Caffewerks will walk you through some of the most common repairs required to keep espresso machines in tip top shape and also provide valuable information on how to train your staff to be just as capable to troubleshoot common issues.
This workshop will cover and is not limited to the following:
• Basic Functions of an Espresso Machine
• Parts Definitions
• Daily, Weekly & Monthly Cleaning Schedules
• Brew Group Maintenance
• Pump Adjustment & Replacement
• Steam Valve Repair & Replacement
• Adjust & Replace Pressurestat
• Drain Maintenance
• Water Flow Trouble Shooting
SHIFT BREAK #32 : I love drink drills! They are an essential tool in any training I do because they work VERY well for bringing a up baristas practical bar skills and getting all staff on the same page. Today we are going to talk about what drink drills are and then cover some guidelines for conducting them effectively. When done well, and regularly, your baristas will be able to handle any scenario that comes their way.
This episode is based off a question from KTTS listener Kara Lozano of Mile Square Coffee in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Thanks, Kara!
No matter where we are in specialty coffee, we have all benefited in some way from the influence of Starbucks and their immense impact on the world stage. Today we get to learn from someone who has not only been in specialty coffee since it first came on the scene in the 70's but has been at the forefront of Starbucks retail innovation and education for the better part of 23 years.
I am so very honored to welcome to the show, Sr. Project Manager for Starbucks Global, Major Cohen!
To say he has a passion for coffee would indeed be an understatement. Major's passion, curiosity, and fierce devotion to coffee, baristas and the customer experience has helped steer this global coffee powerhouse into it's most progressive expressions beginning with projects as Roy st. Coffee and Tea, 15th Ave Coffee and Tea, and the Reserve Roastery.
In our discussion we cover the arch of his fascinating career. From his beginning a second career as a barista at 45 years of age - to gaining the trust of Starbucks executives to influence and educate global markets today.
We talk about: Mentorship, keys to success in his career, the unofficial history of Starbucks, what was the catalyst for the company moving into the "3rd wave" framework? The balance of being a team player and being and independent operator, What were the challenges of establishing these concepts? How do these high-end experiences influence the other Starbucks stores? What can we do to advocate for our staff and also provide a great customer experience?
There is a wealth of knowledge in this discussion. Consider this a short but densely packed mentorship session with one of specialty coffee's greatest success stories. I know you will walk away with an expanded mindset and a new found energy to approach your work with passion and curiosity.
Enjoy!
Links/resources:
https://news.starbucks.com/
Email: dcohen@starbucks.com
Related episodes:
Episode 121 : Working from Your Strengths
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STARBUCKS MISSION
To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.
VALUES
With our partners, our coffee and our customers at our core, we live these values:
- Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.
- Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other.
- Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.
- Delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results.
We are performance driven, through the lens of humanity.
**Gallup Q12 Questions**
- Do you know what is expected of you at work?
- Do you have the materials and equipment to do your work right?
- At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
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In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
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Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?
- Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
- At work, do your opinions seem to count?
- Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?
- Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?
- Do you have a best friend at work?
- In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?
- In the last year, have you had opportunities to learn and grow?
Please Visit our Sponsors! For the best in speciality coffee equipment: www.prima-coffee.com For the most amazing non-dairy performance beverages: www.pacificfoods.com
SHIFT BREAK #31 Regular staff meetings are one of the most important tools for energizing, equipping, informing, and affirming. In order to get the most out of these meetings we will be covering several tips that I have seen work wonders in conducting these gathers. With refinement and consistency the end result will be a more cohesive and well functioning cafe and an increase in staff morale.
Links to related episodes:
- Episode 28: Why it's Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
- The One on One
Kids! When you open a shop you are bound to be serving these little hot chocolate drinking future baristas right along side their single-origin cortado drinking parents. The question is, are they welcome?How do we view them? How do you serve them and still serve your older clientele well? What if we want to focus more on the grown ups? What are some best practices in serving families? Today we are exploring the topic by interviewing two different owners of two different cafes (The Old Barracks & Lucabe Coffee) who take drastically different approaches to the issue of catering (or not catering) to kids in the coffee shop. We will talk about their business, vision, and the intentions behind the policies they have in place that they feel best serves their chosen demographic. Each of them are fantastic coffee professionals running excellent shops. Their advice to us from their experiences is invaluable.
Links:
Lucabe Coffee Website Old Barracks Coffee Website
Lucabe On Instagram Old Baracks Instagram
Lucabe Coffee on Facebook Old Baracks Facebook
Additional Links:
https://www.coffeeculture.ie/consultancy/become-a-cafe-owner/
https://theoldbarracks.ie/spilling-the-beans/
https://theoldbarracks.ie/open-coffee-roastery/
SHIFT BREAK #30 One of the most important thing you can have in your journey through the coffee industry is patience. One of the most deadly is passivity. Today we use a helpful analogy to talk about trusting the process, playing the long game, building momentum, and advocating for yourself in the cafe.
Related episodes:
The Barista Slump
Advice for New Baristas
The Sleepwalking Barista
Negotiations...No matter what you do in coffee, you negotiate all the time. Whether it is for a raise, a better price from a supplier, or a lease for a new location. The question is not whether or not you negotiate, but do you do it well? Do you get taken advantage of? Do you put others on edge? The fact is that when we are faced with conflict around these small and large negotiations we often come in with an internal and then external posture that immediately ignites the situation and makes it harder, or impossible, to get what we want. This also leads to damaging our relationship with the other party.
Today's guest, Kwame Christian is here to solve this problem for us! Not only is he the host of the wonderful, "Negotiate Anything" podcast, but he is also the author of the new best-selling book, "Nobody Will Play with Me: How to Use Compassionate Curiosity to Find Confidence in Conflict"
In todays episode we dive into the compassionate curiosity framework
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Acknowledging emotion
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Getting curious with compassion
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Engaging in joint problem solving
We also unpack why it is necessary to deal with your own psychology first when entering a negotiation or conflict, clarifying what we actually want, we role play some scenarios for both baristas, and owners, and get deep into the mindset and methods needed to negotiate anything.
When it comes to business we need to always be trying to position ourselves in a way that will get the best possible outcome. By following the advice in this episode you will be firmly on the road to confidently doing just that.
LINKS:
https://americannegotiationinstitute.com
Book: Nobody Will Play with Me
It’s a very special Founder Friday. I am thrilled to welcome to the show the new World Brewers Cup Campion (and first female WBrC Champ!), Emi Fukahori!!!
Not only is Emi the WBrC campion but she also runs the world-class cafe MAME Coffee in Zurich? Switzerland w/ her partner (and 2x Swiss Barista Champ Mathieu Theis.
This conversation covers so much in term of Emi’s journey in coffee to this point. From discovering coffee, to competitions, to owning and runnnng a shop, we get to hear what she has learned through all her experiences that have made her the inspiration she is.
The first half we talk competition and go the behind-the-scenes of her amazing performance. We then talk about the world of coffee shops and her experiences and lessons learned from running MAME. She give a lot of great advice and insights.
Theres a lot here so grab a cup and enjoy learning from World Brewers Cup Champion, Emi Fukahori!
Links:
MAME Instagram
MAME Facebook
https://mame-coffee.com
Emi's Winning Performance
SHIFT BREAK #29 : On the road to starting a shop there are things you must learn and experience that will help you get established. Today, Tim Jones, Founder of Liturgy Beverage Company, joins us on the show for a quick look into the 5 most significant factors that helped him go from a barista to a business owner. Enjoy!
If you'd like to contribute to Liturgy's Kickstarter
click the link below:
https://twitter.com/LiturgyBeverage
Also find Time on Social media at the links below:
The Barista Manual, The Book of Knowledge, That Binder That Never Gets Updated...whatever you call it there is usually some assortment of documents lurking in the cafe that is meant to be a resource but is more a source of frustration. Writing a high quality manual for the shop is absolutely critical to establishing a baseline of expectations nd equipping the staff and leadership to successfully operate the business day-in and day-out. Today we will be going over the top 10 things your manual must have to truly be useful as well as actually used.
I cannot overstate the importance of having a great barista manual. I hope this episode sets you up to write one that serves your cafe well!
Please visit the links below for further learning!
For resources on harassment and discrimination visit:
- The Coffee Too Project
Related Episodes:
- 4 Keys to an Effective Checklist
- 6 Truths About Power
- SOPs FTW
- 10 Steps to Being a People First Leader
SHIFT BREAK #28 : On this years Thanksgiving I am so grateful for all of you listening to this show and for the amazing guests who have shared their knowledge and wisdom with us all!
This is simply a note to remember gratitude as it is key to a fulfilling career.
Links:
Self Care 101
Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
Working the cash register is not often seen as legit barista work. We'd rather be on the machine because we are closer to the actual product. Fact is, the register is perhaps more important than the machine as it sets up the entire experience for the guest. Either they will get a great first impression or they will have a disappointing and frustrating one that colors the remainder of their visit. As a result of our view toward this section of the bar, baristas, managers, and owners alike, under-invest in it in favor of machine and drink training. There is a real opportunity to level up your shops service and quality by re-prioritizing the register to a place of honor. Today we will discuss these things plus 6 skills that should be taught and practiced at the register to ensure the guest gets a fantastic experience and that the shop runs smoothly and delivers a truly special experience.
Enjoy!
Links:
Episode 45: Simple. Powerful. Hospitality. w/ Philip Paul Turner
SHIFT BREAK #27 : When people come in to our shops they have certain expectations shaped by experiences in restaurants, bars, and other cafes. The average experience is not so great and we have an opportunity to exceed expectations. One way we do this is but the quality of attentiveness and attention we give. Today we will talk about one way to help ensure that you are always focused on the needs of the customers first and foremost.
Enjoy!
We really do tend to put too much emphasis on what is wrong with us and others. We focus on our weaknesses and simply overlook our strengths. This missing a huge piece of what makes a successful and fulfilling career. Do you want to be able to identify your strengths and use them at work? Would you like to be able to spot the strengths of the people on your team and help them view their roles through the lens of their natural talents? Then today's episode is for you! We are exploring all of these things with Strengths Finder guru Lisa Cummings of Lead Through Strengths. We cover details of what Strengths Finder assessment is and then talk about practical ways to understand and apply it in the cafe that will unlock new levels of morale and productivity for you and your staff. Don't miss this one!
LINKS:
www.leadthroughstrengths.com
Lead Through Strengths Podcast!
The Assessment : www.gallupstrengthscenter.com
List Of Adjectives – Lead Through Strengths – StrengthsFinder
SHIFT BREAK #26 : Gossip, we have all done it and in the moment it feels good to commiserate, but gossip is a poison that destroys culture and relationships in the cafe. When things annoy you and the opportunity arises to participate in tearing down a co-worker, what should you do instead? How should we be investing into building community in the cafe by building each other up? Today we talk about this very critical issue and I hope it helps you address it with your staff and in your own career.
Link: Ep 52 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
SHIFT BREAK #25 : When the weather turns cooler and the holidays get closer, business gets busier. Ironically, at the same time as our shop pick up steam, we seem to lose it. Our capacity to show hospitality tends to drop in the presence of heavy traffic but it is precisely these times where great hospitality is most needed. On this edition of Shift Break we talk about this issue and some solutions to implement as we enter into the busy holiday season.
Need training or consultation? Email: Chris@keystotheshop.com
Social media is a vast landscape filled with both great and terrible representations of people's brands. At best we enhance a customer's view of us and create an even bigger fan -At worst we introduce confusion, boredom, or anger into the relationship and drive people away. In order to give customers a truly excellent representation of your business on-line you need to know the fundamental best practices that lay the foundation for success. In today's episode we chat with coffee marketing professional, Jenn Chen
Jenn guides us through several critical areas that we need to be on top of with our company's social media. When should you outsource? What are the absolute no-no's of social media? How do you engage with people online? All of these and more are answered by one our industries brightest and most sought after media pros.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
www.jennchen.com
Twitter: @THEJENNCHEN
IG: @THEJENNCHEN
Airline Study
Brands That Take a Stand
When to Outsource Blog Posts
Training baristas effectively is a hugely important task. When done well, it sets them up for long term success in the cafe and in their career. When done poorly, it leaves them without essential tools for understanding the nature of coffee and the work of a barista which leads to frustration and stagnation. If you want learn to excel as trainers then look no further because we have the privilege of talking with 2009 WBC Champion and barista trainer, Gwilym Davies!
In this episode we talk about his hospitality based training, the evolution of training approaches over the years, why we should check our ego, needs vs. wants, how to structure your training sessions, preparing yourself to train others, and many other very helpful and practical insights that will help you become a great and effective trainer!
LINKS:
www.gwilymdavies.cz
Instagram @gwilymbarista
Twitter @gwilymbarista
It's Founder Friday! Today we get to sit down and learn from the founders of Phil and Sebastian Coffee Roasters, Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb! In the course of 11 years, Phil and Sebastian have gone from a small farmers market stall, to an award winning and internationally respected roaster retailer with 5 thriving cafes, a robust wholesale program, and roasting and sourcing operation that regularly pushes the boundaries of quality coffee and raises the bar for the specialty coffee industry.
In this conversation we talk about an incredible range of subjects from the challenges and lessons of their formative years with staffing, leadership, operations, and service standards- to their philosophy and practices in green sourcing , quality control, roasting, and training. We cap it all off with some really great advice for those looking to venture into the world of cafe/roastery ownership.
I am in awe of the pace that Phil and Sebastian sustain in their pursuit of great coffee and after listening to this interview I think you will agree. Be sure to visit their website to learn even more!
Links:
www.philsebastian.com
Instagram: @Philandseb
Twitter: @philandseb
Shift Break #24 : Every day, in coffee shops around the world, baristas notice things that are broken, see things that can be improved, and have ideas that could take the cafe to a new level. The problem is that so much of it never gets heard. Today we will be talking about how managers can give voice to these ideas and also how baristas should go about relaying them. Amazing things happen when you make improvement a grassroots effort when barista and manager are working to help each other make the best cafe possible.
Coffee and cocktails. Baristas and Bartenders. These are basically two sides of the same bar. Today we are going to get to know the craft cocktail and bartending side a little better with the help of coffee and spirits professional, Amanda Whitt! We will be talking about Amanda's journey to becoming a pro in both disciplines, the way bartenders think about drink building and flavor, making great coffee cocktails, mistakes we make combining the two, and tons of insights and tips for how to successfully integrate spirits into your beverage program. Plus we chat about the use of cold brew in coffee cocktails, etiquette for using others recipes, and tresources for further learning.
When these two worlds successfully meet it showcases both the coffee and the spirits in new delicious ways. I hope this episode inspires some great drinks!
Links:
Amanda's Instagram
www.gazregan.com
The Bartenders Bible -Gary Regan
I'm Just Here For The Drinks -Sother Teague
https://www.uscoffeechampionships.org/cigs-qualifying-competition/
SHIFT BREAK #23 : We all have had moments where a customer orders something "Off Script" and depending on our attitude we can either see it as an annoyance and hassle, or as an opportunity. Today we discuss how we can see these alterations and requests as opportunities for showing genuine hospitality and truly serving the needs of the guest and what we can practically do to make it a matter of policy.
Coffee shops have become a symbol of gentrification, a process that is made up of a mix of opportunism, policy, and politics resulting in the displacement of communities. As people who tout the love of community and people as being core in our values this issue should worry us. Understanding gentrification is key to being able to take steps in fighting it. Today on the show we are talking with one of the world foremost authorities on the issue of gentrification, Dr. Stacey Sutton. Dr. Sutton is Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Policy in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA) at the University of Illinois Chicago. In this conversation we discuss her work in researching gentrification, the misconceptions people have about it, what is the difference between urban renewal and gentrification, what mindsets do we harbor in retail that contribute to the momentum of gentrification, what is coffee's role in this and how can we take the first steps to being part of the solution?
I am so honored to have Dr. Sutton on the show. This is a huge subject and I would encourage you to research further and use this episode as a springboard for learning more about the unpleasant realities of gentrification. I have provided lots of links below to help in this process. Please do reach out to you local schools of urban planning and neighborhood associations to start a dialogue.
The coffee shop is often called the 3rd place. A location where people go to gather that is not work or home that contributes to the deep bonds of a community. We cannot hope to offer a great third place unless we put as much effort into how we place ourselves and serve in communities as we do in the coffee we aim to serve those communities. When we do this I think we will see disinvestment and displacement begin to slow, and coffee, for these communities, can move from a symbol of displacement, to a true expression of place.
LINKS:
Dr. Sutton's Faculty Page
Talk at TEDx NY
Dr. Sutton Lecture at CUPPA (Spotty Audio)
EMAIL: suttons@uic.edu
Resource: Next City Journal
Links to Published Research (Prefaces)
Sutton, Stacey. 2018. “Gentrification and the Increasing Significance of Racial Transition in New York City 1970-2010” Urban Affairs Review
Sutton, Stacey. 2014. “Are BIDs Good for Business? The Impact of BIDs on Neighborhood Retailers in New York City” Journal of Planning Education Research, 34(3): 309-324.
Sutton, Stacey. 2010. Rethinking Commercial Revitalization: A Small Business Perspective Economic Development Quarterly, 24(3): 352-371.
Sutton, Stacey. 2007. Dissertation: “Contested Spaces and Countervailing Practices: Inner-City Revitalization and the Agency of Neighborhood Minority Entrepreneurs”
Podcasts: Episode 25 of Boss Barista: "There was Nothing Here Before This!" Ashley and Jasper talk with great clarity about the ugliness of gentrification
SHIFT BREAK #22 : One of the main sources of stress and chaos in the coffee bar is the absence of clearly defined standards and procedures for the work. Turn over is, in part, due to a constant feeling of uncertainty related to the quality and accuracy of ones work. Developing and well thought out set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is one of the most important elements in solving this problem and many other problems in the cafe. They create clarity, certainty, and achievable goals. Today we talk about the importance of SOPs and some of the main steps you will need to take to successfully put them into practice.
Be sure to also listen to these episodes:
KTTS 057: SOPs FTW
KTTS 007: 4 Keys to an Effective Checklist
Visit our Sponsor: Square Payroll
www.square.com/go/keys
Mobile coffee service is an incredibly important element to a successful coffee operation. Be it farmers markets, luncheons, weddings, or concerts- breaking out of your four walls is the perfect way to get the word out about your brand to your community. It is, however, not without its challenges and does require you to take account of some key differences that you must prepare for to be successful. That's where today's guest Tim Cox comes in. As Co-owner of a brick and mortar shop (Communion Cafe) AND owner of a mobile coffee business (Rail Cart Espresso)he is uniquely positioned to teach us all about what it takes to find success in mobile coffee. We discuss the technical needs, menu design, pricing, site prep, contracts, managing customer expectations, and much more.
Get ready for mobile coffee success!
Links:
www.communioncafe.com
SHIFT BREAK #21 : Working a busy bar AND keeping it clean is one of the biggest challenges we face in the cafe and the importance of how we present the space to customers cannot be understated. Working clean is the key to having a clear head, a ready bar, efficient service, and a cafe that communicates security to the customer. Today we chat about some elements of working clean that will help you create a culture of cleanliness that both you and your customers will love.
Related Episodes:
Episode 84: Crushing the Rush
Episode 2 "Mastering Your Workflow" w/ Ryan Soeder
4 Keys to Creating an Effective Checklist
Sprudge is here!!! Founders, Jordan Michaelman and Zachary Carlsen join me on the show talk about their new book, "The New Rules of Coffee". In this conversation we unpack their creative process deciding what to include in the book, their goal for the content and tone taken in writing these "rules", and what this book means for both consumers and pros. We dive into select rules from each section of the book and discuss everything from snotty baristas, coffee's colonial heritage, mine and Zachary's grandmother's "special" coffee, why you don't need fancy equipment to make great coffee at home, and how coffee can save the world.
Jordan and Zachary have been on the leading edge of what is going on in specialty coffee for the better part of a decade through their work with Sprudge. The distillation of what they have learned, seen, and experienced as integral members of the specialty community is written out in an approachable, gently challenging, and refreshingly practical way in this book. With consumers being both our livelihood as professionals, and the main audience for this book, it would behoove us to take note of these New Rules of Coffee.
Enjoy!
Links to learn more about Sprudge and the book tour:
www.sprudge.com
Sprudge on Instagram
Become a Stockist: Books@sprudge.com
This Episode is brought to you by:
www.prima-coffee.com
www.pacficfoods.com
It's Founder Friday! Today we are welcoming the great Matt Milletto of Water Avenue Coffee to the show! This conversation is packed with extremely valuable insight from someone who not only runs his own shop and roastery but has spent year educating and training others to do the same thing. We discuss his path to choosing coffee from growing up with coffee as the family business, the consulting and training at Bellissimo Coffee Advisors, the founding and running of Water Avenue Coffee, and how they prioritize community and partnerships based on their core values. Matt has an unparalleled body of experience in retail coffee and in this talk he delivers so much great advice and wisdom learned from the front lines of specialty coffee.
Links:
www.wateravenuecoffee.com
www.onlinebaristatraining.com
www.coffeebusiness.com
Books:
Small Giants
Blue Ocean Strategy
SHIFT BREAK #20 : Today we welcome the first ever guest to the Shift Break series, Joe Marocco! A little while ago Joe posted a brilliant piece on his FB page that he has now graciously given to Keys to the Shop in audio form.
Joe is the Coffee Educator at Mill City Roasters in Minneapolis, MN and has been in specialty coffee since 2005. He has been a barista, manager, educator, and leader in the Barista Guild of America. He was also the Director of Education for Cafe Imports and is the Chair of the Membership and Communications Committee for the Roasters Guild Executive Council.
This distillation of advice is gold to young and old coffee pros alike who are looking to set a trajectory that will guide them to a fulfilling coffee career.
I hope you enjoy Joe's words and wisdom!
Links:
www.millcityroasters.com
KTTS Ep. 20 : Transparency, Origin Knowledge, and Your Shop w/ Joe Marrocco
Mill City Roaster School on You Tube
Stories are at the heart of all we do and to truly know coffee, you must know more than dry facts, you must know the story of the people behind it. James Harper has dedicated himself to discovering and giving a platform to the untold stories of the coffee industry on his new podcast, Filter Stories. In this conversation we talk about James' story and how he came to begin such a project, what are the problems with the way we tell stories now in the industry, what can we do to better understand the stories around us and why is that important for us personally and professionally? James gives us examples from both his personal life and from the lives of those he has interviewed to lay out a framework for us that will give clarity and direction for how story can be, not just another buzz word we use to sell coffee, but a powerful vehicle for how we build a caring and close community.
Links:
www.filterstories.org
Visit Our Sponsors!
Need equipment? www.prima-coffee.com
Best Non-Dairy Options! www.pacificfoods.com
SHIFT BREAK #19 : Pumpkin spice everything! It's all too convenient to jump on the bandwagon of hating on this, and other, seasonal flavors that may feel to mass marketed for our taste. Today we talk about the best practices and mentality we should have when seasonal flavor expectations are hoisted upon us, and how to view them as a chance to further engage the community and enjoy things together. So grab a pumpkin spice latte and enjoy this episode!
Instead of being a normal part of our professional development, self-care is often a last resort after we have pushed ourself past where it was healthy in a bid to further our career and serve well. Today we chat about some practical ways that you can integrate self-care into your daily life and avoid the burn out that is inevitable when it is not made a priority. We also talk about what managers and leaders can do to help facilitate and inspire self-care in their staff.
This is a massively important practice and there are many ways to go about it. I hope this episode helps inspire you to make self-care and kindness to yourself a cornerstone of your professional, and personal, life.
Enjoy!
Visit our sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com
www.pacificfoods.com
SHIFT BREAK #18 : Today we talk about one of the most powerful practices for creating a healthy workplace. Affirmation.
In leadership, it is easy for us to veer off into being overly critical, nitpicky, and to focus on the problems and negatives as a default modes of operating. Unfortunately this tends to push affirmation and positive reinforcement aside and leaves staff starved for recognition while creating a crisis of morale. In this episode we discuss some practical ways to make affirmation a cornerstone of your leadership and communication.
Related Episode:
004: Being a People-First Leader
Sponsor: Square Payroll
www.square.com/go/keys
Coffee education can often be a mixed bag. While resources presenting information on coffee and barista work abound, it is hard to come by reliable and well researched best practices that will genuinely help you make better coffee. Enter Matt Perger and Barista Hustle. Arguably one of the best coffee education platforms in the world, Barista Hustle focuses on providing trustworthy foundations in coffee education that you can build your knowledge base on and advance knowing it is built on sure footing. Matt's own propensity for wanting to solve tricky problems in the coffee industry along with relying on a strong community of like minded coffee professionals has fueled the success of Barista Hustle and impacted the global coffee scene in a massive way. Today we sit down with him to discuss what drives him in his pursuit of helping the world make better coffee, the founding principles of Barista Hustle, the importance of being expert in the basics, in-house training, proper use of outside resources, how the educational modules are built, the new Barista Hustle Unlimited education Subscription service, and Matt's advice for what we should focus on in the retail coffee world to do better in training and education.
I am so thankful and honored to print this conversation to you and I hope you both enjoy and benefit from it!
Stay tuned in through the end to hear a clip from upcoming Guest, James Harper's "Filter Stories" podcast. James will be talking with me about the power of story in an episode airing on September 25th.
www.filterstories.org
Links for Barista Hustle:
www.baristahustle.com
SHIFT BREAK #17 : Being vulnerable in leadership is a great quality but it can turn into something toxic when it becomes an excuse for bad behavior that drives people away and damages their confidence in you and the business. Today we chat about ways to recognize this and make sure to be on the positive and professional side of vulnerability for the benefit of the staff and yourself.
There is an interesting phenomenon in the cafe where as you move up support, communication, and development tends to be harder to come by. The result is managers and other leadership staff feeling abandoned and burned out as they are left to navigate the complexities of their work solo. It does not have to be like this and on today's episode we discuss why this happens, and some solutions what for both owners and managers.
Enjoy!
It's Founder Friday and boy do we have a great episode in store for you today! Today we welcome Dorian Bolden, Owner of Beyu Caffe in Durham, NC. Beyu (be-you) is designed to be "The Ultimate Community Gathering Place" and has been serving Durham through great coffee, cocktails, food, and live jazz for almost 10 years. He is now opening his second shop, Beyu Blue, on the Duke University campus and I was lucky enough to catch up with Dorian amidst all the business surrounding that project to explore the story behind this dynamic company. It was absolutely refreshing and inspiring.
In this interview we talk about the early years establishing the business, his vision for an inclusive and diverse community space, the challenges of work-life balance, cash flow, delegation, caring for the culture, hiring, letting the shop take on a life of it's own, the importance of mentorship, and what brings him the most joy as an owner after all these years.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!
Links:
www.beyucaffe.com
SHIFT BREAK #16 : Latte art competitions are fun and inspire us to greater heights of presentation and skill. They can also, when taken without context, frustrate and paint a literally unrealistic picture for aspiring baristas. Today I share some of my thoughts on how to balance the real world with the competitive one.
Live from Los Angeles! G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger are two of the best shops you can find in this world. Since the beginning owners Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski have used the multi-roaster to critical acclaim. They have now, however, taken the massive step to roasting all of their own coffees. In this interview Kyle and Charles sit down with me in their new roasting space and talk about this transition, why they made the decision, what made it apparent that it was the right thing to do for them, and what they did to prepare to do it successfully.
We also chat about their methods for quality control, business philosophy, retail concept development, and their plans for future shop growth. Their advice and insight is priceless as it is earned on the back of the grit of real world experience building what they want to become, and arguably already is, an L.A. institution.
Don't miss this one!
Links
www.gandb.coffee(sign up for the mailing list)
Go Get Em Tiger Instagram
G&B Instagram
SHIFT BREAK #15 : In spite of our best intentions, we who are leaders in the cafe can often introduce chaos through the way we act without consideration for those who will be affected by our decisions and example. Today we chat about three things to keep in mind that will help you avoid introducing chaos into the bar, will help you retain staff, and will help you build a strong culture of trust and appreciation.
Changing lives through coffee! It is something we all want to take part in and learn how to do with our businesses and careers. Well, today's guest is doing just that and setting an example that should inspire all of us. We are having a conversation with Pamela Chng, the founder of Bettr Barista. Better Barista is a coffee organization built to make a lasting social impact by working with marginalize women and at risk youth in Singapore.
We dig into her work, the history of why she set up this company, how it works, the challenges of training high standards in coffee and also helping train their students emotionally, and physically to better their lives and overcome the challenges they face.
Pamela also lays out for us what we should do if we too want to use our business for social impact and effectively change lives through coffee.
Pamela is basically a hero and this conversation is sure to inspire you to action.
Enjoy!
Links:
WWW.BETTRBARISTA.COM
SHIFT BREAK #14 : We explore that all too familiar cop-out, "It's not my Job", how giving into that notion will sabotage your career, and what to do and think instead.
Maria Cleaveland is a master of management, leadership, and organizational systems and process. She has spent over 30 years in hospitality leadership, the last 17 of which have spent in leading the charge in specialty coffee. Her journey has been one of taking on challenges and a wide variety of high level roles that shaped her into the professional she is today. In this conversation we talk about the arc her career and from it pull out amazing insights, advice, and life lessons that she has learned that will leave you motivated and equipped to better pursue the opportunities that this industry presents to you.
It was a great honor to have Maria on the show and I hope you really enjoy this Leadership and Management Master Class.
Links:
Maria's Instagram
Maria's Linkedin
www.bext360.com
www.Urnex.com
SHIFT BREAK #13 : What can we learn about hospitality from spiders? Today on Shift Break we talk about just that.
Giving feedback is not an easy task. We often psych ourselves out and/or procrastinate on delivering it, dreading the conversation and what might happen when we bring it up. This is especially true when the situation seems to be infused with tension. Fear not! Today we turn to coaching and communication expert (and past guest), Tom Henschel to help us navigate the task of delivering feedback effectively so you get the best possible outcome. We discuss why it is hard to give feedback, the importance of keeping things conversational, some key missteps that managers make when delivering feedback, and we explore a 4 step model that Tom uses with his clients that provides a great framework for that feedback conversation you need to have. We even act out a couple scenarios and direct them to give examples of what to do , and what not to do.
This episode is immensely practical and important. Tom, of course, delivers priceless insights and advice that you won't want to miss.
Be sure to go to www.keystotheshop.com/resources to download the PDF of the 4 step feedback model Tom has generously made available to KTTS listeners!
Links:
Tom's Company: www.essentialcomm.com
Tom's Podcast: The look and Sound of Leadership
Tom's last appearance on KTTS: ep. 52 Solving Coworker Conflict
SHIFT BREAK #12 : It is bound to happen. One day we are inspired, passionate, and the wind is in our sails , but the next we are down, weary, questioning our choice of career, and generally in a slump. The good news is that this is a normal occurrence and the even better news is that it may actually be good for us. Today we discuss the purpose of these dry spells and low points we are bound to encounter as we grow and how we can embrace them as vital elements in our long-term health and success.
Ervin Liz is an indigenous Colombian of the Nasa tribe who grew up on a coffee farm helping his family plant, pick, process, and sell their harvest. Years later co-founded The Colombian Coffee Connection where he imports, roasts, and sells the coffee sourced from his home in Colombia direct to the consumer and gives 10% of all profits to charitable initiatives on the farm. Relationship coffee does not get more intimate than that!
In this interview we get to hear about Ervin's story, the company's founding, and Ervins perspective on the effectiveness of certifications and their impact on the farmer. We also discuss the trend of internal consumption of specialty coffee at origin, and what shops can do to best represent the farmer to their customers. This is a great opportunity to see the entire supply chain through the yes of someone who has literally done it all.
Enjoy!
Links:
To learn more and buy coffee visit:
www.thecollombiancoffeeconnection.com Use code:"Keys" to get 5% off your entire purchase and $5 per lb one coffee sold will also be donated to humanitarian relief "Coffee w/ Heart"
Visit Our Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com
www.pacificfoods.com
It's Founder Friday!!! Today we get to sit down with Justin Hartman who is the Founder of the standard bearing OZO Coffee Company. Justin brings a very down to earth perspective to all he undertakes. We discuss his journey into coffee working as a barista in the best shops he could find, the founding and evolution of OZO Coffee from one small shop using other roasters to now 4 busy cafes with a thriving (Good Food Award Winning)roasting operation. We also dive into management, leadership, scaling the business, the challenges of growth, hiring, and Justins 3 pieces of advice to other shop owners. There is a lot here and I know you will walk away informed and inspired!
LINKS:
Ozo Coffee Co.
Justin@ozocoffee.com
SHIFT BREAK #11 : When it comes to work that needs to get done in the shop the default for a manager can be to just do it ourselves. It's faster and at least we know the job will get done correctly. This, however, is a mistake and will ultimately lead to longterm negative consequences for both you and the employee to whom the task should have been delegated.
In today's Shift Break I talk about the trap of just doing it yourself and why it is best to lean into the work of investing in delegation, training, and helping develop the skills of others.
There are countless details that go into setting up a great coffee shop. At the top of the list of priorities are the legal considerations that provide you with a foundation on which to build your dream cafe in a way that won't turn that dream into a nightmare. Today we welcome long time attorney and general counsel to the Specialty Coffee Association, World Coffee Events, and Coffee Quality Institute, Marshall Fuss!
We dive into 5 critical areas where most shops run into trouble and Marshall details how you can avoid mistakes in each of them. This is a VERY practical and valuable episode that gives you some serious keys to being a legally sound and thriving shop. I can't think of a better subject for ep.101 than some legal 101. Enjoy!
Links:
Marshall's Website
Free help from retired business pro's S.C.O.R.E.
SHIFT BREAK #10: We take our coffee very seriously. We obsessively taste, cup, evaluate, and discuss all to perfect the way we extract and serve it to the guest. Not so, however, for the rest of the menu that is not a small milk drink or straight espresso or brewed coffee. We tend to hold certain alterations and items in contempt. Today we chat about how we can raise our game by becoming serious about getting to know and appreciate the whole menu and, in so doing, be able to offer a much better customer experience.
Wooo Hooo! It's the 100th episode of Keys to the Shop!!! Thank you so much for listening to and supporting this show! I can think of no better way to use this time than to highlight what a critical role you all play in the industry. Today I want to talk to you about why you are the the key. You can provide others with insights, inspiration, and tools that will have a positive impact on your circle of influence no matter what you do in the industry or how long you've been doing it. I hope that after todays episode you feel confident to take what you have and put it to work even more within specialty coffee community.
I can't tell you how humbled and honored I am to be able to do this work on this platform and I will always work to make what is done here increasingly valuable and impactful for you and your success.
Thank you!
GIVEAWAY ALERT!
In honor of the 100th episode I am giving away a mini-library consisting of these books:
- What I know About Running Coffee Shops -Colin Harmon (Donated by Prima Coffee)
- It's OK to be the Boss -Bruce Tulgan
- Setting the Table -Danny Meyer
To enter the contest:
- Follow Keys to the Shop & Prima Coffee on Instagram
- In the comments section of this episode's IG post:Tag a friend & Leave a comment telling everyone your favorite episode of KTTS.
Winner announced Thursday July 19th!
Links:
Remember the first episode? Ep: 001 Intro and What to Expect
Why it's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
Founder Friday w/ Colin Harmon
Leadership and Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia
SHIFT BREAK #9 : One of the best ways we can make a big difference in the cafe is by taking care of the small stuff. Unfortunately we all know that the small problems like broken timers, leaky sinks, and rotting sponges tend to accumulate quickly and become a real morale killer for baristas and point of stress for management. Today we chat about why you should resist the Siren song of resigning yourself to these little dysfunctions and take on the habit of consistently fixing the small stuff.
Competitions don't have to be expensive, complex, or stressful! The Barista League is proof. Today we are talking with Barista League founder, Steven Moloney about this community focused, engaging, and refreshing competition. We discuss the benefits of this type of format, what people who attend are saying, his perspective on specialty retail, and advice for how we can support and liven up our shops and cities on our own. This is a great chat that will leave you encouraged to connect with and learn from your your fellow baristas and maybe even join the Barista League.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
www.thebaristaleague.com
Thanks to our Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com
www.pacificfoods.com
SHIFT BREAK #8 : We all have a bit of laziness in us. Throughout the day there are dozens of opportunities to make decisions that will either pave the way to excellence or to compromise and mediocrity. Who we become as people and an industry is built by of thousands these important decisional micro-moments. Today on Shift Break #8 we explore this subject and what you can do to break the cycle and create a personal culture of excellence that you take with you wherever you go.
This is a critical episode so I hope you take it to heart and put it into action!
Links/Resources:
Do the Work - Steven Pressfield
Leadership and Self Deception- The Arbinger Institute
Mindset -Dr. Carol Dweck
As shifts go, the closing shift is normally not a covent one. We can suffer from boredom, lack of motivation, disillusionment, isolation, and end up feeling bitter toward our day-time counterparts who get to work more in the thick of the coffeehouse culture plus make better tips!
Been there done that. I happen to find a certain beauty and nobility in a closing shift that makes me cherish the experience even in the midst of the hardships that come with it. So what if we could take another look at the closing shift and reframe it in a way that the close an honor rather than a punishment? Today we discuss the both the issues and the virtues of the closing shift and give managers and baristas practical solutions, steps, and tools to reframe the mindset around it and achieve a higher level of excellence and satisfaction.
Thank you for listening and Enjoy!
Related Episodes:
Episode 46 : Death by Comparison
Episode 56 : The Sleepwalking Barista
Episode 31 : Essential Advice for New Baristas
Contact me:Chris@keystotheshop.com
Remember to rate, review, and subscribe!
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!
WWW.PRIMA-COFFEE.COM
WWW.PACIFICFOODS.COM
It's Founder Friday! Today we are honored to hear from the owner of The Arrow Coffeehouse, Erica Escalante. Erica is a 10 year veteran of the specialty industry and went from Starbucks barista to coffee shop owner. Her story is one of extraordinary hard work, dedication, building relationships, constant learning, vulnerability, and servant leadership. Her perspectives on communication, making business decisions, hiring, and where she draws energy and joy in her busy life will leave you refreshed and enlivened to work hard to do good.
Enjoy!
Links:
www.thearrowcoffeehouse.com
Instagram (Portland)
Instagram (Damascus)
Our Sponsors!
www.prima-coffee.com
www.pacificfoods.com
SHIFT BREAK #7 : At the heart of every health organization is a prioritized and regular system of communication that gives a voice and an ear to their staff. The one-on-one meeting is a very powerful tool to bring cohesion, give clarity, and increase morale across the company. In today's Shift Break we discuss what it looks like to implement this meeting and why it is so critical to a thriving and positive work culture.
Links to helpful resources:
Manager Tools Podcast on One-on-ones
KTTS 004 : 10 steps to being a people first leader
KTTS 018 : Hiring, culture, and the future of your shop
Did you say "Instant specialty coffee"?! Yup, that's right. Not only does it taste 300 times better than traditional instant but it may well change the way you think about accessibility, consumer engagement, and how we provide value to the end user. In this episode we are joined by the founder of Voila (One of the pioneers of instant specialty coffee) Kent Sheridan. Kent and I discuss the evolution of his company, the philosophy behind their process and approach to no-compromise quality. Does association with instant coffee damage the reputation of specialty or enhance its value? What is behind the rise of convenience specialty products, and what should retail shops take away and learn from this movement? Find out here and take some note because this is sure to give you some ideas for your approach to specialty and engaging a wider audience.
Enjoy!
Links:
www.voila.coffee
Related episodes:
#92 : Yes Plz w/ Tony Konecny
#69 : Hosting a Consumer Coffee Class
#35 : The Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnot
Our Sponsors:
www.prima-coffee.com
www.pacificfoods.com
SHIFT BREAK #6 : Today we are exploring a mentality practiced in cafe leadership that is a microcosm of gentrification. Changing this behavior and mindset can stop coffee shops from being forces that aid in cultural displacement and turn into spaces that aid in cultural enrichment of both their internal and external communities.
LINKS/RESOURCES:
Liz Ogbu TED Talk: Healing vs. Displacing Communities
Stan Slap's book: Under the Hood
In coffee shops we know a thing or two about being stressed! It can range from nagging to debilitating just with a single shift. If you want to experience more calm and peace of mind in the cafe, even in the midst of the business then this episode will definitely help. Today we are talking with celebrated mental wellness counselor and host of the Practice of the Practice podcast, Joe Sanok. Joe share a lot of great insights into the story behind stress, Brain optimization, how staff and owners can manage and reduce stress while at work, the relationship between systems and stress, and helps us walk away with some tools that will bring the well being that we need to sustain a long and healthy career begins the bar.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
www.practiceofthepractice.com
Our Sponsors:
www.prima-coffee.com
www.pacificfoods.com
SHIFT BREAK #5 : Conferences, trade shows, and podcasts all bring together people and ideas that help us grow and get answers to questions we have that unlock new levels in our careers. The question is, why wait until a conference comes around or an episode comes out to ask your question or connect with those ideas and people? Today on Shift Break we discuss our tendency to isolate ourselves until special events and the benefit of reaching out to those who we respect and can learn from in our industry. This has been a great help to me in my career and I hope this episode inspires you to take action and connect to the community in a deeper and more direct way. You can do it!
We all want a fulfilling career in coffee but often times we feel trapped and disappointed with where we are and cannot see the next move. Enter Lee Safar. Lee is the owner of "Map it Forward" and host of the "Map it Forward Live Podcast". She has amassed a world of experience and knowledge in her over 15 years of working in coffee and draws on both her expertise and other industry success stories to teach you how you can map out an amazing career, grow you business, and be a true professional.
In this conversation we discuss how she came to start Map it Forward, what surprised her about the state of professionalism in baristas, what dysfunctional behaviors owners and managers engage in that hold themselves and others back, how to stop the blame game, creating a win-win for for both employer and employee, setting goals, and advice for what both baristas and leaders can do immediately to start to Map it Forward and build a successful coffee career.
It was a great time chatting with Lee. She and her work are very much kindred spirits to KTTS on many levels and I hope you find thins episode to be inspiring and helpful.
Enjoy!
Links:
MAP IT FORWARD www.mapitforward.org The MAP IT FORWARD PODCAST:
www.youtube.com/mapitforward iTunes @imapitforward (IG)
@imapitforward (FB)
imapitforward@gmail.com
Elixir Specialty Coffee: www.Elixirfy.Me | @elixirspecialtycoffee (Instagram and Facebook) hello@elixirfy.me
SHIFT BREAK #4 : We are in the hospitality business and we recognize that the guest experience hinges on how they are treated. There is, however, a pervasive mindset and set of behaviors that make the customer an enemy in our minds and colors the way we think and act toward them, which ultimately damages their coffee experience and the industry at large. This week we talk about how we make the customer the enemy and what we can do to solve this toxic problem that lives in so many cafes.
Today we get to talk with the 2018 U.S. Brewers Cup Champion, Becca Woodard! It was such a pleasure to chat about the details that went into her fantastic performance, the fascinating story of her competition coffee, her personal drive and the message she delivered regarding changing systems, her mission as a specialty coffee ambasador, and some challenges to the coffee community around how we can become a more diverse and inclusive community.
Becca is a humble and inspiring champion and you will be all the better for listening to her in this conversation. I hope you enjoy!
Links:
Becca Instagram
Becca Twitter
Boston Intersectionality Panel info
George Howell Coffee
Beccas Performance Video (Start and minute 2:02:27)
SHIFT BREAK #3 : Hiring is one of the most important things you will do for the benefit of the cafe and great questions are key in helping you decide who to bring on and who to not. Today I talk about my favorite interview question and why it has been so instrumental in helping me gain clarity around who to hire. I hope this is helpful to you!
Great coffee should be for everyone! For the consumer today though, specialty coffee can be complicated. But it does not have to be! Today we talk with industry legend Tony "Tonx" Konecny, Founder of Tonx Coffee, and Co-founder of Yes Plz (the people behind the $1 cup of coffee at Locol) all about his mission to remedy this issue. In addition to discussing Yes Plz and some of Tony's professional history that informs the companies philosophy we will talk about:challenging orthodoxy, intentional blending, pricing for accessibility, coffee subscriptions, on-boarding customers, the industries echo chamber and much more. Tony has a lot to say that I think will help shape our approach to customers in the shop and really make an impact on how "into" coffee they get.
Throughout this talk ask yourself: What are we doing to help customers into specialty coffee in the shops? How can I apply these philosophies to how I act and speak with customers in the shop? What rules or orthodoxies am I holding onto that may need to be challenged in the name of progress?
I hope you enjoy this interview!
LINKS:
YESPLZ.COFFEE
KICKSTARTER
Thanks to our sponsors!
www.pacificfoods.com
www.prima-coffee.com
Boy do we have a great on in store for you! Talor Browne, Co-founder of Talor & Jorgen in Oslo, Norway chats with us on this May edition of Founder Friday. Talor is an absolute legend and through her career has been at the helm of some of the worlds greatest cafes and roasters. She and her business partner Jorgen opened Talor & Jorgen December 2017 and have put together what looks to be one of the industries most unique and fun concepts.
In this discussion we talk about Talor's path in the coffee and culinary world, the back story of how Talor & Jorgen was founded, their mission and vision, the key to hiring the right people, and the lessons learned in the process. We touch on delegation, burnout, passion, growth, strengths, and the importance of keeping great coffee easy and fun!
Talor has a lot of great advice to those of us in the industry and to those of us hoping to start a shop that is as much an authentic expression of our ethos as Talor & Jorgen is of theirs.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
www.talorjorgen.no
Re:co Talk
SHIFT BREAK! #2 : Management is often the first position we get promoted to within the cafe and it comes with a lot of added responsibility and pressure. From my own experience and observations over the years there are 3 things that effective managers put into practice and are always looking to get better at. In todays Shift Break we discuss what those things are and why they are so important.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for next week's Shift Break!
chris@keystotheshop.com
While many of us can say that we are students of coffee and coffee shops, not many can say that we study it on an academic level the way or guest Dr. Jennifer Ferreira does. In this discussion Dr. Ferreira talks about her research into coffee shops, their impact in society, and the things that she has learned along the way. We discuss the cafe's place in society and its various roles, as well as its impact on the environment, the community, and the economy. We also discuss whether more is always better when it comes to the increasing number of specialty stores opening globally and what might be the next phase for the growth of the cafe industry.
I hope you enjoy this chat and make time to discover Dr. Ferreira's work at the links below!
Links:
https://cafespaces.wordpress.com
https://www.jennifer-ferreira.com
https://twitter.com/jennywrenwatts
Cafe Spaces Research Summary
Barista Magazine Article on gentrification (see page 94)
Have we reached peak coffee shop?
SHIFT BREAK #1 : Welcome to Shift Break! This is a new feature of Keys to the Shop that gives you quick and focused insights, tips, and tools you can use to thrive in the cafe. My hope is that if you are pressed for time you can take something away from these mini-episodes that will positively impact your life. Today I wanted to talk about anger and how you can overcome it when you are on shift. The 3 tips have proven effective in my own career and I hope they benefit you as well.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for next week's Shift Break!
LINK:
Solving Coworker Conflict: http://www.keystotheshop.com/podcasts/52-2/
chris@keystotheshop.com
Today we have the immense honor of talking with Andrew Daday, General Manager of La Marzocco USA! We dive into his leadership, values, and goals as he heads up one of the worlds most iconic and respected equipment manufacturing companies. Also in this conversation we discuss the critical importance of La Marzocco's relationship with the coffee shop, their vision for sustainability, how they serve such a wide and varied customer base while still pushing the envelope on quality, how innovation goes from idea to implementation, and throughout all this, Andrew give us some excellent management and leadership advice that will have a huge impact on the way you serve.
I hope you enjoy this and are inspired!
LINKS:
www.lamarzoccousa.com
LM on Youtube
chris@keystotheshop.com
Today we talk with the new U.S. Barista Champion, Cole McBride! Cole has always given 110% effort to improving both his own craft and being an advocate for specialty coffee and those around him. In his 15 years of professional coffee work he has gleaned an impressive amount of wisdom, skill, and perspective that is clearly on display both on the stage and in this conversation. We cover everything from his career's development, competition history, some deep dives into the details of his winning performance, lessons learned from challenges, how intention and awareness are key elements of being a successful barista, and his quest to uplift the barista in his role as an ambassador for specialty coffee. This conversation is packed! I was very much energized and inspired by Cole and I hope you feel the same way.
Enjoy!
LINKS FOR COLE:
EMAIL: colecoffeeseattle@gmail.com
Today we talk with Coffee Masters Champion, Agnieszka Rojewska! She is the multi-time Polish Barista champion, Latte Art champion, and now Coffee Masters champion, a trainer, consultant, and all around inspiration!
In this conversation we chat about her packed completion schedule, pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, her experience as a cafe owner and manager folding in lessons from competition into day-to-day operations, the importance of the customer being our focus, and how we can create opportunity to advance our careers.
It was an honor to talk with Agnieszka and I know you will get something valuable from this conversation.
Links:
Interested in Keys to the Shop Consulting? Email: chris@keystotheshop.com or call at 502-715-1465
Warmth, hospitality, community, kid songs...this episode has it all! Today we get the chat with the founder of Pinhole Coffee, JoEllen Depakakibo! JoEllen's shop, Pinhole Coffee, is an amazing little cafe nestled in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Fransisco. For four years now she has been living her dream of owning a coffee shop that is also conduit and hub for art and community.
We talk about her coming up in coffee, how she decided to open her own place, the challenges of getting started, the values that drive her, how they show hospitality to each other and the customer, hiring, and her advice on how to create a solid community focused business.
Enjoy!
Links:
www.pinholecoffee.com
Logo Artist Joey
Artist Leah Rosenberg
Architect : bcooperative.com
Mitsuko Tanaka ceramict
It is often the little things that we allow or that escape our attention that will ruin the specialty experience for our customers in our shops. Today we discuss ways that we create unnecessary roadblocks to customers having a truly great experience in the cafe and what to do about it. We give you a framework to use in rooting out issues and cover some of the main points that are likely hiding in plain sight. When we give these behaviors a pass or let these details slip over time, we end up holding our industry back from being truly effective at the store level in representing specialty coffee well.
Links:
Episode #57 SOPs FTW!
Colin Harmon's Book
James Hoffman's video about being your own customer
"We got slammed!", "Today was intense!", "It was crazy!" ...If you have ever said this then today's episode is for you. In the cafe we all experience rushes differently based on how well prepared we are. A sudden pop of business or sustained time of having a line out the door can be either the time to shine or to shift into survival mode. A rush is one of the most critical times for your business to make a great and lasting impression. Today we will explore some helpful tips and best practices that will give you more of an opportunity to embrace those times with confidence and crush the rush!
Links:
Episode 2 "Mastering Your Workflow" w/ Ryan Soeder
Interested in training & Consultation? Contact me here:
Chris@keystotheshop.com / 502-715-1465
I love recommending great books! In this episode we talk about 6 books that I think are critical to your professional development. They cover everything form hospitality, coffee knowledge, operations, management, personal growth, and vocational calling and should be a part of your library. I want to do more episodes like this so keep an eye and ear out for tools focused episodes and a "Round 2 " of books for you to read.
It is my hope that at least one if not all these books have profound impact on your work and life. I know they have in mine.
Enjoy!
WWW.KEYSTOTHESHOP.COM
Chris@keystotheshop.com
What role does delivery of flavor, knowledge, and consistency play in giving your company the depth and soul needed to truly execute on a high level of quality over the long haul? Is specialty coffee scaleable? How do we think and act in order for our businesses to succeed long term?
Great questions that we get answers to and more as we welcome Cosimo Libardo, Managing Director of Toby's Estate Coffee to the show!
Cosimo's role in the industry has been one of leading innovation both in the way we work with coffee and think about it. His expertise in the business of specialty really shines through as we discuss things that are crucial to not only our business success but the success of specialty as a concept in the global market.
Go to www.keystotheshop.com and enter your email for the show notes.
Also reach out to me with comments, questions etc. chris@keystotheshop.com
Links for this episode:
www.tobysestate.com.au
@tobysestatecoffee / Instagram
@tobysestateaustralia / Facebook
It's Founder Friday!!!
I am honored to have David Schomer of Espresso Vivace join us on the show as his company celebrates it's 30th year. Since it's founding in 1988 Espresso Vivace has been home to David's groundbreaking and paradigm shifting experiments with espresso coffee and drink presentation. His work has been foundational and formative in the lives of countless professionals around the world. In this interview I get to talk with David about the early years, his philosophy on service and what he wants customers to experience in his stores, why only 3 shops in 30 years, what makes a great espresso, hiring, the secret to longevity, how he has personally grown over these 3 decades of meticulous pursuit of his espresso ideal, and much more!
There is a lot to take away and be inspired by here. Enjoy!
Links:
www.espressovivace.com
Reach out to KTTS!
chris@keystotheshop.com
Changing things in the shop can either make things better or make things worse. Of course you need to have a good idea or solution, but, once you have that, it is all about HOW you go about implementing the change. Today I am presenting to you some guidelines, A workflow of sorts, that will help you make changes that stick and actually build rapport in the process.
We have all been a part of a shop where the leaders make changes in less than ideal ways and cause needed stress. We also have likely been the ones to rush a project or solution into existence and felt the blowback from the staff. My hope is that this episode will aid you in your ability to institute changes successfully.
Enjoy!
Questions? Comments? Want to explore working with KTTS Consulting? email me!
Chris@keystotheshop.com
-or call-
502-715-1465
Related episodes:
EP 74: The Life Changing Power of Good Authority
EP 67 : 6 Truths About Power
Hey! Coffee Fest Baltimore 2018 was fantastic and I got to visit and chat with three fantastic people for this KTTS episode. What are people looking for at an event like this? What are the things you, as a coffee retailer should be pursuing and focusing on as you go out to acquire knowledge and build your business? How can you cultivate confidence and stay motivated even though you are brand new to the industry? What does a trade show like Coffee Fest hope to offer those who make the investment to attend? All these questions and more are answered in these interviews.
We get to hear about from Matt Milletto (Water Avenue Coffee & ABCS), Stephen Zimmerman (KTTS super fan and business owner at "The Coffee Enthusiast: A Brewing Company" aka:TCE) , and Coffee Fest Show Director, Erika Lowery.
I love doing interviews form events like this. Be it a throw down, conference, trade show, or live from a shop. The energy and passion is just so inspiring and I hope that you feel the same way listening to this episode.
Did you know Keys to the Shop now offers consultation and training for you and your cafe? It's true! If you want to find out how KTTS can help you unlock the potential of your career or cafe email me or call:
Chris@keystotheshop.com
1-502-715-1465
LINKS:
www.CoffeeFest.com
Stephen Zimmerman: The Coffee Enthusiast: A Brewing Company
TCE : Instagram
Matt Milletto: Water Avenue Coffee
www.BaristaExchange.com
Tasting coffee gives us a window into where the coffee came from and what it's potential can be. Those who work in green buying and sensory analysis are tasked with tasting the truth of a coffee and deciding how it will turn up on retail shelves the world over.
Today we are talking with 2014 U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Amanda Juris to explore green buying, cupping, sensory analysis, and how our decisions on the cupping table and score sheet impact what the customer ultimately gets in the cafe.
You will leave this conversation with some tips on how to build a solid tasting protocol for your operation and a deeper understanding of what our perceptions and descriptions as professionals do to sway those of the consumer.
Enjoy!
Got questions? Feedback? Want to ask about training and consulting?
Chris@keystotheshop.com
We all want to find the right job, right? For many of us though we end up having to settle on something that does not quite fit and end up feeling stuck. How can we take the first steps in the direction of a career that is perfect for us? What is involved in taking charge of and setting the direction for your career? Today to help us make the critical decisions that lead to happiness at work we are joined by the host of the "Happen to Your Career" podcast, Scott Anthony Barlow.
We discuss the framework he uses with his clients to help fit them into the right vocation, pitfalls that trip us up in our pursuit of meaning at work, what bosses and leaders can do to stop trapping people in ill fitted roles, and what we can expect as we set out on this journey.
I'm a BIG fan of Scott's work and I hope this conversation helps you happen to you career!
Links:
www.happentoyourcareer.com
www.whatfitsyou.co
https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com
KEYS TO THE SHOP NEWS!
Did you know KTTS is now offering consultation, coaching, and training for you and your shop?! Tis' true
If you are interested in finding out how KTTS can help unlock the potential of your cafe you can email: Chris@keystotheshop.com
Clean and well functioning equipment is definitely one of the keys to the shop! Problem is that we tend to lose those keys and end up with problems that could have been prevented with some basic attention to regular maintenance. To talk with us about best practices and key areas to invest time, attention, and resource into we have Tom Ritz, Owner of Workhorse Customs in Portland, OR.
Tom brings us a clear, simple, and wise perspective on how we can best take care of the workhorses in our cafe so they keep on working well for our cafe
Bonus
Sign up on the Keys to the Shop email list when prompted at www.keystotheshop.com and receive Tom's Step-by-Step instructions for changing your "Baskets, Gaskets, Screens , and Screws" and tips on changing your water filtration!
Helpful links:
- www.workhorsecustoms.com
- Workhorse on Instagram
It's Founder Friday! Today we get to chat with one of the key players in the Seattle coffee shop scene, Jill Killen.
For the past 16 year she has run coffee shops and has been dedicated to serving and investing into her staff and the community through them. We talk about her start in coffee, how she became the owner of three different shops, the passion and moxie that drove here (and still drives her), her philosophy on hospitality and hiring, how she maintains the accessibility of the cafes amid higher operating costs and much more. It was an interview packed with great tips for owners and inspiration for coffee pros everywhere.
Links:
www.cloudcitycoffee.com
www.royaldrummer.com
www.eldiablocoffee.com
IG:
Cloud City
El Diablo Coffee
Royal Drummer Coffee
Good authority changes lives and can change the world! It all starts with with how we show up for the people we lead and the way we facilitate both theirs and our growth in a people-first culture. In the current climate where being a boss or having authority is rightfully met with skepticism, having the road map and the tools to build a new way of being a leader is critical.
Today we talk with Jonathan Raymond, CEO of Refound, and author of the book, "Good Authority:How to Become the Leader Your team Is Waiting For"
In this episode you will learn what is behind dysfunctional or toxic examples of authority, the power of vulnerability to build trust, the kindness of feedback and managing expectation, why nobody cares if you're sorry, and why we need to have the audacity to think we all can change the world.
I don't say this lightly when I say this may be one of the most important episodes we've ever done on the show. I highly encourage you to settle in, open up, and get ready to learn how to practice Good Authority.
-Chris
Links:
www.refound.com
Book:
- Good Authority
Related Episodes:
- 10 Steps to Being a People First Leader
- 6 Truths About Power
Got questions, comments, or feedback?
Chris@keystotheshop.com
Do you want to be awesome at your job? Of course! We all do. Today we will be discussing the foundational principles and focuses that will get you there and grow you even further if you're there already. I am thrilled to welcome to the show, the host of the Awesome at Your Job Podcast, Pete Mockaitis.
Pete is an incredibly talented career coach and his show has featured hundreds of professionals all weighing in on what it takes to thrive at work. The 6 areas we discuss today are the common link between all the experts Pete has encountered and learned over the years and, if applied, will truly make you awesome at your job or take you to the next level in your career.
Enjoy!
-Chris chris@keystotheshop.com
LINKS:
WWW.AWESOMEATYOURJOB.COM
pete@awesomeatyourjob.com
Books/ Authors Mentioned:
- The One Thing -Jay Papasan/Gary Keller
- Getting Things Done -David Allen
- Team Up -Pete Mockaitis
- Seth Godin Blog
- Happier -Tal Ben-Shahar
- Radical Candor -Kim Scott
- Cognitive Bias Cheat Sheet
The Origin Trip. A pinnacle moment for any barista and a regular part of business for roasters and importers. As "The Origin Trip" has become a more fashionable, marketable, and regular occurrence in specialty coffee there are questions and tensions come up. What is the true value of an trip to origin? How does it benefit the farmer? Is it worth the expense involved? Are we really advancing coffee? How can we approach the trip and make it mutually beneficial?
To answer these questions and give us some solid insight on how to think about travel to origin we are joined by Kim-Elena Ionescu, Chief Sustainability Officer at the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association)
I hope this episode gives you a better understanding of our part to play in the producer/retailer relationship and that if you find yourself going to origin you would be better equipped to make all around rewarding one.
Enjoy!
Links for Kim-Elena Ionescu
VIDEOS:
- Farm Workers: Is Labor the Next Crisis for Coffee?
- Mo' Money, Mo' Quality, and other Myths About Microlots
- Working for Workers: Lessons of Labour Shortages
SCA Research Papers:
https://store.sca.coffee/collections/research
Got 4 minutes? Why not fill out a quick listener survey?
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MP5JRSH
Ya'll! We're going on a European coffee trip! Co-Founder of European Coffee Trip, Ales Pospisil joins us on the show today. We get to talk about traveling and exploring Europe's specialty coffee scene, what they look for in when visiting cafes, the most crucial elements of great shops, the current coffee trends across Europe, what role hospitality and story plays in the coffee bar, and tips for how to plan and execute your own coffee trip.
These guys are doing amazing work and have put in a ton of care, thought, and work into highlighting the best of specialty coffee in Europe. I highly recommend you get ready to be inspired!
LINKS:
WWW.EUROPEANCOFFEETRIP.COM
www.Aeropressmovie.com
YOUTUBE
Help make the show even better. Fill out this short survey!
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It's Founder Friday! Today we are talking with Kristian Hedborg, the Founder of Alkemisten Kaffebar in Gothenburg, Sweden. In this interview we get to hear about how Kristian went from restaurant management school, to co-owning a cafe at 22, then founding his own cafe, Alkemisten, 3 years ago. We discuss his drive to follow his dreams, how he got his amazing staff, leadership lessons, the importance of a well planned business, and more.
Kristian is doing great things and I hope this interview inspires you in your career!
Links:
www.alkemistenkaffebar.se
Take the Listener Feedback Survey! CLICK HERE
We all want to educate the consumer. Education has gotten a bad rap due to some of our awkward attempts to force information on people in less than ideal times and settings. Enter the consumer coffee class. In this episode we talk about why putting together a class for your customers is the perfect way to create a more informed consumer, a more loyal customer, and a more energized staff. All this while increasing cafe sales through more confident whole bean purchasing.
Also we will talk about 7 guidelines to focus on to make sure your classes are set up for success.
Enjoy!
Please take a moment and fill out this very brief 4 minute survey... KTTS needs your feedback to improve!
CLICK HERE
Links:
Episode 25 "Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak"
Episode 68 "A Conversation w/ Rita Kaminsky & Ant Walach
www.keystotheshop.com
Rita Kaminski and Ant Walach are the founders of Snowdrift Coffee and Workspace in Roscoe, IL. In this episode we talk all about their approach to training, philosophy on learning, advice they have for other trainers, why is necessary to make mistakes and how their collective 30 years of professional coffee experience has influence what they have created at Snowdrift.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
WWW.SNOWDRIFTCOFFEE.COM
IG: /snowdriftcoffee
info@snowdriftcoffee.com
We all will be leaders in our careers. In the cafe there are positions that hold various levels of power and influence. We can either use this power for the good of those we lead or we can use it destructively. Too often we see the abuse of position in a shop and even more often we see a general apathy toward pursuing the proper use of power that gives rise to dysfunction and sets the ground work for flat out abuse.
In today's episode we look at 6 things that we need to meditate on continually as people with authority to be able to fight for and promote a healthy and vibrant culture in the shop through the responsible use of power.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
5 Dysfunctions of a Team
Article of Responsible Use of Power
www.Bossbarista.com / Instagram
KTTS: 10 Steps to Being a People First Leader
Leading and developing your staff depends on how well you understand what gives rise to their behavior in the cafe. Today we talk with Behavior Analyst, Beth Garrison and will discuss the basics of behavior analysis, the 5 behaviors of a healthy team, the role environment plays in encouraging or discouraging behavior, and more!
Links:
www.shapingdevelopment.com
www.operantcoffee.com
www.abainternational.org
This year we got to learn from some of the best owner/operators around in the Founder Friday series. In this episode we go through from the beginning and listen in to some key points made by each of our superstar guests. Looking back at the kind of lessons and insights we heard, I am just amazed and grateful to be in an industry so rich with generous and talented people making a difference in specialty coffee. You definitely not want to miss this episode.
With this episode we conclude a full year of Keys to the Shop. Thank you so much for listening, subscribing, rating, commenting, sharing...all of it. I am blessed by you all and am looking forward to what in store for 2018!
Happy New Year!
P.S. Still time to vote for KTTS for "Best Coffee Podcast" visit: http://sprudge.com/vote
Links to past Founder Friday episodes:
#1: Taylor & Shem Doupe / Cafe Soleil
#2:Maxwell Mooney / Narrative Coffee pt 1
#3:Jonathan Rubenstein / Joe Coffee
#4: Colin Harmon / 3fe
#5: Chelsey Walker-Watson / Slate Coffee Roasters
#6: Katie Startzman / Native Bagel Co.
#7: Maxwell Mooney pt 2 (brick and mortar report)
#8: Kathy Turiano / Joe Bean Coffee Roasters
#9: Jason Card / Journeyman Coffee
#10:Nathan Quillo / Quills Coffee
#11:Joshua Boyt / Metronome Coffee
Well 2017 is pretty much in the bag and it has been a year filled with great guests, great topics, insights, information, inspiration, and tools to help us grow. In this episode we go over some of the best lessons learned this year. It is all arranged according to the arc of a coffee career. Starting with lessons for beginning baristas, getting promoted, moving on, being a great boss, serving your people and the customer well, training, and our impact on the coffee farm.
It has been fantastic to see what a wide range of subjects we've been able to learn about this year and I look forward to the adventures ahead of us in 2018 discovering many more Keys to the Shop!
In this episode we covered the following past shows:
-
ep#31:Essential Advice for New Baristas / #14: A Baristas Guide to Advancing / #15: What to do if you Don't Advance
-
ep#52: Solving Co-worker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel
-
ep#28: Why it's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
-
ep#04: Leadership in the Cafe: 10 steps to being a people first Leader
-
ep#13: Leadership & Management Masterclass w/ Eva Attia
-
ep#25: Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak
-
02: Master your Workflow w/ Ryan Soeder
-
ep#19: 10 Reasons to love the Customer / #16 Raising the Bar on your Customer Experience w/ Michael Butterworth
-
ep#55: Keys to Personal Growth and Development w/ Jared Truby
-
ep#60: Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander
Email me : Chris@keystotheshop.com
WWW.KEYSTOTHESHOP.COM
There are a ton of factors that influence the flavor of coffee. Some of the most significant factors happen during the roasting process. Todays guest, Rob Hoos is author of the book Modualting the Flavor Profile of Coffee, a book that breaks down and explores those elements inherent in the roasting process. In this episode we talk about the book, his perspective on the roasting industry, the relationship between production and the shop, how the water and ratio you use in brewing may be giving you an inaccurate view of other roaster's coffees, how best to give feedback to the roaster, and how 83 point coffees can save the world. There's a lot more and I hope you enjoy this conversation with the great, Rob Hoos!
www.Hoos.coffee
Rob's Instagram
Rob's Twitter
SCA Library
Illy Chemistry of Quality
Coffee Technology by Michael Sivets
Water Quality Map
2017 World Barista Champion, Dale Harris of the of Has Bean Coffee in the UK talks with us about his winning presentation, lessons from both his professional and competition career, his advice to baristas, and what are the most pressing things that we in coffee service should be focusing on and more! Dale brings both an elevated and grounded view of specialty coffee the table and it was just a great honor to get to learn from his experiences. I hope you find this conversation as inspirational as I did.
Links:
Dale's Instagram
Video of Dale's Presentation
Has Bean Coffee
Finca Las Brumas
Voting for the 9th annual Sprudgie Awards is open!
Vote for Keys to the Shop for "Best Coffee Podcast" Click here
When it comes to coffee, what do you think of when I say "Brazil"? Chances are good that some of the things that come to mind are, in fact misconceptions. On today's episode, Kelly Stein, Host of the Brazilian coffee podcast, Coffea, helps us explore the true bounty and quality that Brazil has to offer, dispel myths that plague the country, and gives us actions we can take to properly relate the coffee of Brazil. The information in this interview can be applied to all coffee and I hope we can walk away from this conversation having a different mindset toward both Brazil and the way we approach origins on the whole.
Enjoy!
COFFEA links:
http://portalcoffea.com/
https://www.facebook.com/portalCOFFEA/
https://www.instagram.com/portalcoffea/
I highly recommend this special episode in English: What you should know about Brazilian coffee.
http://portalcoffea.com/episodes/ep-03-what-you-should-know-about-brazilian-coffee/
OTHER LINKS IN ENGLISH:
http://portalcoffea.com/episodes/coffea01-verticalization-in-coffee/
http://portalcoffea.com/episodes/ep-02-brazilian-women-in-coffee/
http://portalcoffea.com/episodes/ep-03-what-you-should-know-about-brazilian-coffee/
http://portalcoffea.com/episodes/ep-04-coffee-seasonality-in-brazil/
If you want to know my work at the magazines:
STIR Tea&Coffee
http://stir-tea-coffee.com/topics/kelly-stein/
Barista Magazine
http://www.baristamagazine.com/baristas-brazil/
http://www.baristamagazine.com/history-coffee-science-brazil/
http://www.baristamagazine.com/brazil-great-coffee-science/
http://www.baristamagazine.com/10-minutes-martha-grill/
Without the coffee plant we have no coffee industry. The sustainability of coffee plants, farms, and farmers is the cornerstone of what we do and determines everything in regards to what is possible in coffee quality. This week we get to learn from Hanna Neuschwander, Director of Communications at World Coffee Research about the history and current state of both coffee plant and what part the coffee retailer has played, and can play, in shaping its development. There are many challenges that threaten coffee's future, but the more the two ends of the supply chain work together the more likely it is that those challenges will be overcome
Enjoy!
LINKS BELOW
www.worldcoffeersearch.org
- Re:Co talk (Seed as Technology): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtCftF-agJI
- WCR Annual Report: https://worldcoffeeresearch.org/work/annual-report-2016/
- WCR Coffee Varieties Catalog: https://worldcoffeeresearch.org/work/annual-report-2016/
- SCA report on farm profitability: http://www.scanews.coffee/2017/10/16/new-report-farm-profitability-launched-avance-guatemala/
www.coffeeinstitute.org Email: chris@keystotheshop.com
Its Founder Friday and this time we are talking with Joshua Boyt, Founder of Metronome Coffee in Tacoma, Washington!
Joshua brings really amazing passion, energy, and insights as we talk about his beginnings in coffee, founding his cafe and consulting business, running a great business, hiring well, and finding your true purpose.
If you want to get inspired today then you've come to the right place!
LINKS:
www.metronomecoffee.com
www.tuningforkconsulting.com
Joshuab@tuningforkconsulting.com
Phone: 253-677-3793
Holiday season in the cafe is predictably busy, intense, and stressful. Not just for us but also for the customers! Today we explore 5 things to do to take the stress out of the holiday season in the shop and to create an welcoming and warm environment amidst the frantic pace all around us. With some forethought, planning, and a generous spirit we can come out the other side of this time being stronger and proud of the level of service and care we gave in spite of the obstacles.
Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving!
Related Episodes:
Episode 30:Matching Your Service to Your Quality
Episode 31: Essential Advice for New Baristas
Episode 32: Making Order Out of Chaos
Episode 57: SOPs FTW
Email: Chris@keystotheshop.com
SOPs FTW!
In order for any operation to be successful it needs to be supported by a set of well crafted Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs. In many a cafe there is a great need for more thorough, clear, and relevant communication around the daily tasks as things often get lost in translation and quality, as a result, is inconsistent. In this episode we walk you through the process of understanding, creating, instituting, and enforcing effective SOPs in your shop.
This was a topic requested by several listeners and I know, from my own experience with seeing SOPs in action, that this content will be very useful to effect positive change in your shop or to maintain a quality standard over the long haul.
ENJOY!
Links:
- OSHA
- Health Department Database
Email me with comment, questions, and suggestions: chris@keystotheshop.com
Sleepwalking happens to us all at different points in our careers and for a variety of reasons. Though the reasons may vary the results are the same. Missed opportunity, lack of fulfillment, disillusionment, growth stagnates, we may even wonder why we are doing this in the first place! Today we will explore 7 of the main causes for why we check out for lengths of time and how we can wake up, become aware and be intentional with the work and opportunities that surround us.
This episode is of profound importance an I hope you take the suggestions to heart as I know they have been powerful and effective in my own pursuit to stop sleepwalking through my career.
Enjoy!
Links:
David Goggins Interview on Impact Theory
Cole McBride Twitter
Pursuing personal growth and development is one of the cornerstones of success and fulfillment in work and in life. Often we can get into such a rhythm of the day-to-day at work that we forget that there is a whole world of resources at our finger tips. Jared Truby of Cat and Cloud Coffee talks with us today about how seeking personal development with tenacity and purpose has helped shape his life and gives key tips and insights on how we can more effectively pursue personal development through studying outside resources and maximizing our present opportunities.
Who we are in the future depends on the decisions and we make everyday. It is my hope the this episode will help motivate you to take the reigns of your career and bring you closer to your goals.
Enjoy!
Links:
www.catandcloudcoffee.com
Books Recommended:
"Getting Naked" by Patrick Lincionni
"Legacy" James Kerr
"Be our Guest" Disney
Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
Leadership and Self Deception by The Abridger Institute
Welcome to another Founder Friday! We are talking with Nathan Quillo, Founder of Quills Coffee. You will get to learn about the methods, values, and vision that makes Quills Coffee tick / The importance of buy-in and communication / What are some of the keys to their success / and the three things Nathan think every owner should do. This was a fun talk and Nathan offers up some really great tools and perspective that I think you will be greatly helped by.
ATTENTION!!! Please Consider donating to The Memorial Fund for Quills Barista Francis Feeney: Link: Gofundme
Links:
Quills Coffee
The E Myth Revisited
www.keystotheshop.com
As we build our careers we take on more responsibility and authority. Building trust and helping build the community around you is a critical part of your success and how that plays out in your cafe will determine how it plays out in the industry. As a long time trainer and industry leader, Reggie Elliott has embodied these values. We get to talk about his career, how he helped build the coffee community wherever he was, how he trains baristas, and his advice for trainers, leaders, and whoever else has position of influence. Reggie is someone you should listen to.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
- Reggie Instagram
- Reggie Twitter
- DMV Coffee
- Restaurant: A Rakes Progress
- La Colombe
Conflict at work is inevitable but it does not have to take a negative turn. Hard conversations and confrontations handled well can actually enhance your relationships, the team in the cafe, and benefit our industry as a whole. This week it is an absolute privilege that we get to learn from world renowned executive coach and communications expert, Tom Henschel.
In this episode Tom give us the tools and shows us how to use them to help work through both our inner and outer conflicts. I really hope you give this a couple listens and get the notes as well. Just like the conversations discussed here, skillfully handling conflict is crucial to our success.
-Chris
LINKS:
www.essentialcomm.com
Tom's Linkedin Page
Recommended Book: Crucial Conversations
When people experience our coffee they are left with an impression that is largely made up of what they saw. What kind of impact does design have a customer’s experience of your business? What are the keys to good design? What are the first steps you need to take to assess the state of design in your business? This week we are joined by the amazing designer Liz Chai. Liz works 100% in the specialty coffee industry and shares with us what she has learned about effective design for coffee. You're going to want to listen up!
Enjoy!
Links:
www.chai.coffee
twitter: @chaiamericano
Instagram: @chaiamericano
It's the 50th Episode of Keys to the Shop and I had the opportunity to interview 5 people live at the Kentuckiana Coffee Champs Pre-lims this past weekend. In this 2nd edition of Baristas Speak Nathan Quillo, Sam Miers, Cimara Dunn, Matt Park, and Rita Kaminsky join me to give their thoughts on the role of the barista, lessons they have learned, and advice to current and future baristas all of which you will definitely want to hear.
Let me just say...Thank you for listening to Keys to the Shop! 50 episodes later and there is still so much to talk about. It's been great to grow and learn along with you and I'm looking forward to what the next 50 holds!
Links:
- Nathan Quillo / Quills Coffee
- Sam Miers / Kaldi's Coffee
- Cimara Dunn / Quills Coffee
- Matt Park / Plus Coffee
- Rita Kaminsky / Snowdrift Coffee & Workspace
Are you wanting to start something in your town based a shared passion for coffee? Do you want to invest more into your existing community and want some tips from a seasoned pro? Today's guest will address those question and more. Jason Card is the founder of Journeyman Coffee in Tallahassee, FL and in today's Founder Friday episode we get to talk with him about building community where there is none, founding Journeyman, the importance of enthusiasm, humility, and lessons he has learned along his journey. Jason is such a wise soul and I hope you find this conversation helpful and inspiring.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
www.journeymancoffee.com
jouneymancoffee@gmail.com
Steve Cuevas of Black Oak Coffee Roasters is the 2017 U.S. Cup Tasters Champion and he is here to here to talk to us about learning to taste, tips for developing your palate, and talking to customers about coffee with confidence, and empathy.
His approach to cupping and communicating about coffee to consumers is generous and refreshing and will inspire you to expand your approach too.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
WWW.BLACKOAKCOFFEE.COM
Instagram: @dreadfulvegan
Episodes Mentioned:
EP 26: What Your Roaster Wants You to Know
EP 44: Navigating Mistakes and Failure
Ah Latte art...that ubiquitous often ill used symbol of specialty coffee in the eye of the consumer and to the professional both a creative outlet and a seal given to a well made drink.
This week we sit down to talk all about latte art with four accomplished latte artists: Jibbi Little, Antoine Franklin, Kenny Smith, and Christopher "Nicely" Alameda.
They share their origin story, what latte art means to them and how it's changed over the years, some of the dangers that obsession w/ latte art poses, and advice for how we can improve our art and grow as professionals in the cafe.
I absolutely loved hearing their insights and perspectives and I would bet money you will too! Enjoy!
Links:
Jibbi Little
- www.jibbijug.com
Antoine Franklin
- www.blacksmithhouston.com
- Antoine's Instagram
Kenny Smith
- www.sunergoscoffee.com
Nicely
- www.menottis.com
- Flickr
In the coffee world, like anywhere else, we love to compare ourselves to other baristas, managers, owners etc. and see how we stack up. Often this can lead to stress, worry, depression, lack of clarity, wasted energy, loss of opportunity, and many other negative consequences. In today's episode we explore some of the ways negative comparisons can damage your shop and your career and ways to avoid getting caught in the comparison trap.
"Comparison is the death of joy" -Mark Twain
LINKS:
The Effective Executive
www.Worldcoffeeresearch.org
Episode 08: Finding Joy in Coffee / Nathanael May
https://bloomerang.co/blog/what-is-your-nonprofits-return-on-mission/
Providing amazing hospitality for the guests in your shop does not have to be complicated. Today's guest, Philip Paul Turner, Manager at Sunergos Coffee, shares his 3 step approach to providing great hospitality that has become his mantra to the staff at his shop and it can transform the way you welcome people into your space. I get to work with Philip and see him put these principles into action very day and can vouch for their effectiveness. I truly know of no better example of genuine and contagious hospitality than Philip so it was great to get him to dive into the things and inspire us to achieve simple, powerful hospitality.
Enjoy!
Links:
Setting the Table - Danny Meyer
www.sunergoscoffee.com
www.keystotheshop.com
Even though mistakes and failure in coffee are a normal part of the learning process they can be hard to deal with, embarrassing, and often can derail our progress. Today we talk about some best practices I have discovered from personal experience for navigating both the small and the serious failures we all have or will encounter as we continue our work in coffee. You will learn how to move through challenges, avoid surprises, recover from major failures in job performance, the importance of humility, and how to truly change a problem behavior for good, and much more.
If you address these issue in the proper way they can be the most important thing that ever happens to you and your career.
This episode is personally challenging as it reflects events from my history in coffee all the way up to events happening today in my work. I do hope this is useful for you for the mistakes and failures you're having to overcome.
Enjoy!
www.keystotheshop.com
chris@keystotheshop.com
This Founder Friday we talk with Kathy Turiano, Co-Owner of the award winning, Joe Bean Coffee Roasters in Rochester, NY. In this episode you will hear the epic story of how Joe Bean embraced radical change to come back from major set backs early on in the life of the business. I know you will find their example of over coming challenges, learning, collaboration, hospitality, continued exploration, and investment into their team truly inspirational. This was a phenomenal conversation!
Enjoy!
LINKS:
WWW.JOEBEANROASTERS.COM
Book:
- Necessary Endings
There are many hands that contribute to specialty coffee ecosystem. In addition to farmers, green coffee importers and roasters supplying our shops we all rely on specialty coffee equipment suppliers to get the gear we need to make great coffee. Just like sourcing great coffee, the best suppliers are very particular with what they stock and offer. Today to explore that process further we get to talk with Steve Reinhart, Brand Manager for our sponsor on Keys to the Shop, Prima Coffee.
Steve talks with us about his journey into coffee, and his role in product curation and testing. We also get to learn the history of Prima Coffee and how empathy drives their company culture. Lastly Steve tells us what he believes are the top three things that we should be considering before purchasing equipment.
Wise words there for sure. Enjoy!
LINKS:
www.prima-coffee.com
One of the best places we can go to gain inspiration, be educated, find insight, and experience life in a different and deeper way is printed page. In the midst of an endless sea of available content, Standart Magazine stands out as a leader in this arena for specialty coffee. Content Director for Standart Magazine, Luke Adams, talks to us this week about the philosophy and process behind curating the excellent writing and content that makes Standart unique and impactful. We talk about the future of coffee, parallels between great writing and a great cafe experience, among many other things. I believe this will help inspire you to greater heights in your career and hopefully to pursue the kind of learning and engagement with different ideas all around us that will help shape you and our industry for the better.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
WWW.STANDARTMAG.COM
www.keystotheshop.com
Pour over & batch brew. Each method of brewing has it's strengths and weaknesses and depending on what message you want to communicate in your shop you will likely find one to be better suited to assist you in that cause. Today in Part 2 of our discussion, Ryan Soeder breaks down the pros and cons of each method along a frame work of Labor, Training, Speed, Aesthetics, Equipment cost, and Waste. Along with this he sets out some important ground rules for implementing each method into the cafe. There are a lot of great insights and tools discussed here.
Enjoy!
Links
Shops mentioned
-
Intelligentsia Coffee
-
Sunergos Coffee
Ryan's Glass Work
- Marble Party
Eric Cacciatore is the host of the #1 Podcast for the restaurant industry, Restaurant Unstoppable! A podcast that brings together some of the best and most successful hospitality professionals and seeks to draw out wisdom, advice, and insights to help us also be successful in our hospitality careers. In this weeks show Eric is sharing with us the top 6 things that he has seen as the common traits and actions between the over 300 professionals he has interviewed. Whether you are a barista, manager, owner, or trainer we can definitely learn something from the restaurant world that can help us in our coffee careers. You will leave this episode feeling inspired, energized, and Unstoppable!
LINKS:
WWW.RESTAURANTUNSTOPPABLE.COM
Resources/ restaurants/Chefs Mentioned:
- Zingerman's
- Besh Restaurant Group
He's Back!!! Maxwell last joined us on the show back in February 23rd on episode #11 before the opening of his first brick-and-mortar space for his company, Narrative Coffee. It's been 4 1/2 months and Narrative has had their soft opening, grand opening, and Maxwell has learned a lot through the process. Now he is back on the show to give us a glimpse into his first couple months being open for business and how it is shaping him, his staff, and his community. I know you will enjoy Part 2 Narrative Coffee's Story!
LINKS:
WWW.NARRATIVE.COFFEE
- Narrative Coffee Pt. 1 / Episode 11 of KTTS
- Roasters Mentioned:
- Veltons Coffee Roasting Company
- Spotted Cow
Chocolate and coffee seem to be made for each other! Whether you are having a simple well made mocha or pairing a bar with a single origin espresso, chocolate can compliment, enhance, and make more accessible the specialty coffee we serve. Yet, as much as we know about coffee, we tend to fall short when it comes to this very important part of our shops menu and offerings. This week we are talking with coffee pro and chocolate enthusiast, Brian Beyke to help us understand the world of craft chocolate and how we can make steps to level up our chocolate offerings in the cafe to better compliment the coffee we are so proud of. I learned a lot in this chat and I know you will too! Enjoy!
Brian is the Director of Digital Sales, Marketing, and Communications for Quills Coffee in Louisville, KY. He is also a co-host of both the I Brew My Own Coffee Podcast and Unwrapped - A Conversation About Chocolate podcasts.
LINKS:
-
I Brew My Own Coffee Podcast
-
Unwrapped: A conversation About Chocolate
-
Tasting Sheet from Brian's Friend in Nashville
-
Quills Coffee
Craft Chocolate Makers Mentioned:
-
Soma
-
Dick Taylor
-
Bellflower
-
Patric
-
Charmschool
-
Ritual
VISIT OUR SPONSOR!
This week we get to chat with 2014 World Barista Champion from Japan, Hide Izaki! We talk about his path to the WBC, the distinctive traits of the Japanese coffee culture, what has he learned and experienced in his travels , the importance of failure, what is his #1 piece of advice to baristas, and how we can build our industry by listening t the consumer.
It was such an honor to have Hide on the show and I know you will enjoy this conversation as much as I did!
LINKS
-
Hide's Consulting: Samurai Coffee Experience
-
The Coffee Man Film / Hide was WBC Champion, Sasa Setic's Coach and is featured in the film
-
Behind the Scenes of Coffee Man film w/Hide
-
Hide's 2013 WBC presentation
-
Hide's 2014 winning WBC presentation
Cafe's Mentioned:
-
Tim Wendelboe
-
Fritz Coffee Company
-
...Also here
-
Coava Coffee
Visit Our Sponsor, PRIMA COFFEE!
We are in a Consumer Revolution! The home barista - coffee brewer- coffee drinker makes up 70% of coffee consumed in the U.S. and has access to a lot of great information, training materials, resources, and gear to help them get a truly great cup of coffee. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of misinformation and bad gear out there making it hard for consumers to consistently get the best we have to offer in specialty coffee.
Never fear! Today we talk with the founder of the world's first consumer coffee festival "Coffee Con", and author of "The Art and Craft of Coffee" Kevin Sinnott! Kevin has made it his job for over 2 decades to bridge the gap between the consumer and specialty coffee through writing about coffee, reviewing and recommending gear to the home enthusiast, and now bringing pros and consumer together at his ground breaking event, Coffee Con.
We talk about how Kevin came to be an ambassador to the coffee enthusiast, the perspective of the consumer, and how we who work as professionals can better serve them in or shops.
LINKS:
WWW.COFFEE-CON.COM
IG: @Coffeeconevent
Kevin's Book: The Art and Craft of Coffee
www.georgehowellcoffee.com
Related KTTS Episodes:
Episode 19: 10 Reasons to Love the Customer
Episode 30: Matching Your Service to Your Quality w/ Casey Underkofler
VISIT OUR SPONSOR
FOR GREAT GEAR!
WWW.PRIMA-COFFEE.COM
Pour over coffee is often seen as a sign that you take coffee seriously. It implies a level of quality not usually reserved for plain ol' batch brew. Batch brew is seen as a bit more pedestrian. Customers may even assume that, compared to pour over, batch brew is inferior in quality. The truth? It all depends. Today we take the red pill with past guest Mr. Ryan Soeder, Q.C. & Barista Trainer at Sunergos Coffee! We discuss the variables, circumstances , and processes involved in making decisions about both methods as it relates to your shop and the message you send to your customers.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
Related Episode: 002: Master Your Workflow
Book: Barista Secrets
www.sunergoscoffee.com
Ryan on Instagram @ryansoeder
On this edition of Founder Friday we go to a small town in rural Kentucky to hear about Katie Startzman's venture into bagels, coffee, and the adventures of business ownership! You will leave this conversation energized and encouraged as she shares the details of how she made her vision a reality in Berea, KY. We talk about hiring, researching your business ideas, how to be ok with spending money, and a lot more.
I know you are going to get something valuable form this conversation.
Enjoy!
Links:
- www.nativebagel.com
- Native Bagel Facebook
- email: katie@nativebagelcompany.com
Related Episodes:
- KTTS 022: Collin Harmon of 3fe Coffee
Resources Mentioned:
- E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
- Restaurant Succes by the Number by Roger Fields
- Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
Fear, frustration, stress...we all have experienced one or more of these feelings when we deal with groups in the cafe. Be they a family, friends, or study group we can sometimes have trouble managing the group dynamic and the chaos that can often accompany it. In spite of all this though the group does not represent a hurdle to jump over But an opportunity to embrace! On todays show we answer a question sent in by a KTTS listener on how to effectively manage this very thing.
Be prepared to walk away empowered to view groups in a new light.
Enjoy!
Books recommended:
- Setting the Table: Danny Meyer
Related Episodes:
- Ep: 030: Casey Underkoffler / Matching Your Service to Your Quality
Being a new barista can be both very exciting and VERY stressful. There is an almost never ending list of policies, recipes, practices, and rules that make up this new work of cafe service you are now immersed in. On today's show you and I talk about some essential tips that will help you not only navigate you first few weeks on the bar but advice that will help guide you throughout your entire career.
If you are a manager this episode is great to share with your new staff and even some of your veteran employees.
Enjoy!
-Chris
Resources mentioned LINKS:
-
EP 28 "Why It's OK to be the Boss"
-
Model Health Show -Shawn Stevenson
-
"Mindset" -Dr. Carol Dweck
-
It's OK to Manage Your Boss-Bruce Tulgan
-
www.keystotheshop.com
In coffee service we pour over the details of the coffee's quality in great detail. Often though we can over look the details that make up a complete coffee experience. The way customers experience our coffee, in no small part depends on how we have looked after the fine points of service in how we present the ourselves, space, and the coffee itself. Today we talk with Casey Underkofler, Assistant General Manager at The Bachelor Farmer Cafe in Minneapolis, MN to get some practical and actionable tips on how we can match our service to our quality.
Enjoy!
Links for this Episode:
The Bachelor Farmer Cafe
Barista Magazine Article: All the Little Things
(Search the April/May Issue)
"Mindset" -Dr. Carol Dweck
Related Episodes:
KTTS 007 : 4 Keys to an Effective Checklist
KTTS 016 : Raising the Bar on Your Customer Service / Michael Butterworth
The SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) and the SCAE (Specialty Coffee Association of Europe) have recently merged to form the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) but what does that mean for those of use who work in retail?
What are the plans and goals of the SCA when it comes to their retail members? Is joining the Association something you should do for yourself or for your business and staff? In this week's episode we talk with SCA Vice President Heather Perry to get more details about what to expect and how we might participate. I believe you will gain a lot of clarity from this episode as Heather lays out all that has been going on and what is in store.
Enjoy!
Heather Perry, Vice President of the SCA, is also a 2 Time U.S. Barista Champion and 2nd Place world Barista Championship finalist. She is Vice President of Klatch Coffee, a 20 year old California based roaster/retailer and has served in association leadership positions for over 12 years.
Helpful Links:
Heather's Email: Heather@klatchroasting.com
Ellie Hudson's Email: ellieh@sca.coffee
www.sca.coffee
www.Klatchcoffee.com
https://sca.coffee/education-1/
www.keystotheshop.com
Today we are talking with noted author, speaker, and researcher, Bruce Tulgan about his powerful book, "It's Ok to be the Boss". We talk about the myths that managers believe that lead to what Bruce calls "The Under-Management Epidemic" and the very practical and simple solutions we can employ to become a great boss, truly empower our people, gain clarity, and create a great work culture at your coffee bar.
This book has had a huge impact on me and I know you will also be impacted and pushed toward being a great boss. I hope this interview is on,y the beginning for you.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
brucet@rainmakerthinking.com
WWW.RAINMAKERTHINKING.COM
RELATED/MENTIONED EPISODES:
KTTS 021: How to Leverage Your Performance Review
KTTS 003:Pete Licata:The role Of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee
Resources: www.keystotheshop.com
It's Founder Friday #5 !!! Today we get to talk with Chelsey Walker-Watson, co-owner of Slate Coffee Roasters / a family owned roaster/ retailer in Seattle, Washington. We discuss her amazing 2nd place U.S. Brewers Cup Competition routine, How she got into the coffee industry, the story of Slate Coffee, how they run things, their expansion, and the values that drive them.
Slate is a true gem in the coffee industry and after hearing from Chelsey today you will no doubt be encouraged and also be looking for an excuse to go out and visit their shops for more inspiration.
Enjoy!
WWW.SLATECOFFEE.COM
Instagram: @slatecoffee
Chelsey's Brewers Cup Routine is at 9min 40sec in HERE
Episodes Mentioned:
The Coffeetographer: http://www.keystotheshop.com/podcasts/24-2/
Roasters are the heart beat of specialty coffee. They transform the fruit of so many peoples labor into the coffees we know and love. Today we get to hear from none other than the new U.S. roasting Champion himself, Mar Michaelson! Mark is the Head Roaster at Onyx Coffee Lab in NW Arkansas and in this episode he shares about his origin story, his competition experience, and then we talk about 5 things he want us to know from his perspective as a roaster.
Such a great conversation and i know you will appreciate roasters even more.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
Mark@onyxcoffeelab.com
IG: @Mark_michaelson
www.onyxcoffeelab.com
Training. At some point in your coffee career you will be called on to train or teach in some form. As well as we might know the craft of coffee, it is often the case that we struggle to find the best way to teach that craft. If you are at all interested in learning how to become a better trainer or educator then this show is going to prove indispensable.
To help us explore these things I am thrilled to welcome Dave Stachowiak of the Award winning podcast: Coaching for Leaders to the Show!
We talk about the difference between knowing a skill -vs- teaching it, insights to help you develop yourself as a leader, and 5 steps that provide a framework that will help you master the art of training!
Daves Website:
www.coachingforleaders.com
Episodes related to this:
-
CFL 289: How to Lead Part Time Staff w/ Chris Deferio http://coachingforleaders.com/podcast/289/
-
CFL 237: These Coaching Questions Get Results w/ Michael Bungay Stainer http://coachingforleaders.com/podcast/237/
-
CFL 190 : How to Improve Your Coaching Skills w/ Tom Henschel http://coachingforleaders.com/podcast/190/
-
CFL 196 : Marshall Goldsmith on Triggers : Creating Behavior That Lasts http://coachingforleaders.com/podcast/196/
Books:
The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stainer
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Cheremelle D. Edwards, Founder of "The Coffeetographer"joins us today to talk about all she has learned and observed through her work documenting arts and culture through the lens of specialty coffee. We talk about the critical role of the small independent cafes, her favorite experiences, what she sees as the future of specialty coffee culture, and what we should focus on to continually provide a great specialty experience in our shops.
As she says on her sight, Chermelle loves coffee, but she loves coffee shops even more & I know you're going to love this conversation!
Enjoy!
Chermelle Links:
THE COFFEETOGRAPHER
www.keystotheshop.com
Fresh off his victory in Seattle, Kyle Ramage of Mahlkonig USA took some time to talk with us about the competition. We get into the details of his routine, his drinks, his presentations message, his dry ice frozen coffee and the challenges/lessons he experienced on the road to winning the U.S. Championship title.
LINKS:
www.keystotheshop.com
www.mahlkonig.com
www.worldcoffeeevents.org
www.cafeshow.com
VIDEO:
Live Stream of USBC FINALS
Kristian Klatt Heat in Grinders
Christopher Hendon on "Performing an Good Experiment"
I am honored to welcome Colin Harmon for our 4th Founder Friday episode! Colin is a 4 time Irish Barista Champion, 4th place World Barista Championship finalist, and Owner/Founder of 3fe Coffee, one of the world’s most innovative and progressive specialty coffee shops located in Dublin, Ireland. Colin is also the author of the new book, "What I Know About Running Coffee shops", a book detailing critical information and insights from colin experiences that will help you start or run a great coffee operation. Trust me, you will want to get this book.
We talk about the evolution of his shop and the lessons, challenges, and rewards experienced along the way. We also dive in and discuss some of the great content form the book
I know you are going to enjoy this!
Links:
•What I Know About Running Coffee Shops
•3fe Website
•3fe Instagram
•Colin on Twitter
Notes Can be found at:
www.keystotheshop.com
Reviews can be a great experience. They can also be frustrating and challenging. They key is in how you go into the review and how you respond to the feedback given. Today we will cover 7 tips that will help you leverage the review to your professional advantage. Performance reviews are a great opportunity for growth and to gain gain clarity on where you are in your career. I hope these 7 tips are helpful to you! Enjoy!
Links:
Notes
www.keystotheshop.com/resources
"Setting the Table" by Danny Meyer
Related Episode:
#14 "A Baristas Guide to Advancing"
There is a lot of farm information available to us today in coffee. The question is how do we use that information & what is the line between overloading the customer and enhancing their experience? What purpose does all this knowledge serve? Today Joe Marrocco of Coffee Imports helps us not only answer these questions but also talks about the relationship between the cafe, the producer, and everything in between.
Joe Marrocco has been working in Specialty Coffee since 2005, where he started at a small, but mighty, café in southeast Missouri. Joe has been a barista, a café manager, a roaster, an educator, a leader in the Barista Guild of America, a barista competitor, a BBQ judge, a server and expeditor, and many more things both in and out of coffee. Basically, he loves the service industry, coffee, food, and people. He is also a husband of nearly 15 years, and the father of two.
He is the Sr. Sales Associate and Director of Education at Café Imports, Educator in collaboration with Mill City Roasters, Co-host of the Opposites Extract Podcast, and Chair of the Membership and Communications Committee on the Roasters Guild Executive Council.
Show Notes
www.cafeimports.com
www.millcityroasters.com
www.oppositesextract.com
www.joemarrocco.com
Insta and Twitter: @roasterjoe
Email: joe@cafeimports.com
What do you think of when you think of "The Customer"? All too often it brings to mind annoyance, challenges, irritation, and even anger. I recently read an old article that was being newly shared around social media that was the catalyst for this episode. Tons of lists exist stating what we baristas "hate" about customers but what is it that we love about them? We will go much farther in our careers if apply a little charitable assumption to the ones who make our work possible. You may not own the business but taking a posture of ownership when it comes to how you perceive the customer will set you up for success in the future. A and today I want talk about 10 reasons to love the customer!
If you have more things to add that you love about your customers tell us on Twitter using the hashtag #lovemycustomers
Visit our Sponsor!
Notes: www.keystotheshop.com/resources
The Article:
http://www.wweek.com/restaurants/2016/11/09/10-reasons-your-barista-hates-you/
Cool reaction to the piece:
http://www.nossacoffee.com/nossablog/2016/11/11/5-reasons-your-nossa-familia-barista-loves-you-1
The future of your shop depends one more than just the coffee you serve, it depends on the people you hire and how you engage and lead them. This determines how they care for each other, your customer, and your business. In this episode I present a talk I normally share at Coffee Fest where I give you tips on how you can create a culture that ensures an excellent experience for your staff and guests.
Book: It's OK to Be the Boss
Related Episodes:
- Episode 7 "4 Keys to an Effective Checklist"
- Episode 4 "10 Steps to Being a People First Leader"
- Episode 13 "Leadership and Management Master class w/ Eva Attia"
Send you questions to : Chris@keystotheshop.com
Thanks for listening!
-Chris
Jonathan Rubinstein, President & Founder of Joe Coffee in NYC and Philadelphia joins us on the show today to talk about coffee business, Hospitality, the keys to their success in growing from 1 store in 2003 to 16 locations today, the recent investment from Danny Meyers', Union Square Hospitality Group, and the challenges and rewards that he has experienced along the way. This episode is jam packed with great stories, advice, insight, and inspiration. If you are in the coffee business (that's probably all of you) you won't want to miss this one!
Don't forget to share this episode and subscribe!
Show Notes will be available at :
www.keystotheshop.com/resources
Helpful links for Joe Coffee:
www.joenewyork.com
http://www.ushgnyc.com
Questions, Comments? Send them to : chris@keystotheshop.com
The customer experience can make or break your cafe. There are so many seemily small things that can derail the customers enjoyment of your shop. How can we raise the bar and focus our energy on the places that really count? What are some of the main things we do that detract from an other wise great experience? Michael Butterworth , cofounder of The Coffee Compass and Director of Education at Quills Coffee in Louisville, KY talks with us about these things and more on episode 16 of Keys to the Shop!
Helpful Links:
-
The Coffee Compass
-
Quills
-
The Black Fox
Send your thoughts to chris@keystotheshop.com
www.keystotheshop.com
Sometimes, in spite of doing all the right things and taking all the right steps, advancement just does not happen. Today we talk with Anne Nylander about how to navigate the tricky terrain of leaving your job in pursuit of the next step in your career. We talk about how to bring up the topic with you boss, getting counsel from the right people, making a solid plan, how to maintain relationships throughout.
Anne Nylander has been a Specialty Coffee Professional for 11 years Her experience in the industry goes from East to West Coast. She has worked as:
Store manager for Joe Coffee NYC
Founder, President, and Lead Consultant at TampTamp NYC
BGA Executive Counsel Member and SCAA Membership Coordinator
Manager at Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle
She has launched: WWW.ANNEFNYLANDER.COM
... which is home to her consulting business
Questions/Comments: chris@keystotheshop.com
www.keystotheshop.com
We all want to make progress and be fulfilled in our work. For many of us though frustration in our jobs causes us to not take full advantage of our current role to help us get to where we want to be. Today we are talking about some basic (but powerful!) ways to advance and set yourself up for success in your coffee career.
Related Episodes:
Ep: 12 "A Journey Into Management and Back w/ Lauren Airola"
Ep: 05 "Baristas Speak! Interviews from Coffee Champs Knoxville"
Have questions, Comments etc? Reach out to me! chris@keystotheshop.com
Some Helpful Resources:
www.keystotheshop.com/resources
www.scaa.org
www.baristahustle.com
www.jimseven.com
Chris Baca Youtube Channel
Barista Guild of Washington State FB Group
So you want to be a better leader or manager? Have we got a show for you! On this episode Eva Attia, the Director of Retail Operations for Portland Roasting Coffee, is our guest. Eva is just an amazing professional and today she shares her insights & advice gained from 20 years of coffee retail management and leadership, 16 of which was spent at Pete's Coffee and Tea where she worked her way up from Assistant Store manager all the way to Director of Retail Operations. I was quite encouraged an energized by this discussion.
Eva also gives us a list of 5 things she feels are the most important to practice if you want to be a great manager or leader.
1. Select Carefully
2. Treat People Differently
3. Have High Expectations
4. Show Courage
5. Put others before yourself
Buckle up and enjoy!
-Chris
More show Notes are available at www.keystotheshop.com/resources
You can reach out to Eva via email: Eva@portlandroasting.com
Or connect with Eva on Linkedin
John Maxwell: 21 Laws of Leadership
Book: Situational Leadership
Going from barista work to take on a management role can be a tough transition. It can also be a very rewarding one both personally and professionally. On this episode we talk with Lauren Airola about her experiences as a barista and a manager at Onyx Coffee Lab in NW Arkansas. We discuss her "Employee Focused" management style, how she discovered more about her strengths and weaknesses, her advice on how we improve as managers and baristas, and her decision to step away from management back into barista work.
There's just a lot here. I think you are going to find this just as fascinating and helpful as I did!
Enjoy!
Show notes:
www.keystotheshop.com/resources
Onyx Coffee Lab
Other resources mentioned:
Bethany Hargrove's Article in Barista Magazine on transitioning from barista work to roasting
It's the second edition of Founder Friday and today we get to hear the story and learn from the experiences of Maxwell Mooney who owns Narrative Coffee in Everette, WA. We discuss how he got started in coffee, his driving vision for Narrative, how competitions and the coffee community helped shape that vision, and much more! I hope you enjoy the discussion. Maxwell is a true professional and incredibly driven guy and I was certainly encouraged by this conversation.
Show Notes and other resources can be found at: www.keystotheshop.com/resources
Maxwell can be reached at:
- maxwell@narrative.coffee
website:
- narrative.coffee
social:
- @narrative.coffee (insta)
- @narrativecoffee (twitter)
- @maxwellamooney (Twitter/Insta)
Want to donate you Competition wares? Maxwell suggests donating to WINCC (Women Investing in North West Coffee Champs)
Other Resources mentioned in this interview include:
- Michael Gerber's Book the E-Myth Revisited
- The Boss Barista podcast
Are barista competitions relevant what I do on the bar every day? How does my business benefit from sending staff to compete? These questions are asked by almost everyone at one time or another when they consider a coffee competitions. Today Jess Steffy, Owner of Square One Coffee in Lancaster, PA, joins us to not only answer these questions but also to share her experiences from being both a successful business owner and the Chair for the SCA's U.S. Competition Committee.
Jess is also a licensed Q Grader, a BGA Certified Barista, an SCA Certified Lead Instructor, a veteran USBC Judge, and certified World Barista judge.
Show notes are available at www.keystotheshop.com/resources
Have questions, comments etc? Chris@keystotheshop.com
Thanks and enjoy this episode with Jess Steffy!
Other mentions intros episode:
Nick Cho's (of the Portafilter Podcast) post on Medium about competition from an owners perspective
You can also learn more about the U.S. Coffee Championships by visiting www.uscoffeechampionships.org
Data, Metrics, Measurements...they play a critical role in the success of your shop. But how we approach the information available to us will determine how well we use it. Today Simon Ouderkirk a former coffee professional who now works with Automattic (the company behind Wordpress.com, WooCommerce, and JetPack) talks to us about how we can best approach data and make it work for business and our people.
If you're like me you can really get caught up in the numbers and maybe miss some critical perspectives that being on the floor talking to your staff and customer provides. You might be the opposite. Maybe you don't look at the numbers enough and are all about being on the floor. You might be missing critical information in the data that can enhance the experience people have in the cafe.
No matter where you are, you will likely be encouraged by this discussion and equipped with a foundational understanding of metrics that will help you use them successfully.
Show Notes are available on the website: www.keystotheshop.com/resources
Enjoy!
-Chris
Joyfulness in our work is something we all would like more of. Nathanael May joins us to discuss how we can cultivate joy in our work in coffee. Being a barista and remaining joyful throughout the day can be challenging especially when things just seem to be going wrong. In this episode we talk about the difference between Joyfulness and happiness, Joy's important role in the cafe, how we can take control of our own joyfulness, giving joy to others, and some tips for how you can start that process.
Nathanael May is the Director of Coffee and Green Buyer for Portland Roasting Coffee in Portland , OR. He is a head USBC judge, WBC judge, and a Certified Q Grader.
You can find some great writing from him HERE
For the complete show notes simply click HERE and you will be directed to our resources page where you can find the downloadable PDF of this episode's main points and key take-aways.
Enjoy the show!
www.keystotheshop.com
got comments, questions, or suggestions? Email me! Chris@keystotheshop.com
Checklists get things done!!!
If you work in coffee you use a checklist. Some lists are effective and others...not so much. In this episode we explore the 4 keys to making an effective checklist and talk about what role it plays in the cafe and in a baristas professional development.
This is the first in a monthly interview series highlighting founders of great cafes on the last Friday of each month.
This month we are featuring new owners Taylor and Shem Doupe who own Soleil Cafe (So-lay cafe) in Syracuse, NY! They started their cafe in may of 2016 and have been very well received by the community. Their passion for people and great coffee is what drives them and in this interview we get to hear how they came to start their business and what they have learned along the way.
You can find more info on their website: www.soleil-cafe.com
and follow them on Instagram: @soleil_cafe
Also you can email them at:
shem@soleilcafe.com
taylor@soleilcafe.com
I hope you enjoy this interview and if you like Keys to the Shop be sure to subscribe to the show and leave us a 5 star review on iTunes...it really helps the ge the podcast up in the rankings and out in front of more people.
email you questions, comment, and suggestions to chris@keystotheshop.com
www.keystotheshop.com
This weekend I got to go to Coffee Champs in Knoxville, qualifying event for the United States Coffee Championships. While at an event party hosted by Wild Love Bakehouse I sat down with 5 baristas to get their unique take on coffee service, career development, and the future of the cafe industry. Each perspective shines a light on something different that you will find useful for your own career.
It always helps to learn from the experiences of others and this episode includes some really great insights from:
-
Trainer, Dawn Shanks of Peregrine Espresso in Washington D.C.
-
Manager, Paul Yates of Shenendoah Joe in Harrisburg, VA also Owner of
Rock town Coffee Roasters
-
Consultant,Diana Mnatsakanyan-Sapp, Owner, Undercurrent Coffee, Charlotte, NC
-
Barista, Hannah Craig of Quills Coffee in Louisville, KY
-
U.S. Barista Champion, Lem Butler of Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC
Full show notes will be available Wednesday in PDF form from our website
www.keystotheshop.com
Twitter: @keystotheshop
IG: @keystotheshop
In this episode you and I get to discuss some practical leadership practices for the shop to help you keep people first. There are 10 things that, if implemented, will help anyone who is currently a leader or is aspiring to hold a leadership position in a cafe to lead effectively while also providing proper care for their staff.
Thanks for listening!
Show Notes can be found at:
www.keystotheshop.com/resources
We get to talk about mentorship with 2013 World Barista Champion, Pete Licata. In this conversation we discuss what mentorship is, what are the benefits of its one-on-one nature -vs- other learning methods, and how do we find mentors to help us in out coffee careers.
We also discuss how we can invest into others and act as a mentor to those who might need our help in our professional community. Pete has a tons of insight and wisdom to share here. This is a guy who just exemplifies learning and teaching in his career. Enjoy!
Here are some links:
http://www.roastratings.com
http://www.licatacoffeeconsultants.com
pete@licatacoffeeconsultants.com
Twitter @petelicata
Subscribe: Keys to the Shop
Visit: www.keystotheshop.com for the show notes under "Resources"
In this episode I discuss with guest Ryan Soeder a cornerstone of any great cafe...Workflow.
Ryan will break down the ins and outs of good workflow, why it is critical, and 5 ways you can improve.
Resources:
www.sunergoscoffee.com
Follow Ryan:
Greetings! In this episode I get to formally introduce myself and what you can expect here at Keys to the Shop. Plus I discuss the philosophies and values that drive the show. WELCOME!!!