Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Retail Professionals

Excellence In The Things We Hate Aug 04, 2022

"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.

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360: Encore Episode! Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes: 7 Tips for Success Aug 02, 2022

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!

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359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC Jul 28, 2022

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

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Language Barriers and Understanding Jul 28, 2022

"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:

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

358 : Changing Coffee Through Proportional Pricing w/ Andy and Nanelle Newbom of Torque Coffee Jul 24, 2022

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.torquecoffees.com

Instagram @torquecoffees

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SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 2 w/ Marissa Childers, Jess Gulino, and Tony Dreyfuss Jul 22, 2022

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:

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:

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

SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube Jul 22, 2022

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:

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:

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:

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

Vanity Metrics Jul 22, 2022

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.

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Book a 90 minute consulting Call now!

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357 : A Conversation w/ Michael Tan of JWC Roastery in Malaysia Jul 19, 2022

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

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Don't Hire on a Trial Basis Jul 14, 2022

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:

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!

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356: 5 Unseen Barriers to Progress in Your Coffee Shop Jul 12, 2022

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

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Do You Need to be the Best Barista in Your Cafe? Jul 07, 2022

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:

Reach out for one-on-one consulting and coaching! chris@keystotheshop.com

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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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355: Baristas! 6 Essential Qualities to Get Yourself Hired Jul 05, 2022

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

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Using Slow Times Well as a Barista Jun 30, 2022

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

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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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354 : Management Master Class w/ Ryan Fisher of Erewhon Market, L.A. Jun 28, 2022

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:

Related episodes:

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353 : Encore Episode! Founder Friday w/ Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Roasters Jun 24, 2022

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

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Turning Radius Jun 23, 2022

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:

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!

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352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda Jun 18, 2022

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:

Related Episodes: (seriously listen!)

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Four Steps to Inspiring Your Staff Jun 16, 2022

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

351 : Pro Tips for Using Spreadsheets w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee Jun 13, 2022

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

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

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Sacrificing Productivity Jun 09, 2022

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:

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

350 : The Physics of Filter Coffee w/ Jonathan Gagné Jun 06, 2022

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

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Up-selling and Hospitality: Helping Customers Make Good Decisions Jun 02, 2022

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

349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids May 31, 2022

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

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

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Doing What You Want -vs- Doing What is Needed May 26, 2022

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:

229 : 7 Tips for New Managers

226 : The Art of being Indispensable at Work w/Bruce Tulgan

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Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

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348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama! May 26, 2022

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:

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RoR Live! #10 : A Conversation w/ Kevin Nealon Green Buyer and Director of Coffee for Hucklberry Roasters May 26, 2022

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

RoR Live! #9 : Roasting Innovation and Consistency w/ Scott Rao May 26, 2022

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

RoR Live! #8 : Risk Mitigation for Roasters w/ Kat Nolte Ferguson, Sucafina Specialty May 26, 2022

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

Special Message: Love and Sacred Space May 26, 2022

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.

347 : Brewing Coffee and a Career w/ U.S. Brewer's Cup Champion, Elika Liftee! May 20, 2022

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!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

RoR Live! at SCA #7 Will Frith, Building Coffee | The Rise of Asian Coffee May 20, 2022

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

RoR Live! at SCA #6 Chris Kornman| Author of Green Coffee : A Guide for Roasters and Buyers May 20, 2022

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

RoR Live! at SCA #5 Nicki Amouri of Caffe Amouri | Understanding Roast Curves May 20, 2022

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

RoR Live! at SCA #4 Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters | How to Teach Roasting May 20, 2022

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

Specific Expectations and Due Dates May 19, 2022

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?

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346: Connecting People Through Coffee w/ Celeste Wong of The Girl in the Cafe May 16, 2022

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!

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RoR Live at SCA #3 Karl Wienhold | Cheap Coffee Book May 13, 2022

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

RoR Live at SCA #2 Areli Barerra Grodski | Little Waves Coffee May 13, 2022

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

RoR Live at SCA #1 Peter Giuliano | The New Definition of Specialty Coffee May 13, 2022

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:

www.keystotheshop.com

Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com

The Importance of Debriefing May 12, 2022

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

345: A Conversation w/ 2022 U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Julien Langevin May 10, 2022

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

Related Episodes:

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

Messy Can Be Beautiful May 05, 2022

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

344 : From Fine Dining to Coffee w/ Nicolas Simon of El Condor Coffee Roasters May 03, 2022

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

343 : Founder Friday! "Curated Edition" | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are Apr 29, 2022

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:

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

Making a Decision Pipeline Apr 28, 2022

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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342 : A Conversation w/ 2022 U.S. Barista Champion, Morgan Eckroth! Apr 26, 2022

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

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert of Fire Dancer Consultants Apr 25, 2022

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

An Essential Habit for Every Coffee Shop Worker Apr 20, 2022

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:

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341 : How to Think About Success Apr 19, 2022

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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Are We Giving our Best to the Least? Apr 14, 2022

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

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340 : Encore Episode of 10 Reasons to Love the Customer! Apr 12, 2022

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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Don't Force Vulnerability Apr 07, 2022

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:

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339: What Good Barista Training Produces Apr 05, 2022

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!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Getting Them In By Getting Out! Mar 31, 2022

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

Visit our Sponsors!!!

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RoR #13 : The Norm Roast Protocol w/ Dave Baxter Mar 30, 2022

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

338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project Mar 29, 2022

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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337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles Mar 25, 2022

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!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!

www.pacificfoodservice.com

Flexibility for Owners and Managers Mar 24, 2022

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

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

336: Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee Mar 22, 2022

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

In Praise of Long Term Imperfect Employment

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In Praise of Long Term Imperfect Employment Mar 17, 2022

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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335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee Mar 13, 2022

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

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

When Patience is not a Virtue Mar 10, 2022

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

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Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

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334: How to Approach Deescalation in the Coffee Shop w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind of Matters Institute Mar 08, 2022

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

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Building your Coffee Shop's Capacity from Simplicity Mar 03, 2022

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

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Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

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333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab Feb 28, 2022

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:

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332: Founder Friday! w/ Iman Kusumaputra & Putri Yulandari of Kopikalyan, Jakarta, Indonesia Feb 25, 2022

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!

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www.pacificfoodservice.com

How to Talk to Each Other Feb 23, 2022

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

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331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career Feb 22, 2022

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

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RoR #12 : Inside Coffee Packaging w/ Ever Meister Feb 21, 2022

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

Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship Feb 18, 2022

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.

Related Episodes:

261 : The Basics of Managing Managers

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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330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop Feb 15, 2022

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

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Customer Caricatures and Inside Jokes Feb 10, 2022

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!!!

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329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff Feb 08, 2022

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

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Two Reasons to Not Install a Manager...Yet Feb 03, 2022

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

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328 : Relationships and Resiliency w/ Xavier Alexander of Metric Coffee Jan 29, 2022

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

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327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java Jan 28, 2022

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

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Ground Control : Revolutionary Batch Brew Coffee!

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The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!

www.pacificfoodservice.com

Irresponsible Encouragement Jan 27, 2022

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

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RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow Jan 26, 2022

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

326 : A Conversation w/ Alan Jarrar of 50%Arabica and JokesAside Coffee Roasters Jan 23, 2022

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

Pre-Closing Madness Jan 20, 2022

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

325: How to Manager your Trainers Jan 18, 2022

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!

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Taking Offense to Critique Jan 13, 2022

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

324 : Encore Episode! Organizing the Community w/ Espresso State of Mind Founders, Javier Alvarez and Joseph Gonzalez Jan 12, 2022

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!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

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Hiring for Future Leadership Jan 06, 2022

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!!!

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The best espresso machines in the world!

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323 : Reflecting on 5 Years of Keys to the Shop w/ my Wife, Lynnsy Deferio Jan 05, 2022

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

Expectations for Growth Dec 30, 2021

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:

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ROR #10 : What Your Broker Wishes You Knew w/ Scott Merle of La Minita Coffee Dec 29, 2021

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

322 : A Conversation w/ LaNisa Williams of Barista Life L.A. Dec 27, 2021

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

Limiting New Things Dec 23, 2021

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

321 : Marketing and Moral Injury w/ Josh Tarlo of Kiss the Hippo Dec 18, 2021

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

320 Founder Friday! w/ Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale, Florence, Italy Dec 17, 2021

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

The Key to Up-Selling Dec 16, 2021

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!!!

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www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

319 : A Conversation w/ World Barista Champion Diego Campos! Dec 13, 2021

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:

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

Ignorance vs Preference Dec 09, 2021

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

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The best espresso machines in the world!

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318 : Why Your Coffee Shop is Key for the Success of Coffee Dec 07, 2021

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

Why DIY Dec 02, 2021

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!

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The best espresso machines in the world!

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317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison Nov 30, 2021

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!

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316 : Founder Friday! w/ Jim Sanders of Heartwood Coffee Roasters, Cleveland, Ohio Nov 26, 2021

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

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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

Priorities and Deep Thankfulness Nov 25, 2021

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

315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast! Nov 23, 2021

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

RoR #9 Inside the Roaster's Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine Nov 19, 2021

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

How You Show Up Nov 18, 2021

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:

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Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders Nov 17, 2021

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

Getting Over Guilt Nov 10, 2021

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

313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee Nov 08, 2021

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

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Metrics Mindset Nov 04, 2021

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

312 : How to Choose the Right Machine for Your Shop w/ Chad little of La Marzocco Oct 31, 2021

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!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Exclusivity is a Bad Strategy Oct 28, 2021

"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

311 : Why Your Coffee Shop Needs Open Book Management w/ Larry Chase Oct 24, 2021

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 andÂ 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

310 : Founder Friday w/ Jelynn Malone and Beverly Magtanong of Mostra Coffee Oct 21, 2021

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

Passive-Aggressive Management Oct 21, 2021

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

309 : A Conversation w/ Sarah Allen and Ken Olson of Barista Magazine Oct 19, 2021

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

Do You Need Experience to Open a Coffee shop? Oct 14, 2021

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

308 : A Conversation w/ Italian Brewers Cup Champion, Alessandro Galtieri Oct 12, 2021

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

ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients Oct 08, 2021

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

You Can't Automate Quality Oct 07, 2021

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

307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop Oct 04, 2021

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

Why "Next in Line" promotion Might be a Bad Idea Sep 30, 2021

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

306 : A Conversation w/ 2004 U.S. Barista Champion, Bronwen Serna! Sep 28, 2021

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

305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA Sep 24, 2021

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

Small Steps = Big Impact Sep 23, 2021

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

Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer Sep 22, 2021

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:

Show Links:

Related Keys to the Shop Episodes:

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 Series #3 : The Cafe Sep 22, 2021

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:

Show Links:

Related Keys to the Shop Episodes:

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 Series #2 : Importing & Roasting Sep 22, 2021

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:

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:

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 Series #1 : The Farm Sep 21, 2021

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:

Show Links:

www.biocaf.com

Download the Free PDF Program Guide

Series Link:

All Episodes in this Series

Related Keys to the Shop Episodes:

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!

304 : Inside the Coffee Data Trends Breakout Report w/ Katie Von Der Lieth of the SCA Sep 20, 2021

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:

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Announcing: "The Sustainability Series" Brought to you by Biocaf ! Sep 17, 2021

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!

Make Everything Like Latte Art Sep 16, 2021

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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303 : Create Authentic Partnerships w/ Marc Gessler of Cat & Cloud Coffee Sep 14, 2021

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

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Study the Rules Sep 09, 2021

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.

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302 : Data's Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube Sep 06, 2021

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

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The Quality Standards Equation Sep 02, 2021

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.

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301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence Aug 31, 2021

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

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300 : Founder Friday! w/ Jermey Lyman of Birch Coffee, NYC Aug 25, 2021

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

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Hard Work is Hard Aug 24, 2021

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:

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299 : 5 Rules for a Successful Coffee shop Aug 24, 2021

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:

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Care Assurance is the New Quality Assurance Aug 19, 2021

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.

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298: A Trophy, or Atrophy? Aug 17, 2021

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

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Encore! Curbing Their Enthusiasm Aug 12, 2021

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

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297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee Aug 10, 2021

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

Instagram

Youtube

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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

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Motivating Staff Through Culture Aug 05, 2021

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

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296 : Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger in Los Angeles Aug 03, 2021

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:

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www.prima-coffee.com/keys

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

295 : Founder Friday! w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY Jul 29, 2021

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

Instagram

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

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Helping Managers Avoid Burnout Jul 29, 2021

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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Elevated batch brew and so much more!

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The best espresso machines in the world!

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294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto! Jul 27, 2021

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

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www.coffeefest.com

Skewing Positive Jul 22, 2021

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

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293 : Thoughts on Defining Professionalism Jul 19, 2021

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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Ignoring the Customer Jul 15, 2021

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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292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts Jul 13, 2021

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

Visit our sponsors!

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www.coffeefest.com

When Experience is a Liability Jul 08, 2021

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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291 : What to do if Your Baristas Won't Listen to You Jul 04, 2021

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

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ROR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants Jul 02, 2021

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

Tips on how to Replace a Manager Jun 30, 2021

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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290 : Coffee Connections in Central Africa w/ Keith White Jr of Paraiso Trading Jun 29, 2021

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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289 : Founder Friday w/ Ochen Simon Eidodo of Chariots Coffees, Uganda! Jun 25, 2021

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

Instagram

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When Small Problems Grow Up Jun 24, 2021

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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288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold Jun 22, 2021

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!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Reasonable Expectations Jun 17, 2021

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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287 : Learn how to Shift your Mind w/ Brian Levenson Jun 15, 2021

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!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Understanding and Bitterness Jun 10, 2021

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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286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao Jun 07, 2021

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

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister Jun 04, 2021

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 Friends and Making Enemies Jun 03, 2021

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

Visit our Sponsors!

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The best espresso machines in the world!

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285 : Better Systems, Better Connections w/ RoasterTools Founder, Jon Ewalt Jun 01, 2021

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!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

284 : Founder Friday! w. Jackie Nguyen of Cafe Cà Phê | Kansas City, MO May 28, 2021

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:

Instagram

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

Over Optimization May 27, 2021

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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The best espresso machines in the world!

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283 : 5 Bad Reasons to open a Coffee Shop May 24, 2021

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.

1. The Dream

2. My Own Business

3. The Money Maker

4. The Community Hangout Space

5. 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

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

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Curse of the Favorite Barista? May 19, 2021

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:

Visit our Sponsors!

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Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

The best espresso machines in the world!

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282 : How to Listen to your Customers May 16, 2021

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

Exercising Self-control as an Owner May 13, 2021

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

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281 : The Vietnamese Coffee Revolution w/ Sahra Nguyen of Nguyen Coffee Supply May 10, 2021

"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!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind May 07, 2021

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

Instagram

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

Turning the Ship May 06, 2021

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!

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The best espresso machines in the world!

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280 : A Conversation with Jesse Hartman of The Coffee Podcast May 04, 2021

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!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar Apr 30, 2021

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

The Problem with "Should" Apr 29, 2021

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!

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278 : Making good Hiring Decisions Apr 27, 2021

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

Eliminating menu items Humanely Apr 22, 2021

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

277: Encore Episode: How to respond to Negative Feedback Apr 19, 2021

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:

VISIT OUR SPONSORS!

Pacific Barista Series

Prima Coffee

Positive Doubt Apr 15, 2021

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!

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Special! "Thinking Differently" Series |Radical Sustainability w/ James Combs of Combs' Coffee Apr 14, 2021

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

276 : Six Ideas for Increasing your Revenue Apr 08, 2021

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

Who do we Serve? Apr 08, 2021

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!

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sb

Special! "Thinking Differently" Series |1% Better w/ Paul Magda of Pause Coffee House Apr 06, 2021

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

Instagram

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

275 : The Changing Landscape of Cafe Spaces w/ Dr. Jennifer Ferreira Apr 05, 2021

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

RoR #4: Practical Thermodynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak Apr 01, 2021

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

You need an Owners Job Description Apr 01, 2021

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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The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Special! "Thinking Differently" Series | Filipino Coffee w/ Ron Dizon of Teofilo Coffee! Mar 31, 2021

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

Instagram

Want to brew things differently? Visit our Sponsor!

www.groundcontrol.coffee/ktts

274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster Mar 30, 2021

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

273 : Founder Friday w/ Anne Lunnel and Charles Nystrand of Koppi Coffee Roasters, Helsingborg, Sweden Mar 26, 2021

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

Instagram

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

Keep Systems Simple! Mar 25, 2021

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

272 : Coffee for Dummies w/ Major Cohen Mar 23, 2021

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

Scaling Values Mar 18, 2021

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:

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

271 : Why the Cash Register Controls Everything Mar 16, 2021

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:

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 Myth of the All-Star Team Mar 10, 2021

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

270 : A Conversation w/ Mark Michaelson of Michaelson Consulting! Mar 08, 2021

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

Instagram

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

RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee Mar 05, 2021

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

Commit before you Communicate Mar 04, 2021

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

269 : What to Focus on after you Launch Mar 01, 2021

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

268 : Founder Friday! w/ Adam Obrátil of Industra Coffee, Brno, Czech Republic Feb 26, 2021

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:

Instagram

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

Speed is not the Goal Feb 25, 2021

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

267 : The Power of Delegation Feb 23, 2021

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

Are you Excited? Feb 18, 2021

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

266 : Building Physical Resilience W/ Dr. David Dahl DPT, CAFS Feb 15, 2021

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

Instagram

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

Two responses to Accountability Feb 11, 2021

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

265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge Feb 08, 2021

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

RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises Feb 05, 2021

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

How to talk to Customers about Coffee Feb 03, 2021

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

264 : A Conversation with Abner Roldan of Cafe Comunion and La Crema Podcast! Feb 01, 2021

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

263 : Founder Friday w/ Mike McFall of Biggby Coffee Jan 29, 2021

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

Paving the Way Jan 28, 2021

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

262 : Understanding the Homeless Community Jan 25, 2021

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

Be honest with your Wholesale Accounts Jan 21, 2021

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

261 : The Basics of Managing Managers Jan 18, 2021

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

Training TMI Jan 14, 2021

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

260 : Is you Current Job the right Job? w/ Scott Anthony Barlow Jan 12, 2021

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

Digital Hospitality Jan 06, 2021

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

259 : Solving Toxic Customer Service Culture Jan 05, 2021

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

RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters Jan 01, 2021

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

6 things to Focus on in 2021 Dec 31, 2020

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

258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence Dec 28, 2020

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

Instagram

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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

257 : A Conversation w/ Morgan Eckroth of MorganDrinksCoffee Dec 21, 2020

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

Instagram

TikTok

Morgan Recommends these IG accounts:

Glitter Cat

Erica Escalante

Umeko Motoyoshi

Related Episodes:

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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

Slowing down your Response Time Dec 19, 2020

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

256 : Founder Friday w/ Varatt Vichit-Vadakan of Roots Coffee Roaster, Bangkok, Thailand Dec 18, 2020

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

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

The Difference of Deference to your Staff Dec 17, 2020

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

255 : The Triumph of Black Brazilians in Coffee w/ Phyllis Johnson Dec 14, 2020

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

When "Going above and Beyond" goes too Far Dec 10, 2020

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

254 : Holiday Hospitality Part 2 Dec 07, 2020

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

The pain of Detoxing your Work Life Dec 03, 2020

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

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

Your Own Branded App!

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253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success Nov 30, 2020

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

252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark! Nov 26, 2020

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

Not just "One of the Gang" Nov 25, 2020

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

Sponsors!

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251 : Fermentation and the Future of Farming w/ Lucia Solis Nov 24, 2020

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

Instagram

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

The Impact of Absence Nov 18, 2020

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:

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250 : Planning better Events w/ Steven Moloney of The Barista League Nov 17, 2020

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

Instagram

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

Just re-make it! Nov 12, 2020

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

Visit our amazing sponsors!!!

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249 : The Path to Cooperative Ownership w/ Christopher Feran and Shane Hinde of Phoenix Coffee Nov 06, 2020

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

The Neighbor's Tree Nov 04, 2020

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

Visit our amazing sponsors!!!

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248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team Nov 03, 2020

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:

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

Special: Grossest Stories from the Bar Oct 31, 2020

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:

247 : Founder Friday! w/ Ritesh Doshi, of Spring Valley Coffee, Kenya Oct 30, 2020

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

The Dark Roast Night of the Soul Oct 29, 2020

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

Our amazing sponsors!!!

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246 : Selecting a Wholesale Coffee Provider Oct 26, 2020

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

Promotion Commotion Oct 21, 2020

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

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245 : A Conversation with the World's Youngers Q Grader, Frankie Volkema, Founder of Joven Coffee Oct 20, 2020

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:

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

Good Baristas aren't born, they're Made Oct 15, 2020

"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

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244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees Oct 13, 2020

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

Keeping it Real Oct 08, 2020

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

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

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243 : Encore Episode! "The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)" Oct 05, 2020

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

Lack of-Self-Awareness Sep 30, 2020

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

242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann Sep 26, 2020

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

241 : Founder Friday! w/ David Morris of Dillanos Coffee Roasters Sep 24, 2020

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:

Instagram

Twitter

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

Prep for Performance Reviews Sep 24, 2020

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

240 : What to do before you Build your Bar Sep 22, 2020

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

SPECIAL: Stories from the Ground #3 w/ Chi Sum Ngai of Coffee Project NY! Sep 21, 2020

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!

Poaching and Hiring from other Shops Sep 17, 2020

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

239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez Sep 15, 2020

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

SPECIAL: Stories from the Ground #2 w/ Jay Sanders of 392 Caffe Sep 12, 2020

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!

Shifting the Shadow Shift Sep 10, 2020

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

238 : Leading, Hiring, and working with your Coffee Tech w/ Hylan Joseph of Espresso Partners Sep 04, 2020

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:

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

SPECIAL: Stories from the Ground #1 w/ Scott Carey of Sump Coffee Sep 04, 2020

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
Instagram

My #1 Interview Mistake Sep 03, 2020

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

237 : Thoughts on Post-COVID Coffee Sep 01, 2020

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,Â 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

236 : Founder Friday! w/ Miel Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon! Aug 27, 2020

"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

Instagram

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

You are not your Competition Aug 27, 2020

" 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:

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

Solid, cafe quality espresso for an accessible price:

www.flairespresso.com

235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff Aug 25, 2020

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:

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 Employee Handbook is Worthless Aug 20, 2020

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

234 : Actions and Strategies to Improve your Messaging w/ Garrett Oden Aug 18, 2020

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

Bridging the Values-Actions Gap Aug 12, 2020

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:

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

233 : A Conversation w/ Anthony Ragler, Black and White Coffee Aug 10, 2020

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

Tips on Job Descriptions Aug 06, 2020

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

232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak Aug 02, 2020

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

231 : Founder Friday! w/ Blew Kind of Fanny Lou's Porch Jul 31, 2020

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

Don't fall into FOLO! Jul 30, 2020

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:

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

230 : Making room for Community in your Shop Jul 28, 2020

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

Don't Stress about Stress Jul 23, 2020

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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229 : 7 Tips for New Managers Jul 20, 2020

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