Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Latest Episodes:

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

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

Show notes

Brewing a great cup of coffee is like crafting a career in coffee, it take intentionality, consistency, and a humility that keeps in mind the end goal of all your efforts. These are some of the qualities that make today's guest, Elika Liftee, not just a brewing champion, but an example of professionalism we can all be inspired by.

Elika is the Director of Education at Onyx Coffee Lab, where he leads a team of educators in training in-house baristas, wholesale partners, and the public. He's been the reigning US Brewers Cup Champion since 2020, finishing 3rd in the World Brewers Cup during that time.

In this conversation we get t talk with Elika about his career, lessons learned through experimentation, and how he has developed his current approach to teaching, training, and brewing a great cup of coffee.

We cover:

Falling in love with coffee
Exploring management and finding teaching
The difference between management and teaching
Codifying and customizing the training program
Discovering how people learn
Experimenting with brewing and his favorite methods
Dialing in hospitality + judge/ customer preferences
Discovering and using the Melo drip and "flat" everything
Dialing in coffee across the cafes.
Consistency and what are forgiving and not forgiving coffees?
Advice for brewing amazing coffee

Links:

Instagram @elikaliftee

Onyx Coffee Lab

https://www.mk-ceramics.com/pages/mk-dripper

Related episodes:

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

339 : What Good Barista Training Produces

188 : Founder Friday w/ Jon Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab

012 : Lauren Airola of Onyx Coffee Lab : A Journey Into Management & Back

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

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

Show notes

Welcome to the 7th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series!

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

Show notes

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!

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

Show notes

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!

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

Show notes

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!

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

Show notes

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"

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

Show notes

We take for granted the kinds of interactions and connections we make in the course of our daily professional barista lives. An incredible variety of people with unique and interesting stories and perspectives pass through our doors daily. Coupled with the story of coffee itself, this business is a rich and fascinating one. Those are the motivations that led today's guest, Celeste Wong into the coffee industry and inspired her to start The Girl in the Cafe.

Originally from New Zealand, Celeste is has held top positions in leading artisan cafes all over the world for over a decade. Since migrating to the UK, she has been listed as one of London's top five Baristas in The Financial Times and noted for her excellence in a plethora of other publications.

With an Honors degree in Commerce & Design she is also an actress, with notable success in her roles in front of the camera, including her last feature-film becoming the highest grossing independent film of the year in New Zealand that won multiple awards internationally.

Celeste produces and curates social media content for her own platform and other brands. She writes and consults on a range of services for cafes and lifestyle brands.

In this conversation we get to experience the arch of Celeste's career from coffee as a job, then coffee as a career, -to the epiphany that led to her starting and growing The Girl in the Cafe.

There are some wonderful insights here and I hope you enjoy!

We cover:

Beginning her coffee career in cafes
Learning from serious professionals
Love hate relationship with coffee
Developing The Girl in the cafe platform
Goals and personal lessons
Reflecting coffee to consumers with empathy
Finding your voice
Memorable insights gleaned form the show
Desire for the industry

Links:

www.thegirlinthecafe.co.uk

Instagram: @The_girl_in_the_cafe

Related episodes:

206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger

242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann

024 : Chermelle D. Edwards, The Coffeetographer : Documenting Art and Culture Through the Lens of Specialty Coffee : Barista Culture, Consumer Experience, Movements in coffee culture

257 : A Conversation w/ Morgan Eckroth of MorganDrinksCoffee!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

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

Show notes

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!

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: