Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Leadership in the coffee shop can either be the glue that holds it together and nurtures its growth, or it is the force that tears it apart and depletes it of vitality.

In order to make sure it is the former we need to make certain that we, and those placed in leadership possess key traits and qualities that create a people-first culture.

Today we are re-airing a vitally important episode highlighting character traits and qualities every cafe leader needs to possess and practice. In order to be a successful shop you need to have a people first disposition. This episode is

We cover:

• The Importance of Mindfulness in Leadership
• Practicing Empathy in Leadership
• Consistency: Building Trust and Clarity
• Cultivating Confidence in Coffee Shop Leadership
• The Power of Curiosity in Leading a Coffee Shop

Related Episodes:

• 472: Why Technical Skill as a Leader is Not Enough w/ Jonathan Raymond, Refound, Author: Good Authority
• 368 : Walking the Line Between Leadership and Friendship
• 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
• 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
• 437 : The New Age of the Barista: Mindsets + Habits for Success
• 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

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At the head of some of the most exciting brands in India's rapidly expanding specialty coffee scene is Subko. More than coffee, Subko has created a platform to show case the flavors, culture, and design of India through multiple disciplines. At it's heart is sourcing, roasting, and serving the best coffee the subcontinent has to offer and Mumbai is just the beginning. Today we get to hear the story and insights of Subko co-founder, Rahul Reddy

Rahul Reddy is the co-founder of Subko Specialty Coffee Roasters and Specialty Arabica Q Grader.

With Subko, Rahul intends to help reimagine the Indian Subcontinent as a legitimate contributor to the global specialty coffee movements. The conception of Subko began in December 2018, and cemented itself in February, 2019, when Rahul decided to leave behind careers in the technology, social enterprise, and risk analyst worlds to train as an apprentice at a specialty coffee company called City of Saints in Brooklyn, New York. There, he learned the art of profile roasting coffee as a roasting apprentice, learned specialty brewing, packaging, producing cold brew, and farm level green bean buying.

In this conversation we cover:

• Rahul's Introduction and Personal Fascination with Coffee
• The Absence of Indian Farmers in the Global Coffee Discourse
• The Value of Diverse Backgrounds and Skills
• Specialty Coffee as a Platform for Change
• Design and Storytelling to Showcase Indian Coffee
• Building a Foundation for Subko
• Redefining Indian Coffee: Showcasing Terroir and Post-Harvest Processing
• The Permaculture of Indian Coffee: Shade Trees and Intercropping
• From Roasting to Cafe: Navigating Challenges During the Pandemic
• Verticals of design, cocoa, and coffee
• Fostering Creativity and Collaboration: Subko's Team Values
• Expanding the Subko Experience: From Mumbai to International Cities
• Advice to other entrepreneurs looking to reshape narratives

Links:

https://www.subko.coffee/

IG: subkocoffee

Related Episodes:

• 364 Founder Friday w/ Sarah Alakeel of Hjeen Coffee in Saudi Arabia
• 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India
• 332: Founder Friday! w/ Iman Kusumaputra & Putri Yulandari of Kopikalyan, Jakarta, Indonesia
• 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

We only have so much energy, time, and money to give to marketing our coffee shops. There is a lot of stress related to having the right strategy for getting people to become aware of you cafe and then visit and keep visiting. To make matters more worse, the consumer must wade through a sea of competitors who are applying similar social media and advertising strategies. So what do you invest into to give you a big return?

Today on Shift Break we will be discussing what I believe is an often overlooked and little implemented strategy that will gain you a lot of long term customers. Best of all, it is not able to be duplicated and helps you stand out from the rest in a way the usual methods a cannot.

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

• 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
• 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
• 115 : Finding Success in Mobile Coffee w/ Tim Cox / Communion Coffee
• 430 : Embracing "Unreasonable Hospitality" w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference
• Are You Open?
• 480: Focus on What Your Customers Love
• Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Tasting coffee is arguably one of the most important, yet subjective practices we engage in as coffee professionals. As our guest today will articulate, tasting and evaluating a coffee's Characteristics is done as a means of communicating to others. In order for us to communicate we need a common language and we need to contextualize as we go. That is where "The Coffee Rose" comes into play. Today we are diving into the world of sensory analysis and ways to create accesibity and understanding with special Guest, Ian Fretheim

Ian Fretheim has been the Director of Sensory Analysis at Cafe Imports for 13 years. He holds a certificate in sensory and consumer science from UC Davis and has studied wine assessment with the International Sommelier's Guild. In 2018-2019 he began work on the foundations that would become the Coffee Rose with the goal of improving Cafe Imports' sensory program.

As the Coffee Rose emerged, it became clear that it answered more questions and served greater needs than originally imagined. The Coffee Rose is an unprecedented pivot toward transparency and accessibility in specialty coffee cupping.

Today, Ian and Cafe Imports use the Coffee Rose to describe and assess thousands of coffees, teach cupping and coffee tasting, communicate with partners, and provide a path for experienced cuppers to return to tasting coffee without the filter of forms that abstract them away from the cups and reduce their experience to a series of numbers.

Links:

The Coffee Rose

@cafeimports

Water Activity in Green Coffee Paper

Related episodes:

• 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
• RoR #11 : Exploring Scent w/ Sandra Elisa Loofbourow
• ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
• RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises
• 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
• 078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

It is easy to talk about the things we want to improve, fix, and institute in the cafe. Trouble is that in all the talking of doing the how we need this or that, we tend to leave it there and wait until an opportune or ideal time comes along, rather than simply taking 1 small decisive step toward what we need.

Today on Shift Break we talk about why we need to default to taking action more vs simply talking about and planning the perfect next step Disciplining ourselves to do this creates in us and our team the identity and capacity needed to manage the shop well.

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Your customers count on you to create a wonderful cafe experience everyday. That is the implied or explicit promise of our marketing and what most of us aspire to deliver. The way we get there is by paying close attention to what our customers love and fortifying those element of the business through focused resourcing and training and improving as we go.

What are some of the most important areas to focus on that will truly communicate to your customers that you take their patronage seriously and that we are here to serve?

Today we are going to cover the main things customers love, why they are important, how to create a culture that maintains them, and what you can expect as a result.

We cover:

• Preemptive service
• Thoughtful variety
• Empathy
• Attention to detail
• Cleanliness
• Consistency
• Follow through and acknowledgement

Related Episodes:

• 098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work
• 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
• 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
• 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
• 340 : Encore Episode of "10 Reasons to Love the Customer"!
• Blog: The Customer of Tomorrow

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

In the cafe, it is easy to lapse into assuming that people who work for you, should also be available and responsive at all times even when off the clock. The lack of quick response from staff when off the clock to calls, emails, slack messages etc is often considered some sign that the employee is not right for the organization and can have a negative impact on how that employee is perceived and invested into.

Today on Shift Break we talk about the importance of respecting the boundaries of personal and professional and how we should set healthy expectations for staff an ourselves in the coffee shop so we can avoid this toxic overlap.

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

• SHIFT BREAK: Owners, It's OK to Make Mistakes
• Specific Expectations and Due Dates
• High Expectations + Low Control
• Reasonable Expectations
• Good Baristas aren't born, they're Made

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Try as we might, the reality is that eventually even the best staff will leave our shops for another job or career. How they leave is largely up to us as leaders. Some will exit on bad terms for reasons related to bad management or their own personal behaviors that are an ill fit. Others will have been wonderful team members and right fit for the role, but need to move on. In all cases there is much to learn that we miss out on when we don't conduct exit interviews.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why you need to strive to conduct exit interviews with all your employees when they leave your shop and how it will benefit you, the business, and especially your future staff.

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected] of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Listen to related episodes:

• 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
• 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
• 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
• 221 : Building your People Program w/ HR Consultant Dana Goodwin
• 232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

The world of coffee and coffee shops is changing rapidly. The variations of business models that serve innumerable contexts globally require intentionality in how we pursue innovation and how we stay aware of the flavors and expressions that define the specialty coffee world.

Today we are joined by a perpetual champion of coffee experiences and resident industry optimist, Andre Eiermann!

Andre's coffee journey started as a coffee trader in Switzerland. He moved shortly after to Kenya and Tanzania and spent most of his time on coffee farms, in cupping rooms and in dry mills. In the laboratory he cupped sometimes 800 cups of coffee a day. After his time at origin, Andre worked for several coffee roasters in marketing across Europe. He gained a deep understanding of the coffee industry – from whole beans, R&G, instant to the ready-to-drink category. The last years have been especially exciting for him: once Andre entered the specialty coffee world, he founded a coffee academy, launched a specialty coffee range, worked as a trainer and competed and judged in barista competitions. In 2017 he reached the semifinals of the World Barista Championship in Seoul, while working as a marketing director. Afterwards Andre deepened his coffee science knowledge during a collaboration with the Zurich University. This research project culminated in the scientific publication "Extraction of single serve coffee capsules: linking properties of ground coffee to extraction dynamics and cup quality" in Nature Science Reports. In addition, André is a certified Arabica Q-Grader as well as an AST for the Specialty Coffee Association.

Andre published his book "INSPIRE and GET INSPIRED" to share his passion for specialty coffee. He then continue his coffee journey in Melbourne where he worked as the General Manager for Victoria Arduino. Finally Andre is back in his home country Switzerland, where he joined Eversys in the Swiss mountains.

We cover:

• Andre's Journey into the Coffee Industry
• The Importance of Sensory Skills
• Authentic Storytelling in Marketing
• Creating a Memorable Customer Experience
• Balancing Customer Needs and Wants
• The Role of Innovation in Shaping Demand
• The Future of Coffee Shops
• The Potential of Automation in Coffee Shops
• Investing in People and Training
• Financial Management for Coffee Shop Success
• Delivering Excellent Products and Service
• The Value of No-Fuss Coffee and Great Customer Service

Links:

Instagram: @andre_eiermann

https://www.eversys.com/en/

Related Episodes:

• 215 : Communication and Marketing Master Class w/ Spencer M. Ross, PH.D.
• 445: Evolution of the Machine-Barista Relationship w/ Ryan Willbur of Synesso Coffee Systems
• 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
• 393 : The Tyranny of Taste w/ Kosta Kallivrousis
• ROR #23 : How to Close the Industry-Consumer Flavor Gap w/ Phil Beattie, Dillanos Coffee Roasters
• 082 : Knowledge and Flavor w/ Cosimo Libardo
• 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com

Setting up and optimizing your roastery for compliance, efficiency, and sustainable quality output is not just something to be done once in the beginning. The disciplined pursuit of building and refinement should be the primary focus of operators in order to best serve the business and all the people that rely on it.

Looking out at all the areas of the roasting space, it can be overwhelming to begin that journey, so today we are talking with one of the best practitioners of roastery engineering, Scott Stouffer, CSO of Probat!

As CSO at Probat SE, Scott Stouffer leads sales globally for Probat Coffee. Scott was previously the VP of Sales and Service for Probat Inc., the US subsidiary of Probat. Scott previously worked in supply chain operations for Starbucks Coffee Co and in R&D for Kraft General Foods (now Mondelez). Scott has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

In our conversation we discuss:

• Managing and engineering efficiencies in coffee roasteries and why it is crucial for optimizing processes and meeting environmental requirements
• Compliance with regulations and permits for all roasteries, regardless of their size
• Technology and automation play a significant role in improving workflow and maintaining consistent quality
• Various considerations for roasting operations based on scale, location, and customer requirements
• Tips on maximizing the use of space in the coffee roastery
• Schedule roasting days based on workload to optimize labor efficiency
• Seek advice and gain insights and solutions from industry peers fore improving operations
• Reducing waste and optimizing processes

Links:

www.probatusa.com

Scott on LinkedIn

Related Episodes:

• 286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
• RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee
• RoR # 22 : Master Insights on Roaster Maintenance and Care w/ Doug Graf, Vintage Coffee
• 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
• RoR #9 Inside the Roaster's Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com