Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Especially important for the younger generation is access to the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before. Older coffee professionals can also benefit from the drive and perspectives of the younger. Problem is that we tend to only converse with and stick to your own age group and the benefit of cross generational communication is lost.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about mentorship and the importance of seeking these intergenerational relationships and the benefit it brings not only to our own development as individuals, but to the industry as a whole.

Related episodes:

• 349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
• 397: Diversity and The Color of Coffee w/ Keith Hawkins, The Color of Coffee Collective
• 127 : Passion and Curiosity: A conversation w/ Starbucks Global Sr. Project Manager, Major Cohen
• 003: The Role of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee w/ Pete Licata
• 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces
• 228 : Cracking the Leadership Code w/ Alain Hunkins

Visit our Sponsors!!!

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Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

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The barrier of entry for getting a coffee shop open is lower than ever. Many have the idea that if they can get the shop open, then they have succeeded. But the test is not only about whether you can open a shop, or even if you can keep it open, but how do you make something that is truly great and successful?

On today's episode we will be talking about a few ingredients that must be present in the mix of a coffee shop from the beginning in order for all the components we assemble in the race to open, to work together and create something truly greater than the sum of its parts.

These things are not readily apparent but are necessary nonetheless, and are what separates the average coffee shop from one that is long lasting and impactful.

We cover:

• Culture of caring
• Service mindset internal and external
• Its not just a recipe of the assembly…it's the soul
• Make the intangible tangible
• Long term success is based on roots and patience
• Self knowledge and acceptance of risk in refinement
• Values in action
• Not getting mired in the details but tending to them / Ability to judge success in mission and big picture

Listen to these episodes next:

• 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)"
• 283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop
• 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
• 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
• 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez
• 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan

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THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!

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30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!

www.coffeefest.com

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I mean, I like variety as much as the next person, but overly complex menus are overwhelming and create confusion for customers who rely on us to curate our offerings that meets their needs in a way that delivers quality over quantity.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how the pursuit of a simplified menu can be a powerful tool for hospitality and, in the end, creates a more memorable experience that customers are excited to share with others.

Related episodes:

• Building your Coffee Shop's Capacity from Simplicity
• Leaner Teams, Better Results
• Some Tips on Signature Drinks
• Sacrificing Productivity

Visit our Sponsors!!!

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Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

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In order to train people in coffee and barista skills you have to not only be a student of your subject, but also a student of your students and their unique context. In recent years we have seen an incredible explosion of coffee eduction in producing countries where the landscape of learning is among the most unique given their deep relationship with coffee. Today we will be talking with an educator whose commitment to learning and bringing understanding to this context is making great impact. I am excited to be chatting with Fabiola Solano of sOY barista in Costa Rica!

As a certified with the Coffee Diploma and Authorized SCA Trainer (AST) in 2018, Fabiola began her preparation as a barista in 2013. She also has a bachelor's degree in business administration, a degree in marketing, and a specialization in hotel operations management. She is currently studying for the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

She has dedicated herself to content creation since 2015 for her blog Soy Barista, always focusing on updated and relevant data for the Spanish-speaking community

We cover:

• Fabiola's entry into coffee
• The unique landscape of Costa Rican coffee culture
• Training and educating on foundational information
• The importance of certifications and career tracks
• Best practices for training baristas
• Exploring all levels of quality
• Practical results of education on the local industry over time

Links:

https://www.soybarista.com/en/home

@soybaristacr

Listen to these episodes next:

• 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
• 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
• 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee
• 313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee

Visit our awesome Sponsors!

GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!

www.Pacificfoodservice.com

30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!

www.coffeefest.com

Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission

Setting up and maintaining a roaster for functionality, safety, and quality output is perhaps the biggest challenge of roasting. There are many variables and trades that go into it and it is easy to skip some steps, be less than detailed, and rush the project. I don't need to tell you, that is s a recipe for disaster. Perhaps nobody in roasting tech knows this more than the man who gets called to both set up roasters, and swoop in and deal with all sorts of emergency situations and repairs. Today on RoR we are talking with the legend, Doug Graf of Vintage Coffee.

Doug Graf has been rooted in the roasting, and roasting tech, repair and installation world for over three decades. From running his own family business for twenty years- to full time instal, repair, and consulting work for roasters over ten years, Doug Graf has maybe literally seen and worked on it all. Through his consulting company, Vintage Coffee, he provides consulting, training, repair and maintenance, plant design, and start up for coffee roasters of every size. Vintage is also a service representative for Canada for Loring Smart Roasters.

As you might guess, he is also a very active member of the roaster guild where he generously shares his hard earned wisdom and runs the roasters tent at the guild retreats.

In our conversation we talk with Doug about his career and focus on his advice and insights on how we should approach setting up and caring for our roasters and roasting spaces, and what the most common mistakes are related to maintenance to help us avoid needless troubles in the roastery.

We cover:

• Task frequency
• Wait time and working with the trades
• Planning and patience
• Trusting experts
• Major mistakes we make
• Checklists and systems
• Anticipating the investment
• The DIY trap
• Intuition's role

Links:

• www.vintagecoffee.ca
• Vintage Coffee on IG

Related Episodes:

• 152 : Essential Advice for Starting a Roastery w/ Jen Apodaca
• RoR #9 Inside the Roaster's Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine
• RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee

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It's Founder Friday! Partnerships in coffee bars can be tricky things. You really have to make sure you have complimentary character traits as well as a unified s12et of values to help guide you through the ups and downs of business in a the cafe and roastery. Today we are talking with a couple of guys who have combined forces and have shown what is possible when these things are in place and you have a passion to serve and advance both people and coffee. We are talking with Kyle Ramage and Lem Butler of Black and White Coffee Roasters!

Kyle and Lem are industry legends in their own rights. Each of their carerers has spanned the decades and has been punctuated with competition success. Lem and U.S. Barista Champion in 2016, and Kyle as U.S. Barista Champion in 2017. Along their careers they have been deeply involved in retail, roasting, and have been integral members of the global coffee community through their work and examples.

The founding of their cafe and roastery in 2017 was the combination their individual talents to create something new, powerful, and needed in the coffee space. They have been making waves in the industry since them striking a balance between accessible coffees, more extreme coffees, serving their staff and customers, and continuing to invest in competitions and the professional development of competitors.

This conversation is a look at their history, the development of Black and White, their own growth as owners, and the how of their approach to running one of the most respected brands in coffee.

We discuss:

• Careers and competition
• Training and complimentary strengths
• The founding of Black and White
• Taking on an existing customers base and staff
• Self awareness
• Listening to customers
• Developing a fresh approach to coffee
• Investing in their baristas
• The need to market coffee differently
• Creating inroads in roasted coffee offerings
• Where we need to go as an industry

Links:

www.blackwhiteroasters.com

Instagram: @blackwhiteroasters

Listen to these episodes next!

• 396 : Founder Friday: Before + After Edition! w/ Jonathan Pascual of the Newly Opened Opo Coffee.
• 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga's Coffee Roasters
• 359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC
• 273 : Founder Friday w/ Anne Lunnel and Charles Nystrand of Koppi Coffee Roasters, Helsingborg, Sweden

Visit our awesome Sponsors!

GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!

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There is a shortcut for everything these days. Automation, templates, and other tools would give you the impression that you can automate of be hands off with your leadership and that your aim is to continually seek more ways to remove yourself.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how this idea, while appropriate in some aspects of the business, is a recipe for disaster in others.

Listen to these related episodes next:

• 028 : Why it's Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
• Baristas Are Not Magic
• Motivating Staff Through Culture
• You Can't Automate Quality
• Proactivity in the Owner - Manager Relationship
• Over Optimization

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

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Opportunities for specialty coffee still abound in certain areas of the American South. With those opportunities comes challenges of communicating coffee in a way that both meets people where they are, and helps open them up to new experiences that expand their enjoyment. Today we are talking with someone who has not only been communicating to his customers through the coffee he roasts, but also through a podcast designed to be an entertaining AND educational. We are chatting with Kenneth Thomas of Umble Coffee!

Kenneth Thomas is host of the very popular Coffee 101 podcast and interviews coffee experts weekly from around the world. He is owner and head roaster at Umble Coffee Co, an online and wholesale coffee company. Kenneth and Umble Coffee have been ranked as one of the top specialty coffee roasters in the United States consistently for the last several years. He is also a physician and chemical engineer - both of which lend expertise to Umble's mission of sourcing and roasting the best coffees from around the world in a way that optimizes for taste quality and health.

In my conversation with Kenneth we will cover how his own curiosity sparked his obsession and business, how he crafts customer service through roasting excellent coffee in an approachable way, and the importance of always learning and providing opportunities to learn for himself, his customers, and listeners.

We Cover:

• Discovering coffee and roasting
• Listening to customer feedback
• Blue ocean opportunity
• Meeting people where they are
• Coffee and health
• Advice for coffee roasters in coffee desserts
• The importance of always learning and teaching
• Don't sit on innovation

Links:

www.umblecoffee.com

Coffee 101 podcast

Listen to these related episodes next!

• 387 : Innovation and Building a Better Coffee Business w/ Miranda Caldwell
• 184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak
• 286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
• 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab
• 063 : What Your Roaster Wants you to Know w/ Rob Hoos, Author, Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee
• 168 : How to get the Best from your Coffee w/ WBC 2013 Champ, Pete Licata
• 370: Founder Friday! w/ Tony Dreyfuss of Metropolis Coffee Company, Chicago, Illinois

Visit our awesome Sponsors!

GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!

www.Pacificfoodservice.com

30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!

www.coffeefest.com

Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission

The foundation of the building determines the stability of what is built on it. When it comes to building a coffee shop business your growth cannot out pace the degree to which you invest in the relationships and the culture at the heart of it.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the need to increase engagement, resourcing, communication, and meaningful connection as you get business and the business develops in size and scope.

This is a very important topic and one that I hope you take to heart and put into practice.

Listen to these related episodes next:

• 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
• 074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond
• 067 : 6 Truths About Power : The Responsible Approach to Power Dynamics in the Cafe
• 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aire
• Expectations for Growth
• Reasonable Expectations

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co.

Tenacity, humility, and curiosity. Whether you are working as a barista, competing, opening your own shop and roastery, these are character traits that are essential for success. Today we are talking with someone whose long career in coffee has been characterized by these values. We are chatting with the new U.S. Barista Champion, Isaiah Sheese!

Isaiah Sheese is the Owner of Archetype Coffee located in Omaha, Nebraska. He has been working in the coffee industry for almost 20 years in various roles from barista, to QC cupper, green buyer, janitor, and now owner. He has competed in the US Barista Championships for 9 years, judged for 2 years, and placed top 6 in 8 of the 9 qualifiers. He finished 5th in 2020 and is now the 2023 US Barista Champion.

In my conversation with Isaiah we get to talk about his beginnings in coffee, the early experiences of competition, starting and running Archetype, and the pursuit of hospitality while also pushing coffee forward.

We Cover:

• Entering the coffee industry
• Discovering barista competitions
• Challenges of taking the next step in career
• What moments changed the game in competition
• Pursuit of excellence
• How judging changed things
• Starting a business and meeting customers where they are
• The importance of community trust for cafe success
• Tenacity in competition and the evolution of Archetype
• His winning routine and how they approached it differently

Links:

• www.drinkarchetype.com
• FOLLOW! @ARCHETYPEROASTERS
• Isaiah Sheese on Instagram @isaiahsheese

Listen to these related episodes next!

• 394 : Happy Coffee People w/ Wendelien van Bunnik
• 390 : 7 Ways to be Consciously Competitive
• 320 Founder Friday! w/ Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale, Florence, Italy
• 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner
• 343 : Founder Friday! "Curated Edition" | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are

Visit our awesome Sponsors!

GROUND BREAKING BREWING MADE SIMPLE!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

THE BEST PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES ON THE PLANET!

www.Pacificfoodservice.com

30 years of resourcing you with the best products and education!

www.coffeefest.com

Use Code: "KEYS" for 50% General Admission