Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

It is all too easy to throw shade at your current state. It is also because of that easy path to bating yourself up that we find it difficult to find the good and even great things about where we are now in our career or business.

On today's Shift Break we chat about the importance of loving where you are and how doing so is in fact the surest way to get to where you want to be in the future.

Related episodes:

• You are not your Competition
• The Neighbor's Tree
• 046 : Death by Comparison : How we practice it and ways to avoid getting caught up in it

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Specialty coffee has its fair share of challenges across the supply chain. Solutions for those challenges are only as good as how they were created, namely, whether they were created collaboratively and with deference to those most impacted. In short, when we connect with each other in shared work toward common goals, we see progress.

Today we will be talking with someone whose work in telling the important stories of coffee and producing events for connection is making a big impact. I am so pleased to welcome Henry Wilson to the show!

Henry Wilson is the founder of the popular coffee news organization, Perfect Daily Grind as well as the founder of The Producer Roaster Forum. What started as a fascination for the stories of coffee, turned into a much larger enterprise which focuses on connection and bringing the best information and diverse perspectives to bear on the challenges that face our growing industry.

In this conversation with Henry we talk about his road to establishing these platforms and especially focus on the importance of collaboration, connection, and relationship through the Producer Roaster Forum and what we can apply from its example in our own efforts to connect and create a better future.

Links:

www.perfectdailygrind.com

www.producerroasterforum.com

www.intelligence.coffee

Related episodes:

• 393 : The Tyranny of Taste w/ Kosta Kallivrousis
• 294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
• Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
• 288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
• Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
• 358 : Changing Coffee Through Proportional Pricing w/ Andy and Nanelle Newbom of Torque Coffee
• 265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?

• Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
• Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Welcome to part 2 of a live series of interviews conducted on the show floor of @coffeefestshow Los Angels and PNW in 2022!

​​Today we will be starting off by talking with ​Shad Baiz of @lamarzocco.usa A long time machine tech in the coffee industry, Shad grew up around espresso tech and has 2 decades worth of experience in serving the industry. Shad Baiz is now the Southwest Sales Director for La Marzocco USA and spends his days helping cafe owners and coffee entrepreneurs determine the right espresso and coffee equipment for their operations.

​Shad and I talk about the advancing role of advancing tech in espresso equipment and what role craft still plays in this new era of automation.

​​Next we chat with Jeremy Lyman of @birchcoffee Jeremy co-founded Birch Coffee, a New York City-based coffee company, in 2009. Since then, the company has grown to 14 locations and is doing 10x the revenue it was doing by the end of year three. The focus of Birch is on service and the way they hire and manage staff has a lot to do with their success. In this conversation we go in depth on how they hire and then lead staff at Birch coffee to create their dream team.

​​Lastly we get to sit down with ​MelindJohn of @josumacoffee Melind John is the Chief Espresso Evangelist and Senior Coffee Bean Hunter at Josuma Coffee Company. This dual role reflects Josuma's unique positioning as an espresso specialist, supplying not just a roasted bean (Malabar Gold Espresso) to cafes, offices, and home baristas but also green coffee beans to roasters for use in their espresso offerings.

​I sit down with Melind to talk about the foundational elements of achieving great espresso and the kinds of questions he gets at his long running session on the subject at Coffee Fest.

links:

www.LaMarzoccousa.com

www.birchcoffee.com

www.josumacoffee.com

​​If you are looking for resourcing, clarity, inspiration, and just a really fun experience then I would suggest attending Coffee Fest Trades Shows!

​​You can get 50% off your registration by using the code "KEYS" when registering at www.coffeefest.com be sure to follow @coffeefestshow

Welcome to part one of a live series of interviews conducted on the show floor of @coffeefestshow Los Angels and PNW in 2022!

In these interviews I sit down with stellar presenters and lecturers to dig deep into a range of relevant and important topics that will help make you and your coffee business better.

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​​Today we will be talking with ​Manish Shah founder of Maya Tea. Manish Shah is the owner of Maya Tea Company, a Tucson, Arizona-based manufacturer and distributor of fine loose leaf tea blends. He began his tea company in 1996 with a single product, and has since grown and expanded his line to include over two hundred varieties of tea as well as an innovative line of chai concentrates. In this conversation we chat about tea trends and your business.

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​​Next we chat with Stephanie Alcala of RGC Coffee. Stephanie Alcala is a trader specializing in sustainable coffee supply chains. She works for RGC Coffee, a family-owned importer whete she pursues her passion for agriculture and community economic development. We talk with Stephanie about sustainability and what it means to have a truly responsible supply chain.

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​The next guest is Maria Cleaveland. Maria Cleaveland is a food & beverage and hospitality professional with business development, strategic planning, finance and operations and brings an entrepreneurial spirit to every project. Currently she serves as North American Sales Director for Urnex Brands. Maria and I talk in this interview about the new innovations and tech making easier for consumers to have great coffee and what it means for coffee shops

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​​Lastly we get to sit down with ​ the great Jim Ngokwey! Jim is managing partner at Mighty Peace Coffee, a social impact coffee importer and roaster that highlights the great coffees of the Congo. As a Congolese immigrant who now calls New York home, Jim dreams of the day when his country's coffee will not be an afterthought or an exotic option that roasters try once every few years, but rather a mainstay for coffee companies across the country.

​Jim and I talk about the ways roasters and coffee people can and should make room for origins like Congolese coffee and then the importance of purging diversity in our businesses as well as the bean counter.

links:

www.mayatea.com

www.rgccoffee.com

www.urnex.com

www.mightypeacecoffee.com

You might have the perfect checklist, SOP, policy, and plan to apply to you current situation, it might even make things technically better, but if you are in the wrong place, position, or even career then those tools can easily become anchors that hold you down.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the need to make sure that you are in a place that is right for you, how tools can help you discern this, and how to know the difference between something that is challenging vs something that is a sign that you're in the wrong place and need to seek change instead of more efficiencies.

Related episodes:

• 394 : Happy Coffee People w/ Wendelien van Bunnik
• In Praise of Long Term Imperfect Employment
• 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
• 083: 6 Essential Books for your Professional Growth
• 243 : Encore Episode! "The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)"
• Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
• 258 : Prioritizing your Mental Health in the New Year w/ Dr. Lara Pence
• 266 : Building Physical Resilience W/ Dr. David Dahl DPT, CAFS

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Subscribe to KTTS

Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

Why so serious? Coffee is a beverage that inspires a wide range of emotions but within the specialty industry in organizations, competitions, and businesses it has somehow moved away from one of the main emotions that draws so many to it. Happiness.

As we focus on improving our skills, pushing our craft, and solving problems, we also need to make room for fun, community, encouragement and create relations that relieve stress instead of creating it.

Today we are going to joined by someone whose own journey in coffee has taught her deep lessons about place, belonging, professional development and how being happy is an absolute necessity.

We are talking with the indelible Wendelien van Bunnik!

Wendelien van Bunnik is the 2019 Dutch Barista Champion, Dutch Aeropress ánd World Aeropress Champion. She started her career in coffee in 2010, and has competed in coffee competitions since 2011. She started her career as a barista, though after three years, she was employed at a Dutch specialty coffee roastery. Here, she was responsible for wholesale training and education for over 9 years. She has started her own business in 2021 as an AST, trainer and consultant.Though she is a trainer through and through, chances are you know Wendelien from her humorous and relatable content she shares on her Instagram account @wendeliendrinkscoffee .

She is also the founder of The Happy Coffee Network: an open, welcome community space on an online platform, which launches in March '23. This Network is a friendly online place for barista's to connect, share experiences and knowledge as well as provide access to resources and support, no matter their level of coffee skill.

In this episode we will be learning about Wendelien's journey into professional coffee, how she discovered her place and voice in the process, and what she has to say to us about finding happiness.

We discuss:

• Growing in coffee and taking control of career
• Maturing and learning humility
• The curse of having "expert" status
• Difference between something being hard vs wrong
• Burn out and hanging on to hope
• Finding the place and path that is right for you
• Validation, learning, and effective training
• The need for encouragement, community, and joy
• What is The Happy Coffee Network

Links:

www.thehappycoffeenetwork.com

Instagram: @wendeliendrinkscoffee

Instagram: @thehappycoffeenetwork

Related Episodes:

• 008 : Finding Joy in Coffee w/ Nathanael May
• 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee
• 243 : Encore Episode! "The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)"
• 077 : How you can Happen to your Career w/ Scott Anthony Barlow : A frame work for finding the right work
• 260 : Wait! Is your current Job actually the right Job?
• 292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?

• Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
• Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

The ideal for cafe management is that you can raise up and promote a barista from within the shop. Unfortunately that cannot happen in all circumstances and shop that needs to delegate management is forced to seek outside help.

On today's Shift Break i wanted to cover a couple tips for cafes to consider when seeking to hire a manager form outside the shop. I believe these things will help make this move a successful one for all involved.

Related episodes:

• 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it
• 383 : How to Train a Manager
• 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders
• 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
• 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Subscribe to KTTS

Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

Specialty coffee has been defined by a difference in quality and taste for a very long time. It is the central value that creates the markets that we currently operate in. The problem with this though is that taste as a value is, in the end, a subjective opinion. While quality, taste, and serving the desires of customer is always important, how we go about the practice of taste making will either include or exclude those most impacted by out judgments. How can we balance the need to serve and be effective in what we have not, while building a better way for the future? Well, to talk with us about these and many other questions regarding taste is Kosta Kalivoursis of ally Coffee.

Kosta Kallivrousis is a Senior Account Manager with Ally Coffee and has been a fixture in specialty coffee for a very long time. He spend a great deal of his time researching coffee, community, and social movements and putting together some very thought provoking posts that challenge us to evolve into a better industry.

One such article was recently featured in the latest issue of Standart Magazine called "Against Taste". In it Kosta explore the idea of taste as a value that dominates and competes with the well being of those who produce the coffee we enjoy.

On this episode we will dive into this topic and tease out where we are, how we got here, and where we can go in the future if we move beyond the tyranny of taste.

We discuss

• The epiphany of the problem
• Why market access is not enough
• Dethroning taste as supreme value
• Who decides value?
• Balance of input and market demand
• The International Coffee Agreement + Solutions from the past
• Well being as a value on par with quality
• Can we co create?
• Allowing ourselves room for innovation
• Dialogue w/o threat

Links:

Kosta's Instagram @espresso_patronus

Related episodes:

Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer 288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold 335: A Better Business Model for Coffee Farmers w/ Thaleon Tremain of Pachamama Coffee

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?

• Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
• Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

Community is an incredibly important part of our industry. In fact it is the number one thing cited by professionals as the main reason they love coffee. Unifying around a common love is so powerful and helps us all become better...or does it?

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how community can often be a way to avoid difficult parts of working together and keep things at a perpetually shallow level of enthusiasm and keep us from making real progress both professionally and industry-wide.

Related episodes:

• 055 : Personal Growth & Development w/ Jared Truby, Cat & Cloud Coffee
• 125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : A framework for Compassionate Curiosity
• 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
• SB: Don't Force Vulnerability
• SB: The Agreement

Visit our Sponsors!!!

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

Subscribe to KTTS

Follow on IG @KEYSTOTHESHOP

The journey of a barista often will lead to management. That particular role of leadership in the cafe comes with a host of changes that call on people to not only care for the quality and operations of the cafe, but the people themselves. Today we are going to be talking with Justin Duenne of Quills Coffee, a manager whose journey into the role is marked by a focus on team and the constant goal of providing a great experience for both barista and guest alike.

Justin began working in coffee in 2018 with Quills Coffee in Indianapolis. With a passion for coffee and community growing, Justin stepped into a manager role for the Indianapolis shop. Throughout this time he's helped Quills Indianapolis step into a new chapter of the company and location. Justin is also an accomplished musician and songwriter.

In this conversation we will be talking about Justin's jouney into coffee and then into management and the lessons he has learned regarding leadership, and the importance of a great team

We cover:

• Becoming a barista
• Taking on and learning leadership
• Lessons in teamwork and relying on others
• Hiring and creating the vibe
• Delivering a great coffee experience
• The connection between music performance and management
• Thankfulness and the importance of perspective

Links:

www.quillscoffee.com

Justin on Instaram @justinduennemusic

Justin's music on Spotify

Related Episodes:

• 054 : Founder Friday w/ Nathan Quillo, Quills Coffee
• 216 : Helping your Customers Brew at Home w/ Brian Beyke , I Brew my own Coffee Podcast
• 336: A Cafe Leadership Masterclass w/ Selina Viguera of Blue Bottle Coffee
• 366: A Conversation w/ Chris Baca of Cat and Cloud Coffee

Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching?

• Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS
• Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.groundcontrol.coffee

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com