Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

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

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

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:

Are you Excited?

271 : Why the Cash Register Controls Everything

276 : Six Ideas for Increasing your Revenue

Visit our Sponsors!!!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

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:

• Diamante Coffee Farm
• Amor Perfecto
• Diego on Instagram

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

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

Related episodes:

• 048 : How to taste coffee w/ U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Steve Cuevas!
• ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
• The Dark Roast Night of the Soul
• Taste the Rainbow
• Curbing their Enthusiasm
• Building an Accessible Coffee Menu
• 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
• 078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris

Visit our Sponsors!!!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

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:

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

Small steps = Big Impact

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

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!

www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

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!

Related Episodes:

• 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
• 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
• 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
• Your peers are not your Customers
• Priorities and Deep Thankfulness
• Who do we Serve?
• The Neighbor's Tree

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

www.pacficfoodservice.com

www.coffeefest.com

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

Related episodes:

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

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

Elevated batch brew and so much more!

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com