Most of the influential innovations of the past 10 years in the coffee industry have come from the adaptation of technologies used in other industries. With the world changing so rapidly (e.g. technology, culture, society, supply chain, etc.) the individuals and businesses in coffee find inspiration from other industries to solve problems are likely to succeed the most in our industry. Looking within the industry for solutions to problems that have existed for decades, simply leaves us reinventing the wheel again and again.

MAP IT FORWARD is choosing a new business model and we’re nervous as hell about it but excited all at the same time! It involves you and we’d love to know what you think! Check out this episode of The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast to find out some of the details and give it a thumbs up if you like the idea.

Over the past 5 months, we've been asking you to prepare to increase your prices in alignment with inevitable inflation. Some people said it wouldn't happen while others thought it would come and go quickly. Well, inflation is here and we don't know when it's going to stop. Together with all the other issues driving the price of coffee up (freight, low coffee yields, C-Market, etc), going into your COGS to salvage your profit margins is no longer a possibility if you want to stay in business given the already razor-thin margins we operate on as an industry. It's time to raise prices. Will we see $10 lattes...maybe!

As much as I hate to say this, we're an industry that's lead by fabs and unfortunately, if you go against those trends, it usually means you're ousted by "the group". It's something I particularly dislike about our industry and take every opportunity available to me to encourage people to make up their minds independently of what the group is doing. In this episode of The Daily Coffee Pro by MAP IT FORWARD, we take a look at how important this is to professionals and business owners in the industry, now more than ever.

When the coach of our coffee roasters mastermind groups, Ante Bikic @a.bikic, presented us as a group with the discussion topic "Flavours Suck", we all found it kind of curious that a National Coffee Roasting Champion would present that idea. When we heard what he had to say, we all jumped onboard and a wonderful discussion followed! Take a listen to this episode of the podcast to hear what the general thoughts were!

El primer episodio en español del podcast de Map it Forward, es conducido por Melissa Flores - Barista y Gerente en Baristas Bravos, situado en Tijuana, México.

Nuestra invitada para este episodio es Yarismeth Barrientos, tostadora en Café con Jiribilla y co-fundadora de Café Nohluc, en Ciudad de México.

This episode of the MAP IT FORWARD podcast is hosted Melissa Flores - Barista and Cafe Manager at Barista Bravos, based in Tijuana, Mexico.

Our guest for this episode is Yarismeth Barrientos, roaster and cafe owner of Cafe Con Jirivilla and Nohluc, based in Mexico City.

(Subtitles are available in multiple languages for the video version of this episode of the MAP IT FORWARD Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOo_ecb128g )

Unlike in other industries, the coffee industry has no standards for professionalism that are written into law. The legal, medical, and insurance industries are just a few examples of industries that have a legal "code of conduct" that governs certain expectations around their professionalism to instruct their duty of care to the public. Our industry on the other hand is limited to professionalism based mostly on food safety standards. In this episode of the Daily Coffee Pro by MAP IT FORWARD, we're exploring the question "Who sets the standards of professionalism in coffee".

In an ever-changing world and industry, decision-making is about more than just pricing. Increasingly, stakeholders want to know that their participation in the value chain is strengthening its longevity and not contributing to poor supply chain practices. In this episode of the podcast, we're discussing how to create value that keeps your stakeholders engaged and intact in your value chain.

Now more than ever before, employees are an important part of your business. We're experiencing an industry-wide labour shortage, inflation, as well as a global pandemic. Amongst all this seeming uncertainty, having employees that are invested in keeping customers happy as you increase prices and make ongoing changes to adapt to COVID, may well be the determining factor that saves your business from closing. As Gen Z continues to enter the workforce, employers will notice a greater expectation than previous generations to deliver a safe, inspiring, motivating, inclusive, and meaningful workplace. Employees want to be treated as stakeholders in a business's success rather than just "workers"

Traditionally, the driving force for decision-making in business has been profitability and cash flow. With the changing tide of expectations from different generational workforces and consumers in the coffee industry over recent decades from Gen X to Gen Z, employers who choose to be driven by profitability rather than listening to the needs of their workforce and customers, are at a higher risk of going out of business in a market where consumer and employee decision making is more wide-reaching than price and income.