Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Ah Latte art...that ubiquitous often ill used symbol of specialty coffee in the eye of the consumer and to the professional both a creative outlet and a seal given to a well made drink. This week we sit down to talk all about latte art with four accomplished latte artists: Jibbi Little, Antoine Franklin, Kenny Smith, and Christopher "Nicely" Alameda. They share their origin story, what latte art means to them and how it's changed over the years, some of the dangers that obsession w/ latte art poses, and advice for how we can improve our art and grow as professionals in the cafe. I absolutely loved hearing their insights and perspectives and I would bet money you will too! Enjoy! Links: Jibbi Little www.jibbijug.com Instagram Antoine Franklin www.blacksmithhouston.com Antoine's Instagram Kenny Smith www.sunergoscoffee.com Instagram Nicely www.menottis.com Instagram Flickr

In the coffee world, like anywhere else, we love to compare ourselves to other baristas, managers, owners etc. and see how we stack up. Often this can lead to stress, worry, depression, lack of clarity, wasted energy, loss of opportunity, and many other negative consequences. In today's episode we explore some of the ways negative comparisons can damage your shop and your career and ways to avoid getting caught in the comparison trap. "Comparison is the death of joy" -Mark Twain LINKS: The Effective Executive www.Worldcoffeeresearch.org Episode 08: Finding Joy in Coffee / Nathanael May https://bloomerang.co/blog/what-is-your-nonprofits-return-on-mission/

Providing amazing hospitality for the guests in your shop does not have to be complicated. Today's guest, Philip Paul Turner, Manager at Sunergos Coffee, shares his 3 step approach to providing great hospitality that has become his mantra to the staff at his shop and it can transform the way you welcome people into your space. I get to work with Philip and see him put these principles into action very day and can vouch for their effectiveness. I truly know of no better example of genuine and contagious hospitality than Philip so it was great to get him to dive into the things and inspire us to achieve simple, powerful hospitality. Enjoy! Links: Setting the Table - Danny Meyer www.sunergoscoffee.com www.keystotheshop.com

Even though mistakes and failure in coffee are a normal part of the learning process they can be hard to deal with, embarrassing, and often can derail our progress. Today we talk about some best practices I have discovered from personal experience for navigating both the small and the serious failures we all have or will encounter as we continue our work in coffee. You will learn how to move through challenges, avoid surprises, recover from major failures in job performance, the importance of humility, and how to truly change a problem behavior for good, and much more. If you address these issue in the proper way they can be the most important thing that ever happens to you and your career. This episode is personally challenging as it reflects events from my history in coffee all the way up to events happening today in my work. I do hope this is useful for you for the mistakes and failures you're having to overcome. Enjoy! www.keystotheshop.com chris@keystotheshop.com

This Founder Friday we talk with Kathy Turiano, Co-Owner of the award winning, Joe Bean Coffee Roasters in Rochester, NY. In this episode you will hear the epic story of how Joe Bean embraced radical change to come back from major set backs early on in the life of the business. I know you will find their example of over coming challenges, learning, collaboration, hospitality, continued exploration, and investment into their team truly inspirational. This was a phenomenal conversation! Enjoy! LINKS: WWW.JOEBEANROASTERS.COM Instagram Twitter Facebook Book: Necessary Endings

There are many hands that contribute to specialty coffee ecosystem. In addition to farmers, green coffee importers and roasters supplying our shops we all rely on specialty coffee equipment suppliers to get the gear we need to make great coffee. Just like sourcing great coffee, the best suppliers are very particular with what they stock and offer. Today to explore that process further we get to talk with Steve Reinhart, Brand Manager for our sponsor on Keys to the Shop, Prima Coffee. Steve talks with us about his journey into coffee, and his role in product curation and testing. We also get to learn the history of Prima Coffee and how empathy drives their company culture. Lastly Steve tells us what he believes are the top three things that we should be considering before purchasing equipment. Wise words there for sure. Enjoy! LINKS: www.prima-coffee.com INSTAGRAM TWITTER

One of the best places we can go to gain inspiration, be educated, find insight, and experience life in a different and deeper way is printed page. In the midst of an endless sea of available content, Standart Magazine stands out as a leader in this arena for specialty coffee. Content Director for Standart Magazine, Luke Adams, talks to us this week about the philosophy and process behind curating the excellent writing and content that makes Standart unique and impactful. We talk about the future of coffee, parallels between great writing and a great cafe experience, among many other things. I believe this will help inspire you to greater heights in your career and hopefully to pursue the kind of learning and engagement with different ideas all around us that will help shape you and our industry for the better. Enjoy! LINKS: WWW.STANDARTMAG.COM Facebook Twitter Instagram www.keystotheshop.com

Pour over & batch brew. Each method of brewing has it's strengths and weaknesses and depending on what message you want to communicate in your shop you will likely find one to be better suited to assist you in that cause. Today in Part 2 of our discussion, Ryan Soeder breaks down the pros and cons of each method along a frame work of Labor, Training, Speed, Aesthetics, Equipment cost, and Waste. Along with this he sets out some important ground rules for implementing each method into the cafe. There are a lot of great insights and tools discussed here. Enjoy! Links Shops mentioned Intelligentsia Coffee Sunergos Coffee Ryan's Glass Work Marble Party

Eric Cacciatore is the host of the #1 Podcast for the restaurant industry, Restaurant Unstoppable! A podcast that brings together some of the best and most successful hospitality professionals and seeks to draw out wisdom, advice, and insights to help us also be successful in our hospitality careers. In this weeks show Eric is sharing with us the top 6 things that he has seen as the common traits and actions between the over 300 professionals he has interviewed. Whether you are a barista, manager, owner, or trainer we can definitely learn something from the restaurant world that can help us in our coffee careers. You will leave this episode feeling inspired, energized, and Unstoppable! LINKS: WWW.RESTAURANTUNSTOPPABLE.COM Instagram Twitter Resources/ restaurants/Chefs Mentioned: Zingerman's Besh Restaurant Group

He's Back!!! Maxwell last joined us on the show back in February 23rd on episode #11 before the opening of his first brick-and-mortar space for his company, Narrative Coffee. It's been 4 1/2 months and Narrative has had their soft opening, grand opening, and Maxwell has learned a lot through the process. Now he is back on the show to give us a glimpse into his first couple months being open for business and how it is shaping him, his staff, and his community. I know you will enjoy Part 2 Narrative Coffee's Story! LINKS: WWW.NARRATIVE.COFFEE Instagram Twitter Facebook Narrative Coffee Pt. 1 / Episode 11 of KTTS Roasters Mentioned: Veltons Coffee Roasting Company Spotted Cow