Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Welcome to Rate of Rise Live! Episode #2 brought to you by Roast Magazine! I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with Roast during the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston to have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds. In this episode we are sitting down with Owner of Little Waves Coffee, Durham, NC, Areli Barerra Grodski! Areli Barrera Grodski is an immigrant from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. She moved to San Antonio at 6 years of age and then to Cherokee, NC at 10. It is here where she was introduced to coffee as a community space and to her husband and business partner, Leon Grodski Barrera. She has been working in coffee since 2009 as a barista, coffee shop owner, roaster, and green coffee buyer. She proudly owns three shops called Cocoa Cinnamon and a roastery called Little Waves Coffee Roasters in Durham, NC. Areli is also the Recording Secretary and Board Member of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity. Little Waves is the most recent winner of the prestigious Micro-Roaster of the Year Award and in this conversation we chat with Areli all about her and her husband Leon's journey in beginning, growing, and learning through Little Waves Coffee. We cover: Bootstrapping and the uphill battle with a cart The range of challenges and emotions in entrepreneurship The mission behind Little Waves Surviving the pandemic How she defines success Applying values to daily work Open heartedness and growth Representation in coffee Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription) Click here tp watch video of this interview on Roast magazine's YouTube channel! Links: www.littlewaves.coffee www.keystotheshop.com Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com

Welcome to Rate of Rise Live brought to you by Roast Magazine! I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with Roast during the SCA 2022 Global EXPO in Boston to have some live face-to-face interviews with 10 of the coffee industry's brightest minds all about specialty coffee, roasting, risk management, teaching roasting, roast curve, inspiring stories of entrepreneurship and much more! We are kicking off this series of interviews with the venerable Peter Giuliano! Peter Giuliano is the Executive Director of the Coffee Science Foundation and the Chief Research Officer Specialty Coffee Association and one our industries best thinkers. Recently the SCA presented their new definition of "Specialty Coffee" based on attributes to recognize a wider range of specialty expressions and this is exactly what I chawed with Peter about during the EXPO. We cover: History of defining specialty coffee Establishing the new definition according to SCA Inclusivity and diversity in flavor, preparations, etc. What is "good" and "bad"? interchangeability, uniqueness, and blends What changes for how roasters approach coffee as a result How coffee shops help in celebrating diverse ways to be specialty Subscribe to Roast Magazine! (Use code "ROR" to get $5 bucks off your subscription) Links: SCA's New Definition Peter's past episode on KTTS about Customer Preferences www.keystotheshop.com Consulting and coaching: chris@keystotheshop.com

After a rush, an event, or any situation where there is tension and the need to perform well as a team (pretty much any time) there are always a lot of thoughts and emotions that people have. Unfortunately we tend to simply carry on as though it never happened and thus lose out on a lot of positive growth and development that can result from debriefing. On today's Shift Break we will be talking about the importance of debriefing as a team and how it creates better performance, communication, culture, and consistency in the coffee shop. Related episodes: 229 : 7 Tips for New Managers The One-on-One : How one meeting can dramatically impact your coffee shop's culture and morale. 028 : Why it's Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan Shift Break: The Agreement Tips for Conducting Great Staff Meetings The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co

Accurately tasting coffee can be a daunting task. Add to that the pressure of competition or just the daily work of the bar, and being focused, confident, and at ease while dialing in or making flavor determinations seems all but impossible. These are all however attributes that today's guest possesses and has honed over their career to be able to remain cool and taste coffees like a champion. Today we are talking with the 2022 U.S. Cup Tasters Champ, Julien Langevin! Julien Langevin is the production roaster for Coffee By Design in Portland, ME. Langevin only just began learning how to roast after working for about four years as a barista in different iterations, and taking a brief hiatus from the industry to try his hand at being an electrician. His first real job was at Starbucks and worked through various shops in Portland while achieving his Bachelors of Fine Arts. After graduation he began to go to SCA events, acting as a volunteer and a sensory judge for the Barista competition, and then competing in the Nashville Cup Tasters qualifier in 2020. After a two and a half year separation from said community, Langevin found his way back to coffee somehow and is now the current 2022 US Cup Tasters Champion. In this conversation we will get to learn about Julien's career path, tasting techniques, and hear words of wisdom for aspiring tasters and coffee professionals! We cover: Journey and challenges in coffee career Techniques for tasting Grounding yourself Tasting when nervous vs relaxed Focus, Flow state, and visualization Preparing for competition Doing what you can where you are Links: Instagram @Julientheperson Related Episodes: 048 : How to taste coffee w/ U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Steve Cuevas! 297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee 078 : Exploring Green Buying and Sensory Analysis w/ Amanda Juris 037 : Chocolate & Coffee w/ Brian Beyke : Understanding Craft Chocolate Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Some of the reasons we do not take the next step to delegate management or take the next step in our business is because we feel we are not ready. It seems embarrassing to not have it all together when you've over authority to someone like a manager and you want to wait till you have a perfect system and suite of resources to hand them. Problem is that you will likely never truly be "ready". On top of that, you may be robbing them, and yourself, of the benefit that comes with working through and imperfect context. Today on Shift Break we are going to be talking about why what you think is messy can and often is something beautiful for your business and the people who work in it. Related episodes: 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers Hiring for Future Leadership Why "Next in Line" promotion Might be a Bad Idea 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop 267 : The Power of Delegation Visit our Sponsors!!! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co

Our industry is one focused on creating memorable experiences for guests of our shops. Being detail oriented is part of our hospitality to people because we know that when all those little things come together, they deliver a real impact. This is what driven today's guest throughout his illustrious career working for some of the worlds most prestigious hotels and Restaurants to deliver these experiences. Nicolas Simon caught the hospitality bug upon graduating from one of the top business schools in France. From there, various experiences with Byblos Saint-Tropez, Four Seasons Paris, then Geneva and Plaza-Athénée defined his all-around profile in the industry, from F&B operations to finance and marketing. He was also the managing partner of three restaurants (two of them being awarded a Michelin star within the first year of operation), before being appointed Alain Ducasse's Director of Operations North America and moving to New York City 14 years ago. In November 2016, Nicolas became the co-founder and CEO of Wilcuma – a full-service hospitality workshop that offers services such as consultancy, management, and real estate, and also has a portfolio of proprietary concepts planned for development and operation Fueled by his passion for hospitality and executing at the highest levels, Nicholas has set his sights on the coffee world with the opening of the new El Condor Coffee Roasters in the West Village, NYC. El Condor seeks to create a transcendent and comfortable all-day cafe experience that delivers quality, consistency, and genuine connection. We cover: Beginnings in hospitality Growing as a manager and leader The critical role of operations Philosophy on service and caring for guests Entering into the coffee industry The vision and goals of El Condor Advice for how to approach hospitality and systems for accountability Links: www.elcondor.coffee www.wilcuma.com Related Episodes: 030 : Casey Underkofler : Matching Your Service to Your Quality : How to Manage and Control the critical details of service so both the experience and product are excellent 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence 188 : Founder Friday w/ Jon Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Welcome to this special edition of the Founder Friday series! We have an incredible collection of interviews from some of the world's best coffee shop operators and entrepreneurs. Within each interview are gems of wisdom that help us move ourselves and the industry forward. In this special edition of Founder Friday I went back into the archives to mine those gems from past guests around a specific topic, -hospitality and meeting people where they are. Our industry of specialty coffee has worked hard to build itself up and now we see a mammoth effort to help welcome people into what we have built. In this episode we will here form four past guests: Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India Dorian Bolden of Beyu Cafe in Durham, NC Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar in Stone Mountain, GA Andrew Sinclair of Madlab Coffee in Los Angeles, CA Each of these past Founder Friday guests brings a unique take and perspective on what goes in to hospitality and meeting people where they are. From accessible brewing, staff and self care - to friendly service encounters, values, and connecting beyond the transaction, I think this episode will deliver a concentrated dose of wisdom to help inspire us all. Related Episodes: 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India 225: Encore Founder Friday! Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA 045 : Simple, Powerful Hospitality w/ Philip Turner 085 : How we Ruin the Specialty Experience Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com

It's one thing to make decisions when you work alone, but quite another thing when you work with others and your decisions have far reaching impact on different employees, leaders, and departments. What e and to do is force change into existing processes without regard for the wake those decisions leave behind. In today's Shift Break we will be talking about building a decision pipeline that takes into account all the people and relevant down stream departments that this one, seemingly small decision, will affect. Related episodes: 080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop Blog: Accountability goes both Ways Visit our Sponsors!!! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co

Morgan Eckroth is the new U.S. Barista Champion! Part of the point behind competition is setting the stage for conversation around ideas ranging from social issues to the hands on craft of coffee. In both these areas there are far reaching implications for what the industry latches on to and is inspired to continue developing. On such theme is merging high-end experiences with accessibility in mind. Morgan Eckroth, known for her social media platform Morgan Drinks Coffee, has plenty of experience with connecting with an audience and in her presentation for USBC this year, leaned into the idea that specialty can be and should be experienced by more than just judges at the highest level of coffee. Morgan is a barista and content creator, having worked in the specialty coffee industry for 5 years. With over 5 million followers across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, she shares her love for coffee through comedic customer service sketches, vlogs about her job, and educational videos. Morgan also released a line of coffee in collaboration with Wrecking Ball Coffee in December 2020 and is working to continue creating a link between baristas and their customers through a shared love for coffee and a dash of humor. Today we get to sit down with Morgan and hear all about her innovative approach to the competition and all the ups and downs on her journey to victory in Boston. We cover: Deciding to compete after years of life change Preparation for USBC and crafting a theme Innovation and challenges High level Accessibility Choosing the coffees Break down of beverage creation Goals and inspirations Advice to other competitors and shops Links: www.morgandrinkscoffee.com Related Episodes: 257 : A Conversation w/ Morgan Eckroth of MorganDrinksCoffee! 099 : The Barista League w/ Competition Founder Steve Moloney 298 : A Trophy, or Atrophy? 173 : 5 Areas of Focus for Retailers 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Mike Ebert, an expert in coffee consulting and founder of Fire Dancer Consultants, shares his insights on the complexities of new processing methods like honey and pulped natural. He discusses the unique challenges roasters face and emphasizes the importance of trial and error for achieving optimal flavor. Ebert highlights the need for tailored techniques and vigilance during roasting, while also addressing consumer expectations for quality. The conversation underscores ongoing education and practical strategies for success in this evolving field.