Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Sandra Elisa Loofbourow, a sensory coffee expert and Director of Coffee Content at The Crown, shares her journey of developing sensory skills in coffee tasting. She emphasizes the crucial role of scent in coffee quality and the importance of calibration in personal tastes. The discussion covers the emotional connections to scent, the necessity for consensus in pricing, and practical steps to enhance sensory experience. Sandra provides insights into resources for improving aroma perception, making it an essential listen for coffee professionals.

Everyone's favorite coffee culture commentator and meme lord, Alan Jarrar is in the house! If you are like me and follow the account "50%Arabica" on Instagram, you know full well that there is more to the funny content than what you see on the surface. There is a world of professional coffee experience and philosophy that fuels not just the great memes at 50%Arabica but now the great coffee being roasted by Alan and his partner Kalliope at Jokes Aside Coffee. Alan has been in coffee for the last ten years honing his craft as a coffee professional at various coffee bars and roasters in the Czech Republic where he has lead the bar, trained, managed, and roasted at a high level. He is a past competitor and is currently running Jokes Aside Coffee Roasters with his Partner, Kalliope who also owns Faine Coffee in Brno. After a successful first year, Alan and Kalli are in the midst of planning to open a new espresso bar in their home of Brno along with a production facility. In our conversation today we will get to hear how Alan found coffee, developed as a barista, then roaster, competitor, and eventually business owner and an influential voice in the industry. Many different subjects and ideas are covered here as we get under the surface of what it means to have a thriving career in coffee and to have a sense of humor along the way. We cover: History of coffee in Brno Alan's entry in to coffee Early impressions of coffee Becoming a professional Learning to roast Experience in competition vs real cafe work Change of perception of the industry Starting 50%arabica Memes exposing the truth Humor as a tool for openness and self care Customer sophistication Memes overcome our barriers to feedback Starting Jokes Aside Coffee Lessons in being a business owner Plans for the future Advice for a great coffee career Links: www.jokesasidecoffee.eu @50%Arabica on Instagram @JokesAsideCoffee on Instagram Related episodes: 071: Taking a European Coffee Trip w/ Ales Pospisil 119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies Founder Friday! w/ Adam Obrátil of Industra Coffee, Brno, Czech Republic 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

We have to get the shop closed! Fast! Question is, at what cost? For most of us we engage in pre-close with an aggression that lies our stated commitment to hospitality. Customers are frequently put off by how we go about re-closing and we a frequently behind the eight ball with unrealistic expectation fueling our aggressive attitudes towards it. Pre-closing is crucial part of the day's work that can be done in a way that benefits the cafe the staff, and still allows for customers to enjoy their experience in the cafe when it is open. Today will be talking about pre-closing and principles related to doing it well. Related Episodes: 098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work 243 : Encore Episode! "The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)" 259 : Solving Toxic Customer Service Culture Blog: Spiders and Customer Service 019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio Visit our Sponsors!!! Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com

When you have a trainer on staff there are specific responsibilities you have as a leader that will determine their success and how happy you are with their performance. Often we can set someone in a position and let them loose with little to no guidance. Of course this is a recipe for disaster and today we are going to be talking about how to provide structure for trainers hat you lead and also we will be talking to trainers about proper focus and mindsets going into the role. When bosses come along side trainers and give structure, guidance, and leadership everyone has a better chance for satisfying work. We cover: Job descriptions Admin time Focus on basics Commissioning and following through on projects Due dates and clarity Getting lost in esoteric coffee knowledge Related episodes: 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers 313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee 025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Customers have opinions that we disagree with. This is a forever truth of running a business. They have preferences and sometimes they will be disappointed in their experience and take to Yelp to voice their opinion. That can be very frustrating, especially if you feel you are doing everything "right". The temptation is to be defensive, fight, and essentially make the reviewer the enemy. Problem is that this approach, as cathartic as it may seem, shows insecurity and shuts down opportunity for growth and connection. Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how to adjust our perspective on critique and embrace the fact that we are here to serve the customer before ourselves. Related Episodes: 151 : How to Respond and React to Negative Feedback : 5 Step Process 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano 019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio Visit our Sponsors!!! Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com

Community exists all around us. When we start a coffee shop we see the blossoming of community in our customer base, baristas bonding with one another, and then across the industry people of similar interests who are desirous to learn, grow, and connect make an effort to establish friendships. One of the ways these communities thrive is when people step up and organize. Today on Keys to the Shop we are going to re-listen to a great episode with Javier Alvarez and Joseph Gonzalez of Espresso State of Mind in NYC. They have been tirelessly and selflessly organizing throw downs, events, fundraisers, and all manner of efforts to enrich their community. This episode was recorded pre-COVID and from where I sit, having continued to see and interact with them, they have continued this effort even in spite of a global pandemic. We get to learn from Javier and Joseph the history of ESOM, the steps of faith required, planning, best practices for organizing, and their philosophy on community. I love these guys and hope that if you are wanting to organize your community that you will be equipped and encouraged by this encore episode! Links: https://espressostateofmind.com Related Episodes: How to host a Throwdown w/ Justin Shepard Founder Friday w/ Jason Card Mastering Latte Art: Interviews w/ the Best Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Hiring baristas can bring a lot of uncertainty. It is because of this we tend to go for people who may not make great leaders but default to following. Problems come when it is time to appoint a manager or have people take on. more responsibility and you don't have any candidates that are right for the role. On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we should be hiring for future leadership and why it makes sense for your coffee shop. Related Episodes: 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop 013 : Leadership & Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia : Leadership | management | hiring | career 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders 232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak Visit our Sponsors!!! Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com

Welp, KTTS is now 5 years old! In this time KTTS has aired 560 episodes and is closing in on 2 million downloads around the world and it simply feels surreal. I have been so blessed by the guests on this show, you the audience, and most of all, my biggest supporter, my wife. SO...on this episode my lovely wife Lynnsy takes to the microphone again to interview me about the journey over the past 5 years as well as getting to know a bit more about me and some of the things that make me tick. She has seen this thing take shape closer than anyone and it was really fun to get to talk with her about all of this. Thanks, babe. You're the best. You guys are cool too. We cover: How and why KTTS was started What I have learned How I've changed as a person Favorite/most surprising episode Tenacity and overcoming hardships Dealing with fear and taking risks The importance of story and discovery Why my wife is awesome Vote Keys to the Shop for best Coffee Podcast! https://sprudge.com/vote Related Episodes: Bonus Valentine's Day Episode aka "My wife made me do it" 305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA 081 : Founder Friday w/ David Schomer of Espresso Vivace 315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast! 242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Chances are good that if you are listening to this podcast, you want to grow in your career or your business. That makes sense especially since that is one of the goals of this show! That said, there are some problems with growth and the expectations we have related to it that create a dissatisfaction, self sabotage, and rob us of the joy of where we are right now I want take this last Shift Break of 2021 to address all with you all and offer some encouragement on how to balance your pursuit of growth going into this new year. I would be honored if you would vote for Keys to the Shop in the 13th annual Sprudgie Awards for best coffee podcast! Click here vote! Visit: www.keystothshop.com/consulting Related episodes: 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge Limiting New Things Turning the Ship Slowing down your Response Time Visit our Sponsors!!! Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com

Relationships are what the coffee industry is built on. The quality of those relationships determines the strength of the supply chain and the success of all involved. One of the most important relationships that is not talked about very often is that between green buyer and the broker. Today we on the Rate of Rise series from Roast Magazine we will be diving into this subject with the author of the October 2020 Roast Magazine article "What your Broker Wishes you Knew", Scott Merle! Scott has worked in specialty coffee since 1988 and has experience in every aspect of the value chain from Barista to Roastmaster. He has extensive knowledge of green coffee sourcing, purchasing, roasting, and blend development, and is proficient in various types of coffee evaluation. Scott has participated in multiple international cupping panels, was a founding member of the Executive Council of the SCAA's Roaster's Guild, serves on the Editorial Board for Roast magazine, and has served on multiple committees and councils within the SCAA, including eight years on the SCAA Sustainability Council where he spent a three year term as chair. Scott has dedicated his career to furthering coffee quality throughout the value chain, and has emphasized and exemplified fair pricing practices to hard-working producers every step of the way. In this conversation we cover: Communication Honesty and follow through Game planning and Capacity as parallel parking Setting parameter for your size Brokers and quality control decisions Reasonable differences in QC/Assessment Getting better at cupping How and why to Pay your bills Collaboration and problem solving Complexity at origin Impact of our decisions on farmers Defaulting to generosity and relationship Links: www.laminita.com Subscribe to Roast Magazine! www.roastmagazine.com Related Episodes: RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind" RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients RoR #9 Inside the Roaster's Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine