Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Every shop has that one barista that seems to attract more attention the the rest. The comment is made by customers often about this person that they are my "favorite" barista. The question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well as with any situation involving people-it depends. Today we are going to be discussing how we should approach and react to the issue of the "favorite barista" in a way that creates an improved experience for staff and customers alike. Listen to these episodes next: Exceptions to the Rule : Toxic Traditions Good Baristas aren't born, they're Made Visit our Sponsors! Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com

Running a coffee house is all about making sure you are able to serve the needs of your customers and to do so consistently. In order to do that you need to be able to not only listen to them but you need to know how to then respond to what they say. For a ton of coffee shops there is either not enough listening going on causing the cafe to miss out on service opportunities, or there is too much where the shop ends up doing everything they hear the customer say out of fear they might lose them. There is a better way. Today we will be discussing the art of listening to your customers and how to determine what to put into action so that it serves both their interest as well as the interest of your shop. We cover: Market awareness Co-creation Asking for feedback Listening to the right things Dangers of listening Service and surprise Episodes to listen to next: Scaling Values 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds Source vs Supplement Building an Accessible Coffee Menu w/ Joe Marrocco 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli Visit our sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

We like to be in control. The shop is your baby and you have all the authority in the world to assert yourself into the operations and correct things you see that are off. Trouble is that this is not always helpful and often can create more problems and confusion. Today on shift break we will be discussing the need to exercise self control and create structured communication in order to effectively solve problems, address concerns, and support your staff. Listen to these episodes next! 109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome : Lack of development in senior staff and what to do about it 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers Don't You Forget About Me Visit our Sponsors! Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com

"Vietnam is the future of specialty coffee!" Today we are going to unpack this statement and discuss how the Vietnamese coffee movement is creating opportunity for a marginalized coffee variety and people with our very special guest, Sahra Nguyen! Sahra Nguyen is the founder & CEO of Nguyen Coffee Supply the first-ever specialty Vietnamese coffee company importing and roasting in Brooklyn, New York. On a mission to transform the coffee industry through diversity, inclusion, and transparency, Nguyen Coffee Supply has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, VICE, New York Magazine, New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, and honored with the 2019 StarChefs Rising Star Award. Early January 2020, Imbibe Magazine featured Sahra Nguyen as one of the #Imbibe75 -- people, places, and directions that will shape the way you drink in 2020. She is a Gold House Collective Founder for Spring 2020 cohort, a leading network to celebrate and elevate the Asian American community. In this conversation we get to hear the story of how Sahra founded, grew, and now leads Nguyen Coffee Supply on a mission to flip the script, change the narrative, and create a place in specialty coffee for Vietnamese coffee and coffee culture. We cover: The current marginalization Vietnamese coffee Why Vietnam and robusta are the future of coffee The people behind the coffee Learning to import and roast and start her own supply chain Creating opportunity to improve Feedback to farmers and long term relationships Vietnam coffee culture Holistic perspectives on coffee origins Making room in our community for diverse expressions and origins Related Episodes to listen to next: 256 : Founder Friday w/ Varat Vichit-Vadakan of Roots Coffee Roaster in Bangkok, Thailand 247 : Founder Friday! w/ Ritesh Doshi, CEO of Spring Valley Coffee, Nairobi, Kenya 236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon! 209 : Founder Friday! w/ Linda Thach of Little Skips, Brooklyn, NY 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar Visit our sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Morten Munchow, a leading expert in coffee roasting and founder of Coffee Mind, shares his insights on the critical relationship between time and color in the roasting process. He emphasizes how color is often underutilized yet essential for tracking flavor development. Morten discusses the sensory impact of color, the need for systematic tracking, and practical tools for maintaining consistency. He advocates for balancing intuition with data, ensuring that roasters can produce delightful coffee that truly satisfies customers.

When we seek to change things in our coffee shops we often underestimate the amount of time and investment it will take to actually turn things around. I have experienced this both in my consulting as well throughout my career in cafe management helping cafes scale and refine operations. On this shift break we will be discussing how to approach making big changes to your company in a sustainable and effective way. Episodes to listen to next: Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick 025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards Visit our Sponsors! Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com

Questions and conversation. They are powerful tools to bring clarity and inspire action. Perhaps nobody knows this better than those of us whose job it is to ask questions of experts across our industry to bring understanding to a global audience. Today I am so please to be sitting down for a conversation with one such person. He is the host of The Coffee Podcast, Jesse Hartman! The Coffee Podcast has been a passion project for Jesse for 6 years now since its initial founding in 2015 with his best friend Wes. From a budding coffee nerd to an accomplish coffee professional managing and opening several shops, Jesse's growth in coffee inspired him to start the show to deliver the same coffee conversations that transformed him to the greater world to bringing clarity on a wide range of topics and inspiring action toward positive change. Today we get to hear about both Jesse's and the Coffee podcast's development over the years and the critical insights and lessons that have been gleaned from conversations with some of our industries foremost coffee experts. We cover: The romance of coffee vs the reality Bringing consumers into the fold The early years of TCP Learning through embarrassing mistakes How Jesse choses formats and topics for the show Sustainability, Conversation, and action Future of coffee Advice for retailers who want to effectively represent value chain Related Episodes to listen to next: 265 : Gaining Clarity on Transparency w/ Jonas Lorenz of The Pledge 072: Taking an Origin Trip w/ Kim Elena-Ionescu : How to go to origin in a mutual beneficial way 060 : Serving the Coffee Plant w/ Hanna Neuschwander, World Coffee Research 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 140 : A conversation w/ Erika Vonie, Director of Coffee at Trade Coffee 237 : Thoughts on Post -COVID Coffee Visit our sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

It's Founder Friday! Today we get the honor of hearing the story of Gilly Brew Bar in Stone Mountain, GA from Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas. Started by Daniel Brown who was quickly joined by Nephthaly Leonidas, Gilly Brew Bar was founded with the mission to help people re-imagine coffee culture. This mission serves their main purpose, which is to disrupt norms and build better communities. Gilly came to be as an effort to not only make waves in the coffee industry being black owned, but to change the narrative of what it means to be a coffee company serving in the community alongside an amazing gang of baristas. Gilly is unique also in that they serve coffee and tea elixirs to story-tell. With this experience comes a whole new way of thinking and operating. Humility, connection, and people focused service define what Gilly is all about. In today's conversation we are going to deep dive into the story of Gilly's founding, overcoming challenges of history and race, bucking the status quo and much more We cover: Setting the table for guests Not being just a coffee bar People focus Challenges in first year Overcoming racism and obstacles Customer feedback and leading with humility Becoming a light in the community The unique elixir beverages and their story Hopes for the future Related Episodes: 236 : Founder Friday! w/ Meil Castagna-Herrera & Curtis Herrera of Cafe Corazon! 222 : How to have Difficult Conversations about Race and Justice w/ Kwame Christian 177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia 116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton Visit our sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com

Ever get frustrated that your staff are not doing things the way you want? I'm guessing you have. In fact if you are like most leaders presented with an issue in the shop you have probably also said, "That "should" not be like that." or "They "should" know better." The question we need to ask though is-why should they? Today on this edition of shift break we will be discussing why using this word is often problematic and indicative of bigger issues with our communication and systems. Related episodes to listen to next! Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat Don't Waste Problems Being the Point of Clarity How to ruin a Game of Telephone Visit our Sponsors! Elevated batch brew and so much more! Ground Control Cyclops Brewer The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com

A lot of how successful a shop is depends on the people who work in it. In the specialty coffee retail industry we can tend to hire based desperation, convenience, or nepotism. What we end up with then is problems in the work and culture that manifest themselves either immediately or down the road. Instead we need to prioritize the hiring process as the main tool in creating a great cafe experience. In today's episode you and I sit down to talk about some best practices in the hiring process that will make getting the right fit for your cafe way more likely. Be sure to listen to the recommended episodes below that are related to this topic. We cover: Why "It's hard to find good people" is flawed Your values lens Applications and resumes Should you hire experienced or no-experience? Hiring for potential Interview tact and goals Related episodes: The Myth of the All-Star Team My #1 Interview Mistake The Right People? 232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak My Favorite Interview Question 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop Visit our sponsors! www.prima-coffee.com/keys www.pacficfoodservice.com