Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Not all bold brew is created equal! The difference between offering your customers an average experience vs an outstanding one comes down to basics, attention to detail, creativity, and a craft mindset toward the liquid juggernaut that is cold brew. As the cold brew season ramps up we need to elevate our cold brew offerings and boy do we have just the person to help us do it. Matt Bushman is the Co-Founder of Alto Cold Brew, a company whose mission is to help shops elevate their cold brew through innovative products, unique perspectives, shared knowledge, and events. In the years since founding the company Matt and his business partner Joey Ruiz have not only created a great product but they have also created a robust and growing bank of resources to help their customers raise their cold brew game. Today we get tactical and practical as we talk with Matt all about the basics of good cold brew, the overlooked essentials of execution, creativity, pit falls to avoid, sanitation, and solids steps you can take today to bring your cold brew to a higher level. Summer is almost here. As economies begin opening back up, and people start heading back out to their local coffee shop, NOW is the time to take stock of how your cold brew program and really take it to the next level. You will learn about: How Alto was created What makes quality cold brew Sanitation concerns Creative menu ideas Logistics and operations that scale How to approach cold brew as a craft Offering more to your customers The importance of systems Cold brew in the time of COVID Links: www.altocoldbrew.com Instagram Related episodes: 6 Tips for Cooler Cold Brew w/ the Cold Brew Chick, Rachel Dillon 175 : How to Keep your Cool : An Ice Machine, and Cooler Maintenance Master Class w/ Luke Peterson of The Maintenance Department Coffee and Cocktails w/ Amanda Whitt The BEST in commercial coffee equipment www.prima-coffee.com/keys Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks? www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Alternative forms of income have been helping keep many of you in business during the crisis. The grocery/pantry model has been a very interesting and successful pivot that allows you to continue serving the needs of your community beyond coffee. One of the best examples of this model is being conducted by Penstock Coffee out in Highland Park, NJ. Penstock is a Good Food award winning roastery established in 2009 by Ben and Jessica Shellack. These are some of the best people you will meet in coffee and their commitment to do right by all the people involved in the supply chain shows in all they put their hands to, including how they have responded to the current crisis. Today I sit down with Ben to get the details of their very successful grocery program. How did they start? What are the logistics and legalities? How did they set it up and how do they manage it? What are their quality control measures? These are some of the many questions answered in this in depth look at the grocery/pantry model. As we are still very much in the middle of this mess, I hope this episode helps equip and empower you to perhaps take on a similar project in your business. Links: www.penstockcoffee.com Penstock on IG Complete list of COVID-19 related past episodes: On a Resilient Coffee Community Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, Ireland The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis Shift Break: Development in a Crisis Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian JNP Coffee, Burundi John King of Walkie Talkie Coffee Remote coaching and consultation: www.keystotheshop.com/consulting

Joe is back! This time for a shift break episode focused on building a coffee menu from the ground up that is tuned in to meet your customers, and their taste buds, where they are on their coffee journey. NOW is the time to really drill down and focus on customizing your offerings for accessibility, ease of use, wider availability, and thinking through how you will set the customer up to thoroughly enjoy the roasted coffee you sell on the shelf. In this shift break we discuss the mentality, tools, and actions needed to build a great coffee program for the people! Links: www.list-beisler.coffee Joe on Instagram Joe on Twitter List and Beisler on Instagram CLICK TO JOIN THE MIGHTY NETWORK! Related episodes: 026 : What Your Roaster Wants You to Know w/ U.S. Roasting Champion Mark Michaelson 063 : What Your Roaster Wants You to Know w/ Rob Hoos Joe gives Career Advice 20 : Transparency and Origin Knowledge in the Cafe w/ Joe Marrocco Batch Brew like you never thought possible: Ground Control Cyclops Brewer Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve BARATZA GRINDERS

Ah roasting coffee, many shop owners are planning what they want their business to look like in the future and how they can make it more resilient and roasters/retailers seem to have some more flexibility in what they can do in this crisis. the idea to roast coffee for yourself can seem fairly simple but there are more issues to consider than one may think. What is the case for and against roasting your own coffee and how can you make the right choice for your business? What are the key considerations to work through that determine if you will be a good roaster or a bad one? Today we get to really explore this subject and generally the art of being a great roaster with the ever insightful, Joe Marrocco! Joe is heading up the U.S. division of German based green coffee importer List and Beisler and has been an accomplished coffee professional since 2005. Joe has been a barista, a café manager, a roaster, an educator, a leader in the Barista Guild of America, and a barista competitor. Prior to List and Beisler he was the long time Sr. Sales Associate and Director of Education at Café Imports, and Educator in collaboration with Mill City Roasters and is widely considered the go-to guy in the industry for deeply useful and practical knowledge in all things roasting. I am thrilled to have Joe back on the show to explore the subject of becoming a roaster and whether it is the right move for you to make or the worst move you could make. In typical Marrocco fashion, Joe lays out several well reasoned approaches to both sides of the issue and we leave having gained clarity and direction. In this episode you will learn: Why you should or should not start roasting The logistical concerns behind the scenes Do you save actually money? The metric of joy and health Questions and Factors in profitability Benefits of retail before wholesale Manual vs automation in roasting equipment Tips for being a good roaster and avoid being a bad one Trends vs authenticity Links: www.list-beisler.coffee Joe on Instagram Joe on Twitter List and Beisler on Instagram Related episodes: 026 : What Your Roaster Wants You to Know w/ U.S. Roasting Champion Mark Michaelson 063 : What Your Roaster Wants You to Know w/ Rob Hoos Joe gives Career Advice 20 : Transparency and Origin Knowledge in the Cafe w/ Joe Marrocco The BEST in commercial coffee equipment www.prima-coffee.com/keys Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks? www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Operations, People, and Quality. These are three areas I focus on with all of my clients. Each on contains a myriad of subjects and components that we explore in detail to bring the whole business to a higher level. Today I want to discuss a few ideas within each of these categories that I believe are critical for you to pour energy into right now so you can enter into post-COVID business better than when this all started. I cannot stress enough how important I think this particular conversation is and I hope it helps your thrive well into the future. Related Episodes: One-on-ones Filtered Thoughts Podcast interview about "The Future of the Coffee Shop" http://keystotheshop.com/employeeculture/ http://keystotheshop.com/organizationalknowledge/ Changing things in the Cafe The Life Changing Power of Good Authority SOPs FTW Batch Brew like you never thought possible: Ground Control Cyclops Brewer Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve BARATZA GRINDERS

Walkie Talkie Coffee was founded by Lindsey and John Kind in the Summer of 2019. The result of a ton of planning, dreaming, and raising support, the shop was an immediate hit offering coffees from Heart in Portland , OR, amazing service and hospitality, and a goal to create great social and coffee experiences for their neighborhood. Not even a one year in, Walkie Talkie is now facing what is arguably our industries most challenging time. In spite of this, Lindsey, John, and crew have been handling this with grace and a positive outlook that is rooted in their mutual concern and care for one another and the people they serve. In this conversation I sit down with John King to hear how this all unfolded, the challenges of being a first year business going through this crisis, what they have done, how they keep going, and what they see for the future. If you are in Canton, OH definitely swing by Walkie Talkie. I hope you enjoy this conversation. Links: Walkie Talkie Coffee Instagram All COVID-19 Focus and Relevant Episodes: On a Resilient Coffee Community Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, Ireland The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis Shift Break: Development in a Crisis Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian JNP Coffee, Burundi Keys to the Shop Consulting: www.keystotheshop.com/consulting chris@keystotheshop.com

Home brewing is gaining more and more ground as our customers, who would normally come in to he shop, are brewing at home and looking for ways to replicator's the coffee they love in the shop. This time in coffee history will likely lead to a permanent rise in the number of people brewing coffee at home and subequently a rise in whole bean sales. How we show up for them and help facilitate their success with our coffee really matters. We need to embrace and equip the home brewer and to help us do that we are hearing from the one and only, Brian Beyke, of the I Brew my own Coffee Podcast. Brian is the Director of Coffee for Quills Coffee, Co-host of the Unwrapped Chocolate Podcast, and lover of all things bourbon and whiskey. He is also the host of the I Brew my own Coffee Podcast, an award winning podcast hosted by himself and Bryan Schiele talking about the stories, coffee, gear, techniques, philosophies, and people that make up the wonderful world of home coffee brewing. IBMOC is now officially and has relaunching after 3 years with Mr. Beyke at the helm. Today we will be talking with Brian about our role in the shop to help people successfully brew coffee at home and build trust while doing it. We cover: Accessibility and trust Importance of water Understanding the customers Communicating with customers effectively The state of home brewing compared to the industry Where we need to focus as we look to the future post-COVID Links: IBMOC Podcast IBMOC Instagram Brian's Instagram Unwrapped: A conversation About Chocolate Related Episodes: 37: Chocolate and Coffee w/ Brian Beyke Supplying and Selecting Equipment w/ Steve Rhinehart Consumer Revolution w/ Kevin Sinnott Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes How to Taste Coffee w/ Steve Cuevas The BEST in commercial coffee equipment www.prima-coffee.com/keys Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks? www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Today we are hearing from Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, the Founder and President of JNP Coffee, Burundi Coffee importer and exporter in operation since 2012. Jeanine grew up in Burundi and left to pursue her education earning an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School and had a 20-plus-year international business career that helped her find her way back to Burundi and to coffee. It was at a "Cup of Excellence" competition that she recognized the potential of the exceptional coffees of Burundi. She saw the opportunity to promote these coffees in the global market as a means of helping the farmers, her people. Today JNP Coffee is known for the award-winning specialty coffees they source and the good works and leadership they provide at origin. As a licensed Q grader, she continues to advance the global specialty coffee industry. Her business model is driven by quality coffee and is based on strong producer partnerships, sharing knowledge, promoting gender equality, and supporting education in financial literacy and leadership, all to empower the farmers and their families in her native country. Today we are talking with Jeanine about how JNP is responding to the current crisis and also how things look on the ground for the farmer she works with in Burundi. This is a very important discussion as it give perspectives on the relationship between producers and consumers that I believe will inspire how we conduct business as retailers in the future. It's all about empathy, connection, resiliency, and working with each other to increase access to the great coffees our customers have yet to discover. Links: JNP Coffee Burundi Friends International All COVID-19 Focus and Relevant Episodes: On a Resilient Coffee Community Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, Ireland The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis Shift Break: Development in a Crisis Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee Keys to the Shop Consulting: www.keystotheshop.com/consulting chris@keystotheshop.com

The way we have seen people rise to the challenge, amp up communication, take on a sense of urgency, solve problems, and create a culture that is agile and empathetic is truly inspiring. It's the stuff that defines being "In this Together". The question is, where does this all go once the crisis has subsided? Will our urgency, connection, and togetherness fade away? Today we will be chatting about the need to use this time to craft a future for our shops where these qualities continue in the daily work and fabric of our shops. Batch Brew like you never thought possible: Ground Control Cyclops Brewer Amazing grinders making great coffee easy to achieve BARATZA GRINDERS

As we continue our focus series on the COVID-19 crisis and it's impact on specialty coffee, we get talk someone who has been leading the charge for business agility, staff/customer safety, and creating systems to support it all. Maxwell Mooney is the Owner of the award winning shop, Narrative Coffee in Everette, WA. A past guest on the show, Maxwell consistently brings a clear, level headed, and well thought through perspective to the table. What I enjoy most about Maxwell and his leadership is the integrity that drives what he does and allows him to make tough calls. In this conversation we will be discussing, from beginning to present day, how the crisis unfolded for him and his team. Among other things we will cover: Not joining the "Cult of hustle" Creating and executing plans Hospitality in every context Making tough calls for safety Managing emotional impact on staff Leading in the midst of exhaustion and hard life circumstances Links: www.narrativecoffee.com Founder Friday: Narrative Coffee part 1 Founder Friday: Narrative Coffee Part 2 COVID-19 Focused episodes: On a Resilient Coffee Community Hope in Difficult Times w/ Kathy Turiano General Guidance on Talking with Banks and Landlords w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law Erica Escalante, The Arrow Coffeehouse Karl Purdy, Coffee Angel in Dublin, Ireland The Future of Retail w/ Doug Stephens Impact on the Supply Chain w/ Ricardo Pereira, COO, Ally Coffee Straight Talk for Coffee Retailers w/ The Retail Doctor, Bob Phibbs Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer, Atlanta, GA Refining your Leadership and Systems in a Crisis Shift Break: Development in a Crisis Shift Break: Grace and Hight Standards Shift Break: Keep or Throw Away Keys to the Shop Consulting: www.keystotheshop.com/consulting chris@keystotheshop.com