Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

It's easy to write off someone and treat them in a way that dehumanizes for the sake of convenience. We tend to make ourselves out to be better, and others worse. Today we chat about treating people you work with in the cafe with like they are people...not objects. *Stay tuned for next week's Shift Break as we talk about the problem with using regular staff to bring new people "up to speed" and my proposed solution. www.keystotheshop.com/consulting

Roasting is a hard job that happens behind the scenes. Even the championship itself is somewhat isolated from view! That is why I am so excited to share this talk with you. Not just because we get to learn more about roasting but because we get to learn from the Champ herself, Shelby Williamson of Huckleberry Roasters, Denver, CO! In our conversation today we explore Shelby's path into coffee roasting as a profession, what a day in the life looks like as head roaster at Huckleberry, how she goes about developing coffee profiles, her experience as a woman in the coffee roasting space, what has contributed to her success as a roaster, and of course details about the roasting competition and what she did to prepare for it and win. This conversation is loaded with insights and advice and I hope you enjoy it! Links: Instagram Huckleberry Roasters HEY! Be sure to visit our sponsors at EXPO in Boston! Pacific Barista Series: Booth #776 Prima Coffee: Booth #418

With an abundance of available resources we tend to horde knowledge and never truly apply it to our lives. Is our quest to learn getting in the way of our growth? Today on Shift Break we talk about how to learn and grow in a way that truly makes a difference.

Want to know what goes into hosting a killer throwdown that energizes your baristas and brings the community together? Well your in luck because today we are talking with the creator of one of the nation's biggest and most successful throwdowns, Justin Shepherd! Justin owns Spencers Coffee in Bowling Green, KY and has been hosting the "My Old Kentucky Throwdown for 7 years. With a 64 competitor bracket, thousands in prizes, and 10s of thousands raised for autism awareness, this throwdown is one we should surely be learning from. In this conversation Justin covers in-detail the most critical things you need to do to make sure your throwdown goes down without a hitch and is not just thrown together. These tips are super insightful, practical, and born from years of learning by doing. Enjoy! Links: www.spencerscoffee.com/kytnt Instagram

Today on Founder Friday we get to hear from Haden Polseno-Hensley, Co-Founder of one of my favorite coffee companies, Red Rooster Coffee Roasters in Floyd, Virginia! The values that drive the company, the quality of the people, the way they invest in their community and staff, and the quality of their coffee... all reasons why I admire Red Rooster and am excited to share this interview with you all today. We get to talk about the evolution of their business, learning how to roast coffee, revamping operations, how they divide the business between retail and roasting, what they do to invest in staff, the story behind opening a day care in their shop, and advice for roaster retailers. Links: www.redroostercoffee.com Instagram

When we think of the work we do on a daily basis we are not typically prone to describing it as "fascinating". For many of us it is a mundanity that we want to escape from. Today on Shift Break we are chatting about how a shift in perspective in the shop regarding the world we take for granted can help energize and sustain us.

The Champ is in the house! 2019 U.S. Barista Champion, Sam Spillman of Dillanos Coffee Roasters joins me for this very special episode. In our conversation we discuss the evolution of her coffee career, her love for the community, what drives her as a professional, competition, challenges she has faced developing as a competitor, her first origin trip, balance in the pursuit of a goal, and what went into and inspired her stellar winning presentation. I hope you are inspired by this interview with Sam. She is truly a humble champion who is equal parts amazing technical skill and compelling professional passion. Enjoy! LINKS: Instagram Sam's Performance Skip to - 5:13:40 in the live stream video www.dillanos.com

Professionalism is a loaded word that has been discussed a lot lately. It is a trait many of us want to be perceived as having but are sent mixed signals from bosses or judges as to what is, or is not, professional. Today we chat about professionalism and the need for a nuanced understanding of it that celebrates diverse expression of it. I hope you take the time to reflect on this one as I often see this element being responsible for a lot of the stagnation in coffee retail today.

It's an honor to welcome to the show the director of the 2nd Barista movie "Baristas", Rock Baijnauth! The first movie "Barista" was a huge success and brought the barista competition world to a very global audience. We are now only a month away from the release of the follow-up to that film, Baristas. In this episode I got to talk to Rock about the process involved in filming, the goals he and his crew had in making these movies, why highlight coffee as a film maker, who is in this film, what can we can expect from the movie, and what he has experienced and learned from the professional barista world through creating these documentaries. He also gives some advice to anyone hoping to make a documentary film of their own! Enjoy! Links: http://baristafilms.com Twitter Facebook Instagram

It is easy to get caught up in the pursuit of the top position in any endeavor and base our value on the results. How we approach our goals will determine what we get out of it. Today we chat about winning, losing, and perspectives to help us stay grounded as we reach new heights.