We all feel awkward and impatient when we start in a new position. How we develop in these times will determine who and what we become later on. Today on shift break, a bit of encouragement and perspective to help those of you who have just been dropped into a new environment or a new role.
So you want to start a coffee roastery. Well there is a lot that goes into it and an overwhelming amount of information you can access to help you along the way. Rarely, though, do you get the opportunity to sit down with someone who is expert in both roasting coffee as well as helping other people establish their own roasting businesses. Today we get that opportunity as we talk with the great, Jen Apodaca!
Roasting since 2005, she has experience on scores of different types of equipment, has roasted for Blue Bottle, Intelligentsia, and Royal Coffee. She is the Vice Chair of the Roasters Guild, the founder of #shestheroaster, and currently runs The Pulley Collective Co-Roasting space in Oakland and has launched her own roasting business, Mother Tongue Coffee.
She has helped countless people get their start in roasting, and today we get to count ourselves among those who have learned from her guidance.
In this episode you will learn about:
LINKS:
Sometimes hospitality opportunities are just inconvenient. Often times we straight-up struggle to do anything more than the basic requirements of our job let alone talking to customers or extending ourselves past what we feel like in the moment.
Today we talk about this tension and how to handle it in a way that lifts everyone up.
LINKS:
Shift Break: Laziness and the most important decision
"The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield
We don't like to hear negative feedback. We get defensive and immediately start looking for ways to dismiss it rather than digging in to see if there is value there. I get it, the coffee shop is your baby, you take you profession personally. Handled the right way though, negative feedback can be your best friend.
Today on Keys to the Shop we are going to explore a 5 step process I have used for a long time to process critical feedback whether it is coming from a customer in the store, someone on Yelp, or from an employee.
LINKS:
Coffee Compass Article: The Wrath of the One Star Review
Shift Break: Creating a Feedback Culture
VISIT OUR SPONSORS!
On this Founder Friday we are taking a look into the before and after of Torpedo Coffee in Denver, CO. I was able to interview Kyle Wells at the Coffee Fest trade show in Denver June 2018 before ehe opened his new shop. We then sat down and talked last week about how things have played out, what has he learned, and what advice does he have for others from the now 7 months of running Torpedo Coffee.
This episode is all about:
Torpedo is experiencing great success and is providing great coffee, connection, and community to their neighborhood. I am so thrilled to present this 2 in 1 interview with you today.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
VISIT OUR SPONSORS!
It is something we all do in ways we don't really think of as damaging. Lying to ourselves and others comes in the form of often well-meaning affirmation but, in the end, holds people back and erodes trust.
Today shift break we talk about how the lysing we do and the way forward toward a more truthful and trustworthy communication.
Celina is about to celebrate her 2 year anniversary of joining the specialty coffee community having started with no knowledge of coffee as a roasting assistant at the great Merit Coffee in Austin, TX. Through hard work, curiosity, and integrity she has worked her way to head roaster and leads a team of people producing some of the best coffee you can find.
Today we sit down and explore her story as a newcomer to coffee and what she has experienced in her first, very busy, 2 years as a coffee professional.
In this episode you will learn:
LINKS:
VISIT OUR SPONSORS!
"Just show them the ropes" is a phrase we use when giving baristas the extra responsibility of helping bring up a new hire. This usually is done with little warning and almost never with any extra compensation for the barista who now must work twice as hard. Today we discuss this practice of designating unofficial trainers in the on-boarding process and how to approach it in a fair way.
We all want to extract the most out of our coffee. There are many methods and tools used to achieve maximum flavor but only a few machines offer innovation in a way that creates a substantial jump forward in brew quality and consistency. The Ground Control brewer is one of those machines and today we get to talk with the inventor of this machine, Eli Salomon, Co-founder and CEO of Voga Coffee.
Eli has roots in academia as well as in the coffee community having been on the ground floor (pun intended) of an innovative coffee equipment company then, seeing a need in the industry for higher quality batch brew coffee.
In this episode you will learn:
It was great to talk with Eli and learn more about this great brewer. I hope you enjoy this episode and check out the links below for more information on the brewer as well as a helpful map Eli has made for us to locate shops in the U.S. (and some international locations) where the brewer can be experienced.
SHOW LINKS:
U.S.+ International Map of ground Control Brewers
Thanks to our sponsors!
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:
HEY!
Be sure to visit our sponsors at EXPO in Boston!
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:
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:
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:
Sam's Performance Skip to - 5:13:40 in the live stream video
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:
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.
I am so excited to share these interviews from the show floor at Coffee Fest NYC! I had the chance to interview the amazing British Coleman & Shabria Quinn Robinson who are in the very early planning stages of their business, "Pour Coffeehouse and Lounge" in Saginaw, MI. Then I got to interview Owner Peter Moses who is right in the middle of building out his company, "Mighty Oak Roasters" in Astoria, NY. Finally I chatted with Ryan Vaxmonsky, Owner of the retail/roaster business, Evermore Coffee Roasters which is now 1 1/2 years in business.
Each of these wonderful people brings a unique and inspiring perspective on the coffee industry and the road to business ownership. I hope you enjoy hearing their stories and learning, getting motivated by their passion, and learning form their experiences.
Links to visit:
https://www.evermorecoffee.com
It is often the case that we create systems in the cafe and then lose connection with the real impact those systems have in the lives of the staff and customers. Today we talk about the need for empathy in developing systems that serve the shop as well as those caring for the shop.
If you are in management you know that it is not each day can bring a new set of challenges. It just so happens that there are 27 particular challenges that are common to almost all managers and we are going to explore a few of these in todays episode with returning guest, Bruce Tulgan.
Bruce is the founder of Rain Maker Thinking and the author of 20 books including the book "The 27 Challenges Managers Face" and "It's OK to be the Boss". Bruce was on the show back in May of 2017 and now he is back to help us find solutions to the challenges of management.
In this interview we talk about the importance of the basics, how to approach your work if you are a new manager, and we then explore the 7 sections of this book that address some of the most compelling challenges we face as we lead people.
It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Bruce's work and approach to the subject of management and I think this book and today's conversation will go a long way to helping you navigate challenges of leadership.
Enjoy!
Links:
When you take on the role of manager you are hooked into a bunch of dynamic relationships not the least of which is between you and your boss. Unfortunately we can tend to miss one another in these situations and this breeds tension. Today we chat about pursuing clarity as a manager for the benefit of all.
I am so excited to welcome Erika Vonie to the show! Erika is the Director of Coffee for Trade Coffee and she is the professionals professional. Her long and accomplished career in coffee has been comprised of great success in retail, management, green buying, quality control, customer relations, event management, competition, and much more.
Erika's energy and drive to learn, grow, and contribute to the industry is made very obvious in this conversation with is essentially a retrospective of her career. We talk about the road into coffee, competition experiences, the highs and lows of retail, what motivated her to go into green buying and the producing side of coffee, what would she change if she could go back, what is she most proud of, and her advice on how to make a difference from our places in retail.
I think you will certainly benefit from and be inspired by what Erika shares here. Enjoy!
Links:
NYC Recommendations:
It's Founder Friday! Today we talk with the Co-Founder of Kusanya Cafe located in Englewood, Chicago, USA, Phil Sipka. Kusanya Cafe is an all resident owned and run non-profit coffee shop that has been providing an amazing gathering spot and 3rd place for the Englewood neighborhood for the past 5 years. It is truly a great example of what can happen when a community comes together and build something together.
In this conversation we discuss the vision of Kusanya, the years long struggle to get the cafe open, community organization, working as a non-profit shop, opening up the space to be guided and co-created with the neighborhood, hiring and empowering staff, winning the trust of the neighborhood, and much more.
This is a small but mighty example of what revitalization and renewal can look like in the face of gentrification.
Be inspired!
Links:
Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
Thanks to our sponsors!