The question of who to promote to available positions is one that coffee shop operators wrestle with a lot. As with any hiring decision, we can make great choices based on solid reasons or we can make a choice we will regret later that was based on shaky reasoning. One of those not so great reasons to promote someone is that they are "next in line"
Today on Shift Break we will explore the idea of "next in line" promotion, why it may not be a great idea, and what to do to make the best decision for your baristas, the customers, and the cafe.
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Today we get to chat with 2004 U.S. Barista Champion and legend, Bronwen Serna! Bronwen has been a practicing Coffee Professional since 2000, a Professional Barista, Roaster, and Barista Trainer, a Certified Instructor and Assessor with the Specialty Coffee Association. Her love of coffee precedes her experience, where she manages to frequent many coffeehouses all over the world and became a Barista after having drunk many cups of coffee and inspired by a trip to Italy.
What has driven her all these years has been her love coffee and people. Bronwen is currently working with Counter Culture Coffee in LA, as she continues to build excitement and knowledge for clients and coffee professionals in the Specialty Coffee scene.
This is quite a special episode. I have known Bronwen since the early 2000s. Having both grown into our careers during the same era of specialty coffee and in the same professional barista community I have witnessed first hand Bronwen’s dynamic and inspiring impact in the industry and it is a tru privilege to welcome her to the podcast to share her story and wisdom with the KTTS audience!
In our conversation today we will be exploring Bronwen’s early years in coffee, and by default the early years of the 3rd wave that she was helping to shape. We talk about training, education, hospitality, business models, and how all these things have developed and what she believes are the timeless truths that contribute to a thriving community and career in coffee.
I hope you enjoy this episode and that it helps you mindfully pursue building a great future coffee history with what you presently set your hand to.
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Boy do we have a Founder Friday for you! Today we get to talk with the founder of MadLab Coffee in L.A., Andrew Sinclair.
Andrew has been in coffee for over a decade going from an enthusiast to barista, head barista, manager, then owner and operator all before he started MadLab in 2015.
Mad Lab’s mission is to love people a whole lot more, instead of a whole lot less and to push everyone that encounters our coffee, to be the person they needed when they were younger. These mantras are the compass for how they present themselves and practice business with their everyday customers and thier partners that become our friends and family.
In today’s conversation we will be exploring Andrew’s unique path into the coffee world and the peaks and valleys that mad him and his company what they are today.
This is one of the most encouraging, passionate, and genuine interviews to date and serves as a real dose of inspiration to put integrity and people at the center of all we do.
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075 : Founder Friday w/Jill Killen of Cloud City Coffee, Seattle Washington
107 : Kyle Glanville & Charles Babinski of G&B Coffee and Go Get em Tiger
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Looking out into the world of specialty coffee and the sheer number of complex problems both locally and globally that need to be addressed, it is easy to get overwhelmed. The question of, How can I make a difference? Is often left unanswered because the opportunities for contribution seem too small. Or we try to answer the question in with unsustainable efforts that fizzle out and make us worry of trying again.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how small steps toward a goal can bring about massive change and bring consistency to how we walk out our values in our daily business for the benefit of all our staff, customers, and the greater community.
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Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
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Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe
Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
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Consumers. What we assume to be the end of the value chain in coffee, may in fact be the the beginning. In reality, as we will learn today, coffee is more a circle than a straight line, and in many ways it begins and ends with the consumer.
How we serve, market to, and communicate with the consumer, literally shapes the industry through curating the demand that we then supply.
The question for all of us who have influence in creating the expectations, and therefore the demands and behaviors of consumers, is, how do we build guide them to options and habits that create long term sustainability?
With the help of some of the most incredible and influential people we dive deep into the world of the consumer to discover what makes them tick, what part we play, what makes sustainability movements sticky, how to create a narrative and supply options that encourage mass change through local effort, how farmers are creating direct to consumer models, and where we can start in our own businesses to create sustainable change.
As we end the series on this episode I hope you take these ideas and find a way to start applying them as soon as possible. The road to sustainability is being built by many hands around the world working together for a common goal.
Let's make sure we join hands with them.
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As we have explored all that has gone into the product of coffee and the many ways that sustainability can be achieved in farming, Importing, and Roasting. Now we come to the place where coffee's potentially is ultimately on display. The cafe.
Next to the farm, the cafe has been the focus of much of our sustainability efforts, and with good reason. The cafe is hands down the most wasteful link in the value chain in product, materials, energy, and even in potential as businesses often cannot sustain themselves longer than a few years.
In this episode we will be talking with some brilliant minds whose work and ideas have created seismic shifts in the way coffee shops can view and pursue sustainability in an accessible and effective ways.
As we talk about everything from shifting our mindsets, zero-waste initiatives, and energy saving innovations --to navigating social pressure, communicating values to customers/staff, and committing to small steps and building simple systems, I believe this episode will stoke your desire to start or continue your own shop's sustainability efforts.
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Sustainability is a collaborative effort that relies on solid networks, relationships, and communication. This is mainly the responsibility of importers and roasters whose job it is to provide connection, accurate representation, and to realize the potential of the now harvested coffee and the farmers who grow it.
While providing these platforms to those they serve, importers and roasters must also look out for the stability and sustainability of their own businesses in order to make progress long-term.
In this episode we will be talking with some seriously inspiring importers and roasters to discuss their practices, perspectives, accomplishments on what it means to be holistically sustainable.
From commited importing relationships, balancing the needs of roasters and farmers, and exploring the roasters role in the value chain -- to roaster cooperatives, creating values based culture, and navigating supply challenges, there are some incredible points and actionable insights in these conversations.
I hope this inspires you to take consistent action, even in small ways, to add to the positive momentum!
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Visit www.biocaf.com for more resources on sustainability!
Visit www.keystotheshop.com for hundreds of episodes focused on helping you and your coffee business thrive!
Follow @keystotheshop on Instagram!
Welcome to the Sustainability Series from Biocaf and Keys to the Shop!
To kick off this series we will be exploring sustainability where all the potential of a coffee and the foundation of our industry is concentrated. The farm.
How we define and understand sustainability here creates a ripple effect that impacts every action we take along the value chain.
As we explore sustainability on the coffee farm we will be discussing everything from organic production, farmer cooperatives, and climate change - to legacy, genetic/crop diversity, and organic production. All of this with the aim to create clarity on the issues and highlight the movements currently making positive change that we can be inspired by, work along side of, and support in their big for sustainability on the farm.
Our Guest for this Episode include:
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Visit www.biocaf.com for more resources on sustainability!
Visit www.keystotheshop.com for hundreds of episodes focused on helping you and your coffee business thrive!
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How do we gauge the markets our coffee shops serve? On top of being engaged in our own local ecosystems we must also pay attention to large scale trends as they influence the perception and habits of our customers. The SCA and NCA have recently teamed up to produce a robust, first of its kind report called, "The National Coffee Data Trends Break Out Report" that is free to the public and chock full of very useful and actionable information.
Today we will be discussing many of this reports findings and how they impact our shops with the SCA's Katie Von Der Lieth!
Katie von der Lieth is a Research Program Manager at the Specialty Coffee Association and Coffee Science Foundation, where she supports and grows the coffee research program. Prior to joining the SCA, Katie earned master’s degrees in International Agricultural Development and Agriculture Resource Economics from the University of California, Davis. She also helped design and teach an undergraduate course about coffee and has conducted small-scale coffee research projects in Brazil and Ecuador.
In this conversation we will cover:
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Exciting news! On Wednesday, September 22nd, Keys to the Shop along with Biocaf, will be releasing a 4 part narrative series focused on exploring sustainability all along the value chain.
Throughout the series will be talking to 20 of the most inspiring farmers, roasters, managers, importers, thinkers, and academics to both understand what real sustainability looks like, and how their ideas and work is making an impact.
We will be focused on:
Through this journey of arranging, conducting, compiling, and editing these interviews into their final form, this much is clear - This is just the tip of the iceberg.
I hope that what you hear is surprising, encouraging, educational, and ultimately inspires you to dive deeper yourself into how you and your company can continue to pursue and refine what it means to be a sustainable specialty coffee industry.
You can download a PDF program guide that highlights all of the guests that are featured on the series.
A huge and humble thank you to my friends Jesse Hartman of The Coffee Podcast and Kojin Tashiro for their priceless help on the storyboarding and editing respectively.
This series will be release in total on Wednesday the 22nd at 12am EST
Visit Biocaf for more valuable content on sustainability and be sure to tune in on Wednesday the 22nd for the Keys to the Shop Sustainability Series!
Baristas are obsessed with it! The question we have to ask is, why?Most of us don't need to get people interested in latte art. In fact many of you probably wish your baristas would focus on other things. Contrary to what we might assume, baristas that gravitate toward latte art are not trying to avoid work so much as they are compelled by what latte art offers.
Today we will be talking a little about why, if we want staff to engage holistically with the cafe, we will make all work like latte art.
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Ideally, the nature of your relationship with your wholesale customers is less like a transaction and more like a partnership. How do we approach caring for those who have decided to serve our coffee in a way that is true to our values, supports their success, and creates growing trust and mutuality? In this episode these questions and more are answers as we talk with the Partner Program manager for Cat and Cloud Coffee, Marc Gessler!
Marc has been in coffee now for 7 years. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, he began his career at Verve and after following the progress of Cat and Cloud he landed a job as a barista and quickly moved into working in the wholesale partnership program. Marc now leads this program that seeks to build authentic and values based relationships with all the people who partner with Cat and Cloud.
In this conversation we will talk a bit about Marc's own journey into coffee, then dive into the work he does in supporting all the Cat and Cloud wholesale partners on a day to day basis, how they manage challenges, and continue to improve their standards and communication.
I love the passion Marc brings that absolutely resonates with what I know about the whole team over there at Cat and Cloud. You are sure to gain some very valuable insight that you can apply to your wholesale department after listening to today's episode.
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If you want to do well in competition you have to study the rules. Without this you are flying blind and will probably get a less that stellar result for your effort. The same thing is true for your career.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the importance of learning the "rules" as it applies to your professional journey in coffee and why doing this will give you a much better chance of success.
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There is a lot of information available to us through our POS systems that show us the numbers behind the business. Owners and managers read these numbers to get a sense of not only how the business is doing, but also to get an idea of where it needs to go and what decisions need to be made to make that happen. So it is quite important that we have a sensible way to approach and use the data so the conclusions we come to and actions we take benefit the business long term.
Today I am so pleased to be talking with Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of PerfectCube!
After they sold their financial technology business to Charles Schwab, Mark and Jim pivoted to the retail space by opening a gelato shop. They ultimately wanted to learn the retail business so they could create a better software solution for mom-and-pop stores and small franchises.
The result is PerfectCube, an online platform that allows small retailers to easily track their performance and even forecast the near future. In the space of a few minutes, users can get a read on sales, inventory levels and other important metrics. PerfectCube can assess what hours of the day have the highest sales and which individual products sold fastest, not just today, but last week, last month and last year.
Mark and Jim give a great work shop at Coffee Fest trade shows called -Real Number in Your Cafe- and today they are going to be discussing with us their path to retail, approach to the numbers, and how owners and operators should be managing the metrics to make the best choices for how they run their cafes.
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If your shop does not have specific standards for the products your serve and the way you serve them, then you are leaving a lot of the success of your coffee shop up to chance. Question is, how do you go about setting standards? Where do the parameters come from?
In today's Shift Break we will be discussing an equation for how to set up the basics of your cafe's quality standards in a fashion that is informed, practical, and flexible.
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