Making a decision on an espresso machine can come with a lot of stress and uncertainty. With so many different options, configurations, styles, and promises made by manufactures it is hard to know that you will be happy with what you end up with. On top of that, will it be able to serve the needs of the business? Really it boils down to wants, needs, and the balance of the two. Today we are going to be exploring some very important mindsets to help you make the right decision for your situation with our guest, Chad Little of La Marzocco!
Chad Little handles sales and business development in the midwest for La Marzocco USA.
In the coffee world Chad has worn many of hats from technician and educator with Counter Culture Coffee, business developer and manager at Ipsento, along with a host of other roles in the world of fine dining and other coffee outfits since the late 90’s. For five years Chad was also an owner/operator of an audacious restaurant called Arbor in Logan Square.
Professionally Chad enjoys helping people bridge the gap between knowing what they like and knowing what they want; and beyond that helping connect the dots for people who want to make a difference or be part of a solution, but don’t know how or where to start. In addition, he uses these skills as an advisory board member for a workforce development and entrepreneurship organization for disadvantaged young people based in Chicago, called Workforce High and Meta 24.
In this episode we cover:
Links:
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"We are the only coffee shop in our town that serves this!" I will bet that you have thought or said this, or some version of this phrase, yourself as you have planned or run your business. Being the only one to have something is exhilarating at first, but then it tends to fade as the thing we thought would be our defining differentiator, becomes more available and common.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why exclusivity is a bad strategy and what we need to spend our energy on instead if we want to build a lasting and truly unique business.
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Have you ever wondered how you can get your staff energized and highly invested in the success of your business? This is one of the struggles that a lot of coffee shop owners have. Turns out the best solution for this challenge is to give your staff a real stake in the outcomes of the business and trust them like partners. Today we will be exploring Open Book Management and The Great Game operating system with Great Game coach and trainer, Larry Chase!
Since 1997 Larry Chase has been a craft brewer leading teams at some of the nations best breweries. All along the way he has studied finance eventually becoming a long time board member of the Brewers Association as the Treasurer and Finance Chair. His career has taught him how to break down complex topics into simple terms to train bring understanding to staff. He is now taking his decades of experience in both finance and leadership and helping businesses achieve success through Open Book Management as a Great Game of Business coach.
On today’s show we will be talking with Larry about this operating system and it power to involve, activate, and engage staff in impacting the core financial levers of your business.
I find this way of management very promising for coffee shops and Larry does a masterful job of walking us through the what, why, and how of
Larry teaches, supports and coaches businesses wanting to build a lasting healthy culture and empower employees to make positive financial impacts on the business.
We Cover:
Links:
Larry Chase email: lrjchase@gmail.com
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This Founder Friday is such unique success story! What started as a dream between two best friends (one an actor, the other a classical opera singer) has now been a 7 year coffee journey that is easily the most important and rewarding performance of their lives. From a humble garage to now an award winning roastery with 4 cafes and countless culinary collaborations, we will be diving into the story of Mostra Coffee with co-founders Jelynn Malone and Beverly Magtanong.
Jelynn Sophia Malone is a Filipino-American entrepreneur, businesswoman, philanthropist, actress, TV host, producer, wife, and mother of 2 beautiful daughters. She is a co-founder, owner, and acting Chief Marketing Officer for Mostra Coffee, With over 15 years of marketing experience in Hollywood, Jelynn has been instrumental to the growth and international success of Mostra Coffee. She is dedicated to creating positive change that uplifts entire local and global communities.
Beverly Magtanong is a Filipino-Canadian-American entreprenuer, businesswoman, philanthropist, wife and mother of 5 children. She is a founder and co-owner of Mostra Coffee, As a classically trained opera singer with no prior business or coffee experience, Beverly is inspired to empower others to find their true, authentic selves, and make intuitive and empathic entrepreneurship the norm.
Mostra Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster located in San Diego, CA and the recipient of the international and coveted 2020 Micro-Roaster of the Year award by Roast Magazine.
They have been featured on Forbes, Us Weekly, Buzzfeed, Gear Patrol, Huffington Post, Conde Nast's Bon Appétit, as well as ABC, NBC, FOX, KTLA, ABS-CBN, TFC, Alaska Airlines and Google Talks at Google HQ.
Mosta is focused on providing an excellent experience for their customers through the tireless pursuit of perfecting their craft and being the beauty in humanity.
I hope you enjoy and are inspired by the Mosta Coffee story!
We cover:
Links:
Mostaland 7th year Celebration
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Confrontation and difficult conversations are things we tend to avoid. One of the outcomes of this is an increasingly passive-aggressive style of management that seeks to take care of the issue without having to face it.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about this common issue in coffee shops and how we can reframe confrontation and do away with passive aggressive management for good.
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Few things are as essential to the global barista community as Barista Magazine. For 16 years they have been "Serving people Serving Coffee" and advancing the knowledge, craft, and profession of the barista with every issue. Barista Magazine gives a platform and voice to the vibrant and amazing people who make amazing coffee and today we get to talk with the founders, Sarah Allen and Kenneth Olsen, All about how it started, grew, and their perspectives on the growth of the industry they have been faithfully reflecting all these years.
Sarah Allen, the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Barista Magazine, has been a driving force in the international barista movement from its outset, writing thoughtfully and compellingly about the barista craft, as well as contributing numerous stories on the subculture of baristas to multiple magazines and newspapers.
Sarah has worked in a variety of editorial positions in her 20 years of professional publishing experience, as a staff writer for The Oakland Tribune in the San Francisco Bay Area; as a staff writer for The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Ore.; as a freelance writer for such publications as WebMD, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, and The Hollywood Reporter; and as the Editor of Fresh Cup Magazine.
She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore., and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California in Davis, California.
Publisher Kenneth R. Olson has more than two decades of experience working as a writer and editor for both mainstream and specialty coffee publications. Kenneth’s work has appeared in a number of publications, including academic journals, Oregon Humanities, and The New York Times.
Kenneth holds a Master’s degree in Communications from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
I am old enough to remember when Barista magazine first came out only 6 years into my own career in coffee and what an impact it made. I have known Sarah and Ken for a good portion of that time and so getting to interview them here on this show feels truly magical.
I hope you enjoy this conversation!
We cover:
Links:
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This question gets brought up often when people are discussing their plans to open a coffee shop. The answer, as you might expect, is not as easy as saying yes or no. Ultimately we need to explore what is behind the question. Why is it being asked and how can you answer it for yourself.
Today on Shift break I will be giving you my perspective on this question in hopes that it encourages you to pursue the best paths of preparation for the coffee journey ahead.
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Italian coffee has shaped how the world understands coffee and cafe culture. These days there is a movement to take the traditional Italian way of of getting a coffee and elevate the quality and the experience making it a truly specialty coffee experience. At the heart of that movement is Aroma Caffe todays guest, Alessandro Galtieri.
Alessandro has owned and operated Aroma Caffe since 1994 and has been a coffee professional since 1991. As he ran the cafe he began to shift it into a beacon of progressive specialty coffee amidst the traditional coffee culture landscape of his city of Bologna, Italy.
Alessandro is the 2018 and 2019 Italian Brews Cup Champion and 3rd place finisher in the 2019 World Brewers Cup. He has published several books/ manuals on professional barista work and training, is a certified SCA trainer, and is tirelessly working to serve his customers the best quality and to make them happy through coffee.
In today's conversation we will be covering his beginnings in coffee, becoming an owner, the challenge of shifting to specialty, and his vision for the future of Italian coffee culture.
We cover:
Links:
Aroma Caffe on Instagram @aromacoffeelove
Website: https://www.ilpiaceredelcaffe.it
Alessandro's Brewers Cup Routine
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Blog: The Customer of Tomorrow
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How coffee is processed after harvest has an incredible impact on the final quality in the cup. Today we have the luxury of choosing form a wide variety of processing techniques. Whether you are a roaster or a farmer, understanding what these methods contribute to the coffee as well as their impact on the environment, and the industry is critical.
On this episode of RoR from Roast Magazine, we will be discussing post-harvest processing methods from a scientific, philosophical, and practical perspective with guests, Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients.
Siva Subramanian is Vice President & Head of coffee Innovation, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI). He has 27 years of extensive experience in the food industry working in multiple countries including India, Singapore, and the United States. Prior to joining OFI, Siva worked with Hindustan Unilever at the Global R&D center in Bangalore, India Siva holds degrees in Chemistry, Chemical Technology & Food Technology from the University of Mumbai, India. Currently, Siva is leading a team engaged in creating new processing techniques to enhance the aroma, flavor, and taste of coffee & creating novel food ingredients.
Byron Holcomb is the Specialty Coffee Manager, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI. Byron likes to say he is a strong generalist in coffee but not an expert at any one part of coffee. In 2009 he competed as a barista with coffee from his own farm in the Dominican Republic. He was a coffee buyer for Dallis Bros Coffee in NYC for a few years before moving to Brazil to manage a couple farms in Sul de Minas. There he tried to bring better post-harvest management to the operation. At least one of the farms made it into CoE the 5 years he was there. Recently he received the QP3 certification. For the last few years he is based in Guatemala City supporting the Specialty business in Olam/ofi.
We cover:
Links:
Subscribe to Roast Magazine!
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It seems like we as an industry want two conflicting things. On the one hand we want baristas to create excellent drinks and to come to work with the mentality that they will not just be on autopilot and phone it in. On the other hand, we have a tendency to believe that the right configuration of recipes and equipment will solve the problem.
Today on Shift Break we will be discussing why machines and recipes cannot replace people in providing the kind of quality we seek, and how, ultimately, we need to take ownership over creating the environments where quality can achieved.
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Our coffee shops are the sum total of many different small and large things. When business gets going it can be easy for some of the simpler and more nuanced elements of running a coffee bar to fall by the wayside. The impact these have over time can be and is felt by both your staff and your customers.
Today you and I will be covering ten ways you can upgrade how your employees and patrons experience your cafe. These will be practical/physical changes as well as mindset shifts. As you listen, I would challenge you to select one or two of these and really create an initiative to implement them in your shop long term. As you go through the whole list I believe you (and everyone else)will see some remarkable changes.
We cover:
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