Keys To The Shop : Podcast For The Coffee Service Professional | Barista | Management | Leadership | Career | Business

It is easy for us to become jaded and to pass on our cynicism to the customer. How can we come along side them and be their guide tot this new world of specialty coffee and the your cafe? We chat a bit about this today on shift break.

Wholesale! It is a vital part of both your success as a roaster-retailer, and the success of specialty coffee globally. Setting up a program that is sustainable, true to your values, and serves your team and your customers well is an absolute priority. It is no small task to venture into the world of wholesale as there are a lot of complexities and hurdles that will need to be worked through along the way. Having a great foundation laid is the first step and  today's guest, Sarah Richmond, does a fantastic job laying that foundation for us. We discuss integrity, values, servant leadership, systems, pitfalls to avoid in wholesale, books you should read, and 5 key steps you need to take in setting up a program that will bring joy and growth to you, your team, your business, and your customers.  Honestly, Sarah is the kind of person any professional would want as a mentor and having her in the program is an absolute privilege.  Please listen deeply and enjoy!  LINKS: Books: Mindset by Carol Dweck Dream Team b

Competitions are great for their ability to energize, challenge, and foster growth in baristas. The question is, are we doing the same for our staff? We chat about this important issue today's edition of Shift Break!  

Baristas speak and we listen! Learning form others experiences and allowing the way we chart our course to be influenced by the best input from our peers is an essential element of healthy community. I was able to attend the Coffee Champs event in Nashville where I had many great conversations with professionals from all over the country. I recorded and am sharing 3 of those conversations. I interview Adam Jacksonbey of the soon-to-be-open "Tell Coffee" D.C., Kat Melheim of The Coffee People Zine and Roaster at Allegro Coffee in Denver, CO, and Kristina Jackson of Intelligentsia Coffee in Boston Mass.  We talk about what drives them to pursue a career in coffee, what makes a great barista, what makes a great leader, what challenges did they have to overcome in heir careers, and how do they want to leave their mark on the industry.  I hope you leave these interviews encouraged and inspired! Links: Adam: Twitter Kat: Coffee People Zine Allegro Coffee Instagram Kristina: Twitter Boston Intersectional Coffee

There is always room for more clarity in communication. This is especially true in the coffee shop where so much vital information can fall through the cracks when it gets busy. Today we chat a bit about how duplication and repetition creates a better chance at getting cafe-wide adoption of any initiative. 

Our industry is blessed to have so many wonderful women contributing their greatness and inspiring us all. Laura Gonzalez knows this to be true and founded the Strong Women of Coffee project to help them tell their story and give them a voice. Today we chat with Laura about her experience in running this project and what she has learned along the way. We discuss common challenges women face in the industry, double standards, and also what practices we can adopt in the cafe that she believes would help give more opportunity to women and other marginalized groups. It was such pleasure to talk with Laura and I hope you gain some perspective and adopt some practices that make a difference in how you run your shop and lead your people.   Links: www.strongwomenofcoffee.com Follow on INSTAGRAM   

There is more to a business than just our vision and goals. When we create anything we are involved in a conversation. Today we chat about how to approach your goals and creative projects in a way that takes into account the big picture.

If we want healthy businesses that produce amazing coffee experiences then becoming better at training and teaching coffee needs to be a constant pursuit. There are hardly any books out there that speak directly to the situations coffee trainers find themselves in...until now! Anne F. Nylander has written the book "Training Principles for Specialty Coffee Professionals" and it acts as a guide book that is foundational for success as a trainer, and consequently the success of your trainees! In my conversation with Anne we go over each section of the small but mighty book and talk about the details behind each of the principles she writes about from her over 16 + years in coffee/consulting/training. Subjects include learning about learning styles, managing a room, dealing with disruption, planning, setting standards, training roles, and tracking performance.  I love that we get to start off the year with such a useful episode with a ton of actionable insight! Links: www.annefnylander.com Instagram Twitter Linke

The Mud House stands as an amazing representation of where passion, genuine love of people, and a consistent pursuit of quality can take you. For 10 years now Casey and Jeremy Miller have been operating one of St. Louis' best coffee shops that gives their customers a taste of excellent coffee, food, and hospitality all under one roof.  In this conversation they talk candidly about a host of subjects related to their journey opening and running The Mud House. We discuss the challenges of setting up the business, setting up the initial menu, the evolution and organic growth of their company's structure, how they hire, knowing your strengths, allocating money for repairs, leading by example, their vision for the ideal guest experience, and so much more.  I am so pleased to have Casey and Jeremy cap off 2018 and I hope their words inspire you as we enter the new year! LINKS: WWW.THEMUDHOUSESTL.COM Instagram Twitter  

SHIFT BREAK #33 : As this year comes to an end and many of us are reflecting on 2018 and planning on what we want to pursue in 2019. As we think and put together goals there is one thing that we tend to miss, and in so doing rob ourselves and others of something beautiful. Today we will chat about accurate reflection and how to invest into areas that truly make a difference personally and professionally.  Thank you all for an amazing 2 years!

Your espresso machine is probably the most expensive thing you have in the shop. It is also the heart of your cafe's operation. Taking care of it should not be left to chance unless you want a pretty big repair bill or to have your ability to do business come to a complete stand still. To help us in our pursuit of maintaining a healthy espresso machine we are joined by the coffee industry's most experienced, respected, and knowledgable technician, Terry Ziniewicz!!! We will be talking about his top 10 best practices to make sure your espresso machine keeps working and looking beautiful for years to come. We talk about how to implement them and also how to empower your staff to take on some of these responsibilities. As this is airing on Christmas day, consider this a present from Terry, to you and your espresso machine!  Be sure to check the instagram post of this episode for details on how you can win a free one year "Baskets Gaskets, Screens, and Screws" subscription!  "U.S. shipping only"  Links: www.caffe

SHIFT BREAK #32 : I love drink drills! They are an essential tool in any training I do because they work VERY well for bringing a up baristas practical bar skills and getting all staff on the same page. Today we are going to talk about what drink drills are and then cover some guidelines for conducting them effectively. When done well, and regularly, your baristas will be able to handle any scenario that comes their way.  This episode is based off a question from KTTS listener Kara Lozano of Mile Square Coffee in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.  Thanks, Kara!   

No matter where we are in specialty coffee, we have all benefited in some way from the influence of Starbucks and their immense impact on the world stage. Today we get to learn from someone who has not only been in specialty coffee since it first came on the scene in the 70's but has been at the forefront of Starbucks retail innovation and education for the better part of 23 years. I am so very honored to welcome to the show, Sr. Project Manager for Starbucks Global, Major Cohen!  To say he has a passion for coffee would indeed be an understatement. Major's passion, curiosity, and fierce devotion to coffee, baristas and the customer experience has helped steer this global coffee powerhouse into it's most progressive expressions beginning with projects as Roy st. Coffee and Tea, 15th Ave Coffee and Tea, and the Reserve Roastery.  In our discussion we cover the arch of his fascinating career. From his beginning a second career as a barista at 45 years of age - to gaining the trust of Starbucks executives to inf

SHIFT BREAK #31 Regular staff meetings are one of the most important tools for energizing, equipping, informing, and affirming. In order to get the most out of these meetings we will be covering several tips that I have seen work wonders in conducting these gathers. With refinement and consistency the end result will be a more cohesive and well functioning cafe and an increase in staff morale.  Links to related episodes:  Episode 28:  Why it's Ok to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan The One on One

Kids! When you open a shop you are bound to be serving these little hot chocolate drinking future baristas right along side their single-origin cortado drinking parents. The question is, are they welcome?How do we view them? How do you serve them and still serve your older clientele well? What if we want to focus more on the grown ups? What are some best practices in serving families? Today we are exploring the topic by interviewing two different owners of two different cafes (The Old Barracks & Lucabe Coffee) who take drastically different approaches to the issue of catering (or not catering) to kids in the coffee shop. We will talk about their business, vision, and the intentions behind the policies they have in place that they feel best serves their chosen demographic. Each of them are fantastic coffee professionals running excellent shops. Their advice to us from their experiences is invaluable.   Links: Lucabe Coffee Website                        Old Barracks Coffee Website Lucabe On Instagram     

SHIFT BREAK #30 One of the most important thing you can have in your journey through the coffee industry is patience. One of the most deadly is passivity. Today we use a helpful analogy  to talk about trusting the process, playing the long game, building momentum, and advocating for yourself in the cafe.  Related episodes: The Barista Slump Advice for New Baristas The Sleepwalking Barista    

Negotiations...No matter what you do in coffee, you negotiate all the time. Whether it is for a raise, a better price from a supplier, or a lease for a new location. The question is not whether or not you negotiate, but do you do it well? Do you get taken advantage of? Do you put others on edge? The fact is that when we are faced with conflict around these small and large negotiations we often come in with an internal and then external posture that immediately ignites the situation and makes it harder, or impossible, to get what we want. This also leads to damaging our relationship with the other party. Today's guest, Kwame Christian is here to solve this problem for us! Not only is he the host of the wonderful, "Negotiate Anything" podcast, but he is also the author of the new best-selling book, "Nobody Will Play with Me: How to Use Compassionate Curiosity to Find Confidence in Conflict" In todays episode we dive into the compassionate curiosity framework  1. Acknowledging emotion  2. Getting curious with co

It’s a very special Founder Friday. I am thrilled to welcome to the show the new World Brewers Cup Campion (and first female WBrC Champ!), Emi Fukahori!!! Not only is Emi the WBrC campion but she also runs the world-class cafe MAME Coffee in Zurich? Switzerland w/ her partner (and 2x Swiss Barista Champ Mathieu Theis.  This conversation covers so much in term of Emi’s journey in coffee to this point. From discovering coffee, to competitions, to owning and runnnng a shop, we get to hear what she has learned through all her experiences that have made her the inspiration she is.  The first half we talk competition and go the behind-the-scenes of her amazing performance. We then talk about the world of coffee shops and her experiences and lessons learned from running MAME. She give a lot of great advice and insights. Theres a lot here so grab a cup and enjoy learning from World Brewers  Cup Champion, Emi Fukahori!    Links:  MAME Instagram MAME Facebook https://mame-coffee.com Emi's Winning Performance  

SHIFT BREAK #29 : On the road to starting a shop there are things you must learn and experience that will help you get established. Today, Tim Jones, Founder of Liturgy Beverage Company, joins us on the show for a quick look into the 5 most significant factors that helped him go from a barista to a business owner. Enjoy!  If you'd like to contribute to Liturgy's Kickstarter click the link below: https://twitter.com/LiturgyBeverage   Also find Time on Social media at the links below:  Facebook Instagram Twitter  

The Barista Manual, The Book of Knowledge, That Binder That Never Gets Updated...whatever you call it there is usually some assortment of documents lurking in the cafe that is meant to be a resource but is more a source of frustration. Writing a high quality manual for the shop is absolutely critical to establishing a baseline of expectations nd equipping the staff and leadership to successfully operate the  business day-in and day-out. Today we will be going over the top 10 things your manual must have to truly be useful as well as actually used.  I cannot overstate the importance of having a great barista manual. I hope this episode sets you up to write one that serves your cafe well!    Please visit the links below for further learning!    For resources on harassment and discrimination visit: The Coffee Too Project  Related Episodes: 4 Keys to an Effective Checklist 6 Truths About Power SOPs FTW 10 Steps to Being a People First Leader