Latest / Coffee People Podcast / Holiday Bonus Episode: Chris O'Brien, Coffee Cycle Roasting

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Holiday Bonus Episode: Chris O'Brien, Coffee Cycle Roasting · Coffee People Podcast

0:12
Hey, good morning everyone. Welcome to another very special
0:14
bonus. Holiday episode of the roast
0:17
West Coast coffee podcast. I'm Ryan Walt.
0:20
And this is the show where I bring you the stories of coffee
0:23
people. I recently checked in, with my
0:25
coffee, Sensei and frequent coffee smarter, guest Chris
0:29
O'Brien of Coffee cycle. Roasting he's kindly rejoined.
0:32
The show to talk about the ever-evolving job of running a
0:35
coffee shop and why he decided to put out coffee cycle.
0:38
Roasting is very first Blended batch of coffee beans.
0:41
For the holidays, you'll find those beans on coffee cycle
0:45
roasting.com. If this intro sounds a little
0:48
bit different than normal it is because I'm not at home
0:50
podcasting in the closet. I really am on holiday.
0:54
I'm holed up in a Colorado mountain town while some really
0:56
nasty wind and cold weather rages outside.
1:00
So you might hear that along with the passing snow plows
1:03
luckily for me, there's a fireplace here and plenty of
1:05
coffee for me to drink. Shout out to Copic a coffee and
1:08
cygnus coffee bus in Grand Junction Colorado and the grind
1:12
in Cedar City. Utah for making my travels here.
1:15
Much more pleasant by offering up some great coffee Vibes.
1:19
You can see some of those spots on the at roast West Coast,
1:22
Instagram account. Right now, I'm brewing a mini,
1:25
French, Press of coffee Cycles, holiday blend to sip while
1:28
working on a puzzle next to the Fireplace and I hope that you
1:31
and your cozy. Happy place enjoying a
1:33
comforting cup of coffee today. What you listen to this
1:36
conversation with coffee Cycles? Chris O'Brien on the roast West
1:40
Coast coffee podcast. Chris mr.
1:56
Chris O'Brien, welcome back to the roast West Coast coffee
2:00
podcast. Thank you for popping in today.
2:03
It's always a true pleasure to see you and during the holiday
2:06
season, like we are in now. I am especially filled with a
2:11
feelings of warmth and joy things that come to me with a
2:16
cup of hot coffee filled, with peppermint schnapps or
2:21
peppermint mocha or whatever it is.
2:22
You're putting in the coffee's over there.
2:25
Welcome, I'm putting dreams and happiness, and them.
2:28
And I was a nice complement to the rich Bold Flavor of the
2:32
coffee. I don't recommend anyone
2:34
listening to be putting peppermint schnapps in their
2:36
coffee every morning. Not know mornings, just not
2:40
every morning. I only do on this end in y or
2:44
when the wind is blowing. Sure, perfect.
2:47
Chris you've been on the show, a bunch of times, I'm going to
2:49
link to all those, you know, other shows where we've kind of
2:51
gone through your story and stuff.
2:53
I just called to check in today with what's going on at Coffee
2:56
cycle. Kind of see what we can learn
2:58
about. The ever-evolving job of owning,
3:01
a coffee shop and a Coffee Roastery.
3:04
Now, recently, your longtime shop manager Jenny Shrek naughty
3:09
decided that she wanted to take on a new challenge and she knows
3:12
she left to do something new, very supportive and you've been
3:17
very supportive of her and what she's doing.
3:20
But she was in your store as the manager for years and years and
3:23
kind of beloved by say, 98% of the customers.
3:29
I don't want to disrespect that 2% but let's just say, you know,
3:33
most of them how have things changed losing a manager or
3:37
transitioning Away from somebody that you've put trust in for so
3:40
long. And how have you had to adapt?
3:45
You know, I'm so happy to be talking about this because you
3:48
know, just in general, not about Jenni and specific but because,
3:51
you know, she's so amazing. But this is something I'm really
3:55
passionate about. It was honestly the best piece
3:57
of business advice I ever got that this question, kind of
4:01
speaks to. And that was from a friend of
4:03
mine, who owned a bike shop, and he said, and this has been said
4:08
by other people and sort of different ways, but he said,
4:10
don't trust the person trust the system.
4:12
And so, you know, it was very Be scary to have Jenny, leave us.
4:17
And like you said, you know, full support.
4:19
And she's amazing and I just started the other day and she's
4:21
doing great but, you know, sort of the, the question of are the
4:25
systems that I put in place. The beginning, still functioning
4:29
are the systems that we've developed together while she was
4:32
managing still systems that somebody else could get kind of
4:36
slotted in and out of. And that's not to take away from
4:39
any individual Talent, someone might bring, but, you know, I
4:43
think, On that. I'm on the other side of this
4:46
big transition because you're right.
4:48
It was a very big deal for me as a business owner.
4:51
I can say confidently that. Yeah, I think we did really well
4:54
with making those systems in a way that led us transition.
4:57
Was it super easy to do? I miss sir did I miss her?
5:01
Of course, you know, like those questions are, you know,
5:05
legitimate questions but I'm really happy with how things
5:07
have gone. We have a new manager that
5:09
stepped in. I'm super proud of the approach
5:14
I tried to Take as far as my attitude, which was okay, this
5:17
is happening, one attitude, Arma systems, good.
5:22
Let's let's let's make sure that this is working okay, and, and I
5:26
stepped in as a interim manager, to sort of evaluate that and to
5:32
help with the transition, of course.
5:34
And yes, they did work out and then to can, I use this time of
5:38
change to update, renew redo anything.
5:43
And so, you know, No change, does happen, change, happens in
5:47
life, change happens in business, but we were able to
5:49
kind of trust those systems and things worked out pretty well.
5:52
And we got some new new updating to the shop and to how things
5:55
are done. We got some new documentation
5:58
for all the staff to keep things, you know, standard
6:01
operating procedures, nice and nice, and systemized from the
6:04
top to the bottom. And, you know, just always
6:06
working to improve Very cool. Yeah, systems train your people
6:12
but also trust in the systems that you've built and then
6:14
constantly be recalibrating, you know, that's kind of the, you
6:18
know, you're a small independent job.
6:20
But when you think about bigger, cafes or restaurants for that
6:24
matter franchisees, like they use those first shops to build
6:28
those systems, which then can be replicated over and over, and
6:30
over again. And even though they may not be
6:33
perfect, they provide a foundation for the team for the
6:37
piano to work with. As a Roastery.
6:40
You guys. Just released your first Blended
6:43
coffee. Your first holiday blend.
6:45
It is the holidays. You and I are talking right now,
6:47
just a couple days before Christmas.
6:50
Why do a blend? What is this holiday blend?
6:54
A blend of. If I keep saying blend so many
6:57
times that word is going to lose its meaning I think but you get
7:00
the point. Why do it?
7:02
What is it and why are you pushing it the solid, well, you
7:06
know, Blends are foundational for Coffee businesses for a long
7:10
time and a lot of ways before we were able to Source coffees that
7:14
were so special. And so unique, the way a shop
7:17
would sort of make their Mark with the coffee itself, was by
7:21
blending with saying, okay, if everybody can get a generic
7:25
Guatemala, a generic Brazil, and generic, you know, Ethiopia how
7:32
can I zoroaster and a shop owner, you know, make my shop
7:36
special with just the black coffee.
7:38
Make people want it to come back and so, you know, and we're
7:41
talking with customers. We still see the sort of
7:46
remnants of this, this established lexicon that people
7:50
would use to talk about coffee with their with their coffee
7:53
providers. Oh, you know, like we've been
7:56
serving all single Origins from usually just specific Farms.
7:59
But at least, you know, farming groups for five years now and
8:04
over the course of those five years, I'd say, one out of every
8:06
10 customers that comes in. Rather than saying, you know,
8:11
which coffee do you recommend today?
8:13
If they're asking me that question will say 0 which blend
8:15
do you recommend because it's so ingrained, now in our psyche as
8:20
coffee consumers to identify a blend with a shops identity.
8:26
So you know usually we just kind of breezed over that and assume
8:28
when they say blend they're talking origin but this blend in
8:32
particular, is a blend of a Guatemala Colombia and an
8:36
Indonesian coffee from the island of Sumatra.
8:38
And the reason we wanted to do a blend is because during the
8:42
holiday time, people are wanting to give coffee as a gift.
8:46
And because we try to take our appreciation of coffee to such a
8:51
deep level that we find. All these nuances that can be
8:56
somewhat divisive or polarizing. Maybe it's a better way to put
8:59
it. It can be a bit more challenging
9:02
to figure out what coffee do recommend people to give as a
9:04
gift. Or you're like, well, you can
9:07
get this this way. This depending on whether
9:10
they're this kind of person that kind of person whether you think
9:13
they like this, did you ever see them eat this in front of you?
9:16
You know, it's like it can get kind of complicated and Gift
9:20
giving I mean I love to give gifts.
9:23
That's that's one of my love languages.
9:25
If if that's a thing. But I really love to give gifts,
9:27
I love to give things to people and and it can be hard and
9:31
stressful when it has this sort of obligation over it.
9:34
And, you know, holiday gift-giving is kind of a
9:37
complicated topic when you think about it that way and the stress
9:41
is it can engender and I certainly don't want anyone
9:44
listening to the show to feel, you know, like they have to give
9:47
gifts this season if they're not so important.
9:50
Blind. But if you are giving gifts and
9:52
if you think coffee is a good gift because I also think coffee
9:55
is a good gift. We wanted to simplify that for
9:58
people and so in the end the pursuit of simplifying that for
10:03
people we decided to make a blend that would one appeal to a
10:08
wide variety of coffee consumers and to would have a flavor
10:12
profile that would hopefully evoke some of those kind of
10:15
seasonal flavors. You know, what I'd write tasting
10:18
notes on the side of the bag. Not We actually read those
10:21
Testaments on the side of art Ins at our shop, but in general,
10:25
as Coffee Roasters, when we're writing tasting notes for a
10:27
coffee, you know, we're trying to do our best to sort of give
10:30
you an idea of what it might remind you of what tastes are
10:33
sort of in there, obviously it all tastes like coffee, but
10:36
coffee has a fair variety of flavor.
10:39
It's pretty understatement. But this coffee, you know, we
10:42
wanted it to taste chocolatey because chocolates and sweets.
10:45
Are, you know, a big part of a lot of people's holiday
10:48
celebrations, we wanted To have some sort of spice notes.
10:52
There's a lot of spiced holiday beverages that we consume around
10:55
this time of year your spy Siders eggnogs that kind of
10:59
thing and then we wanted it to appeal to you know that wider
11:05
variety of customers someone who had drink darker roast that had
11:09
less complexity, less acidity less fruit notes.
11:12
But also appeal to someone who likes those lighter coffees and
11:15
four notes and you know, ultimately it's kind of an
11:18
impossible task, right? But we did the best we could,
11:21
and we're really happy with the results.
11:22
So, that's a really nice Guatemala.
11:25
Really nice Colombia than ice Indonesia.
11:27
You're threading, a needle there.
11:28
Trying to find something that appeals to people on all ends of
11:31
the spectrum, not entirely possible.
11:34
What I'm hearing is two things. One is that by creating a blend
11:38
or choosing to do a blend, you can somewhat Taylor what you
11:41
want, the taste profile to be based on the beans you're
11:44
choosing. And then as you're coming up
11:47
with the blend, you can tweak it, you know, a little bit more
11:49
Indonesia. A bit more Guatemala, you know,
11:52
to get more of whatever those profiles are, which is kind of
11:54
cool. And second is, that you are a
11:59
single origin, coffee, psychotic, and you're just
12:01
making something for the rest of us to enjoy it.
12:05
Might surprise you, you mentioned spice drinks, but I
12:08
tasted eggnog for the very first time in maybe 25 years this
12:13
week, okay? Was it.
12:15
Homemade eggnog or store-bought eggnog?
12:19
It was Trader. Joe's eggnog.
12:21
Okay, not for me. Yeah, there's, there's a big
12:26
difference between the two. Wait, wait.
12:29
Let me, let me say that again. I'm gonna have to edit that.
12:31
It was a eggnog that rhymes with schmieder hose.
12:34
No, I can't say that either. It was an eggnog that rhymes
12:38
with Bader Mo's. There you go.
12:41
Got it. Well, while you are wearing your
12:44
Lederhosen and drinking eggnog, Have the thought to share with
12:50
you that I can make a really tasty homemade eggnog.
12:54
And one day, if I'd whip up a batch under and neighborhood,
12:57
I'll let you sample it and you can spit it out in front of me,
13:00
if you don't like it, but it's definitely a little bit
13:03
different and that was that was my eye-opening moment for eggnog
13:06
where I sort of came to fall in love with it was was someone
13:10
when gifted me a glass bottle of their homemade eggnog.
13:14
And I just couldn't even believe it.
13:15
I thought. Wow, this is dessert that I Get
13:18
to drink. This is this is just great.
13:21
So not for everybody though, for sure we don't serve eggnog latte
13:24
is in the shop because I would just drink all the eggnog and it
13:28
sounds awful. Steaming eggnog sounds terrible
13:31
and if you steam it extra Hawks and we will ask for eggnog
13:34
latte. Extra hot that I've worked at
13:36
shops that served it it just turns into scrambled eggs.
13:38
It's pretty gross. So you don't want that.
13:41
Eggnog latte is not not really big fan, I'd rather put Ramen
13:45
whiskey in there that whole thing just to Did not sell the
13:49
eggnog to me. I'm going to be honest with you.
13:53
I only have one last question for you today.
13:56
I know you got a busy day and I appreciate you popping in just
13:59
to check into the show. And that is, this shows going to
14:02
come out, you know, just a day or two before New Year's Eve,
14:06
have you thought about making any New Year's resolutions for
14:09
coffee cycle that you can share or for yourself, you know, for
14:13
what's coming up with, with your business, You know, I don't
14:17
think there's anything that jumps to mind, I'd say that this
14:21
new year is either going to be, you know, the culmination of a
14:25
lot of what we've done or else like it always is in business.
14:29
We're going to Pivot hard and and figure out what's next.
14:33
Oh, actually no, there is, there is something to share.
14:35
Absolutely. There's big news, copy cycle.
14:38
That I would love to share for the new year, which is coffee
14:40
cycle, Outpost around town. You might be seeing coffee cycle
14:44
Outpost popping up it. It is basically a very
14:48
minimalist presentation of some of the coffee.
14:50
We provide a copy cycle, it'll have some exclusive coffee
14:54
available if you do. See The Outpost, The Outpost
14:57
will be available in front of the REI in Kearny Mesa on the
15:02
first weekend of every month and we're hoping to add a lot more
15:06
dates soon and possibly some other events coming up.
15:09
So I have some pretty awesome people that are going to be
15:11
working with me on that and really excited to share with
15:14
you. It's just going to have some
15:15
incredible. Coffee's and iced coffees.
15:18
Some homemade vanilla has and chocolates.
15:21
And that exclusive Quantum, exclusive Guatemala coffee to
15:24
begin with and perhaps an exclusive Blends down the line
15:28
or other single Origins. But yeah, there should be some
15:31
pretty special, special copies being available there and
15:33
hopefully it will be all over San Diego with that thing pretty
15:36
soon. Well, my my New Year's
15:39
resolution was to spend more time with you so I'm already
15:42
getting a jumpstart on it, Creswell, my heart.
15:46
But not with you and eggnog. Just you thank you for coming
15:50
back on the show for checking in I hope you have a great holiday.
15:53
I know that I will because I'll be drinking holiday blend.
15:56
I'm going to take some oh yeah thanks ma'am.
16:08
Okay to recap, one key piece of advice for running your
16:12
business. As related by Chris is to put
16:15
your trust in systems. Meaning create systems in your
16:18
business that are sustainable regardless of who is entrusted
16:22
to perform them, some employees may be Superstars, and some may
16:26
be less committed, but if the right system is in place, the
16:29
work will be accomplished. Then when you face a big
16:31
transition, like Chris did, when his longtime manager left to
16:34
pursue other opportunities, you have a chance to update and even
16:38
improve on those systems. I'll add that as a former
16:41
restaurant, Runner systems are foundational, but are also
16:45
always evolving as the business. Changes grows or contracts.
16:49
I was surprised that Chris decided to try his hand at
16:51
roasting a coffee blend. It is definitely a departure
16:54
from his loyalty to the single origins in his shop and that he
16:57
roasts coffee Blends, which occur when a roaster combines
17:01
coffee beans from multiple Origins, give a roaster and
17:04
opportunity to be creative with their roasts.
17:07
It also enables them to develop flavors that a single available
17:10
being may not offer including ones that offer a wider appeal
17:14
in a previous conversation with most These director of roasting
17:18
operations, Ryan Sullivan. He also touted the blend as a
17:21
way that a roaster, can create long-term flavor, consistency,
17:25
coffee is ever evolving and beans from the same origin won't
17:28
necessarily taste the same year after year.
17:31
The flavor notes are impacted by the changes in weather and
17:34
climate not to mention agricultural or processing
17:37
changes by creating a flavor profile in a blend.
17:40
A roaster can modify the ratio of beans or Source similar beans
17:44
to create that flavor growing season.
17:46
And after growing season coffee Cycles, holiday blend features
17:50
beans from Guatemala Colombia and the Indonesian island of
17:53
Sumatra. I can vouch that it is rich in
17:55
flavor slightly spicy and sure to appeal to most coffee lovers.
17:59
I won't add any more of my own tasting notes here.
18:01
Because Chris mentioned that, a coffee cycle.
18:04
They don't add those notes to the side of their coffee.
18:06
Tins. I know from our previous
18:08
conversations that this is because Chris doesn't want to
18:11
create expectations or alter the perception of that coffee.
18:15
For those of us who are King, it would you taste blueberry if it
18:19
wasn't on the side of the package?
18:20
Or would you taste something else entirely?
18:23
There are so many potential flavor notes on a coffee that
18:26
breaking it down to just a few may be entirely too narrow a
18:29
window of taste perception. Me on the other hand, I love
18:33
tasting notes. I try not to look at them up
18:35
front unless I'm looking for something specific, but after
18:39
I've tried the coffee, I like casually comparing my thoughts
18:42
to those provided. By The Roaster creating that
18:45
personal database of Over is one way that I am learning to
18:48
profile coffees. If you do buy coffee from coffee
18:51
cycle, you can always find the flavor notes online at Coffee
18:54
cycle roasting.com, or just stop by the shop and ask one of the
18:58
Baristas coffee Cycles. Baristas are some of the best
19:01
I've ever been around. And finally, today, eggnog
19:04
lattes avoid I want to thank Chris for rejoining, me on the
19:09
roast West Coast coffee podcast. And remind you that Chris will
19:12
be featured as the coffee expert on the new edition of the coffee
19:16
smarter podcast, which is dedicated to helping listeners
19:19
improve, their at-home coffee experience.
19:22
The first season focuses on home, coffee Brewers.
19:24
And the very first episode is all about extraction.
19:27
The first episode of the coffee smarter podcast will be released
19:31
Wednesday, January 4th 2023, but you can follow the show on
19:35
Spotify Now, search for coffee. Carter and hit the follow button
19:39
so you don't miss it. I really appreciate that out
19:42
there on the other side of this thin window, separating me from
19:44
the winter storm bringing - temperatures that you're out
19:48
there somewhere, listening enjoying and sharing this show.
19:51
So thank you and happy holidays. And if you want me to send the
19:54
podcast to your email along with all of the bonus coffee content
19:57
that comes with the newsletter, enter your email, on roast
20:00
westcoast.com, you can choose which shows and columns you want
20:04
to receive. I always thank my industry.
20:07
Partners at the end of every show.
20:08
But before I do that, today, I want to shout out show sponsor
20:11
and former guest, Aaron Harper. The co-owner of old gal coffee
20:15
and San Marcos and the founder and head roaster of a Sandy
20:18
Coffee Roasters, she has purchased the entirety of the
20:21
old Cal Coffee Cafe from her business.
20:24
Partners old Cal coffee will soon become a send Coffee House,
20:28
the new flagship for the Roasterie which is also working
20:31
on a second location in the nearby town of Vista.
20:34
Along with the new look Ascend, coffeehouse will feature New
20:37
menu and new coffee, offerings, the grand opening or reopening
20:41
of a send coffee will tentatively occur in late
20:44
January, January 20th, if all goes, well, and it will include
20:47
a ribbon-cutting, tastings and a coffee education session that I
20:51
will definitely be dropping into if for no other reason than to
20:54
provide some moral support for all of you who like me are
20:57
learning coffee as we go, congrats to Aaron and the Ascend
21:00
Roasters team. Be sure to check out Ascend
21:02
Roasters.com and follow at Ascend Coffee Roasters on
21:06
Instagram too. Stay up to date on all of the
21:08
launch details. A happy holidays to all of the
21:11
roast West Coast industry, Partners Cafe lechera, most,
21:15
your coffee company, steady-state coffee.
21:17
Roasting, they're working on an expansion of their Carlsbad Cafe
21:20
space, which looks awesome Camp. Coffee Company, coffee cycle.
21:24
Roasting the aforementioned discerned Coffee Roasters.
21:27
Ignite Coffee Company were also getting ready for their grand
21:30
opening in. January Maria coffee, Cape Horn,
21:33
Kazi, importers and zoom bar coffee and tea, I You with so
21:38
many inspiring Partners, how can I not be stoked for season 7 of
21:41
this podcast? I've added links to those
21:43
Partners in the show notes in every newsletter post and even
21:47
on the front page of roast westcoast.com, if you're looking
21:51
for Indie business to support, put them at the top of your
21:54
list. Thank you to everyone for
21:56
listening and supporting this show.
21:58
This episode of the roast West Coast coffee podcast.
22:02
Use was has been written produced and recorded by me Ryan
22:05
Walter I Hope this episode is found you happy healthy and
22:10
with, at least enough sanity to make it through the day, always
22:13
tip your Baristas. Be sure to drink good coffee and
22:16
I'll see you in 2023. Worked out.
22:45
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