Shows / Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
A coffee podcast providing coffee shop owners and leaders, with insights, inspiration, and the tools you need to grow and advance your coffee business. We learn from experts both in and outside the coffee industry as they deliver specific, practical, and actionable advice about ownership, optimization, profitability, barista work, employee culture, management, scaling, leadership, personal development, and anything else that will help you achieve success in the coffee shop.
Episodes
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Increase Costs? Increase the Value!
As we all experience increased costs in the coffee shop the cost of our drinks and products will also need to increase. The major worry that many of us have is…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
362: How to Handle Growth in Your Coffee Shop
How you run things in the beginning of your cafe business cannot remain the same as you get busier and grow over the years. Many shops rely on what they have…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR #15 : Managing LTL Freight and the Nuances of green Shipping w/ Evan Gilman of Royal Coffee
How our coffee gets to us after purchase can sometimes be a confusing thing. These days, with global supply chain issues abounding, the need to understand…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Managing Expectations in Systems
This week on KTTS was basically "Logistics Week". When we talk about logistics and systems we naturally think about forming rules for how work is done that…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters
From the perspective of the cafe, the world of the roastery seems to be shrouded in mystery. Indeed, as we have said on the show before, roasting is…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Excellence In The Things We Hate
"I just want to make coffee!" That thought has crossed all our minds at some point in our barista careers. In fact I remember clearly being reprimanded for my…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
360: Encore Episode! Hosting Consumer Coffee Classes: 7 Tips for Success
In the shop we serve people the product of our own training and understanding. We also sell them ideas of what coffee can be and our customers will frequently…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC
It's Founder Friday once again and I am thrilled to shine a light on someone who has built their business on a heart for people, relationships, and an offering…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Language Barriers and Understanding
"We don't speak Starbucks" I cannot tell you how much damage phrases like this have done over the years. More than just creating hostility at the register with…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
358 : Changing Coffee Through Proportional Pricing w/ Andy and Nanelle Newbom of Torque Coffee
The system works exactly the way it was designed to work...and it needs to be broken. This is the goal of a new model of coffee trade introduced by Andy and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 2 w/ Marissa Childers, Jess Gulino, and Tony Dreyfuss
Welcome to part two of a live series of interviews conducted on the show floor of Coffee Fest Chicago in June of 2022! In these interviews I sit down with…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube
Welcome to part on of a live series of interviews conducted on the show floor of Coffee Fest Chicago in June of 2022! In these interviews I sit down with…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Vanity Metrics
In coffee, we like to see ourselves making progress and we check our state against certain metrics and goals that we believe, once reached, will transform our…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
357 : A Conversation w/ Michael Tan of JWC Roastery in Malaysia
Communicating, educating, and training boils down to how well you can connect with people to walk with them through information and transformation. If you want…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Don't Hire on a Trial Basis
It happens in cafe all over the world. Baristas are hired on a trial basis to see if they are a good fit for the business. On the surface, this practice seems…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
356: 5 Unseen Barriers to Progress in Your Coffee Shop
Many shops make sense on paper but in practice there is something missing. There are lot's of unseen barriers to progress and success in your shop that get in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Do You Need to be the Best Barista in Your Cafe?
I have heard many times from owners that they need to be the best barista in the shop. The idea is that if they are not, then the staff will not respect them…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
355: Baristas! 6 Essential Qualities to Get Yourself Hired
What are some of the qualities that potential employers most value in a barista and why are they important? Today you and I will chat about the answers and how…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Using Slow Times Well as a Barista
We all hate when a shift is slow. It can feel demoralizing, boring, and frustrate even the best barista. What if these times on the bar are not all bad though?…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
354 : Management Master Class w/ Ryan Fisher of Erewhon Market, L.A.
Operations management is a distinct from cafe management. At a certain point in your coffee business' growth it become necessary to have someone whose job it…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
353 : Encore Episode! Founder Friday w/ Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Roasters
It's time to go back to an amazing episode of Founder Friday that teaches us about the power of taking risks and listening to what your heart is saying about…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Turning Radius
How long does it take to see a change take root in you coffee shop? Well, turns out it all depends on how long you have been operating and how large the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
As long as it has been around, coffee has always attracted creative and artistic people. Whether it is the coffee shop serving as community gathering spots or…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Four Steps to Inspiring Your Staff
How do I motivate and inspire my baristas? I get asked this question a lot by owners and managers desperate to see excitement and vibrancy in their cafe…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
351 : Pro Tips for Using Spreadsheets w/ Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee
In order to have a profitable and consistent coffee shop you need to track and keep your data in order. Whether is labor, expenses, or COGs- spreadsheets are…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Sacrificing Productivity
It feels like we need to constantly be growing and producing something new or else we risk looking like a failure, or that we lack ambition. The idea that we…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
350 : The Physics of Filter Coffee w/ Jonathan Gagné
Brewing a great cup of coffee is what we all strive to do daily. Over the years, our own understanding of how to do this well has grown as the body of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Up-selling and Hospitality: Helping Customers Make Good Decisions
How do we get customers to buy coffees they will like? This is more or less the question I was asked by a client recently in regards to bean purchases and I…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
349 : Talking About 21st Century Coffee w/ Kenneth Davids
How specialty coffee has evolved, understood, and enjoyed has changed greatly over the past 50 years. Today get to talk someone whose career has not developed…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Doing What You Want -vs- Doing What is Needed
Management absolutely means you have the opportunity to affect change in the coffee shop. It also mean you have a responsibility to make sure the current…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama!
It's Founder Friday! We are traveling to Panama to learn about one of the greatest cafes and roasters, Cafe Unido through a wonderful conversation with its…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live! #10 : A Conversation w/ Kevin Nealon Green Buyer and Director of Coffee for Hucklberry Roasters
Welcome to the 10th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In this interview we are talking with Green Coffee Buyer and Director of Coffee at Huckleberry…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live! #9 : Roasting Innovation and Consistency w/ Scott Rao
Welcome to the 9th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In this interview we are talking with specialty coffee and roasting luminary, Scott Rao! The RoR…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live! #8 : Risk Mitigation for Roasters w/ Kat Nolte Ferguson, Sucafina Specialty
Welcome to the 8th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In this interview we are having a great talk with Kat Nolte-Ferguson of Sucafina Specialty! The RoR…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Special Message: Love and Sacred Space
In the wake of tragedy and heartbreak we find ourselves looking for ways to heal and make sense of the chaos around us. The recent violence, racism, and evil…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
347 : Brewing Coffee and a Career w/ U.S. Brewer's Cup Champion, Elika Liftee!
Brewing a great cup of coffee is like crafting a career in coffee, it take intentionality, consistency, and a humility that keeps in mind the end goal of all…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live! at SCA #7 Will Frith, Building Coffee | The Rise of Asian Coffee
Welcome to the 7th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! The RoR Live Series is a project in partnership with Roast Magazine taking the popular RoR series…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live! at SCA #6 Chris Kornman| Author of Green Coffee : A Guide for Roasters and Buyers
Welcome to the 6th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In this interview we are talking with industry veteran, green coffee expert, and author of the new…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live! at SCA #5 Nicki Amouri of Caffe Amouri | Understanding Roast Curves
Hey! It is the 5th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! In today's conversation we sit down with the Roastmaster of Caffe Amouri Nicki Amouri to talk about…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live! at SCA #4 Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters | How to Teach Roasting
For this 4th episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! This time we sit down with one of my favorite roasters, Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters to…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Specific Expectations and Due Dates
For some reason we tend to think people can read our minds. When we communicate generally but expect specific results we are setting ourselves and everyone…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
346: Connecting People Through Coffee w/ Celeste Wong of The Girl in the Cafe
We take for granted the kinds of interactions and connections we make in the course of our daily professional barista lives. An incredible variety of people…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live at SCA #3 Karl Wienhold | Cheap Coffee Book
For this 3rd episode of the Rate of Rise Live Series! We are talking with the always thought provoking, Karl Wienhold, Author of the book, Cheap Coffee! The…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live at SCA #2 Areli Barerra Grodski | Little Waves Coffee
Welcome to Rate of Rise Live! Episode #2 brought to you by Roast Magazine! I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with Roast during the SCA 2022…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR Live at SCA #1 Peter Giuliano | The New Definition of Specialty Coffee
Welcome to Rate of Rise Live brought to you by Roast Magazine! I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to partner with Roast during the SCA 2022 Global EXPO…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Importance of Debriefing
After a rush, an event, or any situation where there is tension and the need to perform well as a team (pretty much any time) there are always a lot of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
345: A Conversation w/ 2022 U.S. Cup Tasters Champion, Julien Langevin
Accurately tasting coffee can be a daunting task. Add to that the pressure of competition or just the daily work of the bar, and being focused, confident, and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Messy Can Be Beautiful
Some of the reasons we do not take the next step to delegate management or take the next step in our business is because we feel we are not ready. It seems…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
344 : From Fine Dining to Coffee w/ Nicolas Simon of El Condor Coffee Roasters
Our industry is one focused on creating memorable experiences for guests of our shops. Being detail oriented is part of our hospitality to people because we…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
343 : Founder Friday! "Curated Edition" | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are
Welcome to this special edition of the Founder Friday series! We have an incredible collection of interviews from some of the world's best coffee shop…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Making a Decision Pipeline
It's one thing to make decisions when you work alone, but quite another thing when you work with others and your decisions have far reaching impact on…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
342 : A Conversation w/ 2022 U.S. Barista Champion, Morgan Eckroth!
Morgan Eckroth is the new U.S. Barista Champion! Part of the point behind competition is setting the stage for conversation around ideas ranging from social…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR #14: How to Roast New Processing Methods w/ Mike Ebert of Fire Dancer Consultants
As new processing methods become more popular and prominent, roasters must pivot and adjust how they approach them in order to get the best possible result…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
An Essential Habit for Every Coffee Shop Worker
It's not uncommon to feel like the day get's away from us and that we are always being taken for a ride by the work. Heck, I can hardly remember entire years…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
341 : How to Think About Success
How do you think about success and your coffee shop? For many people it boils down to financial metrics only which, in the long run, may not bring the kind of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Are We Giving our Best to the Least?
I witnessed a heartbreaking scene unfold while at SCA EXPO in Boston. The situation was a common one in most of our cafes but in this context it really…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
340 : Encore Episode of 10 Reasons to Love the Customer!
It is the 5 year anniversary of episode #19 titled "10 Reasons to Love the Customer"! Coffee professionals tend to pit themselves against the customer as and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Don't Force Vulnerability
We love the idea of developing a culture of trust. A place where it is safe to open up and be honest without worrying. Vulnerability is the new metric (among…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
339: What Good Barista Training Produces
What does you baristas training produce? For many shops barista training is a loose and rushed experience that falls short in equipping staff with what is…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Getting Them In By Getting Out!
How do we get people to come to our shop? This is the question at the root of most of our marketing efforts. So many of us have stories of how customers will…