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
ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
You Can't Automate Quality
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Why "Next in Line" promotion Might be a Bad Idea
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
306 : A Conversation w/ 2004 U.S. Barista Champion, Bronwen Serna!
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Small Steps = Big Impact
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting
Sustainability is a collaborative effort that relies on solid networks, relationships, and communication. This is mainly the responsibility of importers and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
304 : Inside the Coffee Data Trends Breakout Report w/ Katie Von Der Lieth of the SCA
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Announcing: "The Sustainability Series" Brought to you by Biocaf !
Exciting news! On Wednesday, September 22nd, Keys to the Shop along with Biocaf, will be releasing a 4 part narrative series focused on exploring…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Make Everything Like Latte Art
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
303 : Create Authentic Partnerships w/ Marc Gessler of Cat & Cloud Coffee
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Study the Rules
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
302 : Data's Roll in the Success of your Shop w/ Mark Calhoun and Jim Strarcev of Perfect Cube
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Quality Standards Equation
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…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
These are the two most important and intensive processes in the cafe yet they often are the most rush and poorly thought through. The preparations we make and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
300 : Founder Friday! w/ Jermey Lyman of Birch Coffee, NYC
New York City is undoubtedly one of the coffee capitals of the world. With a seemingly endless number of options to choose from, it is hard to stand out and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Hard Work is Hard
At work there is unnecessary difficulty and then there is just…necessary difficulty. The trouble is that sometimes we can blur the line between the two and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
299 : 5 Rules for a Successful Coffee shop
What makes a successful coffee bar? This whole show is dedicated to exploring the depths of the question and yet there are a few fundamental elements that, if…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Care Assurance is the New Quality Assurance
Quality control and assurance is common in most well established coffee shops. Even if it is not a dedicated position, it at least is an area where we invest a…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
298: A Trophy, or Atrophy?
Winning coffee awards and competitions is pretty cool. There are many benefits to pursuing accolades for your coffee shop through such as marketing…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Encore! Curbing Their Enthusiasm
On a daily basis we have opportunities to take a customer's genuine curiosity and excitement and either affirm it and guide them or to stamp it out and push…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders297 : Making Coffee Education Fun w/ Suneal Pabari of Leaderboard Coffee
A big issue with coffee education is accessibility. Much of the practical information that leads customers and coffee professionals alike to understanding…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Motivating Staff Through Culture
How do I motivate my staff? This was a question I received at Coffee Fest regarding managers and I believe the answer is applicable both to baristas and to…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
296 : Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger in Los Angeles
Training staff to become productive, competent, and confident members of the team is a massive challenge all coffee shops face. In spite of our best efforts we…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
295 : Founder Friday! w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY
It's Founder Friday! I am very pleased to be presenting a conversation with someone who I have wanted to have on a Founder Friday for quite a while. Not just…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Helping Managers Avoid Burnout
Here's some good news...Burnout is usually a result of a long string of unaddressed stressors that build up until they reach critical mass. Why is that good…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
294 : At Origin Roasting Revolution w/ Luis Fernando, founder of Amor Perfecto!
We generally assume that roasting happens once green coffee leaves its county of origin taking much of the coffee's value along with it. But there is a growing…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Skewing Positive
It is a blessing and a curse. Being in a position of management or any type of authority means you likely can see when things are wrong or don't quite fit the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
293 : Thoughts on Defining Professionalism
What is professionalism? Is it aprons? Using the right greeting? The way the space looks? When it comes to coffee shops and coffee professionals we often use…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Ignoring the Customer
On some level we all can justify ignoring customers in our coffee shop. Seems pretty crazy right? I mean, why would we do that knowing how important it is to…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
292 : How to Take Charge and Drive Your Career w/ Ed Evarts
Who is driving our career? Most of the time we attribute our careers current state to outside forces or fate. Rarely will we consider that we ourselves are the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
When Experience is a Liability
Don't hire someone with experience! At least that is what I hear quite often. The idea being that you won't have to untrained old habits. I many people's mind…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
291 : What to do if Your Baristas Won't Listen to You
Have you ever thrown your hands up in frustration and said something like, "Why won't my staff listen to me?!" I get this type of question a lot from people…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
ROR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants
Sample roasting is a critical part of any roasting operation. But sample roasting is not simply used for finding defects or even just for making purchasing…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Tips on how to Replace a Manager
Turnover is inevitable. Even though we expect it, it's not easy. When it comes to replacing managers though, it becomes 10x as difficult because they occupy a…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
290 : Coffee Connections in Central Africa w/ Keith White Jr of Paraiso Trading
Today we get to explore the ever growing Central African coffee farming industry with some one who's company is creating inroads, resources, and opportunities…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
289 : Founder Friday w/ Ochen Simon Eidodo of Chariots Coffees, Uganda!
It's Founder Friday and we are talking with the founder of Chariots Coffees in Uganda, Ochen Simon Eidodo! Chariots coffees and Barista Academy was established…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
When Small Problems Grow Up
The day is full of issues calling for your attention. Most of the time there are a few urgent problems that need to be addressed and once they are, new ones…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
288 : The Truth behind Cheap Coffee w/ Karl Weinhold
The problem of cheap coffee keeps producers trapped in cycles of poverty and keeps the power in the hands of those least impacted by what is at best a global…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Reasonable Expectations
Baristas are often the subject of much complaining from leadership. "They just don't get how hard it is" we hear them say. We talked about this last week in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
287 : Learn how to Shift your Mind w/ Brian Levenson
Whether you are behind the bar making drinks, or behind a laptop making the schedule for your baristas you cannot rely on just one mindset to achieve the best…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Understanding and Bitterness
On this show we have talked about how leaders are typically seen by staff with some degree of skepticism and/or suspicion due to leaders having authority and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
286 : Coffee Roasting Best Practices w/ Scott Rao
Roasting practices have come a long way in the past few decades. Today enjoy an incredible wealth of information, resources, and sharing of technique to help…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister
We have an incredible range of options available to us when it comes to the green coffees we purchase. Right now our habit as an industry is to spot purchase…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Hiring Friends and Making Enemies
Hiring your friends or relatives can seem like a very convenient solution to the problem of staffing. After all, you know them well and trust them right? What…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
285 : Better Systems, Better Connections w/ RoasterTools Founder, Jon Ewalt
If there is one thing that is certain it is that, as you grow your roastery, you become pulled in a thousand different directions. The need to maintain the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
284 : Founder Friday! w. Jackie Nguyen of Cafe Cà Phê | Kansas City, MO
I am very excited for this Founder Friday! When we talk about coffee shops we often talk about culture, authenticity, and relationships. I have the immense…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Over Optimization
Systems, efficiencies, and optimizations of your business are needed elements to make sure it is healthy and thriving. There is, however, a dark side of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
283 : 5 Bad Reasons to open a Coffee Shop
People open coffee shops for many reasons. Some good and some-not so good. It really all depends on how you approach the "why" behind your business that…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Curse of the Favorite Barista?
Every shop has that one barista that seems to attract more attention the the rest. The comment is made by customers often about this person that they are my…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
282 : How to Listen to your Customers
Running a coffee house is all about making sure you are able to serve the needs of your customers and to do so consistently. In order to do that you need to be…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Exercising Self-control as an Owner
We like to be in control. The shop is your baby and you have all the authority in the world to assert yourself into the operations and correct things you see…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
281 : The Vietnamese Coffee Revolution w/ Sahra Nguyen of Nguyen Coffee Supply
"Vietnam is the future of specialty coffee!" Today we are going to unpack this statement and discuss how the Vietnamese coffee movement is creating opportunity…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind
Time and color in the roasting process are inextricably linked. We are fairly used to using time as a tool but what about color? Turns out that the color of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Turning the Ship
When we seek to change things in our coffee shops we often underestimate the amount of time and investment it will take to actually turn things around. I have…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
280 : A Conversation with Jesse Hartman of The Coffee Podcast
Questions and conversation. They are powerful tools to bring clarity and inspire action. Perhaps nobody knows this better than those of us whose job it is to…