Valor Coffee Podcast Valor Coffee
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A podcast and video show hosted by seasoned coffee pros and Valor Coffee founders Ethan Rivers, Ross Walters and Riley Westbrook where we discuss coffee, starting and running a business, and the specialty coffee industry.
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Q&A: Barista vs Roasting Job + Should Baristas Have to Work Weekends? – 05/01/2024
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Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
This week we field a few questions, including helping one listener choose between stepping forward as a barista or making a move to roasting operations and answering another listener's question about firm "must work weekend" policies for baristas. Thanks for listening!
*If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale*
Huge thanks to our partner Third Wave Water for sponsoring this episode! TWW enhances our brews by getting our water perfect for our coffee. Use code VALOR at checkout for 10% off your purchase! https://thirdwavewater.com
We're partnered with Clive to bring you sweet deal at a discounted rate! Use Discount Code VALOR5 at checkout for 5% off Lucca and Eureka products!
Shop Clive products here: https://clivecoffee.com?sca_ref=5315485.6axWuRlcEr
Buy Valor Coffee: https://valor.coffee/shop
Watch on Youtube: https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16
Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at wholesale@valor.coffee to set up an account!
Want us to review your coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to info@valor.coffee
Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod
Follow Valor on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valor.coffee
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Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook
Follow Riley: https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook
Follow Ross: https://instagram.com/rosswalters
Follow Ethan's Parody Account: https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777
00:00 Introduction
01:14 Our new partnership with Third Wave Water
09:08 Does the importing of coffee differ depending on the location of your roastery?
13:16 Q: I have two opportunities to advance my career, which should I take?
24:28 Contrasting a secure, boring job vs a lower paying, engaging career
30:46 Q: Do you have policies that require baristas to work certain schedules?
43:55 Q: Do you have advice about implementing big changes?
51:02 The hardest part of our jobs right now, as owners
01:06:42 Conclusion -
SCA EXPO 2024 Chicago Recap – 04/24/2024
Sign Up for Alerts About Our Community (coming soon) – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://mailchi.mp/018d9c38a953/valorcafecommunity
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Wait... 100 Episodes?! Who knew this little podcast would make it this far? This week we share stories from our first SCA Expo experience, drink the most expensive coffee we've ever purchased, and chop it up in this laid back episode.
*If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale*
We're partnered with Clive to bring you sweet deal at a discounted rate! Use Discount Code VALOR5 at checkout for 5% off Lucca and Eureka products!
Shop Clive products here: https://clivecoffee.com?sca_ref=5315485.6axWuRlcEr
Buy Valor Coffee: https://valor.coffee/shop
Watch on Youtube: https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16
Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at wholesale@valor.coffee to set up an account!
Want us to review your coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to info@valor.coffee
Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod
Follow Valor on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valor.coffee
____
Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook
Follow Riley: https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook
Follow Ross: https://instagram.com/rosswalters
Follow Ethan's Parody Account: https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777
00:00 Introduction
04:10 Q&A: Which Valor coffee should I try first?
11:32 Is mold free coffee a thing or just a marketing pitch?
18:14 We’re tasting some high level coffee today
25:39 What our experience was like in the city of Chicago
37:32 Our first impressions & experience at the SCA Expo
41:18 Recalling some of our favorite moments
54:48 Wrapping up our recap of the weekend
01:02:33 Coffee Review: MAME Coffee Abu Lot 7
01:08:12 Conclusion -
Keys to the Shop x Valor: How to Raise Barista Wages – 04/13/2024
Sign Up for Alerts About Our Community (coming soon) – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://mailchi.mp/018d9c38a953/valorcafecommunity
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
We were stoked to have the opportunity to take a break from the action at SCA Expo 2024 to sit down with a true veteran of the coffee industry, Chris Deferio. Chris has 20+ years of experience in specialty coffee, ranging from working behind the bar to where he is now, consulting and podcasting through his business, Keys to the Shop. KTTS has released hundreds and hundreds of podcast episodes with many high profile guests and leaders in the industry, and Chris is a fount of knowledge. We were honored to chat for an hour about a fun topic: barista wages and how cafes can implement certain things to give their people better pay. For those of you looking for consulting for your coffee business, Chris is your guy. Hope y'all enjoy this one, we sure did!
Follow all things Keys to the Shop:
Website: https://keystotheshop.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keystotheshop/
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3oo9RbKT8tXmEDsXezeKje?si=4858ad750e224836
Email Chris: chris@keystotheshop.com
*If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale*
We're partnered with Clive to bring you sweet deal at a discounted rate! Use Discount Code VALOR5 at checkout for 5% off Lucca and Eureka products!
Shop Clive products here: https://clivecoffee.com?sca_ref=5315485.6axWuRlcEr
Buy Valor Coffee: https://valor.coffee/shop
Watch on Youtube: https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16
Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at wholesale@valor.coffee to set up an account!
Want us to review your coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to info@valor.coffee
Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod
Follow Valor on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valor.coffee
____
Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook
Follow Riley: https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook
Follow Ross: https://instagram.com/rosswalters
Follow Ethan's Parody Account: https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777
00:00 Introduction
06:21 Why today’s topic is important to us
12:59 Should owners sacrifice their income?
17:36 Be transparent with employees about what they should expect
25:56 Discussing different leadership models for cafes
35:49 How to make a smaller team more efficient, for everyone’s benefit
40:49 Discussing robotics & automation in cafes
48:06 Can a decentralized leadership model work?
55:24 How many baristas are asking for raises rather than waiting?
59:00 One on Ones with employees build trust & improves culture
01:03:41 Balancing baristas admin responsibilities
01:09:46 Taking care of your staff won’t break your business
01:13:34 Conclusion -
Making It Cool to Care at Your Coffee Shop – 04/10/2024
Sign Up for Alerts About Our Community (coming soon) – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://mailchi.mp/018d9c38a953/valorcafecommunity
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
This week we're in a different room because of roast shifting, but we still dish out some straight fire. Ethan and Ross chat about building a culture that thinks it's cool to give a crap and how that stems from owners and leadership.
We're hiring in the roastery and in Dunwoody! Email us at hiring@valor.coffee for more information.
We will be attending the Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago and we want to meet up with you! Send us an email at info@valor.coffee with your ideas.
*If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale*
We're partnered with Clive to bring you sweet deal at a discounted rate! Use Discount Code VALOR5 at checkout for 5% off Lucca and Eureka products!
Shop Clive products here: https://clivecoffee.com?sca_ref=5315485.6axWuRlcEr
Buy Valor Coffee: https://valor.coffee/shop
Watch on Youtube: https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16
Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at wholesale@valor.coffee to set up an account!
Want us to review your coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to info@valor.coffee
Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod
Follow Valor on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valor.coffee
____
Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook
Follow Riley: https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook
Follow Ross: https://instagram.com/rosswalters
Follow Ethan's Parody Account: https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777
00:00 Intro
01:34 How the Ground Control brewer works
05:47 How we find employees that care as much as we do
09:37 Translating core values to new hires
17:42 Train your employees with values rather than policies
21:01 How to figure out if an interviewee will truly care about their role
31:43 Build a culture of feedback & open communication
45:00 How to handle giving feedback to an employee
47:08 Culture starts with the owner and grows in the team
55:41 When was the last time we received feedback as leaders & owners?
01:01:37 Conclusion -
Should You Open a Second Coffee Shop? – 04/03/2024
Sign Up for Alerts About Our Community (coming soon) – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://mailchi.mp/018d9c38a953/valorcafecommunity
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
It’s been a year since we opened the doors of our second cafe, so we do some reflecting on what we’ve learned and whether or not we’d do it all again.
We're hiring in the roastery and in Dunwoody! Email us at hiring@valor.coffee for more information.
We will be attending the Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago and we want to meet up with you! Send us an email at info@valor.coffee with your ideas.
*If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale*
We're partnered with Clive to bring you sweet deal at a discounted rate! Use Discount Code VALOR5 at checkout for 5% off Lucca and Eureka products!
Shop Clive products here: https://clivecoffee.com?sca_ref=5315485.6axWuRlcEr
Buy Valor Coffee: https://valor.coffee/shop
Watch on Youtube: https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16
Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at wholesale@valor.coffee to set up an account!
Want us to review your coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to info@valor.coffee
Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod
Follow Valor on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valor.coffee
____
Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook
Follow Riley: https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook
Follow Ross: https://instagram.com/rosswalters
Follow Ethan's Parody Account: https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777
00:00 Intro
02:27 April 3rd marks our Dunwoody cafe’s 1st birthday
12:22 We will be at SCA in Chicago & we want to meet you
14:53 Q&A: How did you go about picking up your first wholesale accounts?
26:11 Q!&A: How did you market your cart when you first started out?
29:58 Is it worth it to open a second cafe?
44:13 The difficulties of expanding
01:00:32 The benefits of expanding
01:13:46 Conclusion -
Competition: Should You Care About "Competitor" Coffee Shops? – 03/27/2024
Sign Up for Alerts About Our Community (coming soon) – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://mailchi.mp/018d9c38a953/valorcafecommunity
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
When you're running a coffee shop or looking to start one, it's easy to look around at other companies and wonder whether they're taking a slice of a pie. Is that true? If so, should you care? How should this influence your decision making? This week we chop all this up AND MORE...well, not much more, but we do try a wild coffee from Plot and take a question about growing a coffee shop in a small town.
We're hiring in the roastery and in Dunwoody! Email us at hiring@valor.coffee for more information.
We will be attending the Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago and we want to meet up with you! Send us an email at info@valor.coffee with your ideas.
*If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale*
We're partnered with Clive to bring you sweet deal at a discounted rate! Use Discount Code VALOR5 at checkout for 5% off Lucca and Eureka products!
Shop Clive products here: https://clivecoffee.com?sca_ref=5315485.6axWuRlcEr
Buy Valor Coffee: https://valor.coffee/shop
Watch on Youtube: https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16
Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at wholesale@valor.coffee to set up an account!
Want us to review your coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to info@valor.coffee
Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod
Follow Valor on Instagram: http://instagram.com/valor.coffee
____
Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook
Follow Riley: https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook
Follow Ross: https://instagram.com/rosswalters
Follow Ethan's Parody Account: https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777
00:00 Intro
01:14 Today’s coffee tastes like... basil ?
03:10 We will be at SCA in Chicago & we want to meet you
06:00 Can a specialty coffee shop keep growing in a small town?
14:28 Competition - how much should you care?
26:20 Focus on being your best, rather than comparing to others
38:18 The Rude Radius - How close is too close to open a competing coffee shop?
46:18 Coffee Review: Plot Colombia Geisha White Honey
56:51 Conclusion