Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders Chris Deferio

How do we help? A few thoughts have been swirling in my mind since the SCA expo in Chicago, and one of them has to do with the best contribution we can make to help each other in the industry with our respective parts of the supply chain. It seems that many are majoring in things that are not directly related to their business, and therefore letting their business slip into disrepair.  
On this Shift break episode we will be talking about the power of tending to the effectiveness of our businesses, in particular, the café, as a means to truly help the farmer, and everyone in between in a sustainable way.
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now: 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes: 
Sustainability Series #1 : The Farm Sustainability Series #2 : Importing & Roasting Sustainability Series #3 : The Cafe Sustainability Series #4 : Consumer 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood 453 : The Craft of Operations   Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
 
 
 

When we read about amazing hospitality stories in restaurants, it can (and should) inspire us to pursue hospitality in our our coffee shops. Trouble comes though, when in our pursuit of the next level hospitality experience we can easily start to generate an unhealthy fascination  with singular experiences at the expense of celebrating and maintaining good and normal, maybe even "unremarkable" moments of hospitality that make up much of our day. In addition to this, there is a push for cafe owners to build their spaces according to the market vs their environment and context. There is wisdom in some of this for sure, but often, like fixating on luxury examples of hospitality, it can rob us of the joys one gets being rooted in place and in regular relationships. 
Today we will be exploring what I am calling unremarkable hospitality and cafe terroir (a taste of place) and why in an ever connected industry, focusing on our place, people, and the consistency of our care, can itself be remarkable. 
 
Links to related episodes:
430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides 421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner 343 : Founder Friday! “Curated Edition” | Hospitality + Meeting People Where They Are 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
 
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
 
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
 

In order to progress, you need to let go. For coffee shop owners this is hard to do because so much on the initial business is based on personal work and many "firsts" that bring with them a sense of nostalgia and preciousness that can actually hold you back. The struggle to let go and allow for an evolution and progression might be behind why we can sometimes fail to see things through that we know are good but encounter some deeper personal resistance. 
On this Shift break episode we will be talking about why letting go is key for allowing the business to grow beyond the initial stages and into something even better. 
I help my clients move through these important stages of growth in our coaching sessions. If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now: 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Listen to related episodes: 
SHIFT BREAK: Making Minimum Viable Changes
SHIFT BREAK : Evolution Through Small Steps
Embrace the Fallout
 
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
 
 
 

Today, if you are a roaster, you need to be able to navigate a pretty wide range of options in equipment, varieties of coffees and processes, as well as being able to roast a wide range of styles from light, dark, blends and everywhere in between. 
 
Thankfully technological resources abound, but the fundamentals of taste and skill in knowing the coffee as a crafts person remains a cornerstone of what will enable you to truly roast well across the ever expanding spectrum of specialty coffee. 
 
Perhaps no professional knows this better than today's Rate of Rise guest, the legendary Willem Boot.
From a very early age Willem was intrigued and captured by coffee in every sense and all facets. He roasted his first batch of coffee at the age of 14 and after obtaining a masters-degree in business economics at the University of Amsterdam he co-owned his family’s specialty coffee business in The Netherlands. When Willem moved to the USA in 1998, he founded Boot Coffee and since then he advised coffee companies, coffee associations, development banks and governments around the world. As a consultant, Willem has been involved in coffee quality programs in countries like Ethiopia, Colombia and Honduras. He also designed extensive marketing programs for coffee industries in Ethiopia and El Salvador. In 2006, a dream was realized. He bought 5 ha. of land on the slopes of the Baru volcano in the Chiriqui province of Panama and planted 6,500 Geisha coffee trees. The farm was named "La Mula". In 2009, a second farm "Finca Sophia" was established at an elevation of 6,000 feet and up. In 2014 the natural processed La Mula won first place at the Best of Panama coffee competition. In 2015, La Mula maceration washed Geisha earned the Coffee of the Year recognition by Coffee Review with the highest ever score of 97 points. In 2016 his coffees won multiple Good Food awards and in 2017 Finca Sophia washed Geisha won first place at the Best of Panama. Willem is also a co-founder of a third farm in Panama: Finca La Cabra and he helped start a 400 hectare estate in western Ehiopia: Gesha Village Estate. Willem has extensive experience as a coffee roasting consultant and trainer. He wrote many articles about coffee roasting techniques in trade magazines. In addition, he educated hundreds of aspiring coffee professionals around the world in the sensory evaluation of coffee. In 2016 Willem started Boot Coffee Campus, a leading training institute located near San Francisco, CA, servicing the coffee industry in the entire Pacific region
 In this episode we talk with Willem about:
The course coffee has taken in his over 25 years of roasting and teaching,  What is fundamental for roasters to master Are processing methods in coffee a distraction or asset How can we make sure we are roasting a coffee well and not being blinded by the overwhelming process flavors? How can sample roasters help us develop our range? how should this generation of roasters focus their energies in order create consistently delicious coffee in this sea of options and variety.    Links:
 
www.bootcoffee.com 
Related episodes:
 

The Shift Lead position is one of those roles that is very misunderstood. Often a title given to baristas for whom the boss wants to retain or established as a position to police a shift that has problems that run deeper than merely following to standards, a shift lead can feel confused, forgotten about and conflicted due to a lack intentionality in establishing this role in the cafe. 
Today we are going to talk to owners and baristas alike. For owners, about how to determine is a lead role is needed, how to establish it well if it in fact is necessary, and what you need to follow through on ton resource and lead the lead well. For baristas, if you find yourself in this role, what are ways you can work well for the benefit of your barista peers, how can you make sure you get what you need from management, and what can this role do to help your career. 
There are a lot of thoughts here about this misunderstood and often misapplied role and I hope some of this really lands for you and helps you thrive. 
Links to related episodes:
420: Design Meaningful Roles in the Cafe 373 : The Owner’s Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness Professionalize, Specialize, Expand—How to Build Your Reputation and Career, No Matter What Your Role 392 : Cafe Management and the Importance of Team w/ Justin Duenne of Quills Coffee 383 : How to Train a Manager Leaner Teams, Better Results SHIFT BREAK : Candid Advice for Baristas, Managers, and Owners Build it for the Business, not the Person  
Want to run an amazing coffee shop?
Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.
Custom consulting for your unique business.
Schedule a free discovery call now!
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
 
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
 
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
 

A mentor to Danny Meyer once told him "Business is Problems". This was said to point out that challenges are not only inescapable, they are actually a part of the fabric of what we do. Unfortunately many of us are consider the problems of business as nothing more than a nuisance to be eliminated vs an opportunity to be embraced.
Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how and why we should embrace problems in the cafe and see them as blessings that allow us to grow our business and ourselves. 
Listen to these related Shift Break episodes next:
When Small Problems Grow Up Don't Waste Problems The Conversational Reality of Your Business : Thought on how to approach creative projects in the new year 044 : Navigating Mistakes and Failure : Best Practices for overcoming the problems we bring with us to the cafe  Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help you thrive in coffee?
Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation! 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com