In our quest for success in the coffee shop business we embrace the busy and frenetic pace that is assumed as necessary to bring us fulfillment. As we work we can often lose touch with the thing that drove our passion in the beginning. While scaling and ambition have many benefits, there always remains the need to connect with deep …
The world of professional specialty coffee can be both inspiring and intimidating with many customers and new baristas feeling lost in the mix of rules, methods, and information. How can we create a great experience for guests and staff who all really want to enjoy coffee and find their place in it? Today we get to learn from the story …
Tenacity, humility, and curiosity. Whether you are working as a barista, competing, opening your own shop and roastery, these are character traits that are essential for success. Today we are talking with someone whose long career in coffee has been characterized by these values. We are chatting with the new U.S. Barista Champion, Isaiah Sheese! Isaiah Sheese is the Owner of …
Out of all the reasons that may be contributing to customers either loving or avoiding your shop, the quality of your drink beverages actually ranks pretty high. The trouble is, we all tend to assume that we have pretty much achieved a level of quality that “should” be sufficient to attract and keep customers and in that assumption we are …
Creating in depth, engaging, and ultimately helpful educational content is no easy task. Today the number of options we have for gear, techniques, and the coffee itself are daunting to say the least. It is this vast field of options that energizes the home enthusiast to passionately pursue coffee and for some they get into it so much, they turn …
How we perceive something impacts the decisions we make when buying or selling it. That in turn shapes consumers perceptions and then the market. Tea has long been a part of the coffeehouse, but has suffered from a severe lack of attention and intentionality. As a result the way we represent tea in many cafes has a negative impact …
Photography and coffee seem to just go together. There is something about creating moments and capturing moments that is a common drive where we can see the beauty in the mundane and get a whole new appreciation for our work and world. Today we are going to chat with of one of our industries great photographers, Rob Sykes. Rob Sykes …
Every day on bars across the globe baristas are using milk to create amazing drinks. For almost as long as coffee has been served in coffee shops, milk has been a staple ingredient. Yet, in spite of its ubiquity in coffee culture, we tend to focus (understandably) more on understanding and crafting coffee than we do the milk that today …
We all are susceptible to the siren song of trying to fix a place or a person to our own detriment. In the moment it seems like the right move and there is a sense higher calling an nobility pushing us forward. The reality though is that for certain cafes and bosses, there is no reformation only resistance and a …
It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway – first impressions matter a lot! When a customer enters your business the person that sets the tone for them is usually the barista working the cash register. With this fact in mind you’d think most bars would then invest heavily in training and equipping their staff to work this …
