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 metrics that are more surface than substance and the result is that we create an experience that misses the mark when it comes to making real connections and, I would argue, misses the …
274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster”
U.S. Coffee in Good Spirits champion Matt Foster is here to guide you to specialty drink success! We all want to have a menu that includes unique signature beverages that we love making and customers love drinking. Trouble is, making creative specialty drinks that in your shop that are delicious, practical, AND profitable is not an easy task. It …
254 : Holiday Hospitality Part 2
This is an especially important time of the year for coffee shops. The holidays are where our hospitality skills are put to the ultimate test. Â In the midst of COVID lockdowns and never before seen strains on small businesses, the holidays are a great opportunity for us to more deeply establish our commitment to each other and to …
218 : An Expert’s Guide to Elevating your Cold Brew w/ Matt Bushman of Alto Cold Brew
Not all bold brew is created equal! The difference between offering your customers an average experience vs an outstanding one comes down to basics, attention to detail, creativity, and a craft mindset toward the liquid juggernaut that is cold brew. As the cold brew season ramps up we need to elevate our cold brew offerings and boy do we have …
201 : Igniting your Curiosity w/ Cody Gough
Curiosity is the reason we got into coffee. As we go on in our careers though, the world we thought was so big becomes much smaller. We learn the rules, the ropes, and we get busy with the business of coffee often at the expense of being fascinated by it. Today we will be discussing the importance of curiosity …
195 : Organizing the Community w/ Espresso State of Mind founders Javier Alvarez and Joseph W. Gonzalez
Getting your local coffee community to come together can be a powerful way to build networks, friendships, and careers. This is what today’s guests have made their mission. Javier Alvarez and Joseph W. Gonzalez are long time professional baristas who founded Espresso State of Mindin 2017 to give their fellow baristas a platform to showcase talents, meet one another, …
189 : Talking Tea w/ Jeffery Champeau of Rishi Tea and Botanicals
While tea is a staple menu item in virtually every coffee bar around the world, our understanding of tea can be fairly limited and the selection of teas often stagnates over the years. Much of this maybe because we don’t know where to start with tea and need some guidance in our approach and in setting up a dynamic tea …
176 : Harnessing Emotions at Work w/ Andrea Hoban of Oji Life Lab
We will always have our emotions with us at work. In the fast-paced customer facing work of coffee retail we can cycle through a whole host of emotions in just one shift and not all of them are helpful to the situations we find ourselves in. One way we have tried to deal with it is by denying …
168 : How to get the Best from your Coffee w/ WBC 2013 Champ, Pete Licata
Dialing in your coffee can be hit or miss. There are so many factors to consider for the extremely large variety of coffees we are tasked with brewing. Methods, recipes, and philosophies abound yet still the complexity of brewing remains a barrier to getting the best from your coffee. That is the problem that todays guest, 2013 WBC Champ, Pete …
167 : Handing off the Shift : 4 Tips to Avoid Chaos
The most confusing moments in the day are when the shifts switch. People finishing tasks, gathering items to leave, and others coming in tying to get caught up to speed, get situated, and find their place. It can get chaotic and customers are often left wondering which one of the haired people behind the bar is going to notice that …
