How do you think about success and your coffee shop? For many people it boils down to financial metrics only which, in the long run, may not bring the kind of fulfillment the we seek when we first set out to begin in coffee. In fact without some more nuanced goals and metrics for success, even the profitability will and …
334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace
Working in customer a customer facing environment like a coffee shop means that we get to serve and experience all different types of people in the course fo the day. While so many of our interaction are within the expected range of emotions, there are times where things get pretty tense and situations escalate past where we are comfortable. What …
332: Founder Friday! w/ Iman Kusumaputra & Putri Yulandari of Kopikalyan, Jakarta, Indonesia
On this Founder Friday we go to Jakarta, Indonesia to explore the story of Kopikalyan! This ground breaking roaster retailer sources,  roasts, and serves exclusively Indonesian Coffees. Innovation, Hospitality, and relationships are what drive this fantastic company and in today’s episode we get to talk to Iman and Putri, two of the co-founders about how they took this business from idea, to reality Iman & …
330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
Good intentions are nice and all, but how do you make sure that you can actually deliver on your ideals for quality, service, and beyond? The answer is systems. Unfortunately many shops are organizationally flying by the seat of their pants and delivering an inconsistent and frustrating experience. A well developed set of processes, lists, and procedures will give consistency …
328 : Relationships and Resiliency w/ Xavier Alexander of Metric Coffee
Navigating our way through the coffee industry can be a daunting task. Especially if you want to make a difference. As you go you are confronted with many challenges that threaten your stability and test both your resolve and faith in the reasons you began the journey in the first place. Through it all though, there is a kind of …
327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
Today we get to talk with a pillar and foundational member of the specialty coffee community, Phuong Tran of Lava Java For 20 years now Phuong Tran has been the owner/operator of the famed coffee shop, Lava Java in Ridgefield Washington. There she discovered a passion for coffee that led her to not only craft the shop into a beacon …
326 : A Conversation w/ Alan Jarrar of 50%Arabica and Jokes Aside Coffee!
Everyone’s favorite coffee culture commentator and meme lord, Alan Jarrar is in the house! If you are like me and follow the account “50%Arabica” on Instagram, you know full well that there is more to the funny content than what you see on the surface. There is a world of professional coffee experience and philosophy that fuels not just …
321 : Marketing and Moral Injury w/ Josh Tarlo of Kiss the Hippo
How we market our values to potential employees and the consumer is often at odds with what we actually do. In a past episode we called this the “Values – Action Gap”. Question is, what is the result of this gap on the people who sign on with us and believe our marketing only to discover it was insincere at …
320 Founder Friday! w/ Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale, Florence, Italy
It’s Founder Friday! Today we are going to be exploring the story of a ground breaking and standard setting Italian coffee roaster and cafe. Our guest on this last Founder Friday of 2021 is the founder of Caffe Artigianale, Francesco Sanapo! From learning the classic Italian way of coffee working for his fathers coffee bar at age 14 – to discovering …
317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
What happens when we allow ourselves to get caught up in comparing ourselves and our businesses to those around us? The simple answer is that we stifle growth and kill off the joy of what we have and who we are doing it all for. Way back in 2017 we released an episode called “Death by Comparison” that explores this …
