435 : Encore! It’s OK to be the Boss, w/ Bruce Tulgan

Chris DeferioManagement, Podcast

Fully stepping into your authority is an act of service. Your position as a leader is meant to serve those you lead. But if you do not think it is ok to be the boss, you will simply be a bad an ineffective boss vs one that takes a strong, caring, and clear approach to the position. One of my …

434 : Founder Friday | Leo Ferreira | Puzzle Coffee Shop, Tanzania!

Chris DeferioFounder Friday, Podcast, Supply Chain

Tanzania is well known the world over for growing and exporting wonderful and iconic coffees. Mostly every coffee professional has enjoyed a Tanzania Peaberry coffee. Yet, much like most coffee farming countries, Tanzanias internal consumption nd availability of great roasted coffee to locals was limited at the very best. Enter Leo Ferreira and Puzzle Coffee Shop. For the past 8 …

RoR #26 : How to Approach Roasting Fine Robusta w/ Cleia Junqueira | Consultant + Q-Robusta Grader

Chris DeferioPodcast, Roasting

  Fine robusta has been the hot topic of conversation in the specialty industry these last few years and for good reason. What was once relegated to the sidelines has been showing up on offering sheets and coffee menus of some of the world’s best importers and roasters. With this in mind, knowing how to approach and roast this species …

433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty

Chris DeferioBusiness, Hospitality, Leadership, Management, Podcast

How do I find loyal staff and win loyal customers? This question and many like it has been asked thousands of times as we deal with incredible amounts of turn over in our shops. We have tried tricks, incentives, benefits of all kinds but they never seem to quite do the trick. Same with customers, we offer deal, discounts, and …

432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee

Chris DeferioBusiness, Management, Podcast

It is a new era is specialty retail coffee. Great coffee can be found very easily in most major cities and people are making better coffee at home than they ever have. Add to this the ubiquity of RTD (Ready to Drink) coffee and a wide variety of convenience products. The retail coffee shop, with baristas making drinks and serving …

431: An Exercise in Listening to Coffee w/ Alexander Roach of Boycott Coffee + The Alphabet Book of Coffee

Chris DeferioPodcast

As professionals, our communication about coffee is only as good as our ability to truly tune in to the message that emerges from the many different voices that give shape to the story of coffee. In the noisy world innovating ways to connect people with meaningful narratives is crucial. Today we are going to talk with someone whose coffee subscription …

430 : Embracing “Unreasonable Hospitality” w/ Will Guidara | Thank You NYC + The Welcome Conference

Chris DeferioBusiness, Leadership, Podcast

Coffee is all about human connection. That we get to create both the beverage and the experience people have when enjoying it is at once a great responsibility, a joy, and an opportunity to change lives through our hospitality in each interaction. In our daily pursuit of providing this special moment we must start with a dedication to our craft …

RoR #25 : Training Up the Next Generation of Roasters w/ Steve Lee of Pocket Knife Consulting + Linea Caffe

Chris DeferioPodcast, Roasting

Effectively training up an apprentice roaster is key not only to your succession, the growth of your business, and the consistency of your quality, -but providing a great learning environment and approach to education and coaching will push the whole industry forward. The key is to not only deliver processes, rules, and systems, but also opportunity for contribution, conversation, and …

SPECIAL! Part 2 | Coffee Fest Anaheim 2023 w/ Steve Chang of Copa Vida Cafe and Jon Ferguson of Coffee Tech Central

Chris DeferioPodcast

    Welcome to Part 2 of the Coffee Fest live on the show floor interviews from Anaheim, CA 2023! This time we are starting off with an interview with Steve Chang, Founder of Copa Vida Cafe! Currently the owner of Copa Vida CafĂ© (10 locations) as well as it’s sister roasting company, True Beans Coffee Roasters and it’s parent, …

SPECIAL! Part 1| Coffee Fest Anaheim 2023 w/ Kenneth Davids and Madeleine Longoria Garcia

Chris DeferioPodcast

  Welcome to Part 1 of the Coffee Fest live on the show floor interviews from Anaheim, CA 2023! It was a pleasure to kick things of with coffee legend and returning guest, Kenneth Davids! Kenneth has been involved with coffee since the early 1970s and has published three books on coffee, including the influential Home Roasting: Romance and Revival, now …