SHIFT BREAK : It’s OK to Have Reasonable Tolerances

Chris DeferioPodcast

The pursuit of excellence drives us to create very stringent standards for our coffee, service, and businesses. There is nothing wrong with this, except for when it becomes so narrow that it chokes out the life of the café, pushes people away and…

SHIFT BREAK: How to Approach Holiday Hospitality

Chris DeferioPodcast

The holiday rush is in full swing and many of us (most of us) are trying our best to just survive the frenzy. Shops are full of customers as well as friends and visiting family of our customers and it is a great time to not just survive the craziness…

446: Building a People-First Coffee Tech Culture w/ Jason “Double J” Johnson, Black Rabbit Service Co.

Chris DeferioCareer, Coffee Tech, Leadership, Podcast

As the tools we use to craft coffee multiply, so too does the need for companies to keep the machines running well. Service techs are an essential segment of the industry and in an industry based on hospitality and service, it is important that a tech is able to not just diagnose and fix machines, but is able to work …

SHIFT BREAK: We Need Inconvenient Coffee

Chris DeferioPodcast

We are obsessed with innovation that tends to solve problems that are increasingly inconsequential to the customer. A race to put coffee in virtually any context all in the name of convenience may bring coffee to more people, but what does it do to…

444: Founder Friday! w/ Julia Peixoto Peters of Peixoto Coffee, Arizona

Chris DeferioBusiness, Founder Friday, Podcast, Supply Chain

Between the moment a farmer hands over their crop, to the moment a barista hands a customer a cup of that same coffee, there is a complex system that will either bring hope and equity to those most vulnerable, or reinforce the hopelessness that is too common with those who cultivate the coffee we love. Today’s guest grew up seeing …

SHIFT BREAK: The Weight of Relationships

Chris DeferioPodcast

The coffee shop environment is filled with more that just coffee. It is a swirling mix of emotions, thoughts, expectations, communication, action, interpretation of actions, and everything in between. In other words…Relationships. The hardest part…