Being a manager in coffee ain’t easy. There is no end to the number of different issues vying for your attention on any given day and it can seem like you are constantly trying to keep your head above water. Managers are the most important leaders in specialty retail and in order to do our best work we need to …
Sometimes we can give ourselves a pass when it comes to being the type of professional that we want employees to be. Practicing self-awareness is tricky when the work continually distracts you but it is necessary in order to not become a hypocrite at…
The beautiful thing about coffee is getting to explore the stories of all the wonderful individuals who make up the specialty community. Today we we do just that. In this series of four short interviews from the show floor at Coffee Fest Indianapolis we get to sit down with Stephen Garcia, General Manager at Commissary Barber & Barista, Indianapolis, IN / Andy and Sarah Hassler, …
“Like walking into your granny’s kitchen.” That’s the goal Andytown Coffee Roasters founders Lauren Crabbe and Michael McCrory have for what people experience when they walk into their shops in the Outer Sunset of San Fransisco. Starting as a single 600 sq ft shop, Andytown currently employs 49 people over 5 locations— four public-facing coffee shops and one private office cafe. …
Tracking staff performance can be difficult when you are putting out fires and being pulled in a thousand different directions. Things fall through the cracks and that means we miss growth opportunities with staff who end up feeling forgotten about…
Less Bitter, More Glitter. That is one of the mottos for Glitter Cat Barista, a new barista competition training program designed to give marginalized and underrepresented communities the resources to shine on the competition stage and address the problem of representation in the USBC. In it’s first year Glitter Cat has made substantial impact on the diversity seen in barista competitions …
Communication is the cornerstone of a harmonious team. Problem is that we tend to see things that need correction and don’t feel comfortable bringing them up to each other. Today we chat about how a mutual agreement between coworkers can help propel…
Decaf coffee has been much maligned over the years but it has been getting steadily better. What once was a joke amongst “serious” coffee nerds is now being focused on with the same care as its caffeinated counter part thanks to the efforts of companies like Swiss Water. But while the death of “Death before Decaf” is eminent (I hope) …
Expanding to a second shop is exciting but it can complicate things when the move to grow is not based on a solid foundation. Today we are chatting about some helpful things to consider before you decide to make the leap.
In a country torn by war one organization is literally sowing seeds of peace and hope through coffee. Mighty Peace Coffee is a next generation impact company working directly with coffee cooperatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo to end poverty and conflict, bring about economic transformation through community and capacity-building, and international advocacy. Today we get to talk with 3 …
