Signature beverages and seasonal drinks are a huge part of what rounds out the cafe menu and, if done well, can make you stand out for all the right reason.

Of course, it stands to reason, that if they are done not so well, you stand out for the wrong reasons. How can you go beyond TikTok trends and the latest viral sensations and create something that is both good for your culture and good for business?

Today on Shift Break we are talking about how you can approach creative drink making in a way that is fun, sustainable, and meaningful. Your customers want excellence and excellence is born from intentionality. Let's make some great drinks!

Related episodes:

• 274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster”
• 432 : How to Win in Specialty Retail Coffee
• 276 : Six Ideas for Increasing your Revenue
• 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides

HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Coffee. We love it so much! However, in spite of our love for coffee, we have all been burned by taking in just a little too much caffeine as we sip, cup, and enjoy. As technology and methods around decaf coffee have improved and evolved, so too has the demand for having more control over the stimulating effects of the beverage.

This is where Caffeine Control Coffee comes in to educate us on caffeine and provide options for people who want to love coffee but stave off the less desirable impacts of it.

Beginning in 2003 as a barista in college, Pete Licata fell in love with both coffee and the industry behind it. As he worked in various cafes he took on leadership positions as well as roasting he also became deeply involved in competitions leading to his 2x US Championship titles and finally winning WBC in 2013.

Pete is a longtime coach and mentor for world class baristas and founder of Licata Coffee Consulting. In 2019 he took on R+D and eventually the role of Head of Coffee work in Australia for Nomad Coffee Group

In 2025 Pete, along with his wife Maria, opened Caffeine Control Coffee. A business focused on bringing clarity on caffeine in coffee with a focus on wellness to the masses with products designed to control how much and when their customers drink caffeine.

We discuss:

• The Evolution of Decaf Coffee
• Quality and Consumer / Professional Perception of Decaf
• Intentionality in Coffee Blending
• The Rise of Conscious Consumption and Health
• The Issue of Traceability in Decaf Coffee
• Exploring Caffeine's Impact on Health
• Navigating Caffeine Levels
• Brewing Techniques for Decaf
• Eye Opening Caffeine Content Myths
• What The Future Holds For Caffeine Awareness

Links:

https://caffeinecontrol.coffee/

@caffeinecontrol.coffee

Related episodes:

• 154: Decoding Decaf w/ Mike Stumpf of Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee
• 168 : How to get the Best from your Coffee w/ WBC 2013 Champ, Pete Licata
• 350 : The Physics of Filter Coffee w/ Jonathan Gagné
• 003: The Role of Mentorship in Specialty Coffee w/ Pete Licata
• 452: Championing the Customer Experience in Coffee w/ 3x SA Barista Champion, Winston Douglas Thomas of Cedar Coffee

KEYS TO THE SHOP OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!

www.arto.com

Visit @artobrick

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!

www.pacificfoodservice.com

In the busy cafe we tend to want to power through the work and in the process we rush the customer. The average cafe guest can feel as though they are simply being handled or herded instead of welcomed and served.

Today on Shift Break we are talking about how and why we need to fight against the urge to rush the customer and what it looks like to help them truly connect with and experience our unique offerings and hospitality.

Related episodes:

• 340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
• Ignoring the Customer
• Are You Open?
• Slow is Fast?
• Speed is not the Goal

HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Everybody leaves. That is the constant of working in coffee shops. How they leave and how you respond to their absence for their good, the team that remains and for your business is a question of how much intentionality you bring to the inevitable departure of staff.

Today we are going to explain how we can view turn-over and use it to better our leadership, to streamline and make more effective operations, and to improve our hiring practices in the future.

INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related Episodes:

• SHIFT BREAK! Bottling Your Best Barista
• 301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence
• 278 : Making great Hiring Decisions
• 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop

Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!

www.arto.com

Visit @artobrick

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!

www.pacificfoodservice.com

It's Founder Friday! And this one is quite special. Nori and Tin Burmudez founded Corridor Flow in the Fall of 2019 with community and relationship as their central mission. I was lucky enough to work with them in their beginning stages and for the last almost six years, their commitment to their vision have shown itself in their deeply rooted and instantly resonant presence in their Lomita community.

Nori comes from the world of healthcare and nursing, and Tin from the world of engineering and construction. Mix this together with their heart for service and passion for coffee as a vehicle to inspire gathering, and you have all the right components to build what is the perfect combination of function and hospitality in Corridor Flow.

Today we explore their 6 year journey cultivating their business and growing themselves in the process. Using coffee, radical hospitality, and a steady focus on serving people, Corridor Flow has embodied so many of the things that make a coffee shop more than just a sum of its parts. Something that opens doors for many possibilities through he flow of people and coffee.

Please enjoy this wonderful Founder Friday episode!

Links:

Instagram: @corridor_flow

www.corridorflow.com

Related episodes:

• 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
• 225: Encore Founder Friday! Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC
• 177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia
• 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
• 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka

INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!

www.arto.com

Visit @artobrick

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!

www.pacificfoodservice.com

Great things happen when we plug into community and open ourselves up to the learning process. This is especially true when you begin your own business and apply those things you have learned from your experiences. It opens up entirely new levels.

Today on this 36th episode of Rate of Rise, brought to you by our friends at Mill City Roasters, we are talking with Alex Jacob of Vital Coffee Roasters.

Alex Jacob is the founder of Vital Coffee Roasters, Head Roaster for Ascension Coffee Roasters, and a 2025 Fellow with The Chain Collaborative. He holds two master's degrees in Public Health and Public Administration and is a licensed Q Grader. His passion for coffee began as a hobby and developed into positions as a barista and roasting assistant during graduate school. It was a desire to combine his passions of community impact and coffee that eventually led him to change careers, leaving the world of healthcare. Alex's aspirations had him seeking ways to better understand the coffee supply chain and how to use coffee as a method of impact. This path of continuous learning and community-focused development is what fuels his work today.

We learn:

• Alex' start as a hobbyist during graduate school
• How his background in biochemistry influenced his approach to coffee roasting
• Why building confidence in roasting comes from positive reinforcement and experience
• Why community interaction is crucial for business success in the coffee industry.
• Behind Vital Coffee Roasters: a mission to impact the community positively
• Importance of being open to learning and new ideas.
• How he adapted his roasting style to meet consumer preferences
• Why networking and face-to-face interactions are key to building relationships in business
• The importance of continuous growth and learning are essential for success in entrepreneurship.

Links:

Related episodes:

• Founder Friday! w/ Rachel Lehman of Crema Coffee Roasters in Nashville, TN
• 452: Championing the Customer Experience in Coffee w/ 3x SA Barista Champion, Winston Douglas Thomas of Cedar Coffee
• RoR #25 : Training Up the Next Generation of Roasters w/ Steve Lee of Pocket Knife Consulting + Linea Caffe
• ROR #24 : Perspectives on Roasting for Espresso w/ Jaroslav Tuček of Doubleshot, Czech Republic

Our Sponsor for Rate of Rise!

www.millcityroasters.com

Training employees remains one of the central tasks of cafe ownership and management. Rather than training from a central standard and source that has been thoughtfully crafted to onboard and develop the skills of the barista to meet specific standards, there is a temptation to want to lean on training by osmosis or by committee where the new hire is simply assigned a shift schedule and told they will learn from the other experienced employees. What you end up with is a lot of mixed messages, confusion, disengagement and inconsistencies.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why training by committee, or by simply having the existing staff "show them the ropes" is a bad idea and what we should be doing instead.

Related episodes:

• SHIFT BREAK! Holding Baristas (and Yourself!) Accountable
• 533: Principles of Quality Control
• SHIFT BREAK! The Necessary Death of the Superstar Barista
• SHIFT BREAK: The Best Way for Every Shop to Train Baristas

HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING!

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to out sponsors!

Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

If you are like a lot of owners or managers you might find the idea of reminding and repeating yourself to be at the top of the "most annoying things I should not have to do" list. To a degree you are right. But only partly. It really depends on how those tools are used and how you approach your own role in the cafe

Today we are going to explore how the tools of repetition and reminders are actually forms of guidance that, in their right place, can bring about the kind of change and excellence you want to see in the coffee shop.

In fact, it seems that the key to leadership in the cafe starts with reminding and repeating to ourselves the truth that we are using our position to serve and facilitate. These elements are critical a solid coffee business.

Related Episodes:

• Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick
• Being the Point of Clarity
• Don't Waste Problems

INTERESTED IN 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING?

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!

www.arto.com

Visit @artobrick

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!

www.pacificfoodservice.com