APC 059: Caffeine Crawl in Madison Wisconsin
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
Release Date: 12/30/2016
ACP 073: Visiting Trade Shows & Making Friends
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
Big tips for walking trade show events: 1) Bring snacks, like nuts 2) Bring water 3) Know why you’re there 4) Seek out hashtags ahead of time 5) Volunteer at the event, for an exhibitor, or at an after party Time 1:40 Zack Lyman (ZackLyman.com Instagram @ZachLymanPodcast)), lover of Hot Wings and Dr. Pepper, employee at DiedrichRoasters.com I met Zack in Portland, “I walked up to you and I was like Steve Martin” because I was wearing a 7-piece all white bunny suit 2:50 How can people get the most out of a trade show? Zach Lyman says: (1) know what you’re looking for. Or let me know...
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ACP 072: Elika Luvs Onyx Coffee Lab
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
February 2019 visited this gem of a cafe in Arkansas. Just a little nerd chat about coffee. Coffee fermentation under pressure??? Elika: "Oh, man. Titles are hard. To give you an idea. "USBrC '19 V3.6" is my presentation title. Granja La Esperanza, Cerro Azul I also realized I said Shayne and I switched positions 3.5 years ago, but it was 1.5 years. I'm a liar." "Never settle for good enough" Visit www.OnyxCoffeeLab.com and thank me later!
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ACP 071: Drinking Aquavit in Norway
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
A magician walks into a bar in Trondheim, Norway, orders an Aquavit cocktail, twirls his mustache, then meets me, Levi. "Let’s talk Aquavit…… the Nordic spirit" 1:40 Bargician! 2:20 0:50 Aquavit ‘water of life’ 2:40 potato based spirit, barrels of aquavit 5:35 Joe Patrick, @Bargician Recipe time Iced Aquavit Cocktail 4 oz cold coffee 0.5 oz Cointreau 1 oz Aquavit Ice Hot Aquavit Cocktail 0.75 oz Cointreau 1 oz Aquavit 6 oz drip coffee Orange zest 7:40 taste it as it’s cooling 9:05 tea? Coffee? Roast? Special thanks to Joe Patrick, @Bargician on Instagram and Danny Blaha @DLBlaha....
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ACP 070: Try This Hot Mojito?
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
ACP 070: Try This Hot Mojito? TIME 1:00 Wine needs to air-e-ate? Mellow out? What’s that word! Some interesting notes from Decanter.com: Clément Robert MS, head sommelier and wine buyer at 28-50 wine bars, recommends giving a wine 60 minutes, on average, to aerate. ‘If you were, for example, in the presence of a fragile wine, like an old vintage bottle, then I would not risk aerating it too much. I would probably open it in advance and try to find the right type of glass.’ In the case of most white wines, Steven Spurrier says, ‘because they don’t have tannins, the...
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ACP 069: Derrick Wessels is a Renaissance (Coffee) Man
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
Derrick Wessels (Instagram @Coffee_Derrick) owner of Beagle Coffee in Colorado. This episode was recorded on a pullout couch the day before US Coffee Champs Denver, December 2018. “This is a podcast, we talk about coffee” why have I never used this before? Its so simple =] TIME 1:00 how can you balance so many things like travel and work and roasting coffee? 1) Derrick uses 4 different calendars to manage his life 2) He pre-packs his daily needs in his car. Always plan to finish all your daily tasks before you return home again. Driving home to grab something you forgot kills your...
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ACP 068: Seasonal Flavors for Barista Magazine
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
"Seasonal Flavors" From Barista Magazine Oct/Nov 2018 Issue 1: Barista Magazine October/November 2018 article, some additional fun flavor combinations that go with coffee specifically 2: Way easier (fast, cheap) to experiment with beverage, than to bake/create a new food item 3: Use the Flavor Bible if you want to combine ingredients 4: If you do work with a bakery, ask them what seasonal items will be coming out, or how to pair with their offerings. Maybe you can cross train people at the bakery? Maybe the chef will let you come work with them and develop new ideas? Or maybe they want to be...
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ACP 067: Small Pantry, Big Menu
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
Inspired by the “Cooking With Syrups” article in May 2018 issue of Fresh Cup Magazine, this episode is really about leveraging ingredients to pair items together and sell a tasty treat along with that delicious beverage.
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ACP 066: Lee Carter is in the Hot Seat
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
Last weekend Lee Carter and his dog Zero drove over to my place in Madison, Wisconsin to chat for a bit. We saw some dive bars. We had some bar food. Then when we spent an hour relaxing and talking about beverages. Lee Carter is the co-founder of Five Watt and Big Watt Beverage Company in Minneapolis, MN. Enjoy the chat between 3 friends. Recipe - The Year of the Chai: 2 oz Oregon Chai Extra Spicy Super Concentrate, 2 oz carrot juice, 6 oz Oatly Barista Edition, steam together, top with ground all spice. For pictures of the mystery location, visit or @Audio_cafe on...
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ACP 065: King of the Hill, a Barista TNT
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
Join myself and Andrew Gomez as we chat about a home barista party. Recorded suuuper late at night after many enjoyable alcoholic beverages. At the intro I mention this cold brew cocktail: “The Cold Brew Rock-Slider” 0.5 oz DaVinci Gourmet Cold Brew Concentrate, 0.5 chocolate liqueur, 1 oz Baileys Almond Liqueur, 3 oz Oatly, ice. ‘King of the Hill’ barista event: tickets are $1, all the tickets go into a hat, 2 names are drawn, the winning pour is on ‘the hill’ as the current ‘King of the Hill,’ 2 new challengers come up and pour, if the King of the Hill gets 1 of the 3 votes...
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ACP 064: Making Cold Brew Coffee Cocktails
The Audio Cafe: for Baristas, Coffeehouses, Coffee Lovers
Real time recording as my friends come over and create some fun coffee cocktails. This miiiiiiiight get silly.....
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Do you go on cafe or bar crawls? This fall in Madison, Wisonsin I got to do the CaffeineCrawl.com event, big event with a lot of logistics and moving parts. Lots to organize, great exposure for local cafes and super fun for the local community. For me as an attendee it was a great chance to see the whole local scene at one time, stopping into shops that I haven’t been into before.
This episode can be thought of as an extension of the Yelp (episode 54) podcast we did, making a special event and getting people out to see you.
TIME 2:55 : Local coverage…
Sadie from CaffeineCrawl.com took to getting local coverage for JBCCoffeeRoasters.com and all other cafes, reaching out to all media know about. It was important to have a killer after party to end the whole day off on a great note as a whole group of coffee crawlers, all were invited.
TIME 3:35 : Levi’s comments…
If you’re going to setup an event you may not be able to get TV coverage, but what about at least setting the event up on Facebook/Yelp/CouchSurfing/MeetUp/Twitter #YourTown/other sites like local paper? This is SO IMPORTANT.
Think of the next thing, what is the next event you want to promote? The Crawl had a TNT, then after the TNT a local bar to grab drinks? Make sure to leave off with a “Thank you for visiting our cafe and don’t forget about our next event…”
TIME 4:45 : Cafe-Collaboration…
When planning make your first goal to have shops shine in the way they feel comfortable and proud of and is unique to them. Make sure that the samples being served are totally delicious and wonderful, also test to make sure the team can make multiple samples back-to-back-to-back.
TIME 6:00 : Levi’s comments…
Work ON your business not just IN your business.
As Sadie talks to cafes she learns about different roasters who want to have a small pop-up because they don’t have a local retail location. Like JBC, hosting a party because they don’t have retail space at this time, it was perfect for them to open the roastery and welcome people in.
Serve a drink you’re proud of and make sure the other spots aren’t serving that drink as well.
TIME 7:10 : Putting together routes...
Pair businesses that work together well, could be a few surprises along the way, especially little snacks to eat. Craft beverages and foods fit together. This is a chance to meet the makers in the background of the local community.
TIME 8:40 : Levi’s comments…
If you make an event will there be an over-arching theme such as “Coffee in the spring” or “Coffee drinks made without dairy” or “Meet the makers”? Think about what you can do that is super special. What about 1980’s theme, each location playing their favorite ‘80s tunes all day?
TIME 9:50 : How to prepare, catering to customers…
You need 10-15 minutes of great intro to your cafe for people to listen to, you will repeat this the whole day so practice it!
Bridge the gap of enthusiast and pro barista. Meet customers where they are at, whether you’re a hip 4th wave or a Java Jive Cafe with free wifi.
Good chance for someone to see what the community can offer them, this is a chance for people to pick their new favorite cafe in town.
Encourage guests to ask if someone has questions. Leave plenty of time for the community to chat. Important for everyone to feel comfortable and welcome.
TIME 12:50 : Levi’s comments…
This is a great chance for you to make an elevator speech for your business, from there stretch it to a 10 minute pitch.
TIME 14:10 : Columbus Ohio recap…
Old and New contrast, things that don’t seem to fit can be special, even for their contrast. Some may even say that “the obstacle IS the way.”
TIME 16:35 : Levi’s comments…
You can make cafes that don’t really ‘fit together’ and make it work, collaborate, rising tide raises all ships.
That next weekend after an event like this be sure to have a post-event hangout for all the staff(s) who worked the event, re-give a briefing of your speech and best practices you noticed. After all, this event is as much for you as it is for the people who are attending it.
TIME 17:30 : How can you be a great cafe to work with?…
Being accessible is key. Check your email, be alert when serving drinks.
TIME 19:35 : Levi’s comments…
Prepare, have everything setup the day or week before so you can attend to last minute details and also be promoting the actual event the day before, rather then not at all after the fact.
Have fun. Check in with everyone face to face that is working the event to see if they are alright. Appreciate them, make sure they are supported. Drink the drinks they are working on and provide feedback like “I think people are really going to like this part of your presentation.”
TIME 21:10 : National drink trends…
Nitro coffee on Draft, bridging the gap between craft beer and coffee. Impressive baristas working hard to master niches. Coffee/Cocktails (like gin with coffee).
TIME 24:00 : Levi’s comments…
Get out there and host something special for everyone. Don’t be afraid to try something totally different. Contact other businesses in your area and get something special going, who knows where it will lead to =]
MUSIC : The Dirty Moogs, Clause. Podington Bear, Now Son. Podington Bear, Movin On Up. Podington Bear, Now Son.