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Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business

Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business

Valerian Hrala

Prepare to immerse yourself in the intricate world of coffee, encompassing every facet from the coffee bean to establishing a flourishing business. Whether your ambition is to start a coffee business or to nurture your own coffee roastery, Valerian’s Podcast is here to help to inspire you. Our podcast features in-depth discussions with industry leaders, designed to impart essential insights into coffee cultivation, coffee roasting mastery, precision brewing, and, most importantly, the critical steps on how to start a profitable coffee business successfully. Our distinguished guests, revered for their contributions to the coffee industry, generously share their wealth of knowledge, exclusive strategies, and well-guarded trade secrets, offering you a comprehensive toolkit to not only initiate but also expand your coffee roasting enterprise. Whether you are a dedicated coffee enthusiast with aspirations of transforming your love for coffee into a profitable venture or a budding coffee entrepreneur poised to embark on this exhilarating journey, Valerian’s Podcast is your ultimate reservoir of industry knowledge and motivation. Elevate your coffee aspirations and embark on this immersive journey. Savor your favorite brew, find a comfortable space, and kickstart your voyage toward coffee business triumph. Tune in to Valerian’s Podcast now and let it be your guiding light on the path to realizing your coffee business dreams!
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Top 10 Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Anya and Matt are prime examples of the American dream: they had a dream and they invested all their time, money, and energy to make it a reality. The result has enriched the L.A. coffee culture and brought a unidog to the bottom of the cup. As a European living in the USA, I have always admired the entrepreneurial spirit of my American friends, and I love the unidog. If you do not know what a unidolg is, don't worry, we talk about it in the podcast.

In this episode, we talked about the process of starting a cafe, and Anya and Matt explain why was it important for them to roast their own coffee. Spoiler alert--it was not the cost.

I feel very proud that Anya and Matt implemented the roasting model that works so well for my European business, Green Plantation, where we roast two days a week and spend the rest of the time on sales, marketing, or resting. Guess where they learned about it? Yes, it was in this podcast.

Anya and Matt love to travel and during these travels, they have developed special relations with farmers in coffee lands, bringing them even closer to their coffee and enabling them to relay the story of each coffee in real depth for their customers.

Meeting Anya and Matt was truly amazing and we clicked right away. I'm only sorry that it took me such a long time to bring their wisdom and energy to this podcast. But here it is and I hope you will enjoy listening as much as we did recording it.

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Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business - I want to be a professional coffee taster...

I want to be a professional coffee taster...

Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business

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11/05/19 • 62 min

In this episode, we interview Rick Appleton (Boston) and Abdulrahman Qurban (Saudi Arabia), students attending the SCA Sensory class at Boot Coffee Campus. What were the hardest parts of the course and what was the ultimate takeaway?

Valerian tests Rick's newly acquired ability to evaluate coffee by applying his skills tasting his skin contact natural wine. How does Rick do?

What is the difference between the SCA Sensory class and the Q Grader class?

All these questions are answered in this episode.

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In this show, I interview Gleason Jones from Opelika, Alabama and founder of Minimalist Coffee. Minimalist Coffee is the brand new venture of this 25-year-old entrepreneurial gentleman, addressing the need for a good, freshly roasted coffee with associated charity contributions in the local community.

Gleason dared to violate my rule for the size of the coffee roaster. How's that working for him? Can he make a sustainable business with a 2 kg roaster?

Gleason owns a former school bus that he retrofitted for mobile coffee sales. The coffee bus drew not only my attention, but also that of the local young coffee lovers hovering around it. Gleason reveals his first triumphs and mistakes selling coffee this way.

Can social media influencers help sell your coffee? Gleason shares his experience.

Finally, Gleason reviews what it was like studying at Boot Coffee Campus and Valerian describes a new course for coffee entrepreneurs.

Enjoy the show.

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Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business - This is how you build a coffee drive through, with Darren Spicer, Clutch Coffee Bar
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05/05/21 • 61 min

In this podcast I interviewed Darren Spicer of Clutch Coffee Bar, a fast-growing coffee drive-through chain.

Drive-throughs are a bit foreign to me. I've never used one and personally I consume coffee differently, but most Americans welcome a good coffee on the long commute to work.

I am always intrigued about the unknown, so I was very happy when Darren's path crossed with mine in this podcast episode.

Like a good drive-through, Darren is a very composed, efficient and to-the-point fellow. If you are playing with the idea of starting a coffee drive-through, there is plenty of gold for you in this episode.

We will discuss the best locations for a successful coffee drive-through, the way to make your coffee service efficient, and the most popular and profitable beverages in your café or coffee drive-through. We also touch on the advantages and disadvantages of a franchise model, and whether a coffee drive-through would work in Europe.

Enjoy this episode!

CLUTCH COFFEE BAR WEBSITE
CLUTCH COFFEE BAR INSTAGRAM
CLUTCH COFFEE BAR FACEBOOK

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Talking with former student of mine Sebastian Ramirez about his tips for new coffee shop entrepreneurs.

Cafetal Coffee is a Specialty Coffee shop located near ASU in Tempe, Arizona. offering coffee from their family farm in Colombia and serving Latin infused breakfast and lunch!

Sebastian was very generous and shared a lot of useful tips for everybody who is thinking to open a cafe or a coffee shop.

00:00 Introducing Sebastian Ramirez Cafetal Coffee
00:48 Sebastian's First Coffee Experience
02:14 Is taking a Q Grader course a good way to start a coffee shop? Why does Sebastian work with coffee
07:08 Why start a coffee shop? The foundation story of Cafetal Coffee.
12:30 About Cafetal Coffee's coffee shop menu. Do sweet drinks, QR codes, and pastries belong to a specialty coffee shop?
25:50 Tips for how to buy a coffee shop?
31:30 The largest expenses when running a coffee shop
37:13 How do you find baristas and employees for your coffee shop?
39:25 Profit sharing, employee-owned coffee shop, and other "crazy" ideas for keeping your coffee shop staff happy and motivated.
51:12 Does it make sense for a coffee shop to roast its coffee? What is the ideal size of a coffee roaster for a coffee shop?
1:06:05 what other products except coffee make a coffee shop profitable?
1:13:11 ❤️ for Ukraine
1:15:58 What margins should one use to make a coffee shop profitable?
1:20:30 The Best coffee in the world is ...
1:25:26 What is the most profitable food product in a restaurant?

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Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business - From a humble coffee trailer to five coffee shops with Sameer Shah - Voyager Coffee
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06/12/23 • 84 min

In this episode, Sameer takes us back to the origins of Voyager Coffee, a concept born out of a desire to revitalize their city, San Jose. As natives of the area, Sameer and his partner Lauren noticed a trend of friends and acquaintances leaving for more exciting urban centers. Determined to inject vibrancy into their hometown, they envisioned Voyager Coffee as a catalyst for community-building and a hub of creativity. With a humble beginning as a coffee cart, Sameer and Lauren's dream gradually took shape. They poured their hearts and souls into their venture, starting with a meager three-kilo San Franciscan roaster in a garage. Despite the challenges they faced and the financial hurdles along the way, their dedication to quality and the farm-to-cup experience propelled them forward. Join Sameer as he discusses the pivotal moment when Voyager Coffee transitioned from a multi-roaster model to establishing their own roastery and chain of five coffee shops. Discover the motivation behind this bold move, driven by a desire to be closer to the source and have a direct impact on the coffee they served. Witness their journey of growth, from a small-scale operation to a multi-location coffee empire, with beautifully designed cafes that have become iconic in the South Bay area. Through this conversation, you'll gain insights into the intricacies of running both a cafe and a roastery under one umbrella. Sameer shares the challenges they faced, the complexities of managing hierarchical lines of communication, and the financial considerations that come with expanding their business. Learn from their experiences and discover valuable lessons for aspiring coffee entrepreneurs. If you're passionate about specialty coffee, community-building, or the entrepreneurial spirit, this podcast episode is a must-listen. Course: Sameer Shah will be sharing his extensive knowledge on "How to Start a Coffee Shop" as a course instructor at the esteemed Boot Coffee campus. Gain valuable insights and practical tips from Sameer, who has firsthand experience in building and growing Voyager Coffee. Don't miss the opportunity to learn from a true industry expert and take your coffee shop dreams to new heights. Ready to be captivated? Tune in to the podcast now and unlock the secrets to building a thriving coffee business with Sameer Shah of Voyager Coffee.

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Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business - #17 Coffee Direct Trade from El Salvador to Europe with Rodolfo Ruffatti Battle
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01/05/16 • 53 min

Rodolfo has a great job. In winter he oversees harvest and processing of coffee and in spring and summer he helps European coffee roasters to get hold of his best lots. We will talk about his amazing job, discuss the quality of coffee at origin, but also the European coffee scene.
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In this episode Willem Boot talks about the past and future of Central American coffee, reveals the hidden gem of the region and describes how to start a successful coffee farm.
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Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business - Mom 'n 'em Coffee Brings Specialty Coffee to Cincinnati, OH - Start Coffee Business Podcast
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01/29/24 • 67 min

In this episode, Austin and Colin from Mom and M Coffee share their journey from San Francisco to Cincinnati and the challenges they faced in opening their coffee shop. They discuss their decision to start roasting their own coffee and the process of choosing a roaster. They also talk about the benefits of owning their real estate and the foreign concepts they introduced in Cincinnati. Finally, they explain their coffee offerings and how they make decisions for their portfolio. In this conversation, Valerian and Colleen discuss various aspects of the coffee business, including coffee blends and single origins, the cost and quality of espresso, tips for starting a food business, the importance of passion and entrepreneurship, and future plans for both the business and the host. Takeaways
  • Coffee blends and single origins offer different flavor profiles and can be used in various brewing methods.
  • The cost of espresso can be higher due to the quality of the beans and the complexity of the blend.
  • Passion and entrepreneurship are essential for success in the food industry.
  • Starting a food business requires hard work, dedication, and a focus on financial management.
  • Future plans for the business include consistent quality, growth, and bridging the gap between farmers and consumers.
  • Consider to own your real estate when launching a business
Chapters 00:00 Introduction and First Coffee Memories 03:14 From San Francisco to Cincinnati 06:34 Starting Mom and M Coffee 09:30 Challenges of Opening Mom and M Coffee 13:42 Joining the Mom and M Coffee Team 16:05 Starting with an Airstream Trailer 19:32 Introducing Foreign Concepts in Cincinnati 21:55 The Offerings at Mom and M Coffee 25:12 The Decision to Start Roasting 29:15 Learning to Roast and Choosing a Roaster 36:19 The Benefits of Owning Real Estate 45:01 Roasting Portfolio and Decision-Making 45:30 Introduction to Coffee Blends and Single Origins 50:00 The Cost and Quality of Espresso 52:06 Tips for Starting a Food Business 56:23 The Importance of Passion and Entrepreneurship 01:01:07 Future Plans for the Business 01:04:01 Future Plans for the Host 01:07:21 Where to Find Coffees.me
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For this episode we asked you, our listeners, to send us questions - and to plug your business.

You sent thought provoking questions which challenged us -- Valerian and Marcus to think outside the box, share their experiences, and call upon their combined experience to come up with possible answers.

We have tasted and drank a lot of coffee, and listener Katie asks us to name the single best cup of coffee each of us has ever had, in our entire lives. Did we choose one of the award winning geshas we often roast and cup, or some experimental process, or something else entirely?

Tune in and hear our opinions of the optimal location to open a roaster / retail store. Valerian shares an interesting challenge he faced at Green Plantation opening in a beautiful rural setting.

Other listeners asked about ideal roast profiles which leads Marcus to encourage all roasters to become confident cuppers and to be rigorous about tracking their data. Our listen John Bergman from Hacienda Coffee had a very specific question about sample roasting on a fluid bed roasters versus a drum roaster, and our hosts discuss the challenges and possible solutions to roasting on machines that utilize different thermodynamic principles.

Marcus and Valerian also discuss how they approach blends and Marcus challenges Valerian to try a new technique. Does it matter if coffees are blended with vastly different physical characteristics? Will a blend taste good if you give up some control in the name of consistency? Is the cupping table the best place for product development and QC, or should you use other brew methods too?

We hopee you enjoy hearing from listeners and our feedback. Maybe in the future we’ll answer your question.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business have?

Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business currently has 78 episodes available.

What topics does Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business cover?

The podcast is about House, Bar, Coffee, Podcasts, Farming, Arts, Business, Industry and Food.

What is the most popular episode on Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business?

The episode title 'Starting a cafe empire and why should you start to roast your own coffee - with Sandra and Joey from Pink Owl, California' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business?

The average episode length on Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business is 59 minutes.

How often are episodes of Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business released?

Episodes of Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business are typically released every 19 days, 23 hours.

When was the first episode of Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business?

The first episode of Coffee is ME - Start Your Coffee Business was released on Apr 27, 2015.

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