THE 23RD STEP Episode 31 Part 2 Bird Rock Coffee Roasters 2212 Carmel Valley Rd. Del Mar, CA This week we are back at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters for part two. We had an in depth discussion about the coffee business, and what it takes to open a new store. Why do some startups fail while others succeed? Finding an under-served area is the first criteria, but making sure they maintain the high level of quality, both in coffee and staff, is equally as important. Their goal is to represent the commitment they have to farmers, their individual stories, and transmitting this consistently to each customer as well. What makes Bird Rock the best it can be? According to Jeff it’s keeping the coffee culture consistent and tight, utilizing, while nurturing the skill sets of each employee, and promoting from within. As an example, Jacob,(one of our interviewees this week) is now the green buyer and began as a barista at Bird Rock. Bird Rock's philosophy on training baristas is much more extensive than simply teaching how to do a pour over. Your barista will know what goes on behind each cup of coffee they hand you, from origin, to farmers, to roaster. Their goal is to have any questions you have about coffee explained by the person that makes your coffee.The information gleaned at Bird Rock Coffee Roasters will be knowledge for you wherever you may get your next cup of coffee. You will learn how Jeff survived riding up a mountain in Columbia with armed guards just to see the farm of an award winning coffee. Did he really understand who and what FARC was? We learned about coffee being the one constant in Columbia, a country sometimes filled with turmoil and strife. In Maritza's telenovela, "coffee loving Latino meets coffee loving gringo". Only after they were married would Maritza find out it was her "crazy gringo" that went up the mountain. Jacob's one wish was both poignant, and funny! Is knowing how to speak Spanish really that important in the coffee industry? While traveling with a band the lesson he learned that would be best practiced by all of us. This week in the first ever episode of Free Refills we talk by phone with Jeff Taylor to help us clarify some questions left hanging on Geisha coffee from part one. What is the most that you would pay for a cup of coffee? And just what is the 23rd step? After listening to this weeks episode, if you have a question you want us to follow up with, please email us at contact@crosscountrycoffeeroadshow.com, and we will try to make that happen! https://crosscountrycoffeeroadshow.com/