Cat & Cloud Podcast cover art

All Episodes

Cat & Cloud Podcast — 455 episodes

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Title
1

Camp Coffee Shop 2026: Jared's Takeaways

2

From Tech Industry to Coffee Industry: Meet Misha

3

Interview with Chris Baca: 10 Years of Cat & Cloud, Building a Business Culture, and Keeping Specialty Coffee Accessible

4

Interview with Rachel Keen, Green Buyer for Counter Culture Coffee - Ep# 458

5

Cafe Imports Source "Where Do We Go From Here" Panel hosted by Chris Baca - Ep# 456

6

Ping Pong Q&A with Cat & Cloud Owners, Chris Baca and Jared Truby - Ep# 455

7

From Soil to Service Part 1: Interview with Cat and Cloud Green Coffee Buyer, Dulce Venancio - Ep# 449

8

Build a Café - Ep# 448

9

The World of Coffee 2026: Observations, Stories, and Lots of Love for the Community of Coffee - Ep #447

10

Coffee and a Danish Barista Champion, Christopher Hoff - Ep# 446

11

Taking Care of the Pack with Leah Wolff in HR - Ep #445

12

What We Think Matters vs. What Actually Matters w/ Chris and Casey - Ep# 444

13

Coffee Futures Fund: Community and Support for Emerging Coffee Shop Owners - Ep# 443

14

Monday Morning Coffee Industry Check-in - Ep #442

15

Finding Joy in Every Season of Work: Part II - Ep# 441

16

Finding Joy in Every Season of Work: Part I - Ep # 440

17

On-Stage, Off-Stage: Why Owners Stand in Line (And Other Hospitality Go’s & No-Go’s) - Ep# 439

18

Specialty Coffee Ambassador: Meeting Guests Where They Are - Ep# 438

19

The Evolution of Leadership - From Barista to Business Owner - Ep#437

20

What Matters Most When Opening a Coffee Shop - Ep #436

21

Scaling Excellence Without Losing the Soul of Your Company

22

Belief Beats Compliance: Getting Team Buy-in on New Systems

23

Get Away From It All – How putting things down and stepping away can help

24

More Than One Way to Help – Different ways to assist those around you

25

Marc with a C – Helping our partners do what's right for them

26

Serving the Room – Hospitality in high-traffic environments

27

Care Over Perfection – The balance between craft and hospitality

28

Culture in Practice – The everyday actions that make things happen

29

Forward Thinking – Making the future easy to manage

30

The People Puzzle – Understanding your team in a new way

31

Defining Your Identity – branding in specialty coffee

32

Passionate Experience – How obsession and passion shape creative work

33

Core Value – What is at the heart of your decision

34

Substance over style – the hierarchy of branding in a cafe

35

Reap what you sow – Investing in your team is never a money loss

36

Craft & Automation – Mahlkönig’s tools that empower baristas and not replace them

37

Nine Years Down – keeping things interesting after years of growth

38

Crafting A Class – Working to take our coffee education to the next level

39

Bevel Coffee - Connections and community

40

Price of Fame – Do famous coffees help the rest of the industry

41

PM the Show – How maintaining your space improves everything

42

Pressure Makes Diamonds – Nick Terzulli's journey into making incredible things

43

Shoulders of Giants – How learning from others helps you grow

44

Philz Venture Cap – What happens when money takes over

45

A Monday Morning – Just chatting in the office

46

The Sweetness Spectrum – Tasting coffee is complex

47

Do As You Say – Making the promise match the experience

48

COE Auction Extravaganza – Bidding, Bets, and a busy morning in the roastery

49

What Is It Good For – When is a certification required or just extra.

50

Guest Who – Chatting with Benjamin Richardson

51

Just Say No – Telling guests what they don't want to hear

52

Questions Quick Fire – So much info in not a lot of time

53

Identifying What You Want – Growing your beliefs as your company grows

54

Source – Audience Q&A from 2025 SCA Expo

55

Source – A green buying panel from 2025 SCA Expo

56

Road to Owner – Chucks journey to help start Cat & Cloud

57

What to Sell When You're Selling – How to think about wholesale

58

Spaces Make Places – Chatting about how a space looks and why it draws people in

59

Eyes On the Prize – How showing up today helps you tomorrow

60

It's Not So Black and White – Big money in small business

61

The Guests That Arn't Your Guest – Showing hospitality to everyone you encounter

62

It's not you, It's Me – How changing consumer habits will save the economy

63

Automation of Craft – How much automation is too much

64

In the Business of Experiences – A legacy can be anything as long as it’s memorable.

65

Do Unto Others – Giving amazing service based on your own experience

66

Attention to Intention – Putting your focus on where it matters most

67

The Biggest Financial Impacts – Tips for having a business model that works

68

Do it Now – When is the right time to start your own thing

69

Training to Taste - Giving the tools to experience coffee

70

The C Market – Where coffee prices come from

71

Do Then Tell – How actions are more important than promises

72

Questions About Culture

73

The Seven Steps - Ushering guests into the rest of their day

74

Hierarchy of Competency – Knowing that you don't know

75

Pour Overs – A helpful overview

76

Cafe Finances – Tips for running a business that has healthy growth.

77

Finding the Fire – Keeping the spark going when your role changes as things grow

78

Jorge Madrigal | Origin and expertise

79

Foundational Knowledge – A great place to start when starting something new

80

Dulce Venancio | Green Coffee Team Lead

81

Keeping the Outcome Front of Mind – Helping you do your work no matter how removed you are

82

The Best for the Guest – What goes into the experiences you create

83

Business or Pleasure - How personal goals mix with your business

84

Do It for the Passion - Your work is more than the money

85

Show It - Doing what you believe not just being flashy

86

Learning From Others - Insights from industry history

87

Control the Environment - Setting your business apart and being intentional from end to end

88

Make Your Dreams Come True - Seizing the opportunities you have to create something special

89

History & Impact - Where Cat & Cloud came from and the impact it has had

90

The Best Friends Club - Coffee doing good

91

What Drives Your Team - Things that inspire and drive people with every day actions

92

Having the Courage to Do - How anyone can make an extraordinary experience

93

Cafes Impacting a Community - How a small space can make a big impact

94

Hospitality Refresher Part 2 - The small things make a big difference

95

Hospitality Refresher Part 1 - Reviewing the fundamentals of caring for your guest

96

Competition Influence - How competing has impacted specialty coffee

97

Business Cents - Thinking about the finances of your business

98

Lessons Learned - The importance of company culture as you grow

99

Charles Babinski - The perspective from nine years ago

100

Learning From Others - How outside industries give your perspective and help your growth

101

Giving Ownership - How empowering team members can make everything improve

102

How Do You Rank - Comparing your work with others in the industry.

103

You Are More Than Your Work - Having hobbies gives perspective

104

Communicating Your Needs - How expressing your desires leads to growth

105

Roasting Development - How much flavor is from roasting the coffee

106

Managing vs. Leading - Fostering creative thinking in your team

107

Cat & Cloud x Valor Coffee - Burn Out, Human Dignity, Tacos & Dunking

108

Cost and Value - What goes into what you pay

109

Conversation with Beeline

110

Making an Impact - How your guest are left feeling

111

Mail Bag

112

SCA Retrospective - The Hot Goss'

113

Progressing Your Career - The mindset for how to move forward

114

Importance of communication - Clearly expressing yourself in order to do things better

115

Coffee Processing - Are exotic processing methods good or hype

116

Conversation with Kent Bakke

117

Connecting the Dots - How experience and practice come together

118

Learning by Doing - Allowing yourself the room to grow

119

Hopes and Dreams

120

Doing The Right Thing - Being true to yourself for your guests and producers

121

Gaining Perspective - How getting away can help you see things differently

122

Fostering Leadership - Giving your team what they need to grow

123

Investing In Your Growth - How community and mentorship help you achieve goals.

124

Your Work Matters - The Importance of Confidence

125

Scoring Yourself - The Importance of Guest Feedback

126

Transitional Energy

127

Say It Without Saying It

128

Questions and Answers

129

Solve For X

130

Automagic

131

Visualize The Win

132

Why Do You Work Here?

133

Something To Someone – A Conversation with Steven Monti

134

Putting In The Work

135

Get Out There

136

Roses Are Red, Bottles Are Blue

137

Comfy Like Kobe

138

I'm A People Person

139

Taste of Victory

140

This Is The Way

141

A Matter of Perspective

142

The Lost Coffee of South Sudan

143

Partner Program

144

Path Of Least Resistance

145

Gold Star Experience

146

Waystar Royco

147

Spark It Up

148

The Enemy of My Enemy is Me

149

Michelangelo Was A Hot Boy

150

The Seven

151

Impact

152

Gone Fishing

153

Put Me In Coach

154

From Hondo With Love

155

Agree To Disagree

156

Behind The Curtain

157

Not Just A Chapek

158

A Mental Warmup

159

Push the Boundaries

160

Diamond Dogs

161

Step and Repeat

162

Feedback Loop

163

Inside & Out

164

Respect the Priority

165

Maximum Effort

166

F is for Family

167

The Culture Bus

168

The Hike - A short Story About Connection

169

Trust the Process

170

Think Outside the Bunn

171

Your Work is Art

172

Coffee is a Catalyst

173

Built For Forever

174

Fully Committed

175

Coming Back Soon

176

Creating with Empathy

177

Life Is What You Make It

178

Very Rich and Very Sad

179

Creating Is Life

180

The Spice of Life

181

You Can Still Surprise Yourself

182

The Tip Reflects The Work

183

Getting By With My Friends

184

Kaila Hattis Pt 2

185

Kaila Hattis Pt 1

186

Nick Hart Pt 2

187

Nick Hart Pt 1

188

A Bunch of Dudes Throwing Fits

189

What's the Why again?

190

Show-up

191

You Get What You Pay For

192

Graded On A Curve

193

A Good Place To Start

194

Maybe They're Born With It Maybe It's A Kirkland Thing

195

Hospitality Part 2

196

Hospitality Part 1

197

What Do You Even Do?

198

Two People and a Day

199

Sustainability?

200

Leaders Gotta Lead

201

Stoke My Fire

202

That's Not My Bag, Baby.

203

What Else Could You Do?

204

I'm Not Crying You're Crying

205

Or, You Could Do Better.

206

The Chuck

207

Peep Behind The Curtain

208

Learn By Doing

209

Calibrate The Brand

210

The Mission.

211

Q&A, Part 2 | Capital YOU

212

Q&A, Part 1 | Get to the Hopper!

213

Owning Your Gifts

214

Of Origin and Empathy

215

Brewing at Home: It's All Just Fun

216

Artpresso Design | Creating with Empathy & Designing Baca's Dream Tamper

217

Barista Competition Innovations: Constraints That Inspire Creativity

218

Extreme Power Ballers

219

4PM In The Afternoon

220

Coffee: By and for the Black Community | Cxffeeblack

221

Through Thick and Thin | The Best Friends Club Initiative

222

Wildfire Updates + Coffee for Everyone

223

It's Been A Minute

224

Community & Hope | Culture Coffee Bar

225

From Ristretto to S.O. Espresso

226

Community as a Catalyst

227

Communicating What You Believe

228

IN-Q — Transforming Pain Into Growth. Inquire Within

229

Time For Friends: Transcending Status

230

Processing Loss

231

Big Picture Refocus

232

But Mostly, Star Wars.

233

Live at The Crown | A Challenging Year, Owning Mistakes, Empathy For Everyone

234

Creating Space For Connection

235

What Motivates Your Team?

236

Interactive Spaces & Connecting to Culture

237

Making The Waves That Matter

238

Define Your Own Success

239

Are We Going Too Far?

240

Dealing with Disappointment

241

Are You A Good Boss?

242

Fair and Square | Oxymoron?

243

Why Americans Are Idiots With Money

244

Coffee & Alcohol | "Rally Like A Grownup."

245

Where Is Your Money Going?

246

Nick Vargas | Artist Talk

247

What Sucks About Your Job?

248

Why So Serious?

249

Alex Banayan Is Back | The Third Door World Tour

250

Be A Show Off | Basketball Camp Part 1

251

The San Franciscan Roaster Co. | Bill Kennedy

252

High Brow Coffee + Tea | Wholesale Partner Special!

253

How Will A Barista Earn A Living Wage?

254

Show Up, Feel Better. | Q & A

255

Letting Your Guard Down

256

Partner Forum Planning And Tips for Interviewers

257

More Alike Than Different

258

These Are My Favorite Podcasts

259

Caveman Coffee | Choose Yourself

260

Being Sued By Caterpillar Inc.

261

Navigating Business Relationships

262

Jonathan Raymond of Refound | Good Authority | Professional or Personal Growth - Why Choose?

263

You Are Your Most Valuable Asset | Chris Baca + Jared Truby

264

Guy Kawasaki | Wise Guy - Thinking For Yourself & Finding Common Ground

265

Alex Banayan | The Third Door | Rethink What Is Possible

266

Jeff Newton | Americano Mondays | Tips for Pursuing a Creative Career

267

Matt D'Avella | The Worst Thing You Can Do Is Nothing

268

Fire Academy to Coffee Director | Life Lessons from Big Jay of Hawthorn Coffee

269

Coffee Is Not The Most Interesting Thing About You | Julia Mayer of Dune Coffee Roasters

270

What Is Relationship Coffee? | Truby Origin Trip Takeaways

271

Time Management Tips + The Cultural Cost of Employee Turn Over | Q&A Pt. 2

272

Storytelling Tips + Barista Competitions | Q&A Pt. 1

273

How to Ask Busy People for Advice

274

How to Pitch an Idea to Your Boss

275

Sorry Dave Asprey

276

The Lonely Life | Taking Risks + Owner Mental Health

277

Reezy Resells | Food Stamps To Freedom

278

Leaders Are Readers

279

Generation Whatever | Final Riffs of 2018

280

Owner Communication | Owner Offsite, Planning for 2019

281

Communicating With Your Boss | 2018 Sprudgies

282

The Power of "No." | Dichotomies in Leadership

283

James Hoffmann - Square Mile Coffee | Equitable Green Buying, Tipping, Wholesale Coffee, Buyouts.

284

Leadership - Not Always What You Think

285

All About Espresso Machines

286

Enthusiasm + Energy: Destroy It Or Redirect It.

287

11th Hour Coffee | Finding Magic In The Ordinary

288

It Doesn't Have To Be Crazy At Work

289

All About Pour Over Coffee

290

There's Levels To This S**t | Skynet vs. John Connor

291

Thank You For Being A Friend | 2 Years Strong

292

Responsible Green Coffee Buying | C Market, Fair Trade, Differentials, Oh My!

293

Evan Morris, Calavera Coffee: From Dreams To Reality

294

Apologies, Off-Sites, Metrics of Success

295

I'm Done With This Beanie

296

What Makes A Business Special? | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

297

Feedback: Not Just For Your Microphone | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

298

Hotline Bling: Theft, Violence, and Music | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

299

We're Tired, We're Sorry: A Wholesale Story

300

Taking Care Of Yourself Is Part Of The Job | Joel Kronenberg - Provision Coffee

301

Kat Melheim | Coffee People Zine

302

Get Money Get Paid | How Much Money Should I Be Making?

303

The Disney Dilemma | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

304

How Do You Spend Your Money? | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

305

Nick McPherson, Juno Coffee Roasters | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

306

6 Week Project Cycle | Get Stuff Done, Basecamp Style

307

Valor Coffee | Excellence & Empathy

308

Creating Sustainable Careers In Coffee | Chuck's SCA Expo Talk Broken Down

309

My First SCA Expo Experience w/ Avocado Allie + Matthew Ryan

310

Brant Curtis Of Wilbur Curtis (Imagine That)

311

Pre SCA Edition: Breaking Into New Cultures, Imposter Syndrome, Not Being A Jerk

312

Direct Trade, Coffee Marketing | Employee/Farmer Disconnect

313

Being An Assistant To Discovery - Educational Preparation And Execution With Mckenzie Laird

314

Noah Namowicz - Cafe Imports | Being Of Service

315

Dana Andrews - Coffee Trader, InterAmerican Coffee | Green Coffee Magic | Technical Difficulties

316

Grace Lee | Specialty Coffee Superhero Origin Story

317

Nicely + Derek G Taylor - Menotti's Coffee Stop

318

Online Courtesy | Magical Business Forum Moments

319

On A Floor In A Room | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

320

Gross Profit Per Labor Dollar - How Can Baristas Earn More Money? | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

321

Starting Your Coffee Career? | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

322

How Old Is Too Old?

323

Happy New Year! | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

324

Turtle Talk. It's (Almost) Christmas. | Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast

325

A Journey Through Wholesale With Alex Marse aka @marsemallow

326

Is Geisha / Gesha Worth The Money + What's The Deal With Cash Flow?

327

Titles Are The Worst And Baca Thinks Baristas Suck

328

The Not So Special Thanksgiving Special

329

Wall Street Journal Says Coffee Market Is Saturated - We Say No.

330

Steeped Coffee - Now You Can Dunk More Than Just Donuts | Sorry For The Reverb Folks

331

Who Influenced Us Early On? | Light The Coffee Spark

332

Congratulations Jonathan and Samantha! | No Fresh Underwear

333

New York Coffee Festival Recap | Q&A Friday!

334

Maria Cleaveland - Hospitality : Coffee : Innovation

335

Tovara Salley + Talya Strader = Winning | National Coffee Day Podcast!

336

Are Secrets Really Worth Keeping?

337

Finding Your Sweet Spot

338

Seed to Cup? Something's Missing.

339

Whatever Man, We Just Want To Be Popular

340

All We Have Is Our Integrity | Breville Coffee Thinkers Summit, Diversifying Your Skill Set

341

Why Is My Boss So Lazy? Moving Away From The Bar | Self Imposed Guilt

342

Got Money? | Q&A

343

Internal Promotion | Finding The Right Fit, Discovering Hidden Talents, Encouragement

344

External Education, Is It Worth It?

345

Kevin Tudball - Designing For Coffee And So Much More

346

Roast Ride Along Minisode! Coffee Roasting + Talking = Fun

347

Multiroaster? Building a Wholesale Program on Solid Ground

348

What’s The Deal With Orientation?

349

Jared Truby Birthday Special!

350

Converting Consumers To Specialty Pt. 1 | Baca's SCA Expo Presentation

351

Creating & Sustaining an Engaging Culture pt 2.

352

Creating & Sustaining an Engaging Culture pt.1

353

We Just Keep On, Keepin On

354

Taylor Gresham - Evocation Coffee

355

We Blew It...

356

SCAA Then and SCA Now

357

T & T Music Factory - the Bureau Collective

358

McDonalds Came Hot

359

Dedication, Motivation, Activation

360

Our Brains Hurt

361

Modifying Techs for Different Drinks & Hard Guests

362

No Pedestal for Baristas

363

Why $20 and External Education

364

When did we know?

365

live @ LA Marzocco

366

High, Low & Give it Away?

367

Tips, Sharing, La Croix, Service Intentions

368

Anne Nylander & Sprudgies

369

Liz Chaiamericano

370

Scott Rao of Light

371

Thanksgiving, Sprudge Article

372

Hawthorn Coffee, San Diego

373

1st, 2nd, 3rd Waves

374

BTC By the Cup, Etc.

375

Hoppers, Grind Settings, Reducing Waste

376

Service, Authenticity, Failure, The Flu

377

Honduran Coffee Producer Benjamin Paz

378

Soft Open? Sure.

379

How do we benefit? Dial in?

380

French Press is Tight, 2nd wave isn't bad either

381

Jasper Wilde of Ritual Roasters

382

Training, Wholesale & a New Market

383

The World Famous Jen Apodaca

384

Roasting Approach, Location Approach, Final Approach...

385

Slate, Liberty Bar, Co-Ops, Brandon Paul Weaver

386

Age? Gesha? Lots of Chatter.

387

Manage That Time

388

Cold Brew? Bourdain? Ok...

389

Casual Q & A (semi short)

390

Tonx Pt 2. Man, Myth, Legend, Locol

391

Tonx, Man, Myth, Legend. Pt. 1

392

Social Media & Authenticity

393

Deaton Pigot-Take Flight Coffee

394

Interviews without Values are Poop to Us

395

Happy Birthday 1&1 + Q&A

396

TV's Trevor Corlett

397

Survey Review & Our Thoughts

398

Opposites Extract Collab

399

Bethany Hargrove of Barista in Portland

400

Cue & Aye!

401

Atlanta Debrief

402

Values, Philosophies and Blowing Off Steam

403

Reunion Q&A Santa Cruz

404

Jordan Barber

405

Barista Magazine: Ken & Sarah Pt 2

406

Barista Magazine Ken & Sarah

407

Sam Lewontin Pt. 3, Everyman Espresso, NY

408

Sam Lewontin, Everyman Espresso pt 2

409

Sam Lewontin, Everyman Espresso NY

410

Lug Nut, Fixed IT

411

Trubaca Q&A

412

El Tigre Pt 2

413

El Tigre Pt. 1

414

Guatemalan Bungalo Party

415

Part 2 | Chuck & JT Rekindle the Fire

416

JT and Chuck Get Wicked on the Mic

417

2015 Sprudgie Awards | We Cast Our Votes

418

Roman Leal of Evocation Coffee | Part 2

419

Flashback. Pilot Episode 001: When Jerry met Geo | Horrible Audio Quailty

420

Roman Leal of Evocation Coffee | Part 1

421

Almost a Q&A Part 2 | We Actually Answer Questions!

422

Almost a Q&A Part 1 + Limited Elixir Holliday Collab

423

Q&A Car Cast! | We Drive Dangerously So You Don't Have To

424

Part 4 | Elixir Specialty Coffee | Nick Griffith & Lee Safar

425

Part 3 | Elixir Specialty Coffee | Nick Griffith & Lee Safar

426

Barista Film Part 2 | Digging Behind the Documentary

427

Barista Film | Digging Behind the Documentary

428

Part 2 | Elixir Specialty Coffee | Nick Griffith & Lee Safar

429

Elixir Specialty Coffee | Nick Griffith & Lee Safar | Part 1

430

Chris & Amy Elliot | Slayer Espresso + Baratza Grinders | Husband & Wife Power Team

431

Verve Coffee Roasters | Charles Jack, Sr. Financial Analyst

432

World Barista Champ | Pete Licata and USBC Head Judge Holly Bastin | roastratings.com Part 2

433

Chromatic Coffee's Cris Mendoza Part 2

434

Chromatic Coffee's Cris Mendoza Part 1

435

Acaia Scales Marketing, Social Media, & Sponsorship Guru - Jenn Chen | BGA Camp 2015

436

Q&A With Trubaca | Investing in Employees, Blends, Building a Coffee Community

437

Castle Coffe Roasters Julia Mayer Part 3

438

Castle Coffe Roasters Julia Mayer Part 2

439

Kyle Ramage of Mahlkönig USA On A Bus!

440

Castle Coffe Roasters Julia Mayer Part 1

441

Frank La Part Copa Vida Go 2 of 2

442

Frank La of Copa Vida Go Part 1 of 2

443

Equator Coffee | Alexandra LittleJohn | Part 3 of 3

444

Equator Coffee | Alexandra LittleJohn | Part 2 of 3

445

Julia Mayer Turns The Tables And Interviews Us!

446

Equator Coffee | Alexandra LittleJohn | Part 1 of 3

447

Truby & Baca Q&A Session Part 2

448

Brent Fortune Part 3 of 3 - Coffee at TED, Coffee Common, Mentorship

449

Truby and Baca Answer Your Questions

450

Brent Fortune - USBC Behind the Scenes Part 2 of 3

451

Brent Fortune Barista Competitions Galore! Part 1 of 3

452

Truby and Baca Talk Espresso Brewing Philosophy and Scales

453

U.S. Barista Champion Charles Babinski - Part 3 of 3

454

U.S. Barista Champion Charles Babinski - Part 2 of 3

455

U.S. Barista Champion Charles Babinski - Part 1 of 3