Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com Interview with Chris Baca: 10 Years of Cat & Cloud, Building Culture, and Keeping Specialty Coffee Accessible Reflecting on nearing Cat & Cloud’s 10-year milestone, Chris Baca emphasizes valuing day-to-day progress over anniversaries while acknowledging the achievement of surviving a life in small business and growing from a single store with eight team members to four cafes and over 100 staff, plus a brand in go...
Jul 27
46 min
Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com Two Big Ideas: Café Ownership Reality Check & Why Coffee Can't Be What It's Not Episode Summary Chris Baca and Jared Truby dig into Casey's prompt "What's the big idea?" with a pair of hot takes on the state of specialty coffee. Jared argues the classic neighborhood café — unless run by one or two deeply committed owners — is essentially dead in the current economy, sparking a wider conversation about living wages, m...
Jul 20
44 min
Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Episode Summary Chris Baca and Jared Truby sit down with Rachel Keen, green coffee buyer at Counter Culture Coffee, about her winding path into the role — from barista in New Zealand to farms in Costa Rica and Colombia, teaching English in Japan, and an educator job that turned into green buying. They cover the real, day-to-day of the job, how global events impact coffee prices, stories about big characters in the cof...
Jul 13
1 hr 4 min
Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Part 2: Cafe Imports Source "Where Do We Go From Here" Panel hosted by Chris Baca - Ep# 457 Welcome to Part 2 of this live panel discussion hosted by Cafe Imports recorded at the World of Coffee, in San Diego, CA. Cat & Cloud’s own Chris Baca moderates This Source Event as the conversation shifts into new territory. We jump back in with Jeremy Lyman (Birch Coffee) in Brooklyn, Laila Ghambari (Guilder C...
Jul 7
41 min
Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Cafe Imports Source "Where Do We Go From Here" Panel hosted by Chris Baca Episode Summary Recorded live at the World of Coffee, in San Diego, CA, Cafe Imports hosts the second SOURCE event, a panel discussion focused on “Where do we go from here?” - where business leaders in coffee tackle issues facing the industry today. Cat & Cloud’s own, Chris Baca moderates a candid conversation with cafe and roasting busi...
Jun 29
42 min
Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ Ping Pong Q&A with Cat & Cloud Owners, Chris Baca and Jared Truby - Ep# 455 Jared, Casey, and Chris try (and mostly fail) to follow the rules of a structured Ping Pong Q&A — but the detours are the good stuff. After a bird interrupts the studio, they dig into how basketball and skateboarding have shaped how they lead and work, touching on confidence, enrollment, team culture, and knowing your role. The con...
Jun 22
1 hr 5 min
CAT & CLOUD PODCAST Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ From Soil to Service Part 6: Interview with Cat & Cloud Head of Retail, Herman Madrigal - Ep# 454 EPISODE SUMMARY Jared and Chris sit down with Herman Madrigal, Head of Retail and one of Cat & Cloud's longest-tenured team members at eight and a half years. They trace his unlikely path from championship cell phone salesperson to yoga teacher to barista to retail leader, and the specific moments — a TL who knew ...
Jun 15
1 hr 5 min
Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ From Soil to Service Part 5: Interview with Cat & Cloud Head of Wholesale and Partner Program, Marc Gessler (contd)- Ep# 453 In this episode, the team continues the conversation with Marc to explore what great hospitality actually looks like in practice—from cafés to wholesale partnerships. They cover the importance of core promises over rigid SOPs, creating memorable guest experiences, building authentic rel...
Jun 8
28 min
Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ From Soil to Service Part 4: Interview with Cat & Cloud Head of Wholesale and Partner Program, Marc Gessler - Ep# 452 Chris and Jared sit down to trace Marc’s full arc — from a listener and fan of the Cat & Cloud podcast, to becoming the Partner Program's Wholesale Director. From a six-page job application essay, his powerful first glimpse of a teal coffee bag, and what it actually means for him to take c...
Jun 1
48 min
Cat & Cloud Podcast Cat & Cloud Coffee www.catandcloud.com/ From Soil to Service Part 3: Coffee Roasting Field Trip and Interview with Cat & Cloud Roastery Leaders continued - Ep# 451 Chris Baca continues his interview with the Head of Coffee Roasting at Cat & Cloud, Jonson Henry and Connor Doyle. What starts as an honest look at the operational pressures of running a roastery — labor challenges, unpredictable wholesale orders, the stress of being the last line o...
May 25
1 hr 6 min
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