Valor Coffee Podcast
A podcast and video show hosted by seasoned coffee pros and Valor Coffee founders Ethan Rivers, Ross Walters and Riley Westbrook where we discuss coffee, starting and running a business, and the specialty coffee industry.
Episodes
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep169
Is automation helping specialty coffee or slowly replacing the craft that made people fall in love with it in the first place? We explore the growing trend of pre batched espresso, automated milk systems, and what these changes could mean for coffee shops, baristas, ...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep168
Running a coffee shop in 2026 is more complicated than just making great coffee. In this episode, we talk about the real challenges behind raising prices, understanding margins, and building a coffee business that can actually survive long term. From labor and cost of go...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep167
Most people get into coffee because they love coffee, but what keeps you in it is learning how to truly care for people. In this episode, we sit down with our baristas to talk honestly about burnout, difficult guests, and what it takes to sustain great hospitality over t...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep166
We just got back from World of Coffee in San Diego and honestly tried to answer a simple question: was it actually worth it? This episode is an honest breakdown of what the event is really like, from walking the show floor and testing gear to connecting with producers, p...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep165
What happened to third-wave coffee? Today, we unpack how the industry has shifted: from purist pour-overs and strict “rules” to flavored lattes, matcha, and a reality that most cafés are just elevated versions of Starbucks. We talk through our own coffee shop journey sin...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep164
We’ve signed five commercial leases since starting Valor Coffee in 2016 – and we’ve learned (painfully) how lease terms can make or break a café. In this episode, we break down the lease language that confuses everybody (CAM/TI, gross vs. triple net, rent escalators, com...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep163
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Caleb and Haley from Makers Café (Pensacola, FL) are in the studio, and we’re talking about what happens when you keep trying new thing...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep162
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
What does it actually take to take a coffee shop from six figures to seven? In this episode, we break down the ceilings most growing ca...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep161
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Your coffee shop can survive a lot, but these three mistakes will straight-up bury you if you make them early. In this episode of the V...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep160
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Back to back episodes? Happy Holidays. This final episode of the year is coming at you from our new HQ and looking back on a big 2025 f...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep159
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
The podcast is BACK. This episode was recorded on a 7-hour drive through the mountains of Colombia with Valor, Lucas Cuadros (Unblended...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep158
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Third-wave coffee and drive-thrus don’t usually mix, so we rolled across Atlanta to see how our friends at Sequel Coffee Co. are pullin...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep157
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Join us behind the scenes of Valor Coffee's 2025 Nashville owners retreat where we get honest about our biggest weaknesses as leaders a...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep156
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Time to spill the beans on our labor costs from the first five months of 2025 – we're showing you the actual numbers from both Valor lo...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep155
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Most coffee shops struggle to grow, but we share how we went from $87 pop-up days to cafés on track for $1M each. We talk about the sim...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep154
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
In this week's episode, the boys take a little detour to Starbucks before hitting the studio. They try out a lineup of Starbucks drinks...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep153
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Ethan and Ross answer the age old café question: Why is there always a line out the door at your coffee shop? Is that a good thing or a...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep152
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
We had the pleasure of welcoming our longtime friend and mentor, Roy Keely, to the podcast this week. Roy played a pivotal role in help...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep151
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
Which brew method reigns supreme? In this episode, we go full coffee nerd and build the ultimate coffee brewing methods tier list. From...
JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more: https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep150
Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!
This week we dove in on how we would build out a home brew setup, with three tiers of budget – $500, $2,000, and UNLIMITED. Equipment i...
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