Cat & Cloud Podcast

Welcome back to the Cat & Cloud Podcast! This week y’all are getting a blast from the past, we’re revisiting a previous episode where Chris and Jared were answering some questions about how to progress in the coffee industry. Whether that means in your career or your life at large, the guys shed some life on finding your vision for growth and working toward it. Do you have a question you’ve be...

Welcome back to the Cat & Cloud podcast! This week we’re back with Chris and Jared as they discuss how important common language is within an organization. Creating a lexicon that is universally understood in all aspects of your company can be a huge challenge, whether you’re talking about content creation or roast profiles. Listen to the full episode to hear their thoughts on how creating uni...

Welcome back to the Cat & Cloud podcast and to White Ivy, Jared's long-lost email address! On this weeks podcast the guys are tackling a pretty huge question, what is your favorite processing method, and why. Listen to the full episode to hear some of their hot takes on why washed processing is the elite form, and why natural processes are sometimes more overwhelming than they are enjoyab...

Welcome back to the Cat & Cloud podcast! A couple of months ago Chris and our Marketing Team Leader Michael took a trip out to Seattle to hang out with La Marzocco. While there they had the chance to connect with Kent Bakke, their former CEO turned Board Member, and figured they might as well record a podcast! This week's episode is all coffee and espresso geekery; a chat between two frie...

Welcome back to the Cat & Cloud podcast! This week Chris, Jared, and Charles are covering a whole host of topics from prepping for SCA, the creativity that goes into connecting all the arms of our company, and even reminiscing on some of the weird and wild times of early Verve. Listen to this week's episode to hear how they’ve built their Quality Check skills and the work that goes into n...

We’re throwing it all the way back to 2021 for this weeks episode. This week we are revisiting a freshly quarantined Chris and Jared as they discuss the natural eb and flow of progress. Listen to this weeks episode for some perspective on taking that first step into the unknown and how we learn and grow even in the failures. Do you have a question you’ve been dying to ask us? Do you wanna hear us...

The Cat & Cloud podcast is connecting to the source. In this week's episode, Jared goes full Neo, talking about his experience test roasting for SCA, and shares his insight on intuitive forecasting. We also hear about the dream for a Cat & Cloud Beach Bodega, Chris’s East Coast-inspired limited menu surf shop. And finally, Chris gets to ask Chuck the big question; how do you live your...

Welcome to the very first Cat & Cloud After-Hours Podcast 😎 Chris, Charles, and Jared are staying late tonight to chat about all the different facets of our business and industry. From the coffee buying experience online and in store, to the complicated world of Green Buying… even speculating on what might be our own brand stereotypes. Listen to this week's episode to hear from all three...

Welcome back to the Cat & Cloud Podcast! This week Chris and Jared have each returned from some pretty spectacular visits with our coffee partners, and are hoping on to sharing both their experiences and the insights they’re bringing home with them. Listen to the full episode to hear the guys share their unique experiences in Costa Mesa with the Steelehead team, and Seattle at the La Marzocco...

This week on the podcast is a Rerun from 2021 where Chris Jared and Charles Talk about ways to grow leaders in your company, how hands off or hands on to be, and what they had been discovering as owners of a small business. If you have heard this before or if you are listening for the first time it is a great conversation with a lot of insight. Enjoy! Do you have a question you’ve been dying to as...

Mr. Miyagi, Yoda, Jaime Escalante - all great mentors that helped those around them improve and become better. On this weeks episode of the podcast Chris asks Chuck about this same idea, as Charles is apart of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO). EO is a community of people in similar entrepreneurial roles, who gather together helping one another with perspectives and real experience. For Charles...

Well, Chuck didn’t come back this week…. But maybe next week! We’ll hold the space for him. This week on the podcast Jared gives us his full list of dream cafe improvements; from new grinders for improved product management to speakers that play the podcast in the bathrooms. And Chris dives in on how to help people find their opportunities at work, and build the confidence we all need to see our w...

Chuck is back on the podcast (maybe forever??)! This week on the Cat & Cloud podcast the whole ownership team sat down to discuss the importance of guest feedback. In an industry like hospitality, it can be hard to measure the success of guest interactions through all of our cafes, all of the time. But is it more important to hear from the folks who see us every day, or the folks who’ve come i...

Have you ever been old people tired? It’s rough sometimes. But fatigue or not Chris and Jared are here sharing some thoughts on the year ahead, changes coming to the podcast, even their opinions on moving to New York! Listen to the full episode for some reflections on the Vintage Chris Baca, the downfalls of “transitional time,” and ideal workspaces. Do you have a question you’ve been dying to ask...

The boys are back and bringing high-level looks at the difference between “you” and “your work,” and communicating our values through a feeling rather than the scripted words. Chris shares a bit about his experience diving back in with the marketing team, and Jared reflects on the changes currently in process with our retail leadership teams. Listen to the full episode to hear their thoughts on th...

Welcome back to the Cat & Cloud podcast! This week Chris and Jared are keeping things fresh and are hopping on Instagram live to answer the questions that come through from our followers, and the end result is pretty awesome! Y’all sent out a wide variety of questions; from how to progress in your own coffee journeys, to their dream origin trips or cafe cities, and even get into the nitty-grit...

It’s 2024 y’all! First podcast of the new year, which means it’s time for some self-reflection, and intention setting in the upcoming year. The start of a year is always a good time to look back on all the things we’ve learned, about our business and about our team. Listen to the full episode to hear Chris and Jared discuss, discovering team members hidden talents and passions through interviewing...

Let’s talk automation. This week on the podcast Chris and Jared discuss Chris’s recent visit to the La Marzocco innovation gallery tour. La Marzocco has been touring the country with Mahlkonig showing off some of their newest innovations, and one of them has made quite a stir. The E80W Grind by Sync is the latest in automation technology, syncing with your espresso machine so that it can adjust it...

Happy holidays y’all! We’re coming to the end of the year and that means setting new intentions, company goals, and clearing out the grey areas. This week on the podcast Chris and Jared sit down to discuss their roles as Cat & Cloud owners. It can be hard to define your job as an owner of a company, but gaining clarity into your duties, writing out your own job description, and building intent...

The podcast crew is on the move! We are recording from the car this week, and we have a captive interviewee, Marc Gessler. Chris takes this opportunity to ask his favorite question, “Why do you work here?” Whether it’s being able to contribute to and grow the community he grew up in or seeking those moments of connection, Marc shares his passion for working in the service of others. Listen to the...

We’ve got a guest on the pod this week! Chris sits down with our good friend and designer of the Dialed Tamper Steven Monti. Steven, the owner of Artpresso Designs, got his start in the coffee industry by trying to solve the problems faced by professional baristas every day and has since created some of our all-time favorite bar tools. This week, the two are hopping on the mic to discuss his creat...

We’re nearing the end of 2023 and a new year calls for new challenges, new directions and new ideas. This week Chris and Jared are sharing their what they’re looking forward to in 2024; Jared is excited for both his eyes to work, Chris wants his left knee to stop hurting, and they’re both stoked for the opportunity to let go of what is and work for what could be. Listen to the full episode to hear...

The guys are on their own this week! Chris and Jared sit at the mic to discuss the “Event Experience.” What are we looking to share when we attend expos and what makes being at these events so special? Listen to the full episode to hear some of their experiences on the expo floor, and how refreshing and connective it can be to be surrounded by coffee folks who care about the industry as much as th...

We’re taking a lot of left turns today, but we end up in the right direction. This week on the podcast the guys are talking about everything! What they’ve been thankful for through their growth in the industry, an incredible fine dining coffee experience, and how authenticity isn’t just something you practice, but something you feel. Listen to the full episode to hear their thoughts owning your wo...

How do you see the Forest beyond the Trees? In an organization like ours, there is a lot of balancing that needs to happen every day, the abundance of daily tasks necessary to run the cafe, and, the over-arching mission that we are working to achieve at all times. How do we keep it all in mind, and more importantly how do we as leadership help the newest members of our team learn to hold it all? T...