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 of defense — opens up into something deeper. We hear about the transition to a new leadership structure, the philosophy of building systems that outlast any one person, and what it means to let go of a military-bred "eat last, sleep last" leadership style in a coffee roastery. Then it’s time for a FIELD TRIP!  Chris Baca joins Connor in the Roastery for an actual live roast, and the episode shifts into something genuinely rare — real-time, unscripted coffee science happening right in front of you. Enjoy!

Chapters

00:00 Welcome Back & Series Recap

07:00 Building Systems That Outlast You

13:00 The Invisible Work of Leadership

20:00 The Navy Mindset & Letting It Go

26:00The New Team Structure

30:00 Gratitude and Appreciation

34:35 FIELD TRIP - Live Roast Begins 

42:00 Airflow, Damper & Rate of Rise

50:00 Always Pursuing Better

57:30 Evaluating the Curve

Cat & Cloud:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/

Webstore: Buy Our Coffee! www.catandcloud.com/

Roasters Choice Subscription www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscriptions

Wholesale Partners! Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale

Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first.

Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. 

The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations. 

Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby

Produced by Casey Ryan

May 2026

www.catandcloud.com/

In Part 2 of the From Soil to Service series, the Cat & Cloud Roastery team pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to roast, organize, and ship tens of thousands of pounds of coffee while still staying connected to craft, quality, and intention. Connor Doyle and Jonson Henry share their very different paths into coffee, the realities of scaling a growing roastery, the science and artistry behind roast profiling, and the challenge of building sustainable systems without losing the soul of the product. The conversation moves from coffee tasting rituals and production workflows to leadership transitions, team culture, and what it means to create coffee experiences for café guests and coffee lovers around the world. This is the First of Two Episodes on Coffee Roasting! 

Chapters

00:00 — Welcome Back to From Soil to Service
02:15 — From Teaching, Tech, and the Navy Into Coffee
06:00 — Discovering the Roastery Side of Cat & Cloud
09:30 — The Reality of Roasting 30,000 Pounds of Coffee
13:45 — Staying Connected to Craft at Scale
17:30 — Daily Coffee Tastings and Sensory Training
21:00 — Roasting as Science, Intuition, and Adaptation
25:00 — How Weather and Environment Change Coffee
28:15 — QC, Cupping, and Constant Profile Adjustments
31:45 — Co-Ferments, Flavor Philosophy, and Personal Taste
35:00 — The Organized Chaos of the Roastery Workflow
38:15 — Building Systems That Can Actually Scale
41:00 — Leadership Transition: Johnson to Connor
43:00 — Sustainability, Team Culture, and the Future of the Roastery

Cat & Cloud:

Webstore www.catandcloud.com/

Roasters Choice Subscription www.catandcloud.com/collections/subscription

Wholesale Partners! Interested in serving our coffee at your business? Learn more about our Partner Program https://catandcloud.com/wholesale

Instagram www.instagram.com/catcloudcoffee/

Cat & Cloud Coffee was founded in 2016 by three friends who believe experiences and connections shape our lives. Former barista champions and lifelong coffee professionals, they envisioned a better way to do business and set out to create a values-driven organization that put culture first.

Our mission is to inspire connection by creating memorable experiences. Whether it's with guests in our 4 retail locations in Santa Cruz, our team members, or our wholesale partners across the country, we strive to leave everyone better than we found them. 

The Cat & Cloud Podcast is a space for us to share our experiences and adventures in coffee and business in hopes of inspiring more people to create culture and values-driven organizations. 

Hosted by Chris Baca and Jared Truby

Produced by Casey Ryan

May 2026