[PODCAST] Teach Me, Senpai, E11: Building a coffee shop with Ros Juan

It’s hard not to notice the number of coffee shops that sprouted around the metro since the pandemic. And if you’re thinking that the market is now probably saturated, Commune founder Ros Juan says it’s an exciting moment for the country’s coffee industry because this is a sign that there is a brewing interest in it.

Ros founded Commune Café almost 11 years ago. At the time, when the café was still being conceptualized, Ros knew that she wanted to be different from the coffee chains that were filling the streets of the city. To do this, she brought design concepts from foreign cafés into Commune. And instead of offering a wide variety of blends from different countries, she decided to focus on homegrown ones and serve only those.

In this episode, we talked to Ros about her coffee story. We asked her how she and her team conceptualized Commune when it was still being built, how much the shop has evolved, and how they were able to keep operations running for the past 11 years and even survive the pandemic. We also asked her for tips on building a coffee shop and keeping it thriving.

We also asked her if there were still opportunities in the industry, and she said yes. Ros shared that people can start their coffee journey as a barista, a farmer, a roaster, a coffee shop owner, and many more.

Catch this episode on Sunday,  March 17, at 7 pm! Bookmark this page so you don’t miss it, or follow us on Spotify at bit.ly/RapplerTeachMeSenpai. – Rappler.com