Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by MAP IT FORWARD
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why Coffee Needs a New Supply Chain Model (Felipe Croce & David Bray) | EP1711 Part 1 of 5 (Map It Forward) | 26 Oct 2026 | 00:23:26 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guests on the podcast for this series are Felipe Croce from FAF Coffees in Brazil and David Bray from Blue Butterfly Coffee Roasters in Ireland, co-founders of The Common Ground Collective. The theme of this series is A New Way of Building Coffee Supply Chains. In this first episode, Felipe and David explain how their collaboration began, what motivated them to explore a different approach to coffee production and trading, and why regenerative agriculture and agroforestry sit at the centre of their thinking. David shares how his experiences in Brazil, combined with growing concerns about coffee price volatility and climate risk, led him to contact Felipe. Felipe explains why FAF Coffees has been exploring new farming systems and why the opportunity to collaborate with a roaster interested in long-term relationships was particularly compelling. Together, they discuss moving beyond transactional producer-roaster relationships, building greater stability into coffee trading, and creating supply chains that work for everyone involved. This conversation introduces the thinking behind The Common Ground Collective. In part 2, we'll explore how the initiative is intended to work. Connect with Felipe Croce, David Bray, and The Common Ground Collective: The Common Ground Collective: https://www.instagram.com/thecommongroundcollectivecgc/ FAF Coffees: https://www.instagram.com/fafcoffees/ Blue Butterfly Coffee Roasters: https://www.instagram.com/bluebutterflyireland/ Felipe Croce: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felipe-croce-42180829b David Bray: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bray-53731b6b/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| Turning Coffee Supply Chain Regulations Into a Business Advantage (Bram de Hoog) - EP1710 Part 5 of 5 (Map It Forward) | 23 Oct 2026 | 00:22:42 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 5 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Bram de Hoog, co-owner of Paso Paso Coffee, a farmer-owned coffee roastery based in Hanover, Germany. The theme of this series is alternative trade models and farmer engagement in the consuming market. Coffee businesses frequently describe regulatory compliance as expensive, complicated, and frustrating. But can the requirements that create additional work also provide opportunities to build stronger businesses and more transparent supply chains? In this final episode, Lee and Bram examine how coffee roasters and importers can approach compliance as something more than an administrative burden. Bram explains why Paso Paso has made regulatory preparedness an important part of its operations, particularly given its unconventional ownership structure, which brings together coffee farming families from producing countries as shareholders in a German roasting business. The conversation examines European supply chain regulations, including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), and packaging requirements intended to improve consumer safety and reduce environmental harm. Bram describes how Paso Paso's existing relationships with its producer-shareholders have enabled the company to collect information about where its coffee is grown and prepare documentation relating to deforestation requirements. They also discuss Paso Paso's packaging decisions, including its use of laboratory-tested mono-material plastic bags designed to simplify recycling and avoid certain harmful substances. For Bram, this preparation is not simply about meeting legal obligations. It is also about protecting customers, reducing uncertainty for wholesale partners, and demonstrating that the business takes its responsibilities seriously. The discussion distinguishes mandatory regulatory compliance from voluntary certifications and explores why small businesses can simultaneously support the objectives of legislation while questioning the costs and bureaucracy associated with implementation. Lee and Bram consider how regulation can encourage greater accountability and transparency throughout the coffee supply chain, even when its implementation creates substantial challenges for businesses with limited resources. As the five-part series concludes, Bram reflects on what he hopes Paso Paso will contribute to the coffee industry in the years ahead. His ambition is not necessarily to build a large company, but to demonstrate that alternative approaches to ownership, trade, and business relationships are commercially possible and to encourage other businesses to consider how they operate. Bram closes with a message for entrepreneurs: build a business you can be proud of, not simply because of its appearance or profitability, but because of the positive role it plays in the lives of employees, suppliers, customers, and the wider community. This episode concludes a series examining what it takes to build a responsible coffee business through farmer ownership, direct relationships, resilient operations, sustainable pricing, and regulatory preparedness. Connect with Bram de Hoog and Paso Paso Coffee: Paso Paso Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paso_paso_coffee/ Bram Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bram_dehoog/ Bram LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bramdehoog/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| The Business Economics of Wholesale vs Retail Coffee Roasting (Bram de Hoog) - EP1709 Part 4 of 5 (Map It Forward) | 22 Oct 2026 | 00:26:58 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 4 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Bram de Hoog, co-owner of Paso Paso Coffee, a farmer-owned coffee roastery based in Hanover, Germany. The theme of this series is alternative trade models and farmer engagement in the consuming market. What is the real difference between operating a wholesale coffee roastery and a retail coffee roastery, and why does understanding that distinction matter so much for profitability? In this episode, Lee and Bram examine the financial and operational differences between these two business models, including how they approach production, staffing, pricing, cash flow, and business growth. Bram explains that wholesale roasteries primarily supply other businesses, particularly coffee shops, hotels, and restaurants. Retail-focused roasteries, by contrast, sell directly to consumers through their own cafés, retail locations, or e-commerce operations. While both models involve roasting and selling coffee, their cost structures and commercial pressures can be very different. Wholesale roasteries are particularly exposed to fluctuations in green coffee prices and the financing costs associated with holding inventory. Retail operations, especially cafés, face greater pressure from staffing costs, foot traffic, and day-to-day operational demands. The conversation also explores the limitations of small in-store roasting operations. Although attractive as a business concept, combining a small roaster with a café can create production inefficiencies and limit growth without changes to equipment, staffing, and the operating model. Lee and Bram then discuss one of the most important differences between wholesale and retail pricing: in wholesale, both the roastery and its business customers must earn a viable margin. Bram explains why a 20% wholesale retail margin may be insufficient for specialty coffee shops, and why discounts in the range of 30% to 50% are more commercially realistic in many circumstances. They also examine payment terms and the cash-flow risks associated with extending credit to wholesale customers, compared with receiving immediate payment from consumers. The second half of the episode focuses on scaling. Paso Paso currently operates with approximately 70% of its sales through wholesale and 30% through e-commerce and direct sales. Bram explains why this balance supports production efficiency while allowing the company to participate in the higher-margin direct-to-consumer market. He introduces the concept of peak profitability: the point at which a business is making the most effective use of its existing capacity before further growth requires significant investment. For Paso Paso, Bram estimates that its current operation could produce approximately 6,000 kilograms of roasted coffee per month without fundamentally changing its infrastructure. Beyond that point, expansion would likely require larger premises, additional equipment, more employees, and new investment, temporarily reducing profitability before the next phase of growth. The conversation concludes by exploring why some wholesale roasteries eventually move into retail to capture more value, and why that decision requires an entirely different commercial strategy rather than simply opening a café or launching an online store. This episode offers an important perspective for anyone operating, developing, or investing in a coffee roasting business: understanding which business model you're building is fundamental to making informed decisions about pricing, profitability, and growth. Connect with Bram de Hoog and Paso Paso Coffee: Paso Paso Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paso_paso_coffee/ Bram Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bram_dehoog/ Bram LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bramdehoog/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| Why Resilient Coffee Businesses Must Take Risks (Bram de Hoog) - EP1708 Part 3 of 5 (Map It Forward) | 21 Oct 2026 | 00:24:44 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Bram de Hoog, co-owner of Paso Paso Coffee, a farmer-owned coffee roastery based in Hanover, Germany. The theme of this series is alternative trade models and farmer engagement in the consuming market. How do you build a resilient coffee business when the decisions that create long-term stability also require taking significant financial and operational risks? In this episode, Lee and Bram explore the relationship between risk and resilience, and how Paso Paso has approached building a business that can withstand volatility across the coffee supply chain. Bram explains why taking risks has been fundamental to establishing Paso Paso. From purchasing roasting equipment and green coffee inventory to investing in branding and customer relationships, the business has deliberately committed capital to assets and activities that support its long-term independence. For the five coffee farming families who collectively own most of Paso Paso, those risks began with investing in a company on the other side of the world. But Bram argues that resilience depends on more than financial investment. The relationships connecting producers, the roastery, and wholesale customers are even more important. Paso Paso works to create predictable supply for coffee shops through consistent quality, pricing, service, and long-term relationships with the same farming families. Approximately 70% of its business is wholesale, making customer retention and commercial reliability central to its operating model. The conversation also examines what resilience looks like inside the roastery itself. Bram approaches coffee roasting as food manufacturing, prioritising operational efficiency, backup equipment, reliable packaging supplies, and insurance rather than relying solely on the romanticised image of artisanal roasting. Lee and Bram then discuss how Paso Paso has navigated rising green coffee prices, currency fluctuations, and broader market volatility. Bram explains that the company is working towards paying $5 FOB for its green coffee while simultaneously reducing production overheads as volumes grow. With the roastery currently operating at approximately 30% capacity, improving efficiency is helping the business absorb higher purchasing costs. Finally, they examine the customer side of resilience. Bram argues that a coffee business cannot build lasting commercial relationships unless its customers are also able to operate profitably. For Paso Paso, that means making sure wholesale coffee shops can earn sustainable margins on the coffee they purchase, alongside receiving dependable service and consistent quality. This episode offers a practical perspective on building resilient coffee businesses by aligning financial decisions, operational capabilities, supplier relationships, and customer profitability. Connect with Bram de Hoog and Paso Paso Coffee: Paso Paso Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paso_paso_coffee/ Bram Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bram_dehoog/ Bram LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bramdehoog/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| What It Really Takes to Buy Coffee Direct From Farmers (Bram de Hoog) - EP1707 Part 2 of 5 (Map It Forward) | 20 Oct 2026 | 00:25:59 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 2 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Bram de Hoog, co-owner of Paso Paso Coffee, a farmer-owned coffee roastery based in Hanover, Germany. The theme of this series is alternative trade models and farmer engagement in the consuming market. In this episode, Lee and Bram explore what it actually takes to manage direct relationships with coffee producers and import coffee into the consuming market. Paso Paso is owned by Bram and five coffee farming families based across Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Unlike conventional direct trade arrangements, the farmers are both suppliers and shareholders in the German roasting business. Bram explains how they established this ownership structure, the legal processes involved, and why their operating agreements require transactions to deliver economic benefits to both the farms and the roastery. The intention isn't to pay unsustainably inflated prices for green coffee. Instead, Paso Paso's producers aim to benefit twice: first by selling coffee profitably to the roastery, and again through the growth and potential profits of the business they collectively own. A particularly important part of the conversation focuses on communication between origin and the consuming market. Bram explains why direct feedback about how coffees perform commercially is essential for building lasting relationships. Rather than simply replacing a coffee or switching suppliers when something doesn't sell, Paso Paso works with its producer partners to understand the problem and identify alternatives. But direct relationships also create financial and operational challenges. Bram shares the reality of managing excess green coffee inventory, including Paso Paso's approach to selling surplus stock through its 'After Party' offering. He also explains why financing and storage have historically represented approximately 20% of Paso Paso's green coffee costs, and how importing their first container independently from Costa Rica allowed them to reduce costs by approximately 16%. The discussion explores how Paso Paso is beginning to use internally generated funds and shareholder loans to finance coffee purchases, potentially reducing its dependence on external financing. This is a practical examination of direct coffee trade, from legal ownership and producer feedback to inventory management, capital requirements, and international logistics. It also raises an important question for the coffee industry: how much of the difficulty associated with direct importing comes from the physical movement of coffee, and how much comes from financing the transaction? Connect with Bram de Hoog and Paso Paso Coffee: Paso Paso Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paso_paso_coffee/ Bram Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bram_dehoog/ Bram LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bramdehoog/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| How a Farmer-Owned Coffee Roastery Is Changing Coffee Trade (Bram de Hoog) - EP1706 Part 1 of 5 (Map It Forward) | 19 Oct 2026 | 00:23:24 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Bram de Hoog, co-owner of Paso Paso Coffee, a farmer-owned coffee roastery based in Hanover, Germany. Three years after Bram first appeared on the podcast to introduce Paso Paso's alternative business model, he returns to explain how the business has developed, what they've learned, and whether their approach to coffee trading and roasting is proving commercially viable. Paso Paso operates differently from most coffee roasteries. Five coffee farming families collectively hold 75% ownership of the company, while Bram holds the remaining 25%. The roastery exclusively purchases coffee from those farming families, creating a business structure in which producers participate in the consuming market and share in the value created through roasting and selling their coffee. In this first episode, Lee and Bram explore what happens when a former green coffee trader applies the principles of international coffee trading to operating a roastery. Bram explains a fundamental difference between traders and roasters: traders typically seek to secure buyers before committing to coffee purchases, while many roasters purchase inventory before knowing exactly how they will sell it. At Paso Paso, that distinction has shaped a business built around long-term relationships, detailed demand forecasting, and planning coffee purchases 12 to 18 months in advance. The conversation also explores how Paso Paso has grown to supply approximately 40 coffee shops regularly, why securing long-term customers is different from securing individual orders, and how hundreds of small wholesale transactions contribute to a more predictable business. Lee and Bram also revisit one of Paso Paso's earliest and most significant investments: branding. Bram explains why the investment has paid off, how packaging influences purchasing behaviour, and why Paso Paso deliberately makes the producer's name the most prominent element on its coffee bags. Rather than continuously introducing new producers and coffees, Paso Paso aims to help customers develop lasting recognition of the farming families behind its products. This episode examines how ownership, procurement, branding, and customer relationships can work together to create a different kind of coffee business, and what other roasters and traders can learn from the model. Connect with Bram de Hoog and Paso Paso Coffee: Paso Paso Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paso_paso_coffee/ Bram Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bram_dehoog/ Bram LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bramdehoog/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| What Can Men Do to Make Coffee Safer for Women? (Isabela Raposeiras) | EP1705 Part 5 of 5 | Map It Forward | 16 Oct 2026 | 00:29:11 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description **CONTENT WARNING:** This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, workplace violence, psychological abuse, gender discrimination, intimidation, and harassment. Some of the experiences and situations referenced may be distressing for listeners. Please use your discretion when listening. This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is returning guest Isabela Raposeiras, founder of Coffee Lab in Brazil. The theme of this series is "Being 'Not a Man' in Coffee," and we're opening a conversation about what women experience in the coffee industry, the behaviours that have been normalised, and why so many women feel unable to speak openly about what's happened to them. In this first episode, Lee and Isabela share deeply personal and confronting accounts of sexual assault, harassment, intimidation, and abuse of power within the coffee industry. Lee recounts two experiences shared with her by women in the industry, including a young employee who was allegedly assaulted by her employer during a business trip and another woman who described repeated sexual assaults by her boss while feeling financially trapped in her employment. Isabela shares her own experience of being sexually assaulted by a senior executive at a coffee company in Brazil, and the devastating discovery that, according to information subsequently shared with her, other senior men at the company had discussed and anticipated the encounter. Together, they explore the culture that allows these experiences to go unchallenged, the fear of professional retaliation, the silence of bystanders, and the difficulty women face in being recognised as professionals rather than being judged or objectified because of their gender. This is not a conversation about hating men. It's a conversation about understanding what women experience in coffee and challenging an industry that too often allows unacceptable behaviour to continue without accountability. The question that runs through this series is simple: What can we do? We encourage everyone in the coffee industry, particularly men, to listen to all five episodes and share this conversation with their colleagues. Connect with Isabela Raposeiras and Coffee Lab: Coffee Lab: https://www.instagram.com/coffeelab_br/ Isabela Raposeiras: https://www.instagram.com/isabela.raposeiras/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| What Is Unacceptable Behaviour Towards Women in Coffee? (Isabela Raposeiras) | EP1704 Part 4 of 5 | Map It Forward | 15 Oct 2026 | 00:33:18 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description **CONTENT WARNING:** This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, workplace violence, psychological abuse, gender discrimination, intimidation, and harassment. Some of the experiences and situations referenced may be distressing for listeners. Please use your discretion when listening. This is part 4 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is returning guest Isabela Raposeiras, founder of Coffee Lab in Brazil. The theme of this series is "Being 'Not a Man' in Coffee," and in this episode, Lee and Isabela address a question they've repeatedly encountered when discussing women's experiences in the coffee industry: What exactly constitutes unacceptable behaviour? Not all unacceptable behaviour involves physical violence or sexual harassment. Sometimes it involves interrupting women during professional conversations, dismissing their expertise, making condescending remarks, humiliating them publicly, or refusing to respect their boundaries. Isabela shares experiences of being undermined professionally, including an encounter with a coffee producer who repeatedly interrupted her during a business discussion and a confrontation at a roasting event where her technical knowledge and experience were dismissed. Despite decades of experience working with roasting equipment, Isabela describes being told she didn't know what she was talking about by a man who had considerably less experience with the particular machine being discussed. Lee and Isabela examine why these interactions are unacceptable, how gender bias can influence professional discussions, and why men who witness this behaviour have an important role in challenging it. Lee makes a direct appeal to men in the coffee industry: When you see someone being verbally attacked, dismissed, or humiliated, don't wait until afterward to offer private sympathy. Speak up while it's happening. The conversation also explores the importance of establishing boundaries and why women should not be expected to accommodate unwanted attention, aggressive communication, or demands on their time. Lee shares a recent experience involving a man who became verbally aggressive after she declined to arrange a telephone conversation on his terms. She uses the incident to explain why respecting someone's boundaries is not optional and why refusing a request should not invite hostility or personal attacks. Isabela discusses how she has learned to respond to professional criticism, personal attacks, and damaging rumours by addressing people directly, sometimes using humour, empathy, and conversation to challenge their behaviour without escalating the conflict. She also recounts being introduced publicly as a controversial or loud woman and challenging the assumptions behind those descriptions. Throughout this episode, Lee and Isabela emphasise that disagreement is not the problem. People can challenge ideas, hold different opinions, and engage in difficult professional conversations without resorting to intimidation, humiliation, or discrimination. The question is whether the coffee industry is prepared to recognise these behaviours, challenge them when they happen, and create professional environments where women receive the same respect and consideration as their male colleagues. In Part 5, we'll bring the series to its conclusion by answering the question so many people ask when these issues are raised: What can we do? Connect with Isabela Raposeiras and Coffee Lab: Coffee Lab: https://www.instagram.com/coffeelab_br/ Isabela Raposeiras: https://www.instagram.com/isabela.raposeiras/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| The Boys' Club in Coffee: Why Men Stay Silent (Isabela Raposeiras) | EP1703 Part 3 of 5 | Map It Forward | 14 Oct 2026 | 00:24:06 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description **CONTENT WARNING:** This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, rape threats, death threats, harassment, misogyny, intimidation, and workplace discrimination. Some personal experiences shared may be distressing for listeners. Please use your discretion when listening. This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is returning guest Isabela Raposeiras, founder of Coffee Lab in Brazil. The theme of this series is "Being 'Not a Man' in Coffee," and in this episode, we're examining the boys' club in the coffee industry: the informal networks of loyalty and influence that can protect men from scrutiny while leaving women unsupported when they experience intimidation, harassment, or professional exclusion. Isabela discusses what she describes as a culture of patriarchy in Brazil's coffee industry, including her experiences of damaging rumours, attacks on her professional reputation, and what she believes were attempts by competitors to undermine her business. Lee shares a deeply personal account of launching Elixir Specialty Coffee and receiving rape threats, death threats, and sustained online abuse. She discusses the emotional and professional consequences of public criticism and the failure of industry colleagues to challenge threatening and degrading comments made about her. The conversation includes Lee's experience involving a video published by coffee content creator James Hoffmann, the abusive comments she says followed, and her attempts to address the situation. Lee also recounts that Hoffmann subsequently removed the video after she contacted him again. Together, Lee and Isabela explore how professional influence can amplify harmful behaviour, why people who privately acknowledge harassment may still refuse to intervene publicly, and how silence can leave women feeling isolated and unprotected. Isabela also describes receiving threats after choosing to pay higher prices to coffee producers in Brazil, while Lee recounts an incident in which a male colleague aggressively confronted her during café service as other employees watched without intervening. The episode concludes with a recent incident at Coffee Lab, where Isabela says an employee witnessed a male customer taking inappropriate photographs of a woman. She explains how her team intervened, and how subsequent online reactions illustrated the attitudes they're challenging throughout this series. This conversation is not about blaming all men. It's about examining the responsibility that comes with influence, leadership, and being a witness to unacceptable behaviour. Because the boys' club doesn't only exist through the actions of those who behave badly. It can also be reinforced by those who see what's happening and choose to remain silent. In Part 4, Lee and Isabela will explore what constitutes unacceptable behaviour in the coffee industry and why conduct that has historically been dismissed or minimised needs to be challenged. Connect with Isabela Raposeiras and Coffee Lab: Coffee Lab: https://www.instagram.com/coffeelab_br/ Isabela Raposeiras: https://www.instagram.com/isabela.raposeiras/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| Why Women Feel Unsafe Working in Coffee (Isabela Raposeiras) | EP1702 Part 2 of 5 | Map It Forward | 13 Oct 2026 | 00:32:53 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description **CONTENT WARNING:** This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, sexual harassment, physical violence, workplace intimidation, psychological abuse, discrimination, and transphobia. Some of the personal experiences shared may be distressing for listeners. Please use your discretion when listening. This is part 2 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is returning guest Isabela Raposeiras, founder of Coffee Lab in Brazil. The theme of this series is "Being 'Not a Man' in Coffee," and in this episode, we're examining the different ways women experience unsafe environments in the coffee industry, sometimes without immediately recognising that what they're experiencing is unacceptable. Not all unsafe situations begin with physical violence. Sometimes they begin with an inappropriate comment, a sexist joke, the undermining of professional expertise, or a workplace culture where women know there will be consequences if they speak up. Lee recounts her experience working in a Hollywood café, where she was physically assaulted by a male colleague, received no support from her employer, and felt unable to leave because her income and visa depended on the job. She explains the psychological impact of returning to a workplace where the people responsible knew how vulnerable her circumstances made her. Isabela discusses how women are frequently underestimated professionally, including in technical areas such as coffee roasting, and how a culture of silence protects inappropriate behaviour. She also shares a recent experience involving a transgender employee at Coffee Lab who was repeatedly misgendered and mistreated by a customer, despite attempting to handle the situation professionally. Together, Lee and Isabela explore why women may freeze or remain silent when their boundaries are violated, how seemingly small acts of disrespect can contribute to unsafe environments, and why bystanders and employers have a responsibility to intervene. The conversation also examines how women can reinforce gender bias themselves, the higher standards women often feel compelled to meet, and the professional consequences of being successful in workplaces where male egos influence decisions. Creating a safe workplace involves much more than preventing physical violence. It requires recognising the behaviours that undermine safety, understanding how power influences people's ability to respond, and refusing to normalise conduct that makes others feel threatened, humiliated, or professionally vulnerable. In Part 3, we'll examine the boys' club in coffee and how informal networks of power and loyalty influence who gets supported, protected, and taken seriously. Connect with Isabela Raposeiras and Coffee Lab: Coffee Lab: https://www.instagram.com/coffeelab_br/ Isabela Raposeiras: https://www.instagram.com/isabela.raposeiras/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| What Is It Really Like to Be a Woman in Coffee? (Isabela Raposeiras) | EP1701 Part 1 of 5 | Map It Forward | 12 Oct 2026 | 00:29:19 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description **CONTENT WARNING:** This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, sexual harassment, physical violence, intimidation, misogyny, and abuse of power. Some of the personal experiences shared may be distressing for listeners. Please use your discretion when listening. This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is returning guest Isabela Raposeiras, founder of Coffee Lab in Brazil. The theme of this series is "Being 'Not a Man' in Coffee," and we're opening a conversation about what women experience in the coffee industry, the behaviours that have been normalised, and why so many women feel unable to speak openly about what's happened to them. In this first episode, Lee and Isabela share deeply personal and confronting accounts of sexual assault, harassment, intimidation, and abuse of power within the coffee industry. Lee recounts two experiences shared with her by women in the industry, including a young employee who was allegedly assaulted by her employer during a business trip and another woman who described repeated sexual assaults by her boss while feeling financially trapped in her employment. Isabela shares her own experience of being sexually assaulted by a senior executive at a coffee company in Brazil, and the devastating discovery that, according to information subsequently shared with her, other senior men at the company had discussed and anticipated the encounter. Together, they explore the culture that allows these experiences to go unchallenged, the fear of professional retaliation, the silence of bystanders, and the difficulty women face in being recognised as professionals rather than being judged or objectified because of their gender. This is not a conversation about hating men. It's a conversation about understanding what women experience in coffee and challenging an industry that too often allows unacceptable behaviour to continue without accountability. The question that runs through this series is simple: What can we do? We encourage everyone in the coffee industry, particularly men, to listen to all five episodes and share this conversation with their colleagues. Connect with Isabela Raposeiras and Coffee Lab: Coffee Lab: https://www.instagram.com/coffeelab_br/ Isabela Raposeiras: https://www.instagram.com/isabela.raposeiras/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| How Data Can Make Your Coffee Business More Resilient (Oscar Montoya) | EP1700 Part 5 of 5 | Map It Forward | 09 Oct 2026 | 00:26:15 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 5 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Oscar Montoya, a data scientist, software developer, coffee producer in Colombia, founder of Cafe Chicao in Canada, and the developer (from Dark Mode) who helped Map It Forward build CoffeeListings.com. In this final episode, Lee and Oscar explore the role that data, technology, and processes can play in building more sustainable and resilient coffee businesses. Oscar introduces the concept of a digital twin — a data-based representation of a real system that can help businesses understand how different parts of an operation interact over time. In coffee, that idea can be applied across a farm, a supply chain, or even the lifecycle of a coffee itself, creating a more complete picture of where coffee comes from, where it goes, and what happens along the way. The conversation explores how traceability brings together people, processes, technology, and data, and why that can help businesses make more informed decisions. Lee and Oscar also use the Benecke situation as an example of how better data, modeling, and risk assessment could potentially help businesses understand exposure before committing to major supply chain decisions. Oscar explains that if something matters to your business, it should be measured. Once a risk is identified, a business can decide whether to accept it, mitigate it, or reject it. They also discuss the role of simulations, the importance of understanding uncertainty, and why no model should ever be treated as absolute truth. The episode then turns to the changing cost of technology and how AI is reducing the time and resources required to build tools, analyze information, and solve business problems. Oscar argues that if technology makes work significantly faster and cheaper, clients should also benefit from that efficiency. Finally, Lee and Oscar discuss how coffee professionals can become more comfortable with data and technology by experimenting, asking better questions, and gradually building data literacy into the way they operate their businesses. Connect with Oscar Montoya here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oscar-montoyah/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| Why AI Still Needs Systems Thinking (Oscar Montoya) | EP1699 Part 4 of 5 | Map It Forward | 08 Oct 2026 | 00:22:59 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 4 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Oscar Montoya, a data scientist, software developer, coffee producer in Colombia, founder of Cafe Chicao in Canada, and the developer (from Dark Mode) who helped Map It Forward build CoffeeListings.com. In this episode, Lee and Oscar explore the relationship between data, technology and processes by looking at something they built together: CoffeeListings.com. The conversation begins with a very human problem — what happens when anxiety causes business owners to avoid the very information they need in order to make better decisions. Oscar explains why trust, empathy and human behaviour remain critical parts of solving problems, no matter how sophisticated the technology becomes. Lee and Oscar then explore how dramatically generative AI has changed software development. Oscar estimates that only a short time ago, building something like CoffeeListings could have required a team of 12 to 15 people working for well over a year. AI has changed that equation significantly, but Oscar argues that access to powerful technology does not remove the need for systems thinking, planning, architecture or critical judgment. The conversation explores the difference between structured software development and “vibe coding,” where AI is asked to solve problems individually without necessarily understanding the wider system they belong to. Oscar explains why AI can be incredibly powerful when used as a tool, but dangerous when we outsource our critical thinking to it. Something may work today while becoming extremely difficult to maintain, change or secure later. Using CoffeeListings as a real-world example, Lee and Oscar discuss the enormous amount of thinking required to make technology feel simple to the person using it, and why data, technology, processes and people all need to work together if a solution is going to last. Connect with Oscar Montoya here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oscar-montoyah/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| How Data Reveals the Real Problem in Your Coffee Business (Oscar Montoya) | EP1698 Part 3 of 5 | Map It Forward | 07 Oct 2026 | 00:27:17 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Oscar Montoya, a data scientist, software developer, coffee producer in Colombia, founder of Cafe Chicao in Canada, and the developer (from Dark Mode) who helped Map It Forward build CoffeeListings.com. In this episode, Lee and Oscar explore how data can help coffee businesses understand the true depth of a problem rather than simply reacting to what appears on the surface. The conversation begins with a debate around robusta and climate resilience, using conflicting scientific claims to explore how the same subject can produce different conclusions depending on who funded the research, how the data was gathered, what conditions were controlled, and what assumptions were made. Oscar explains why context matters, why correlation does not equal causation, and why people often unconsciously look for evidence that supports what they already believe. Lee and Oscar also discuss the limitations of relying too heavily on simple metrics. A single number such as an average can hide important information about what is actually happening underneath the surface, which is why businesses need a broader measurement framework rather than reducing complex problems to one metric. The conversation then turns to one of the most important realities of problem solving: the problem you begin investigating is often not the real problem. Oscar explains why complex problems need to be broken into smaller pieces, why some parts may be solvable while others may not be, and how tackling those pieces systematically helps businesses build understanding, confidence, and momentum. Using coffee pricing and the C Market as an example, Lee and Oscar explore how deeper analysis can reveal that the structure of a problem is very different from what people initially assumed. Connect with Oscar Montoya here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oscar-montoyah/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| Are You Solving the Right Problem In Coffee? (Oscar Montoya) | EP1697 Part 2 of 5 | Map It Forward | 06 Oct 2026 | 00:21:58 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 2 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Oscar Montoya, a data scientist, software developer, coffee producer in Colombia, founder of Cafe Chicao in Canada, and the developer (from Dark Mode) who helped Map It Forward build CoffeeListings.com. In this episode, Lee and Oscar explore how businesses figure out what data actually matters when trying to solve a problem. Oscar explains that what people initially describe as a problem is often only a symptom. The real work begins by asking better questions, digging beneath the surface, and identifying what is actually causing the pain. Using approaches such as the Five Whys, Oscar explains why the starting point should always be the problem you are trying to solve and what the ideal outcome would look like. From there, businesses can work backwards to determine what data they already have, what data is missing, and what information needs to be collected. Lee applies this thinking to common business challenges, including toxic workplace cultures, stalled growth, financial pressure, and understanding why a business may not be making enough money. The conversation also explores data integrity, unconscious bias, and the danger of cherry-picking information to support a preferred narrative. Oscar explains why good data science often means trying to disprove your own assumptions rather than searching for evidence that confirms them, and why every model of reality is incomplete but can still be useful when its limitations are understood. Connect with Oscar Montoya here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oscar-montoyah/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| Your Coffee Business Has Data. But Is It Useful? (Oscar Montoya) | EP1696 Part 1 of 5 | Map It Forward | 05 Oct 2026 | 00:24:03 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Oscar Montoya, a data scientist, software developer, coffee producer in Colombia, founder of Cafe Chicao in Canada, and the developer (from Dark Mode) who helped Map It Forward build CoffeeListings.com. In this episode, Lee and Oscar explore the difference between data and information and why that distinction matters for coffee businesses. Oscar explains that data by itself is simply raw material. It only becomes useful when it is cleaned, organized, analysed, and transformed into information that can help someone understand what is happening and decide what to do next. Using examples from his own coffee farms in Colombia, Oscar explains how questions about planting density, shade, production, fertilizer, labour and farm sustainability determine what data is actually worth collecting. The conversation also explores why collecting everything simply because we can may create more complexity rather than better decisions, and introduces the relationship between people, processes, technology and data. Technology should support a real problem rather than become the objective itself. As Oscar explains, technology for the sake of technology is just hype. The starting point should be the people and the problem we are trying to solve. Connect with Oscar Montoya here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oscar-montoyah/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1695 Part 5 of 5 | Why More People Should Drink Black Coffee (George Howell) | Map It Forward | 02 Oct 2026 | 00:33:18 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 5 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is George Howell, founder of George Howell Coffee, returning for the 2026 edition of our annual series, “The Coffee Industry According to George Howell.” In this final episode, we explore one of the ideas George has been championing most strongly in recent years: more people should be drinking black coffee. For George, black coffee gives consumers the clearest opportunity to experience what the farmer actually produced. When coffee is heavily altered with milk, sugar, or other ingredients, the experience becomes something different. That can still be enjoyable, but it changes the role that the coffee itself plays. George explains why he sees single-farm black coffee as a way of putting the spotlight back on the producer. When a customer discovers a coffee they genuinely love and begins seeking out that particular farm or origin again, the relationship shifts away from the roaster and towards the person who produced the coffee. We also discuss why blends and milk-based drinks still have an important role in cafés, how different coffee formats serve different purposes, and why encouraging more black coffee consumption does not have to mean taking other beverages away. The bigger challenge is accessibility. How do you take a customer who usually drinks cappuccinos or lattes and invite them to experience black coffee without making the process intimidating? George describes the tastings at George Howell Coffee, where customers are given small amounts of coffee at cooler temperatures so they can experience sweetness, aroma, texture, and flavour without committing to an entire cup. We also discuss how curiosity can create opportunities for baristas to introduce customers to black coffee, why temperature matters, and how cafés might build small tasting moments into the customer experience. The conversation then moves into restaurants, where George sees enormous untapped potential. He argues that restaurants already know how to guide customers through food and wine, yet coffee is often treated as an afterthought. We explore whether simple, consistent brewing methods such as French press could allow restaurants to serve high-quality black coffee without requiring a dedicated barista, and how coffee could become part of the dining experience rather than something merely served at the end. Finally, as George reflects on more than five decades in coffee, we ask what he hopes for the future of the industry. His answer returns to the farm: helping producers adapt to climate change, protecting exceptional coffee varieties, developing better farming practices, and creating economic pathways that allow farmers to continue producing extraordinary coffee. Connect with George Howell Coffee: https://georgehowellcoffee.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ghowellcoffee https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-howell-95646b2 If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1694 Part 4 of 5 | What’s Wrong With Coffee Scoring? (George Howell) | Map It Forward | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:25:15 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 4 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is George Howell, founder of George Howell Coffee, returning for the 2026 edition of our annual series, “The Coffee Industry According to George Howell.” In this episode, we explore how the coffee industry scores, describes, and communicates quality. George says he still believes strongly in scoring coffee. Inside George Howell Coffee, scores provide a shared language for evaluating green coffee and roasting, with sweetness and cleanliness at the centre of how quality is assessed. For consumers, however, George takes a different approach. Rather than communicating numerical scores, the focus shifts to describing what the coffee actually tastes like and giving customers the information that is useful to them. That distinction opens up a much broader conversation about the role of scoring, commenting, record-keeping, transparency, and the information different stakeholders actually need across the coffee supply chain. George reflects on the original cupping form he provided to the Specialty Coffee Association of America and questions what is genuinely new about the industry’s shift towards commenting on coffee. He explains the detailed records George Howell Coffee maintains on coffees, including defects, density, moisture content, and water activity, and how those records become part of an ongoing process of learning. We also discuss how much information consumers actually want, why transparency does not necessarily mean communicating every piece of information to everyone, and why the experience in the cup remains fundamental. The conversation then turns to one of George’s frustrations with coffee scoring: the tendency to compress scores into a narrow range in the mid-to-high 80s. George argues that an exceptional coffee should be judged according to its own potential. A beautiful Bourbon does not need to taste like a Panama Gesha to deserve a score in the 90s, and different origins, varieties, and styles of coffee should have the opportunity to express exceptional quality on their own terms. We discuss whether external information about origin, variety, farm, and reputation can influence how coffees are evaluated, why different coffee-producing countries should develop their own expressions of quality, and whether our scoring systems leave enough room to communicate genuine enthusiasm for extraordinary coffee. Connect with George Howell Coffee: https://georgehowellcoffee.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ghowellcoffee https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-howell-95646b2 If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1693 Part 3 of 5 | The Real Cost of Building a Quality Coffee Business (George Howell) | Map It Forward | 30 Sep 2026 | 00:23:11 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is George Howell, founder of George Howell Coffee, returning for the 2026 edition of our annual series, “The Coffee Industry According to George Howell.” In this episode, we explore the growing tension between quality and economics in today’s coffee market. Coffee prices have risen significantly, producers are becoming more involved in determining what their coffee is worth, operating costs remain high, and coffee businesses are having to decide how much of those increases they can absorb before passing them on to customers. For George Howell Coffee, however, the starting point remains the same: quality comes first. George explains that the coffees he buys are selected from samples based on flavour, sweetness, cleanliness, and whether they meet the standards he is looking for. Only then does the conversation about price begin. We discuss why higher coffee prices can change the incentives around producing exceptional quality, why some farmers remain driven to produce extraordinary coffees regardless of market conditions, and why George values relationships with producers who approach coffee as artisans. George also explains the economic reality of developing deeper relationships with farms. Supporting producers with visits, infrastructure, and long-term collaboration requires resources, meaning even a successful coffee company can only invest meaningfully in a limited number of those relationships at a time. The conversation then turns to one of the biggest misconceptions about high-end specialty coffee businesses: that quality-focused companies must be generating enormous profits. George reflects on the early years of both The Coffee Connection and George Howell Coffee, including long periods of breaking even, costly mistakes, the challenges of growth, and why building a sustainable artisan coffee business is a long game. We also discuss why growing too quickly can threaten quality, how investment expectations can change the priorities of a business, shifting consumer behaviour, and why coffee businesses need to understand the risks involved in the economic environment ahead. Connect with George Howell Coffee: https://georgehowellcoffee.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ghowellcoffee https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-howell-95646b2 If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1692 Part 2 of 5 | How to Educate Coffee Consumers About Quality (George Howell) | Map It Forward | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:22:59 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 2 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is George Howell, founder of George Howell Coffee, returning for the 2026 edition of our annual series, “The Coffee Industry According to George Howell.” In this episode, we ask George a deceptively difficult question: What is good-quality coffee? For George, quality begins at the farm. He explains how location, coffee variety, processing, harvesting decisions, ripeness, drying, labour, climate, and the level of care invested by the farmer all contribute to the quality ultimately found in the cup. But understanding quality intellectually is only part of the process. George describes the immersive consumer education events he has been running for decades, where customers move between presentations and carefully structured coffee tastings designed to demonstrate what quality actually tastes like. Participants compare freshly preserved coffee with stale and aged coffee. They taste ripe coffee against coffee harvested unripe. They compare washed, natural, and anaerobic processing. Finally, they taste coffees from different origins in an intentionally structured sequence that makes the differences easier to recognise. The goal is not simply to tell consumers what quality is. It is to give them a sensory reference point. George describes this as “calibrating” the customer. Once consumers understand what quality tastes like, they can take that knowledge into cafés, choose coffees more intentionally, and improve the coffee they brew at home. We also discuss why George Howell Coffee freezes its green coffee, how coffee changes as it cools, why consumers often underestimate the cost and risk involved in producing high-quality coffee, and what coffee businesses can learn from creating more immersive and meaningful education experiences. Connect with George Howell Coffee: https://georgehowellcoffee.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ghowellcoffee https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-howell-95646b2 If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1691 Part 1 of 5 | Why Coffee Should Still Taste Like Coffee (George Howell) | Map It Forward | 28 Sep 2026 | 00:23:40 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is George Howell, founder of George Howell Coffee, returning for the 2026 edition of our annual series, “The Coffee Industry According to George Howell.” This year marks George’s 50th year in the coffee industry, and we begin the series by asking a deceptively simple question: What does George Howell Coffee actually do? George traces the answer back to the philosophy behind The Coffee Connection: “In search of the ultimate cup.” That pursuit remains at the heart of his work today, particularly through single-farm coffees, close attention to producers, an uncompromising approach to quality, and the challenge of reconciling that pursuit with the realities of running a business. But the conversation quickly moves into a much bigger question about how specialty coffee communicates quality. George explains why George Howell Coffee has reconsidered the traditional handful of tasting descriptors printed on coffee bags. Customers looking at several coffees can quickly become overwhelmed by words like orange, plum, nuts, strawberry, or floral when many of them are simply looking for what George calls a “coffee coffee.” That realisation has influenced the company’s new visual approach to communicating flavour, giving customers a clearer indication of how much of the experience will taste recognisably like coffee and how prominent the secondary flavour characteristics will be. George’s argument is ultimately about making specialty coffee easier for consumers to understand and giving them the information they need to confidently choose the coffee they actually want. We also discuss customer trust, consumer education, brewing, service, the growing home coffee market, and why George believes the performance around making coffee should never become more important than delivering quality in the cup. Connect with George Howell Coffee: https://georgehowellcoffee.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ghowellcoffee https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-howell-95646b2 If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ CoffeeListing: https://www.CoffeeListings.com Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1690 Part 5 of 5 | Why Coffee Must Start Valuing Farm Resilience (Pedro Manga) | Map It Forward | 25 Sep 2026 | 00:33:45 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 5 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Pedro Manga, Sustainability and Impact Advisor. In this final episode, Lee and Pedro turn to one of the biggest long-term sustainability challenges facing coffee: climate risk and farm resilience. Pedro argues that coffee is still largely valued according to the quality and volume available today, while far less attention is given to the investments required to make sure that coffee can still be produced tomorrow. That raises an important question: should farm and environmental resilience become part of how the industry values coffee? Lee and Pedro discuss how climate shocks can affect multiple harvests, why securing future supply is not simply the responsibility of farmers, and why roasters, importers and other downstream businesses have a commercial interest in helping origin partners become more resilient. They also explore the uneven distribution of sustainability investment across producing regions. Major sourcing areas can receive significant support because of their commercial importance, while smaller or less strategically important regions may receive far less investment despite facing equally serious environmental risks. Pedro argues that the industry needs to move away from short-term, project-based approaches and toward systems that consistently support resilience across supply chains. The conversation also looks at investments such as wastewater treatment, soil protection, shade trees, ground cover and agroforestry — practices that may not increase coffee quality or volume immediately, but can protect the resources that future production depends on. The series concludes with a broader vision for coffee sustainability: supply chains where accountability, information, value and responsibility are more genuinely shared between origin and consuming markets. Connect with Pedro Manga here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-manga-5802b8170/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_pedroplanta_/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1689 Part 4 of 5 | Why Sustainability Impact Starts With Compliance (Pedro Manga) | Map It Forward | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:27:38 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 4 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Pedro Manga, Sustainability and Impact Advisor. In this series, Lee and Pedro examine the gaps in sustainability across the coffee supply chain and ask whether the systems we have built are actually creating more prosperous coffee communities. In this episode, the conversation turns to the relationship between transparency, compliance and impact — and why the coffee industry may have undervalued the importance of simply doing what sustainability frameworks require. Pedro argues that traceability and transparency can help reduce exposure to corruption, poor business practices and unhealthy supply-chain relationships. But that responsibility exists across the entire supply chain, including at origin, where businesses and cooperatives also need systems for understanding where their coffee goes and what happens after it is sold. The conversation then examines the difference between compliance and impact. Pedro explains that compliance establishes the systems, practices and behaviours required to address identified risks. Impact comes later, when those practices can be shown to have actually changed conditions over time. That distinction matters because sustainability initiatives are often presented as impactful before enough time has passed to demonstrate whether the intervention actually worked. Lee and Pedro discuss EUDR, B Corp, carbon sequestration, tree planting, offsetting and insetting to illustrate why one-off sustainability projects are different from building systems that repeatedly produce better outcomes. They also ask whether businesses need to wait for an external certification or regulation at all — or whether organizations can establish their own internal sustainability standards and hold themselves accountable to them over time. Connect with Pedro Manga here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-manga-5802b8170/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_pedroplanta_/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1688 Part 3 of 5 | Who Carries the Cost of Coffee Sustainability? (Pedro Manga) | Map It Forward | 23 Sep 2026 | 00:35:39 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Pedro Manga, Sustainability and Impact Advisor. In this series, Lee and Pedro examine the gaps in sustainability across the coffee supply chain and ask whether the systems we have built are actually creating more prosperous coffee communities. In this episode, the conversation focuses on the growing disconnect between sustainability standards created in consuming markets and the realities faced by the people expected to implement them at origin. Using the Benecke controversy as a starting point, Lee and Pedro examine certification, Fairtrade, organic coffee, EUDR and other sustainability frameworks — and ask whether accountability is being applied equally across the supply chain. Pedro argues that regulations and certifications can create meaningful improvements. The problem is not necessarily the objective behind them, but the imbalance that can emerge when producers and cooperatives carry much of the operational burden, financial cost, data collection and long-term commitment required to meet those standards. The conversation explores why converting a farm to organic production can become a multi-year commitment, why producers often have less flexibility than buyers, how certification costs are distributed, and why traceability and transparency are essential if sustainability claims are going to retain their meaning. Lee and Pedro also discuss how better information flowing back toward origin could help cooperatives assess the financial stability of buyers, understand risk, and make better commercial decisions before committing significant volumes of coffee. The episode ultimately asks whether sustainability can deliver meaningful impact without a more balanced distribution of responsibility between production and consumption. Connect with Pedro Manga here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-manga-5802b8170/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_pedroplanta_/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1687 Part 2 of 5 | Why Coffee Data Needs to Flow Both Ways (Pedro Manga) | Map It Forward | 22 Sep 2026 | 00:23:16 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 2 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Pedro Manga, Sustainability and Impact Advisor. In this series, Lee and Pedro examine the gaps in sustainability across the coffee supply chain and ask whether the systems we have built are actually creating more prosperous coffee communities. In this episode, the conversation turns to data and a major imbalance in how information moves through coffee. Pedro argues that the industry has become highly focused on extracting information from origin — farm data, production costs, carbon footprints, traceability information, farmer profiles and photographs — while far less information flows back to the people and organizations producing the coffee. That raises a fundamental question: what information would producers and cooperatives find valuable if they actually had access to it? Lee and Pedro discuss why producers may want to know who is buying their coffee, where it is sold, whether consumers liked it, why a buyer did or did not return the following season, and how value is added after coffee leaves the farm. They also explore why better information could help producers improve processing decisions, evaluate commercial partners, understand risk and see the contribution made by exporters, importers, roasters and other actors across the supply chain. For cooperatives and larger first aggregation points, Pedro argues that this becomes even more important. Access to information about downstream partners, their financial position and commercial relationships can become part of basic risk management — something that recent coffee-industry disputes have brought sharply into focus. Connect with Pedro Manga here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-manga-5802b8170/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_pedroplanta_/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1686 Part 1 of 5 | What Coffee Gets Wrong About Traceability (Pedro Manga) | Map It Forward | 21 Sep 2026 | 00:24:05 | |
Advertising Sponsor Find or list coffee, equipment, services, jobs, businesses, wanted ads, and other opportunities across the global coffee industry. www.coffeelistings.com Episode Description This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Pedro Manga, Sustainability and Impact Advisor. In this series, Lee and Pedro examine the gaps in sustainability across the coffee supply chain and ask whether the systems we have built are actually creating more prosperous coffee communities. In this episode, the conversation focuses on traceability and transparency — two concepts that are often used together but, Pedro argues, have become oversimplified. Traceability is more than knowing the farm, farmer, or price associated with a coffee. Pedro explains how it can help businesses understand relationships across the supply chain, identify risks, and make better long-term decisions. Transparency, meanwhile, is not simply publishing all the data a company collects. It is about making relevant information available in a form that the people receiving it can actually understand and use. Lee and Pedro also discuss the knowledge gaps between producing and consuming countries, why information can technically be disclosed without being meaningfully transparent, the role buyers can play in demanding better traceability, and why price alone does not define a sustainable relationship. Connect with Pedro Manga here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-manga-5802b8170/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_pedroplanta_/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1685 Part 5 of 5 | What Will the Tea Industry Look Like in 20 Years? (Jem McDowall) Map It Forward | 18 Sep 2026 | 00:27:27 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 5 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Jem McDowall, VP at Universal Commodities. In the final episode of this series, Lee and Jem look ahead at what the next 20 years could bring for the global tea industry. Rather than predicting a completely different future, Jem argues that many of the changes already underway are likely to accelerate. One of the biggest is the continued bifurcation of the tea market. At one end are highly efficient, mass-produced commodity teas. At the other are differentiated, artisan and specialty products such as matcha, hojicha, whole-leaf teas, and origin-driven offerings. The producers caught between those two models may face the greatest pressure. Lee and Jem compare this with the increasingly K-shaped coffee market, where businesses are being pushed toward either greater scale and efficiency or stronger differentiation and higher value. They also explore how consumer preferences are changing. Convenience products such as bottled and ready-to-drink tea continue to grow, while consumers at the premium end are looking for individuality, quality, origin, experience, and new flavor formats. Jem argues that tea also needs to do a better job telling the stories of its producing regions. Some origins produce exceptional tea but have failed to build the same recognition and narrative value as more famous regions. The conversation then turns to one of agriculture’s biggest long-term challenges: succession. Younger generations are increasingly reluctant to take over farms, and Jem says tea is facing many of the same problems already visible in coffee. They also discuss liquidity, rising commodity prices, and the possibility that stronger tea prices could create unexpected financial pressure for traders, factories, and producers that need significantly more working capital to move the same volume of product. The episode closes with a broader question about the future of agricultural supply chains. If governments, NGOs, and industry continue responding to structural problems by simply producing more, do conditions actually improve? Or does increased production continue suppressing prices and making it harder to improve wages, working conditions, and producer viability? As Jem puts it: more is not necessarily better. Better is better. Connect with Jem McDowall here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jem-mcdowall-826932b/ Universal Commodities: If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1684 Part 4 of 5 | El Niño and the Growing Risk to Global Tea Supply (Jem McDowall) Map It Forward | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:23:38 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 4 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Jem McDowall, VP at Universal Commodities. In this episode, Lee and Jem examine how El Niño could affect the global tea industry far beyond the farm. Jem explains that early warning signs are already visible across major producing regions, including unusually dry conditions in East Africa, Malawi, and Indonesia, along with severe flooding in Assam and southern China. The concern is not simply lower yields. Tea depends on a narrow range of conditions for healthy growth, and both excessive rainfall and drought can damage crop quality and production. Extreme weather can also wash out roads and bridges, disrupt local transport, delay exports, and interfere with shipping routes. Jem explains that this risk is arriving at a particularly vulnerable moment. After roughly a decade of oversupply, global tea supply and demand have moved much closer to balance. That means the industry has far less excess production available to absorb a major disruption. The conversation also explores another layer of risk: fertilizer. Although fertilizer prices and availability have improved from recent peaks, costs remain elevated, and some farmers have already reduced applications. Jem explains how delayed distribution, reduced use, or fertilizer being washed away by heavy rain can further weaken bush health and future productivity. Lee and Jem also discuss the broader consequences of rising food prices and why smallholders may choose to divert fertilizer, abandon tea, or replace tea bushes with crops that provide faster or more reliable returns. That matters because around 65% of global tea production comes from smallholders. If farmers uproot tea rather than simply leave bushes temporarily unmanaged, replacing that production can take years. The result is a tea industry facing climate risk, input risk, logistics risk, and shrinking production buffers at the same time. Connect with Jem McDowall here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jem-mcdowall-826932b/ Universal Commodities: If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1683 Part 3 of 5 | Why Tea Farmers Are Under Increasing Pressure (Jem McDowall) Map It Forward | 16 Sep 2026 | 00:25:02 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Jem McDowall, VP at Universal Commodities. In this episode, Lee and Jem examine the growing challenges facing tea farmers and producers around the world. Jem explains why the health of the producer base matters to everyone downstream: without financially viable producers, there is no tea industry. The conversation explores how tea producers have spent roughly a decade dealing with low prices while input costs have continued to rise. Jem explains how efforts to increase productivity and expand tea planting contributed to oversupply in some markets, putting further downward pressure on prices. The result has been years of cost cutting, reduced investment, lower inputs, weaker balance sheets, and declining resilience across parts of the producer base. Jem points to producing origins that have seen significant declines in output and warns that even if tea prices temporarily rise, a short-term price spike cannot repair years of underinvestment. Lee and Jem also discuss the growing climate risk facing agriculture, including El Niño, drought, flooding, and increasingly volatile weather patterns. That leads to one of the strongest comparisons in the series: Jem describes coffee as a kind of “canary in the coal mine” for tea. Many of the problems now emerging in tea — climate stress, falling production, financial pressure, and farmers walking away — have already been visible in coffee. The conversation also explores currency risk, rising dollar-denominated input costs, de-dollarization, and the structure of smallholder tea production. Jem explains that around 65% of tea is grown by small farmers, making tea far more fragmented at origin than many people might assume. This episode raises a fundamental question for both tea and coffee: how long can agricultural supply chains continue weakening the people responsible for producing the product? Connect with Jem McDowall here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jem-mcdowall-826932b/ Universal Commodities: If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1682 Part 2 of 5 | How Tea Is Priced and Traded (Jem McDowall) Map It Forward | 15 Sep 2026 | 00:34:26 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 2 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Jem McDowall, VP at Universal Commodities. In this episode, Lee and Jem explore how tea is priced, bought, sold, and financed across the global supply chain. Jem explains how major tea auction systems operate in markets including Kenya, Sri Lanka, India, Malawi, and Indonesia, and how buyers evaluate lots based on origin, appearance, cup profile, grade, and market demand. Unlike coffee, tea does not have a futures market. Instead, a significant portion of global black tea production is sold through physical auctions where buyers bid on actual tea and are required to take ownership of what they purchase. Jem explains how reserve prices are established, how buyers compete for lots, and how the old open-cry auction system introduced a remarkable amount of strategy and psychological warfare into the trading process before auctions largely moved online. The conversation also examines how tea is packed and sold, why lot sizes vary, and how published auction prices become reference points for the broader physical market. But the most striking contrast with coffee comes around payment. Jem explains that buyers at tea auctions typically have around 10 to 14 days to pay, and the tea is only released once the money has been received: no money, no tea. That leads Lee and Jem into a wider discussion about financing across agricultural supply chains, including why producers in tea are generally not expected to finance consuming markets in the same way many coffee producers still are. The comparison raises difficult questions about where financial risk sits in coffee and why producers at origin continue to carry costs that, in other commodity systems, sit much closer to the buyer. Connect with Jem McDowall here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jem-mcdowall-826932b/ Universal Commodities: If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1681 Part 1 of 5 | How Tea Is Processed and Graded (Jem McDowall) Map It Forward | 14 Sep 2026 | 00:23:54 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Jem McDowall, VP at Universal Commodities, a tea importer based in the United States. For the first time on The Daily Coffee Pro, we’re stepping outside coffee and into the world of tea. In this episode, Lee and Jem explore how tea is grown, processed, and graded, and where the tea and coffee industries share some surprising similarities. Jem explains how tea begins as fresh leaf from the Camellia sinensis plant before moving through withering, rolling or cutting, oxidation, and drying. He breaks down the difference between traditional orthodox processing and CTC — cut, tear, curl — and explains why those processing choices create very different finished teas. They also discuss the distinction between green and black tea, why controlling oxidation matters, and how moisture is reduced to preserve finished tea. The conversation then turns to grading. Unlike coffee, tea grading is largely a system of sorting leaf by size, with terms such as Orange Pekoe, Broken Orange Pekoe, and fannings. Jem explains why those classifications can vary significantly between origins and why tea grading remains far less standardized globally than coffee grading. The episode also touches on the extraordinary rise of matcha — a product Jem says represents less than a quarter of one percent of global tea production while attracting enormous attention and value. This episode lays the foundation for the rest of the series as we begin comparing the structure, economics, challenges, and future of the global tea industry with what coffee has already experienced. Connect with Jem McDowall here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jem-mcdowall-826932b/ Universal Commodities: If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1680 Part 5 of 5 | What Will Coffee Look Like in 20 Years? (Norbert Niederhauser) Map It Forward | 11 Sep 2026 | 00:34:17 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 5 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster. In this final episode, Lee and Norbert look ahead and ask what coffee might actually look like over the next 20 years. Norbert is optimistic that coffee will still be here, but he expects the industry to change significantly. Climate pressure, shrinking suitable growing areas, new coffee varieties, changes in consumer behaviour, rising prices, technology, and different approaches to production will all shape what survives and what does not. From an agricultural perspective, Norbert discusses the pressure climate change is placing on coffee production, particularly Arabica. As temperatures rise, suitable growing areas may shift to higher elevations, where there is naturally less available land. At the same time, work on more climate-resilient varieties may help protect quality and production in the years ahead. The conversation also explores whether consumers may eventually drink less coffee but value it more. Norbert suggests that coffee could become a more deliberate experience rather than simply a caffeine delivery system, with consumers drinking fewer cups but being more willing to pay prices that support a sustainable supply chain. Lee and Norbert then turn to the rapid growth of experimental processing and fermentation. Norbert is cautious about treating these techniques as a universal solution. While controlled fermentation can create value, it can also introduce significant risk when producers lack the equipment, knowledge, or buyer relationships needed to manage the process consistently. They discuss why experimental processing may make more sense inside closely connected supply chains where roasters and producers share the risk, investment, product development, and responsibility for finding a market for the final coffee. The conversation also questions the idea that the future of coffee will simply become “hyper-specialty.” Norbert warns against assuming that because a small number of consumers will pay extraordinary prices, the wider market will follow. Highly exclusive coffee may continue to exist, but it is unlikely to represent the majority of the industry. Pricing is another major part of the discussion. Norbert argues that a sustainable future requires both higher prices for farmers and greater price stability. Rapid price swings make planning difficult across the supply chain, while continually pushing commodity prices lower fails to account for the environmental systems coffee production depends on. Technology will also continue to reshape coffee. Digital tools, AI, and the vast amounts of data collected over the past two decades may help businesses make better decisions and operate more efficiently. Hardware innovation may be more incremental, but increasingly automated equipment could change both cafés and the growing home coffee market. Lee and Norbert also discuss how cafés may continue to divide. Businesses offering distinctive quality, service, and experience may need to move further up in price, while more generic businesses risk competing primarily on cost. The home coffee market could become increasingly important as well. Consumers may still be willing to pay more for high-quality coffee while avoiding some of the additional cost associated with consuming it in cafés. The series closes with a simple but important idea: the future of coffee is not predetermined. Farmers, traders, roasters, café owners, technology companies, and consumers all influence what the industry becomes. Sustainability will depend on whether enough of those participants choose to build systems that can continue functioning economically, environmentally, and socially over the long term. Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster: Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cropster/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1679 Part 4 of 5 | What a Sustainable Coffee Supply Chain Actually Looks Like (Norbert Niederhauser) | 10 Sep 2026 | 00:30:29 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 4 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster. In this episode, Lee and Norbert explore what a sustainable coffee supply chain actually looks like in practice and why technology, data, and better visibility are becoming increasingly important to making that possible. Norbert explains how the coffee industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years as digital tools, connected systems, and data collection have improved. Where businesses once relied heavily on spreadsheets, manual processes, and individual knowledge, they can now access much more detailed information about quality, inventory, roasting, pricing, sourcing, waste, and other parts of their operations. But having more data does not automatically make a business more sustainable. A central point in the conversation is that businesses need to measure what they are actually doing if they want to know whether change is happening. Norbert shares Cropster’s own experience with B Corp certification and how the company discovered that good intentions were not enough. In some areas, they simply did not have the data to prove whether they were performing as well as they believed they were. That process forced them to measure more carefully, identify where assumptions did not match reality, and make better decisions. Lee and Norbert discuss how the same principle applies across coffee businesses. A roaster might measure inventory, consistency, loss, quality, and production. A café might discover that seemingly small amounts of coffee wasted during dialing-in translate into significant financial losses over time. A producer needs to understand who the customer is and what happens to the coffee further down the supply chain. The conversation also challenges the idea that businesses can remain isolated within one part of the industry. Sustainable systems require people to understand what happens beyond their immediate role, whether they are producing coffee, roasting it, manufacturing equipment, developing software, or operating cafés. Norbert explains that Cropster itself depends on this kind of cross-industry understanding. The company does not manufacture roasting or espresso machines, but it needs to understand how those machines work, how people use them, and where operational problems occur if its software is going to support those businesses effectively. Lee and Norbert also discuss why data alone is not enough. The real value comes from interpretation: understanding what the numbers mean for the specific business, its goals, its customers, its brand, and its sustainability priorities. Technology can help businesses identify patterns, reduce guesswork, and avoid being blindsided. Consultants can help interpret that information, and AI is increasingly capable of helping people make sense of complex reports and identify the areas that deserve closer attention. The goal is not to replace human judgment. It is to give businesses better information so that decisions become more deliberate and less reactive. At its core, Norbert argues that sustainability requires businesses to remain proactive. That means asking better questions of the data: are farmer prices sustainable? Is the business financially stable? Are wages livable? Is waste under control? Are suppliers reliable? Are the people working in the business able to remain invested in it? A sustainable coffee supply chain is not simply one that collects more information. It is one that understands what that information is saying and acts on it before problems become crises. Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster: Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cropster/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1678 Part 3 of 5 | Environmental vs Economic Sustainability in Coffee (Norbert Niederhauser) Map It Forward | 09 Sep 2026 | 00:29:12 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster. In this episode, Lee and Norbert explore the relationship between environmental sustainability and economic sustainability, and why coffee businesses cannot afford to treat them as separate conversations. Norbert defines environmental sustainability as creating production systems that can continue over the long term without depleting the soil, water, land, or wider ecosystem they depend on. That can involve regenerative agriculture, intercropping, recovery periods, and production models that leave the system in the same or a better condition than when production began. Economic sustainability works in much the same way. A business needs enough resources to continue operating, pay people, reinvest, adapt to difficult periods, and survive disruption without constantly running at the edge of failure. Lee and Norbert discuss what happens when those two forms of sustainability collide. Climate events, logistics disruptions, shipping delays, crop failures, and other external shocks can quickly become economic problems when cash is tied up, inventory is delayed, or businesses are forced to find replacement coffee at short notice. The conversation then turns to the C-market and the growing disconnect between commodity pricing and the actual cost of producing coffee sustainably. Norbert argues that the market does not adequately account for farmer economics or environmental realities, while many producers remain price takers despite carrying much of the production and climate risk. They also explore what happens when farmers are environmentally sustainable almost by necessity but remain economically unsustainable. If the price they receive does not cover the true cost of production and provide a viable return, the system only continues while those farmers have no better alternative. That creates a deeper long-term risk for coffee. If farming is no longer economically viable, producers may leave coffee altogether, sell their land, or move into other activities. Once that productive land leaves coffee, the supply base becomes smaller and more vulnerable. Lee and Norbert also discuss the role of direct trade, technology, and platforms that help producers and buyers connect more directly, improve transparency, and build supply relationships outside of traditional pricing structures. The episode closes with the central conclusion that environmental and economic sustainability have to work together. Environmental sustainability without economic viability becomes a project dependent on outside resources. Economic sustainability that destroys soil, water, farms, or supply relationships eventually removes the foundation the business depends on. Sustainability is not achieved by fixing one part of the system. It requires continually strengthening the whole ecosystem. Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster: Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cropster/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1677 Part 2 of 5 | Where Coffee Supply Chains Lack Sustainability (Norbert Niederhauser) Map It Forward | 08 Sep 2026 | 00:29:10 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 2 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster. In this episode, Lee and Norbert explore where sustainability is most lacking across the coffee supply chain. Norbert starts with a blunt observation: in many places, the current system itself is evidence of unsustainability. Farmers often lack the income, economic power, and resilience needed to absorb shocks. Traders can fail when market volatility becomes too extreme. Roasters can struggle when coffee costs rise faster than their ability to adjust pricing. Meanwhile, environmental systems including soil, water, and land continue to deteriorate. The conversation looks at why these problems rarely have quick fixes. Coffee is an agricultural product built around long cycles, fragmented relationships, and global supply chains. Changing farming systems can take years. Rebuilding sourcing models, customer expectations, pricing, and internal business structures also takes time and resources. Lee and Norbert discuss how fragmentation makes sustainability harder, but also creates an opportunity. Different farmers, roasters, and supply-chain partners can experiment with better models without having to change the entire industry at once. The challenge is making successful ideas transferable so that they can be adopted by more businesses rather than remaining isolated examples. They also explore how business owners can identify unsustainable parts of their operations before they become a crisis. Norbert recommends looking at the business from all sides: economics, employees, supply chain, sourcing, external risks, and what happens when assumptions change. A major part of the conversation focuses on coffee businesses that were built around cheaper coffee and are now waiting for prices to fall back to where they used to be. Lee and Norbert challenge that approach and discuss why relying on the C-market as the main indicator of what coffee should cost may no longer reflect the realities of producing coffee sustainably. Norbert also explains why sustainability cannot exist in a silo. A business may protect its own margins for a period of time, but if the farmers, suppliers, environment, or other parts of the system it depends on become unsustainable, that eventually becomes a risk to the business itself. The episode closes with a practical recommendation for businesses wanting to assess where they stand: use frameworks such as B Corp as a way to ask better questions about the economic, environmental, workforce, and supply-chain impacts of the business, even if certification itself is not the goal. Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster: Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cropster/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1676 Part 1 of 5 | What Sustainability in Coffee Actually Means (Norbert Niederhauser) Map It Forward | 07 Sep 2026 | 00:29:34 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is part 1 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster. Norbert returns to the podcast eight years after his first appearance on The Map It Forward Podcast in 2018. In this new series, Lee and Norbert are exploring what sustainable coffee supply chains actually look like, where the industry is falling short, and what needs to change if coffee is going to remain viable in the decades ahead. In this episode, the conversation starts with a basic but increasingly difficult question: what does sustainability in coffee actually mean? Norbert argues that sustainability cannot be reduced to carbon emissions, packaging, or environmental initiatives. It has to include the full ecosystem around a business, including employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, the environment, and whether the decisions being made today allow everyone involved to continue operating into the future. Lee and Norbert also discuss the relationship between capitalism and sustainability, why economic sustainability has to remain part of the conversation, and what happens when shareholder return becomes the only measure that matters. The discussion moves across the coffee supply chain, from farmers and traders to roasters and consumers, and looks at the responsibility each participant carries. They also explore the risk involved in changing established sourcing and business practices, why sustainable change often needs to happen gradually, and why businesses need to be transparent about what they have and have not yet achieved. For roasters considering changes to sourcing, product strategy, or customer communication, Norbert’s advice is practical: start somewhere, test the change, communicate honestly, avoid greenwashing, and stay with the process long enough for customers to understand why the change matters. This episode sets up the central question for the series: what would it actually take to build a coffee supply chain that can continue functioning for everyone involved? Norbert first appeared on The Map It Forward Podcast in Episode 28 in 2018: https://www.mapitforward.coffee/podcasts/the-map-it-forward-podcast-episode-28-with-norbert-niederhauser Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster: Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cropster/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1675 Part 5 of 5 | What Colombia’s Coffee Industry Needs Now (Ana Donneys + Angel Barrera) Map It Forward | 04 Sep 2026 | 00:26:45 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container This is episode 5 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco. In this final episode, the conversation turns to the longer-term consequences of the earthquake and what the global coffee industry can do to help. Angel explains that recovery will depend heavily on access to resources. Larger cities and businesses may be able to rebuild more quickly, while smaller towns and rural communities could struggle for much longer. Ana points out that unlike the 1999 Armenia earthquake, this disaster has affected many different cities and departments at once, making it much harder to concentrate reconstruction efforts. The long-term impact is not only financial. Ana explains that women in coffee are already asking for mental-health support as they deal with trauma, aftershocks, family responsibilities and the pressure of rebuilding businesses and communities. When asked what the international coffee industry can do, both Ana and Angel give a clear answer: keep doing business with Colombia. Continue buying Colombian coffee. Maintain relationships with producers and exporters. Be flexible when small delays happen. Keep talking about what has happened. And if you were planning to visit Colombia, don’t automatically cancel. Angel also warns that buyers may be tempted to switch origins if Colombian coffee remains more expensive than alternatives. But abandoning established relationships during a difficult year could deepen the economic damage for producers already trying to rebuild. The episode closes with a broader conversation about the future of coffee farming, generational change, the need for stronger commercial relationships, and why supporting farmers means investing in the future of the coffee industry itself. Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/ https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/ https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/ Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo: https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/ https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/ https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1674 Part 4 of 5 | What Colombia’s Earthquake Could Mean for Coffee Exports (Ana Donneys + Angel Barrera) Map It Forward | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:22:14 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container This is episode 4 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco. In this episode, the conversation turns to what the earthquake could mean for Colombian coffee exports. Angel explains that while coffee continues to move, the consequences of the earthquake extend well beyond the immediate damage. Pereira lost a major transport connection when its airport was badly affected, tourism and local economic activity slowed, labour has been redirected toward reconstruction, and truck availability has tightened as vehicles are used to move humanitarian assistance. At the same time, Colombia is preparing for El Niño. Ana explains that resources originally intended to help farms prepare for drought and difficult growing conditions are now being redirected toward rebuilding roofs, wet mills, roads and processing infrastructure. That creates a second problem. Colombia is globally known for washed coffee, but some areas are already experiencing water rationing. If water availability worsens, producers could face difficulties processing coffee in the way their farms and markets have traditionally required. Angel explains why simply switching the country to natural processing is not straightforward. Colombia’s production systems, quality controls and export structures have been built around washed coffee for decades. The bigger risk may therefore be quality and future production. Ana describes the combination producers are now facing: damaged processing infrastructure, water shortages, possible electricity constraints, high temperatures, currency pressure and the possibility of a greater percentage of coffee developing defects that reduce its export value. The earthquake itself lasted minutes. Its impact on Colombian coffee could extend through 2026 and well into 2027. Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/ https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/ https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/ Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo: https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/ https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/ https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1673 Part 3 of 5 | How Colombia’s Earthquake Is Hitting the Coffee Industry (Ana Donneys + Angel Barrera) Map It Forward | 02 Sep 2026 | 00:22:58 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container This is episode 3 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco. In this episode, the conversation turns to what the earthquake means for Colombia’s coffee industry on the ground. Ana explains why recovery will take time. Farms and businesses that were focused on harvest preparation, production and normal operations suddenly had to redirect money, labour and attention toward urgent needs, repairs and reconstruction. For many coffee producers, the most important priority is not rebuilding their homes first. It is restoring the infrastructure that allows them to process and sell coffee. Ana describes producers using temporary coverings on damaged homes while prioritising wet mills, drying areas and washing stations because without those facilities they cannot generate the income needed to rebuild. Angel explains that this disruption is arriving at an especially difficult moment. Colombia was already preparing for a potentially severe El Niño, with concerns around drought, water rationing and electricity shortages. Now the earthquake has added damaged farms, homes, mills, roads and infrastructure to that risk. The effects are also logistical. Buenaventura was closed for approximately a week following damage, some roads were disrupted, and trucks normally used to move coffee have been redirected to carry humanitarian aid into affected regions. Meanwhile, El Niño is beginning to bring hotter conditions and fires in parts of Colombia, creating another potential challenge just as the next harvest approaches. The message from this episode is clear: Colombia’s coffee industry cannot simply stop while communities rebuild. Producers need functioning businesses, reliable buyers and timely payments if recovery is going to be sustainable. Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/ https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/ https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/ Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo: https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/ https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/ https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1672 Part 2 of 5 | The Day After Colombia’s Earthquakes (Ana Donneys + Angel Barrera) Map It Forward | 01 Sep 2026 | 00:22:04 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container This is episode 2 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco. In the previous episode, Ana and Angel described what it was like when the earthquakes struck. In this episode, the conversation turns to what happened next. Angel describes sleeping in his car because he no longer felt safe inside his home, returning to the Belco office the next day, and discovering that several colleagues had been displaced from their apartments. For hours, there was still uncertainty about whether everyone was safe. But amid the disruption, something else emerged very quickly: people started helping each other. Angel and his colleagues began organising food and coffee for emergency workers and affected communities. Ana describes restaurants becoming donation centres, WhatsApp groups coordinating meals and transport, and trucks carrying supplies arriving from Bogotá, Medellín and other parts of Colombia. The episode also begins to reveal the scale of the disruption facing coffee-producing communities. Some rural areas were left without electricity, internet or road access for days. Landslides isolated farms. While the coffee trees themselves appear to have been relatively resilient in many places, farmers’ homes, wet mills and other infrastructure were damaged or destroyed. Angel also explains that the Port of Buenaventura was affected, with terminal damage, fallen containers, and shipments delayed, an early indication that the consequences could extend beyond the immediate disaster zone and into Colombia’s coffee supply chain. Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/ https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/ https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/ Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo: https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/ https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/ https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1671 Part 1 of 5 | When the Earthquake Hit Colombia’s Coffee Region (Ana Donneys + Angel Barrera) Map It Forward | 31 Aug 2026 | 00:29:26 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container This is episode 1 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco. Before the earthquakes struck, Colombia’s coffee sector was already navigating a difficult environment. Ana describes lower yields following heavy rain and preparations for El Niño ahead of Colombia’s important second-semester harvest. Angel explains how a smaller and delayed harvest had tightened coffee availability, intensified competition among exporters and pushed Colombian coffee differentials sharply higher. At the same time, the strengthening Colombian peso was reducing what producers received locally while production costs remained high. Then, on the morning of August 10, everything changed. Angel describes driving toward Pereira when animals suddenly began running along the road and his car started moving beneath him. What initially seemed like a problem with his tires became a prolonged earthquake. With communications and electricity down, he returned home to collapsed buildings, frightened neighbours and a cloud of dust hanging over Pereira. Ana was on the sixth floor of a building in Armenia when the shaking began. What she initially assumed would be another small tremor continued until she could barely stand. After reaching her family, she immediately travelled to the farm to check on workers, buildings and the coffee operation. This first episode documents what “day zero” looked like through the experiences of two people working directly within Colombia’s coffee industry, and the economic conditions the sector was already facing before the earthquake arrived. Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/ https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/ https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/ Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo: https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/ https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/ https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/ If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1670 Part 5 of 5 | What the Benecke Case Reveals About Coffee’s Broken Supply Chain (Lee Safar) | Map It Forward | 28 Aug 2026 | 00:38:35 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is the final episode of our five-part solo series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward examining the Benecke Coffee controversy following the Peru and Honduras cooperative series. Lee Safar brings together the unanswered questions surrounding Benecke, J.J. Darboven, Fairtrade, brokers, the insolvency process and the unpaid producer organisations. The biggest question remains simple: where did the money go? The episode examines the timing of payments and insolvency, what Benecke may have known about its ability to meet its obligations, Fairtrade’s response, unanswered questions for J.J. Darboven, the role of brokers, and the information still needed from the insolvency process. But the larger issue goes beyond Benecke. Coffee can be grown, financed, exported, imported, roasted and sold while the producer organisation that supplied it remains unpaid, and may ultimately carry the loss. Lee argues that the industry needs stronger buyer due diligence, payment protection, transparency, broker accountability, early-warning mechanisms and better legal support for producers. The Benecke investigation is not over, but this series leaves the industry with a larger question: How much more risk can the coffee supply chain absorb before something fundamentally has to change? Connect with Lee Safar here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar/ https://www.instagram.com/leesafar Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1669 Part 4 of 5 | Brokers, Pressure and Conflicts in the Benecke Case (Lee Safar) | Map It Forward | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:21:55 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is episode 4 of our five-part solo series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward examining the Benecke Coffee controversy following the Peru and Honduras cooperative series. Lee Safar turns to one of the least understood parts of the coffee supply chain: brokers and commercial intermediaries. Brokers can connect cooperatives with international buyers, negotiate terms, facilitate communication and help coordinate contracts. But when they are commercially connected to multiple parties in the same transaction, difficult questions can arise about whose interests they ultimately serve. In this episode, Lee examines allegations from the Peru side that brokers pressured cooperative managers not to speak publicly, discouraged some cooperatives from registering as creditors, continued receiving commissions while cooperative payments remained outstanding, and may have had commercial relationships with Benecke and J.J. Darboven. These allegations remain unverified and the brokers contacted by Map It Forward have not responded. The episode asks what brokers knew about Benecke’s financial position, what due diligence they performed, what they told cooperatives once payment problems emerged, and whether their incentives created conflicts of interest. In Part 5, we bring all the pieces together and ask: what still doesn’t add up? Connect with Lee Safar here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar/ https://www.instagram.com/leesafar Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1668 Part 3 of 5 | Who Knew Benecke Was in Trouble, and When? (Lee Safar) | Map It Forward | 26 Aug 2026 | 00:30:21 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is episode 3 of our five-part solo series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward examining the Benecke Coffee controversy following the Peru and Honduras cooperative series. Lee Safar asks one of the most important questions in the case: who knew Benecke was in trouble, and when did they know it? The warning signs include falling reported revenue, increasingly late payments, Fairtrade being alerted to arrears in June 2025, an unannounced FLOCERT audit in August, continued coffee shipments from Peru, and Benecke's major financing reportedly not being renewed in September. Lee also examines confidential-source allegations involving futures positions, margin calls and demands for additional shareholder capital. These claims remain unverified. The episode then asks what Benecke, Fairtrade, J.J. Darboven, brokers, lenders and other parties may each have known before more coffee was shipped. The central question is simple: Did anyone have enough information to warn producers before they took on more risk? In Part 4, we examine the brokers and intermediaries caught between producers and buyers. Connect with Lee Safar here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar/ https://www.instagram.com/leesafar Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1667 Part 2 of 5 | Where Did the Money for Benecke’s Unpaid Coffee Go? (Lee Safar) | Map It Forward | 25 Aug 2026 | 00:24:32 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is episode 2 of a five-part solo series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward examining the Benecke Coffee controversy following our previous series with producer cooperatives in Peru and Honduras. In this episode, Lee Safar follows the coffee, and then follows the money. The Peruvian cooperatives say they continued shipping coffee after payments slowed because Benecke repeatedly assured them payment was coming. COMSA says 12 containers worth approximately US$2.7 million remain unpaid. J.J. Darboven has confirmed Benecke was its supplier and says all Benecke invoices it received in 2025 were paid in full and on time. That raises the central question: if downstream buyers paid Benecke, what happened before the money reached the cooperatives? Lee examines the documents needed to trace individual shipments, why receipt and payment dates matter, the role of brokers and the insolvency administrator, and the difference between money received before and after insolvency proceedings. Until specific coffee lots, invoices, receipt dates and payments can be matched, major questions remain about where the payment chain actually broke. In Part 3, we ask: who knew what, and when did they know it? Connect with Lee Safar here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar/ https://www.instagram.com/leesafar Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1666 Part 1 of 5 | The Benecke Coffee Timeline: What We Know So Far (Lee Safar) | Map It Forward | 24 Aug 2026 | 00:34:59 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is episode 1 of a new five-part solo series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward examining what we currently know about the Benecke Coffee controversy following our previous series with producer cooperatives in Peru and Honduras. Lee Safar reconstructs the timeline, corrects several points from earlier coverage, and separates what is established from what remains alleged, disputed or unknown. Benecke Coffee and J.J. Darboven are separate legal companies, although J.J. Darboven has confirmed Benecke was one of its suppliers. Café Intención is a J.J. Darboven brand, and Arthur Darboven ceased serving in Benecke's formal management role in April 2024. The episode then follows the timeline from COMSA's payment problems in early 2025, Fairtrade raising concerns in June, FLOCERT's August audit, continued shipments from Peru, Benecke's financing problems and eventual insolvency. The central questions remain: What happened to the coffee and the money? What did Benecke know about its ability to pay, and when? What did Fairtrade, commercial intermediaries and J.J. Darboven know? And what did the insolvency administrator inherit? In Part 2, we follow the coffee, and then follow the money. Connect with Lee Safar here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar/ https://www.instagram.com/leesafar Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1665 Part 5 of 5 | After Benecke: How Should Coffee Cooperatives Protect Themselves? (Benecke and COMSA) | Map It Forward | 21 Aug 2026 | 00:39:06 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is the final episode of a five-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward with Rodolfo Peñalba, General Manager of COMSA, and Cristian Dubón, a board member and coffee producer from the cooperative in Honduras. Across this series, COMSA has described a commercial relationship with Benecke Coffee that developed over more than two decades, expanded significantly during the 2024/25 season, and ultimately left the cooperative pursuing approximately USD 2.7 million through Benecke’s insolvency proceedings. In this final episode, we step outside the immediate dispute and ask a bigger question: What should the global coffee industry learn from this? For COMSA, one lesson is already clear. Trust alone is no longer enough. Rodolfo explains that COMSA is considering changing how it structures future coffee transactions so that buyers do not receive the original shipping documents before payment has been secured. That could mean working through banks, letters of credit or other payment mechanisms that allow an importer to confirm the coffee is on its way without gaining control of the original documents until payment has been made. Those systems may increase transaction costs, but COMSA says the experience with Benecke has forced the cooperative to rethink how much financial risk it can continue carrying on behalf of buyers. Rodolfo also discusses the need for stronger due diligence on importing companies and better access to information about the financial health of counterparties in destination countries. The conversation then turns to the human consequences of the dispute. Rodolfo says the amount COMSA is pursuing is equivalent to approximately the annual income of more than 700 farming families. For COMSA, this is not simply an unpaid commercial invoice. It affects money intended for farmers, families, food, education, medicine and the repayment of bank financing used to fulfil the contracts. We also examine the role of Fairtrade. COMSA says Fairtrade certification helped the cooperative grow, access international markets and obtain better prices. But Rodolfo questions whether equivalent scrutiny exists on the buyer side of the supply chain. Producer organisations are required to meet standards, pass audits, provide financial transparency and fulfil contracts. What happens when the buyer does not fulfil theirs? Rodolfo argues that organisations such as Fairtrade should consider whether producer protection needs to extend beyond certification to include stronger due diligence, greater understanding of destination-country laws and possibly legal support when cooperatives are forced into disputes abroad. The episode closes with COMSA explaining why it decided to speak publicly. Rodolfo and Cristian say they are trying to recover money they believe belongs to the cooperative, its producers and the banks that financed the coffee. They also hope that by telling the story publicly, other cooperatives may reconsider how they structure contracts and protect themselves from counterparty risk. Because, as Cristian says, a smaller cooperative may not survive a situation like this. You can connect with COMSA here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1c5tTT89Rw/?mibextid=wwXIfr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comsa_oficial/ Website: https://www.comsa.hn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/comsa-oficial Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. The statements made by Rodolfo Peñalba and Cristian Dubón represent COMSA’s account of events. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1664 Part 4 of 5 | Benecke Entered Insolvency. COMSA Became a Creditor (Benecke and COMSA) | Map It Forward | 20 Aug 2026 | 00:25:29 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is episode 4 of a five-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward with Rodolfo Peñalba, General Manager of COMSA, and Cristian Dubón, a board member and coffee producer from the cooperative in Honduras. In Part 3, COMSA described delayed payments, growing concern about Benecke’s financial position, and its decision to continue fulfilling coffee contracts despite increasing financing pressure. In this episode, we look at what happened after Benecke entered insolvency. Rodolfo says he tried to contact Clemens von Storch after learning about Benecke’s financial situation but did not receive a response. On December 10, 2025, Rodolfo says he spoke directly with Arturo Darboven. According to Rodolfo, Arturo told him that the situation was nearly resolved and that COMSA would be paid on December 21. That payment did not arrive. COMSA says it continued asking for payment and was eventually told that it needed to submit documentation to the German insolvency proceedings in order to be formally recognised as a creditor. With assistance from a contact in Germany, COMSA says it secured legal help and successfully registered its claim. For a cooperative that believed it had fulfilled its coffee contracts, the process was unfamiliar. Rodolfo and Cristian explain that COMSA’s contracts were FOB contracts, meaning the cooperative’s responsibility was to deliver the coffee to the port in Honduras and provide the required shipping documents. From COMSA’s perspective, it fulfilled those obligations. The dispute now sits within German insolvency proceedings that COMSA says it does not fully understand and did not anticipate having to navigate. The conversation also raises another important question: What happened to the coffee itself? Rodolfo says Benecke used the bills of lading supplied by COMSA to collect the coffee and subsequently sold it, despite COMSA saying it had not been paid. The episode discusses whether contractual or European coffee trading terms may have included protections relating to ownership of coffee before full payment. That question remains legally significant and requires examination of the actual contracts, trading terms, shipment records and applicable German law. COMSA also explains that its previous commercial relationship with Clemens and Benecke has effectively ended. Rodolfo says the cooperative no longer wants another business relationship with Benecke. His position regarding Arturo Darboven is more cautious: he says he still has questions about Arturo’s role, particularly because of the payment assurance Rodolfo says he received from him on December 10. In the final episode of the series, we step back from the immediate dispute and ask what the global coffee industry should learn from this case. You can connect with COMSA here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1c5tTT89Rw/?mibextid=wwXIfr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comsa_oficial/ Website: https://www.comsa.hn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/comsa-oficial Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. The statements made by Rodolfo Peñalba and Cristian Dubón represent COMSA’s account of events. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1663 Part 3 of 5 | COMSA Says Benecke Pressured Them to Keep Shipping Coffee (Benecke and COMSA) | Map It Forward | 19 Aug 2026 | 00:34:47 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is episode 3 of a five-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward with Rodolfo Peñalba, General Manager of COMSA, and Cristian Dubón, a board member and coffee producer from the cooperative in Honduras. In Part 2, we examined how COMSA finances the coffee it exports and why the cooperative depends on importers paying once contractual documents are delivered. In this episode, we reach the point where COMSA says it began realising that something was wrong. According to Rodolfo and Cristian, Benecke began taking longer than usual to pay for coffee during 2025. Cristian says COMSA’s normal payment experience was approximately seven to fourteen days after shipping documents were supplied, with some buyers paying even faster. With Benecke, those payments began taking significantly longer. COMSA says payment delays continued through the first half of 2025, and that it raised the issue when people connected with J.J. Darboven visited COMSA in June. Rodolfo says COMSA was also told by someone connected with Fairtrade that Benecke was experiencing financial difficulties, although Benecke’s representatives in Honduras reportedly reassured COMSA that the problems were temporary and that payment would continue. Later in the year, COMSA asked Benecke to move some planned September shipments to December because high coffee prices and financing constraints were making it difficult for the cooperative to assemble the required volume. According to Rodolfo, Clemens von Storch responded that COMSA needed to fulfil the contracts or risk being removed from the J.J. Darboven project. COMSA says it then made a major effort to comply. Rodolfo says the cooperative borrowed heavily from its banks and sent the final group of coffee, with 11 containers in that shipment representing approximately USD 2.5 million. Payment did not arrive as expected. By mid-October, COMSA says Clemens told them Benecke was experiencing banking problems and asked them to wait until November. When November arrived, COMSA says it was asked to wait again. COMSA also says it did not receive direct notice from Benecke that insolvency proceedings had begun. Instead, it learned about the situation through another contact. By the time of this interview, COMSA says approximately USD 2.7 million remained outstanding. This episode raises one of the most important questions in the series: What did Benecke know about its own financial position when it was still asking COMSA to fulfil these contracts? COMSA’s testimony does not itself answer that question definitively, but it establishes the timeline that now needs to be examined against contracts, shipment records, payment communications and Benecke’s insolvency documents. In Part 4, we look at what happened after Benecke entered insolvency and how COMSA became a creditor in Germany. You can connect with COMSA here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1c5tTT89Rw/?mibextid=wwXIfr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comsa_oficial/ Website: https://www.comsa.hn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/comsa-oficial Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. The statements made by Rodolfo Peñalba and Cristian Dubón represent COMSA’s account of events. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||
| EP1662 Part 2 of 5 | COMSA Financed the Coffee. Benecke Was Supposed to Pay (Benecke and COMSA) | Map It Forward | 18 Aug 2026 | 00:39:02 | |
Advertising Sponsor Episode Description This is episode 2 of a five-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro podcast by Map It Forward with Rodolfo Peñalba, General Manager of COMSA, and Cristian Dubón, a board member and coffee producer from the cooperative in Marcala, Honduras. In Part 1, we explored how COMSA built a commercial relationship with Benecke Coffee spanning more than two decades. In this episode, we begin looking at how that relationship expanded during the 2024/25 coffee season, and at the financial structure beneath international coffee trading that left COMSA exposed when Benecke later entered insolvency. According to COMSA, J.J. Darboven developed an initiative connected to its Café Intención business in which trees would be planted in coffee-producing communities in connection with coffee sold. COMSA says the project initially involved three Honduran cooperatives supplying a combined 105 containers. When two of the cooperatives reduced the volume they could commit, COMSA says it agreed to take on a much larger share of the program. That opportunity created the potential for significant growth for COMSA and its producers. But it also required significant financing. Rodolfo and Cristian explain that when COMSA signs a coffee contract, it must obtain the money needed to buy coffee from farmers, collect it, process it, prepare it for export, meet quality requirements, pay associated costs and deliver the coffee to port. The importer does not necessarily finance that process. COMSA does. The cooperative therefore relies on loans from banks and other financial institutions to fulfil its contracts, with the expectation that once the coffee is shipped and the required documents are provided, the importer will pay and COMSA can repay those loans. That system depends heavily on trust and contractual performance. According to COMSA, that is where the relationship with Benecke ultimately broke down. Rodolfo says the cooperative fulfilled its obligations and shipped the coffee, but payment did not arrive as expected. He describes the consequences as one of the most serious challenges COMSA has experienced in its history. COMSA says the unpaid exposure ultimately involved 12 containers and that the financial consequences now threaten a substantial portion of the cooperative’s accumulated capital. Rodolfo also discusses the impact this has had on COMSA’s relationships with its banks and its producers. The episode raises a much broader question for the global coffee industry: If producers and cooperatives are required to borrow money to fulfil contracts before importers pay them, who is actually carrying the financial risk in the coffee supply chain? In Part 3, we examine when COMSA says it first began seeing signs that something was wrong with Benecke’s payments, and what happened when COMSA was asked to continue shipping coffee. You can connect with COMSA here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1c5tTT89Rw/?mibextid=wwXIfr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comsa_oficial/ Website: https://www.comsa.hn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/comsa-oficial Editorial Note: This episode forms part of Map It Forward’s ongoing examination of the Benecke Coffee controversy. The statements made by Rodolfo Peñalba and Cristian Dubón represent COMSA’s account of events. Some claims discussed in this series remain disputed or have not yet been independently verified. Map It Forward has sought comment from relevant parties and will continue to update its coverage if additional information or evidence becomes available. Where allegations, interpretations or claims are discussed, they should not be understood as findings of legal liability or wrongdoing. If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. *************************************** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward ‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: support@mapitforward.org | |||