Episodes

Dec 8

For twenty years, the 2004 cupping form profoundly shaped the specialty coffee world. But on the hillsides of coffee farms, some of the form’s byproducts have been disadvantaging producers. In this episode, we follow two producers whose lives collided with the myth of universal quality. These stories reveal how a single idea of “quality” can close doors for the people with the least power in the supply chain. The new coffee evaluation form, the CVA, is still young, and with any luck it will keep evolving. I hope for a form that can empower even the smallest producers. Please support my work directly at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Other ways you can help: Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Go deeper into the story of quality: The original Filter Stories episode about Murray Cooper in Ecuador, Firefly Specialty Coffee Association's new Coffee Value Assessment 2004 cupping form from the Specialty Coffee Association of America SCAA Coffee Cuppers Handbook (4th edition, 2011) Kenneth Liberman's book, " Tasting Coffee: An Inquiry into Objectivity " SCA's video series on the CVA presented by Peter Giuliano Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Dec 8

If you ask two specialty professionals what makes a high-quality coffee, you’ll likely get a surprisingly consistent answer: clean, sweet, juicy, bright. To an outsider, they would be forgiven for thinking coffee quality is universally defined. But the truth is more sober. In this episode, we examine how a simple cupping form helped create a universal idea of quality. We then look at the evidence that, in fact, it’s just the personal preferences of a small group of people masquerading as universal quality. Please support my work directly at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Other ways you can help: Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Go deeper into the story of quality: 2004 cupping form from the Specialty Coffee Association of America SCAA Coffee Cuppers Handbook (4th edition, 2011) Cup of Excellence cupping form Kenneth Liberman's book, " Tasting Coffee: An Inquiry into Objectivity " SCA's video series on the CVA presented by Peter Giuliano Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Dec 8

For the longest time, coffees were dull and bitter. But then a small group of pioneers changed the world. In this episode, we travel back to the 1960s and ’70s to meet the trailblazers who realised coffees could taste distinctive: sweeter, brighter, cleaner. We discover how their personal preferences became a movement, then a form, and eventually a global definition of “quality”. Please support my work directly at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Other ways you can help: Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Go deeper into the story of quality: Specialty Coffee Association's new Coffee Value Assessment 2004 cupping form from the Specialty Coffee Association of America SCAA Coffee Cuppers Handbook (4th edition, 2011) Michael Sheridan of CQI discussing the inter-organisational politics behind the Houston Expo announcement on Lee Safar's Map It Forward podcast Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jul 28

For the longest time, the coffee community only cared about water’s impact ruining espresso machine boilers and kettles. But what about water’s impact on coffee flavour? In this episode, I tell the story of how the specialty coffee community came to understand water chemistry: the pioneering work of the computational chemist Christopher Hendon and British roaster Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, the genesis of the SCA’s Water Quality Handbook, and where we are today understanding the impact of minerals on our water. I strongly recommend listening to the two episodes before this one first Getting great water for coffee, step-by-step & The two ingredients in water that ruin your coffee, and the ancient story behind them Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Want to go deeper into water chemistry? Read the SCA’s Water Quality Handbook BWT White Paper on the effects of magnesium (German) Christopher Hendon’s Instagram where he’ll announce his new version of his book, Water for Coffee Do an online Certificate of Advanced Studies at the Coffee Excellence Centre Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Note: this is a reworked version of my 2022 episode Water for Brewing Coffee , including portions of my 2024 episode How to think like a scientist, part 2 . Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jul 28

550 million years ago, earth was perfect. We had perfect water for coffee AND we were living in a vegetarian paradise! But then Earth changed—violently. The planet shifted from a peaceful, plant-eating paradise to a darker, more brutal world. And in this new world, the chemistry of water was forever altered. This is the wild story of how earth-shaking forces and the spirits of long-dead critters ruin your coffees today. This story will help you remember the two invisible ingredients in your water that have a huge impact on coffee flavour and your brewing equipment: calcium and hydrogen carbonate. Read Marcia Bjonerud’s amazing book, Reading the Rocks Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Note: this is a reworked version of my 2022 episode Water for Brewing Coffee. Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jul 14

Water massively impacts your coffee’s flavours. But most of us struggle to fix our water because water science is confusing… …until now! In this special collaboration with Lucia Solis ( Making Coffee podcast), I guide her through the two most important concepts you need to understand to get great-tasting water for coffee: hardness and alkalinity. We go step-by-step through: • Why these concepts matter for coffee flavour and equipment • How to test your water at home • How to fix it, depending on what you’re working with These aren’t one of my usual narrative episodes—they’re a straightforward, practical guide to help you take control of your water. By the end of these episodes, you’ll be able to say: “I know what good water for coffee is and how to get it”. I hope it helps you as much as it helped Lucia. Check my website for all the visuals mentioned in this episode, including: SCA graph for excellent water (the “map”) Map of different water hardness across Paris My Berlin water report The nightmarish table of conversions… Results from my water tests in my Berlin studio Bottled water brands rated for their hardness and alkalinity Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Resources mentioned in the episode: SCA’s Water Quality Handbook Hardness and alkalinity dripper testing kit (also good for keeping your fishies happy) BWT Penguin Filter Jug (what I used to use with the magnesium cartridges ) BWT BestAqua ROC (what now I use) BWT BestBarista (for cafes) Create your own water by adding minerals to very soft or distilled water: JoJo Hersh’s simple calculator using epsom salts and bicarbonate of soda, and Barista Hustle’s more elaborate one . Want to go deeper into water chemistry? BWT White Paper on the effects of magnesium (German) Christopher Hendon’s book Water for Coffee Do an online Certificate of Advanced Studies at the Coffee Excellence Centre Read The Craft and Science of Coffee Barista Hustle's Water course Some water content on YouTube by James Hoffman and Lance Hedrick Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jul 14

Water massively impacts your coffee’s flavours. But most of us struggle to fix our water because water science is confusing… …until now! In this special collaboration with Lucia Solis ( Making Coffee podcast), I guide her through the two most important concepts you need to understand to get great-tasting water for coffee: hardness and alkalinity. We go step-by-step through: • Why these concepts matter for coffee flavour and equipment • How to test your water at home • How to fix it, depending on what you’re working with These aren’t one of my usual narrative episodes—they’re a straightforward, practical guide to help you take control of your water. By the end of these episodes, you’ll be able to say: “I know what good water for coffee is and how to get it”. I hope it helps you as much as it helped Lucia. Check my website for all the visuals mentioned in this episode, including: SCA graph for excellent water (the “map”) Map of different water hardness across Paris My Berlin water report The nightmarish table of conversions… Results from my water tests in my Berlin studio Bottled water brands rated for their hardness and alkalinity Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Resources mentioned in the episode: SCA’s Water Quality Handbook Hardness and alkalinity dripper testing kit (also good for keeping your fishies happy) BWT Penguin Filter Jug (what I used to use with the magnesium cartridges ) BWT BestAqua ROC (what now I use) BWT BestBarista (for cafes) Create your own water by adding minerals to very soft or distilled water: JoJo Hersh’s simple calculator using epsom salts and bicarbonate of soda, and Barista Hustle’s more elaborate one . Want to go deeper into water chemistry? BWT White Paper on the effects of magnesium (German) Christopher Hendon’s book Water for Coffee Do an online Certificate of Advanced Studies at the Coffee Excellence Centre Read The Craft and Science of Coffee Barista Hustle's Water course Some water content on YouTube by James Hoffman and Lance Hedrick Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jun 23

Every time we open a bag of beautiful specialty coffee — like Erick Bravo’s from Finca El Chaferote in Huila, Colombia — we’re drinking something that’s been on a long journey. And I mean long! Over 1500 kilometers north up and down the Andes mountain range, a distance more than twice the height of France. Along the way, it passes through dozens of hands, machines, and decisions. We follow it through muddy mountain sides, dusty dry mills, and hurricane-battered coastal warehouses — places where all kinds of things can go wrong. A leaky roof. An overly aggressive polishing machine. Or even theft. But here’s the mystery: getting Erick’s coffee to port costs 50% more than sending a commodity coffee through the same route. Why? That question led me deep into Colombia’s coffee supply chains — and what I found changed how I think about the real cost of treating coffee with care. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Find your next favourite Colombian coffee from The Coffee Quest Taste coffees from Erick Bravo’s award winning farm, Finca El Chaferote , and follow him on Instagram. Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jun 9

I travel to Colombia’s Huila region to answer a question that’s puzzled me for years: if specialty coffee pays more, is better for the environment, and brews tastier cups—why don’t more farmers grow it? I speak with two producers in the same region whose choices couldn’t be more different. One stakes his future on specialty. The other opts out. Their decisions come down to more than passion or a hard work ethic. Instead, I uncover two starting conditions—often invisible to us buyers—that strongly shape whether a farmer chooses specialty at all. If we want to see more speciality coffee grown, we need to bring down the barriers to specialty. But first we need to understand what those barriers really are. The answers might surprise you. They surprised me. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Find your next favourite Colombian coffee from The Coffee Quest Taste coffees from Erick Bravo’s award winning farm, Finca El Chaferote Nerd out on my farm profitability estimations Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 19

Volume. Cheap. Lame flavours. This is the traditional way of growing coffee in Brazil, and almost every farm does it this way. But what if you wanted to produce beautiful, distinctive flavours instead—and make a living from it? In this episode, we travel to Fazenda Paraíso in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where farmer Vicente Pereira and his daughter are on a steep learning curve finding buyers for their beautiful coffees. Part 2 explores what it looks like for a small Brazilian farm to find better buyers, and the challenge of achieving pricing power. Behind every beautiful coffee is a family story like this, but it’s a story we rarely get to see close up. Let’s take a closer look. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Source your next lot of specialty green coffee on Algrano Listen to Firefly to hear a cautionary tale about a specialty farm failing because they couldn't find the right buyers. Try Fazenda Paraiso 's and Sancoffee 's coffees for yourself! Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 19

Volume. Cheap. Lame flavours. This is the traditional way of growing coffee in Brazil, and almost every farm does it this way. But what if you wanted to produce beautiful, distinctive flavours instead—and make a living from it? In this episode, we travel to Fazenda Paraíso in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where farmer Vicente Pereira and his daughter are on a steep learning curve finding buyers for their beautiful coffees. Part 1 unravels the hidden structures of Brazil’s coffee industry: how prices are set, why it’s so hard to create a specialty-focused farm, and why Vicente's farm is unsustainable if he sells his coffee the traditional way. Behind every beautiful coffee is a family story like this, but it’s a story we rarely get to see close up. Let’s take a closer look. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Source your next lot of specialty green coffee on Algrano Listen to Firefly to hear a cautionary tale about a specialty farm failing because they couldn't find the right buyers. Try Fazenda Paraiso 's and Sancoffee 's coffees for yourself! Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 24

To roast coffee faster, you need to turn up the heat….right? No! In this episode, we explore the three powerful methods of heat transfer that revolutionised roasting. We’ll journey from humble beginnings—when roasting three kilos took half an hour—to machines that now roast hundreds of kilos of coffee in the time it takes you to boil a kettle. But beans roasted at lightning speed look strange, and taste… well, you’ll find out. Join us as we test-drive an industrial tangential roaster where first crack remind me of fireworks crackers. We also see the whale-sized roaster so massive it’s worth you a Guinness World Record. We have the technology today to roast coffee faster than ever, so why aren’t we all roasting at recording-breaking speeds? --------------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Check out the Probat roasters mentioned in this episode: Emmerich Spherical Roaster - "Pink Hydrant" Large ball roaster - “Sputnik in a pizza oven” G45 early drum roaster - “Old school steam train” Early tangential roaster Sample tangential roaster - "Shoebox" Neptune 4000 , the largest drum roaster in the world! - "The whale" And there are lots of other specialty roasters from Probat I didn't have time to showcase, including their new hydrogen powered roasters. See them all for yourself!. Theodor von Gimborn's wikipedia page Go deeper into the science of roasting Read Mark Al-Shemmeri’s coffee roasting blog Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Explore Barista Hustle 's online roasting learning Learn more from Morten Münchow and his coffee roasting courses Read Morten’s paper in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen on Roasting Conditions and Coffee Flavour Follow Filter Stories on Instagram for my infographics Learn more about first crack on my episode Coffee Roasting, Part 1: How heat transforms coffee beans Season 3 is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 10

A mother coffee plant gifts its baby everything it needs to grow—a green seed packed with food. But when we roast coffee, we hijack that gift and turn it into something else: flavor. But what is flavor, at a microscopic level? What actually happens inside the bean when heat meets those nutrients? In this episode, we shrink down to witness the Maillard reaction up close—a wild chain of molecular collisions that transforms baby plant food into aromas we adore. Grab your popcorn - you’re getting a front row seat at the wildest chemistry show in coffee. --------------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Ethiopian forest sounds curtesy of George Vlad. Hear more nature sounds here. Explore Probat's roasters Go deeper into the science of roasting Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Grab a copy of Anja Rahn's upcoming book on coffee science through her Instagram Explore Barista Hustle 's online roasting learning Learn more from Morten Münchow and his coffee roasting courses Read Morten’s paper in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen on Roasting Conditions and Coffee Flavour Follow Sebastian Opitz on LinkedIn Follow Filter Stories on Instagram for my infographics Season 3 is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Feb 16

When I started making cold brew this last year, I treated it like hot brew filter coffee. But no matter how I adjusted the grind or tweaked the brew time, I hardly got any differences in flavor… Then it hit me: cold brew isn’t just a slower hot brew—it’s a completely different game with its own rules! In this episode, I speak with leading coffee researchers who break down the microscopic dance between water and coffee that explains why cold brew plays by its own playbook. And I bring you in on the brewing secret that can turn your brews from fruit juice to nutty creaminess. --------------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Explore TODDY’s cold brewing kits Go deeper into the science of cold brew Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Read Jiaxin (Jessie) Liang’s equilibrium extraction SCA 25 article and her published article Discover all of UC Davis' cold brew research through the Coffee Science Foundation Learn how to do a cold brew cupping with Toddy Follow Filter Stories on Instagram for my infographics Season 3 is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Feb 3

For years, I used cold brew as a last resort—the only brew method to tame dark, oily beans that were too bitter for hot water. Then one day, I took a chance on a Guatemalan Gesha and brewed it cold. The result? A massive explosion of florals I’d never tasted before. That single cup sent opened my eyes into how extraordinary cold brew can be. In this episode, I speak with world-leading coffee scientists who explain why brewing with cold water tastes so different from chilled hot coffee. You’ll learn how certain flavors leap into your cup (and how others mysteriously vanish) when you lower the brew temperature. You’ll also discover there are hidden “cold brew gems” in beans you thought you knew. So before you grab the kettle, consider this: sometimes all you need is cold water. --------------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Explore TODDY’s cold brewing kits Go deeper into the science of cold brew Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Listen to my episode on Coffee Extraction for insights into how polarity affects flavor extraction Read the UC Davis cold brew vs chilled hot brew study Listen to my episode on ' How to think like a scientist ' Learn how to do a cold brew cupping with Toddy Follow Filter Stories on Instagram for my acidity infographic Go deeper into Paul Breslin's work at the Monell Chemical Senses Centre Discover all of UC Davis' cold brew research through the Coffee Science Foundation Season 3 is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 27

We’re back with another series of The Science of Coffee —and this time we’re diving even deeper into coffee’s hidden microscopic secrets! Over the past year, narrative audio producer and coffee professional James Harper has scoured academic journals, ventured deep into coffee farms, and conducted bold tasting experiments. Now, he’s weaving those discoveries into captivating audio stories that reveal why coffee tastes the way it does—and how we can make it taste even better. In this new series, you’ll learn about cold brew extraction science, explore innovations in roasting, and follow the shifting business models that shape farmers’ livelihoods. You’ll also take a journey through commodity vs. specialty supply chains and examine the historical, sociological, and philosophical perspectives that define what “specialty coffee” truly means. Press the “Subscribe” button so you don’t miss an episode! https://bit.ly/3TdDnHO For more coffee science and behind-the-scenes content, follow James on Instagram @filterstoriespodcast . https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper’s documentary podcast, Filter Stories . https://bit.ly/3ajoT5e Season 3 is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 6, 2024

Deep inside your coffee grinder, tiny changes can have massive consequences. This episode takes you deep inside Mahlkönig’s grinders to show you how coffee is ground and the importance of particle sizes on flavour. If you’re a home coffee lover, you could easily spend thousands of dollars on your coffee grinder. But after diving deep into the R&D of grinder manufacturing, I learned that after a certain point spending more probably won’t produce a better tasting cup of coffee for you! --------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter . Write a review on Apple Podcasts Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Explore Mahlkönig ’s range of world leading grinders, trusted by baristas globally. Go deeper into the world of grinding Take Barista Hustle’s Advanced Espresso course Learn from Lance Hedrick where the sweet spot is for buying a coffee grinder Get super nerdy with Jonathan Gagne ’s writings on grinding Read up on Samo Smrke ’s work on coffee fines Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Arnaldo Rodrigues - LinkedIn Luca Lange - LinkedIn Chris Meier - LinkedIn Dario Burger - Instagram The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Apr 22, 2024

For your coffee to taste its best, it’s crucial you buy fresh roasts and grind fresh.… .….Or maybe not. When I began creating this episode, I was convinced that ‘fresh is best’. But, after delving into the science of coffee freshness, I don’t believe that anymore. This episode goes deep into how diffusion and oxidation changes a coffee’s flavours. You’ll learn what it takes to store your coffee grounds unbelievably well. So well, that if you do it right, you will struggle to taste the difference between two month old coffee compared to those same beans freshly ground! But here’s the weirdest thing: Maybe, just maybe, you will prefer old coffee more than the fresh stuff. ---------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter . Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Explore Mahlkönig ’s range of world leading grinders, trusted by baristas globally. Dive deeper into the science of coffee freshness Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Pick up a copy of the SCA’s Coffee Freshness Handbook Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Samo Smrke - Instagram 19 Grams Coffee Roasters in Berlin - Instagram Arnaldo Rodrigues - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Apr 8, 2024

In the last episode, I discovered that rinsing my Chemex filter papers was a waste of time! As a result I’ve managed to claw back over seven days of my life left on earth. But why stop there? The coffee industry is full of elaborate ways of brewing and savouring coffee: fancy drippers, cold metal balls, “slurp-able” cupping spoons. These are very fun, but how many of them actually affect the flavour of our coffee? I fear elaborate coffee gear is wasting our time and money. They're distracting us from the existential crises in coffee that actually require all our attention now. For example, the issue of farmers who grow delicious coffees quitting the business because it’s just getting too hard. But to figure out whether a popular new coffee tool was actually waste of time or not, I needed to think like a scientist. This episode is the journey I went on to rewire my brain: I had to learn what good evidence looks like, what to do if I can’t find good evidence, and why it’s important to focus mostly on experimental results while resisting the allure of a compelling theory. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter . Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover this episode’s sponsor BWT’s water filtration products. I use their Penguin magnesium filter cartridges and cafes can use their BestAqua ROC Dive deeper into the science of slurping, water and Signal Detection Theory Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Read Georgiana’s paper on soup slurping Learn more about Signal Detection Theory Explore BWT White Paper on the effects of magnesium (German) Browse Christopher Hendon’s book Water for Coffee Take Barista Hustle's Water course Watch James Hoffman's water video Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Morten Munchow - Coffee Mind website Jeremy Nelson - LinkedIn Samo Smrke - Instagram Georgiana Juravle - Google Scholar Young Baek - Instagram Frank Neuhausen - LinkedIn Sergio Barbarisi - LinkedIn Alessandro Genovese - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 25, 2024

Should you rinse your filter paper before making a filter coffee? Almost everybody in coffee internet says you should. But what if most of coffee internet was wrong? In this episode, I show you how I try to answer this question like a professional sensory scientist would. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. But ultimately, it’s worth it because I end up saving seven days of my life left on earth! Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Bring out vibrancy in your coffee with BWT’s magnesium water filters for the home and cafe Dive deeper into sensory science methodologies Take Becky Bleibaum's free introductory sensory science course ! Set up a triangulation yourself with DragonflySci’s worksheets Understand Rose Marie Pangborn’s three step process better with Morten Münchow (“Pangborn’s Razor”) Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Morten Munchow - Coffee Mind website Becky Bleibaum - LinkedIn Samo Smrke - Instagram Sophie Vo - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 13, 2024

Farming coffee organically is amazing because soils are more alive, birds and insects are more plentiful, farmers avoid getting sick with agrochemicals. But, if it’s so great, why is less than 10% of the world’s coffee grown organically? The fact is, going organic is hard. Much harder than growing coffee conventionally. In this episode I show you the story of one of Central America’s most successful organic coffee cooperatives, RAOS, and the four big hurdles that stood in the way of their early founders who all dreamed of converting their farms to organic. This story changed my understanding of farming and is now the reason I choose organic specialty coffee whenever I can. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Dive deeper into organic coffee Learn more about Sustainable Harvest’s Most Valuable Producer programme, their cupping app Tastify , and explore their range of certified organic and Fairtrade coffees Explore RAOS (Cooperativa Regional Mixta de Agricultores Organicos de la Sierra)'s story for yourself Are you a coffee farmer? Get in touch with Lalo Perez Varaona Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Lalo Perez Varaona - LinkedIn Jorge Cuevas - LinkedIn Andrea Futterer - GEPA website Osman Contreras - LinkedIn Roberto Rene Gonzales - Farm website The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Feb 26, 2024

The world’s farming soils are deteriorating quickly. Conventional coffee farming where plants are grown using agrochemicals allowed farmers to reap huge harvests these last 70 years. But these agrochemicals have been at the expense of soil health. I travel to Honduras to explore a potential solution: organic coffee farming. Come with me as I show you the organic farming tricks of Don Rufino, one of the region’s leading organic farmers. He nurtures the soil around his coffee trees using mountain microorganisms, a huge diversity of shade trees, attentive tree pruning, and very funky batches of homemade bug spray. The results speak for themselves: when I pick up a handful of his soil, it is moist, dense and writhing with life. Could these cultivation techniques be the answer to the coffee world’s declining soil health? Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter ! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Dive deeper into organic coffee Explore Sustainable Harvest ’s range of certified organic and Fairtrade coffees Are you a coffee farmer? Get in touch with Lalo Perez Varaona Check out Don Rufino’s organic cooperative, RAOS Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Lalo Perez Varaona - LinkedIn Tommie Hooft van Huysduynen - LinkedIn Alison Streaker - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Feb 12, 2024

Roasting coffee can be maddening. Just 4° Celsius is enough to make the same green beans taste distinctly different! And there are so many things roasters can play around with: temperature, time, fan speed, drum speed, types of probes…the list goes on and on. So, if you want to start roasting yourself, where do you start!? In the first half of this episode, I interview one of the world's leading roasting teachers who takes me through his published scientific research to give a clear answer. It’s as simple as 80%, 15% and 5%. And then, in the second half, I show you why roasting coffee consistently batch-after-batch is so difficult. But these problems are finally being solved with smart technologies. I visited the ROEST engineering team in Oslo and cracked open their innovative prototype P3000 roaster to show you the technology that allows anybody to roast coffee consistently and fully automatically. I am so impressed with these innovations, I believe they’re going to change the coffee industry. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Dive deeper into the science of roasting Explore ROEST ’s innovative products for the coffee industry. Learn more from Morten Münchow and his coffee roasting courses Read Morten’s paper in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen on Roasting Conditions and Coffee Flavour Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Sverre Simonsen - LinkedIn Callum Gilmour - LinkedIn Veronica Balduc - LinkedIn Morten Münchow - Coffee Mind website Scott Rao - Instagram The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 29, 2024

What flavours do you want from your coffee? Every coffee bean begins its life green. And if you brewed it up without first roasting it, you’d get a yellow-green cup of grass-flavoured water. But, as soon you apply heat to a bean, the flavour can morph to from something quite vegetative to a very acidic unripe fruit, then a very sweet fruit, and eventually dark roasted flavours. This is the magic of coffee roasting! In this episode of The Science of Coffee, I show you a full roast in action on the ROEST P3000, taste how coffee flavours evolve from acidic to bitter, and speak to leading coffee roasting scientists to reveal the mind-bending chemical and physical transformations taking place. See for yourself Roest 's innovative P3000 fully automatic roaster. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Mark Al-Shemmeri - LinkedIn Callum Gilmour - LinkedIn Veronica Balduc - LinkedIn Anja Rahn - LinkedIn Ildi Revi - LinkedIn Samo Smrke - Instagram Morten Münchow - Coffee Mind website The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 15, 2024

Ever wonder why you and your friends can taste the same coffee, but you can’t agree on the flavour notes? Join me as I explore this metaphysical mystery! I speak with leading scientists and ask: are the flavour receptors in your nose and mouth the same as mine? How does music and the shape of a cup affect what we taste? What about our different cultural backgrounds and language? Best of all, I put all these questions to the test in the Athen’s World of Coffee trade show. Many poor unsuspecting Filter Stories spit, splutter and gasp in the name of science! --------- See Marco Beverage Systems ' SP9 for yourself, and discover their range of consistent and energy-efficient coffee brewers for your cafe. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Helene Hopfer - LinkedIn Joel Mainland - LinkedIn Fabiana Carvalho - Instagram Janice Wang - LinkedIn Felipe Reinoso - LinkedIn Freda Yuan - Instagram Mandy Naglich - Instagram The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 8, 2024

So you’ve just taken a sip of a very rare coffee, and flavours of passion fruit explode in your mouth. But here’s the thing: that flavour of passion fruit is not coming from your mouth. It’s not even coming from your nostrils. It’s being picked up behind your eyes! In this first episode of The Science of Coffee's second series, I unravel how our sense of smell and taste works to help you be a better coffee taster. I shrink us down microscopically and we dive into your tongue to show you why good black coffee tastes sweet, even though there’s no sugar in it. We then travel up into our noses and get stuck in a lot of mucus. This slime might be disgusting, but we need it to be able to smell well. And finally, with the help of tasting expert and author Mandy Naglich, I show you three effective ways you can train yourself to be a much better coffee taster without having to go on any expensive courses. The trick is to train our internal flavour prediction models! This episode will help you deepen your appreciation of coffee and its delicious complexity. --------- See Marco Beverage Systems ' SP9 for yourself, and discover their range of consistent and energy-efficient coffee brewers for your cafe. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Become a better coffee taster! Pick up a copy of Mandy Naglich’s book “How To Taste” Sign up for the Specialty Coffee Association’s Sensory Skills courses Do an online sensory course with CoffeeMind Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Mandy Naglich - Instagram Linda Bartoshuk - Website Joel Mainland - LinkedIn Fabiana Carvalho - Instagram Janice Wang - LinkedIn Peter Giuliano - LinkedIn Bram De Hoog - Instagram The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 2, 2024

We're back with another series of The Science of Coffee! Across 10 science stories, narrative audio producer and coffee professional James Harper takes you on a journey into coffee's hidden microscopic secrets. James has spent the last year traveling to Central America, Greece, Norway, Switzerland and interviewing dozens of the world’s leading coffee scientists. This insights will help you appreciate coffee more deeply and make even better coffee at home. We'll explore organic coffee growing, delve into the science of roasting, uncover optimal storage and grinding techniques, enhance your tasting skills through sensory science, and share James' journey towards thinking more like a scientist. Press the Subscribe button so you don't miss future episodes! https://bit.ly/3TdDnHO Follow James on Instagram : https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/3ajoT5e The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Mahlkönig Marco Beverage Systems Sustainable Harvest ROEST Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 29, 2023

America is coffee-obsessed. From Central Perk’s red couch being the centre of major plot twists in Friends to the fact the average American drank more than two cups a day. And the conventional explanation is pretty straightforward: an English colonist introduces coffee to Jamestown in 1607. 150 years later Americans rebel against the British by throwing tea chests into Boston harbour and drinking coffee becomes their patriotic duty. Oh, and of course who won the civil war? The side that had the coffee. But, actually, the truth is much more surprising, and reveals a much more counter-intuitive story of America. In this final episode of Series Two of A History of Coffee, we offer you a story of America through the lens of a black drink, another black drink, a third black drink and perhaps even a fourth. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Don't miss future episodes by pressing the 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' button in your podcast player. ----------- Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - Jonathan ( @coffeehistoryjm ) and James ( @filterstoriespodcast ) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts ( http://apple.co/3jY42aJ) Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify ( https://spoti.fi/3K2h4RQ) This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Rancilio , manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for your home and coffee bar for almost 100 years ( https://bit.ly/3U3oLMz ) Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU ) Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast ( https://bit.ly/3ajoT5e) Download all episodes of this second series right now by subscribing to the ‘ A History of Coffee’ podcast channel (http://bit.ly/2NArChO) Learn how Brazil massively expanded output in episode three of the first series of A History of Coffee : Coffee Catches Fire (https://bit.ly/2NArChO) Brew up some Yaupon Holly ! (https://bit.ly/40R6IuY) Discover Deb Hunter's All Things Tudor podcast (https://bit.ly/3L5OZet) Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 15, 2023

One morning back in the ‘80s, Howard Schultz walks out of his Milan hotel, stumbles into an espresso bar, and fundamentally changes coffee history. He discovered (and then popularises) the iconic, timeless Italian coffee experience: Rich thick coffee, an affordable price and great theatre. But this Italian ritual is surprisingly young, so young that Howard Schultz was in school while some of it was being developed! In this third episode of Series Two of A History of Coffee, we show you why for most of Italy’s history, coffee was thin, expensive, dull to watch…and that’s if you were lucky enough to even be drinking the real stuff at all! A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. ----------- Don't miss future episodes by pressing the 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' button in your podcast player Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - Jonathan ( @coffeehistoryjm ) and James ( @filterstoriespodcast ) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts ( http://apple.co/3jY42aJ) Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify ( https://spoti.fi/3K2h4RQ) This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Rancilio , manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for your home and coffee bar for almost 100 years ( https://bit.ly/3U3oLMz ) Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU ) Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast ( https://bit.ly/3ajoT5e) Download all episodes of this second series right now by subscribing to the ‘ A History of Coffee’ podcast channel (http://bit.ly/2NArChO) Go deeper into the story of espresso machines: James' science podcast about Espresso Machine Technology Neapolitan coffee maker (https://bit.ly/3zZCivl) Espresso at 1906 World’s Fair in Milan (https://bit.ly/3MOX7kQ) Rancilio's Museum , Officina Rancilio 1926 (https://bit.ly/3Q7vqTI) "La Cornuta" espresso machine (https://bit.ly/41uBryd) Rancilio's Berlin Showroom , the BER Rancilio Station (https://bit.ly/3mD0lNA) Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 1, 2023

Haiti was once the biggest, most profitable coffee growing region in the world. But today Haiti is one of the world’s poorest nations where you can’t get a bag of Haitian beans delivered to Berlin in a week for love nor money. In this second episode of Series Two of A History of Coffee, we show you how colonialism and racism dragged Haiti into poverty, and the role of coffee at the centre of it. Be warned: this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. ----------- Don't miss future episodes by pressing the 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' button in your podcast player Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - Jonathan ( @coffeehistoryjm ) and James ( @filterstoriespodcast ) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts ( http://apple.co/3jY42aJ) Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify ( https://spoti.fi/3K2h4RQ) This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Rancilio , manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for your home and coffee bar for almost 100 years ( https://bit.ly/3U3oLMz ) Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU ) Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast ( https://bit.ly/3ajoT5e) Download all episodes of this second series right now by subscribing to the ‘ A History of Coffee’ podcast channel (http://bit.ly/2NArChO) Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Apr 17, 2023

A coffee shop is a lot more than just a place to drink coffee. The seats and sofas encourage you to invite a friend, and chat. And chatting is powerful: ideas that emerge from these caffeine-fuelled conversations give birth to modern finance and even the founding of great artistic and scientific institutions. Meanwhile, other ideas threaten those in power, and have led to many attempts to ban coffeeshops (and even coffee itself!) these last 500 years. In the first episode of Series Two of A History of Coffee, we show you how the coffee shop changed the world, and we ask whether it still has what it takes to upend society. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. ----------- Don't miss future episodes by pressing the 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' button in your podcast player Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - Jonathan ( @coffeehistoryjm ) and James ( @filterstoriespodcast ) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts ( http://apple.co/3jY42aJ) Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify ( https://spoti.fi/3K2h4RQ) This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Rancilio , manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for your home and coffee bar for almost 100 years ( https://bit.ly/3U3oLMz ) Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU ) Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast ( https://bit.ly/3ajoT5e) Download all episodes of this second series right now by subscribing to the ‘ A History of Coffee’ podcast channel (http://bit.ly/2NArChO) Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Apr 3, 2023

We're back with more stories about the tiny psychoactive seed that changed the world and continues to shape our lives today. In Series Two, we reveal how the invention of the coffee shop revolutionised societies, why colonialism, racism and coffee have kept once prosperous Haiti poor today, how Italy's revered espresso culture was created, and we debunk many myths around America's supposed love affair with coffee. If we want to make coffee a more equitable industry that’s also kinder to the environment, a place to start is understanding the stories and systems that put the coffee into your cup this morning. Press the ‘Subscribe’ button so you don’t miss future episodes. Listen to all the episodes at once on the A History of Coffee podcast channel. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘ Coffee: A Global History ’. Follow us on Instagram! Jonathan Morris @coffeehistoryjm and James Harper @filterstoriespodcast . This free educational content was made possible with the support of Rancilio , manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for almost 100 years. Join us live at the London Coffee Festival 2023! We have three time slots for you to choose from: Saturday, 22 April, 11:00-11:30 and 14:30-15:00, and Sunday, 23 April,14:30-15:00. Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 31, 2023

Imagine you’ve got a cup of coffee in front of you. You haven’t tasted it yet. You therefore don’t know what it tastes like, right? Wrong. Some scientists argue that you actually do know what it will taste like (more or less), and the act of tasting simply confirms what you have already imagined it will taste like. And that’s because a growing body of research is revealing that sight, sound and touch all affect your expectation of a coffee’s flavours. In this episode, I explore how certain sounds might make your coffee taste sweeter, while other sounds translate to bitterness. And I expose how some cafe owners might be ruining the flavours of the high-end specialty coffee you paid for without even realising it. In the second half, I show you why so many of our scientific questions about coffee are going unanswered. I take you deep into the future of coffee science by explaining who’s doing research into coffee science, why they’re doing it, how much it costs and how you can get involved. ---------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Explore the technology behind Fiorenzato’s AllGround home coffee grinder Get more involved in coffee science! Buy Brita Folmer’s The Craft & Science of Coffee Read the Specialty Coffee Association's 25 Magazine for cutting edge insights into coffee science, business and sustainability, including Charles Spence’s article on sonic seasoning Partner with the Coffee Science Foundation Explore Felipe Reinoso Carvalho’s sonic research , including Diego Campos ’ winning World Barista Championship routine Apply to study at the UC Davis Coffee Centre Do an online course with ZHAW’s Coffee Excellence Centre Subscribe to Barista Hustle and complete their online coffee courses Become a member of the Barista Guild , Coffee Roaster’s Guild , Coffee Technicians Guild and attend their events! Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Charles Spence - Academic profile Fabiana Carvalho - Instagram Janice Wang - LinkedIn Felipe Reinoso Carvalho - LinkedIn Chahan Yeretzian - LinkedIn Bill Ristenpart - Academic profile Peter Giuliano - LinkedIn Jenn Rugolo - LinkedIn Giulia Bagato - LinkedIn Denis Girardi - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems Trabocca Eversys Oatly Fiorenzato Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 17, 2023

When was the last time you picked up a cappuccino with a mountain of foam perched on top? Maybe these are the cappuccinos you make every morning at home. I personally really, really dislike them! The foam is cold, raspy, and gets in the way of the actual coffee liquid. How much better would your mornings be if, instead, your cappuccino had that creamy, silky “microfoam” you find in a specialty coffee cafe? In this episode, I take you deep into the bubbles of latte foam to show you what makes them, what destroys them, and how you can craft mouth-melting lattes. Along the way I also settle the big debate: what is the actual difference between regular Oatly and Oatly Barista Edition!? --------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Try Oatly Barista Edition (this episode’s sponsor) for yourself Go deeper into latte foam science! Measure your latte foam’s bubble size! Marvel at tetrakaidecahedra foam for yourself Check out Steven Abbott’s brilliant science website Learn how to create microfoam with Lance Hedrick Study milk science with Barista Hustle’s online courses Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Steven Abbott - website Rituja Upadhyay - LinkedIn Nidhi Bansal - LinkedIn Thom Huppertz - LinkedIn Sofia Eldhe - LinkedIn Toby Weedon - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems Trabocca Eversys Oatly Fiorenzato Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 3, 2023

A good espresso is a sublime experience: rich, sweet, and wonderfully caffeinated. But, who woke up one morning and thought to themselves, ‘I’m going to build a contraption that forces a tiny amount of super hot water with incredible pressure through a bed of very finely ground coffee’? Well, the fact is, the first “espresso” machine built 150 years ago was awful in almost every way. Worst of all, if you gave that coffee to anybody on the street, nobody would say it’s even an espresso! But, over the decades, problems begat solutions that begat more problems that culminated in espresso machines like Eversys that produce gorgeous espressos at just the push of a button. And it’s got me wondering: what is the perfect espresso machine? How far can we go? But, before clicking play, be warned: this story gets explosive and bloody! ------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Learn more about how Eversys espresso machines (this episode’s sponsor) produce high quality espressos Listen to my A History of Coffee podcast series with Prof. Jonathan Morris Pictures of the espresso machines featured in this episode Angelo Moriondo (1884, “Big water boiler with gnarly bits”) La Pavoni Ideale (1905, "Fire hydrant") Gaggia Tipo Classica (1947, “Lever”) Faema E61 (1961, “Retro 60s toaster”) Eversys (2022, “push button”) Want to go deeper into espresso machine technology? Coffee Technician Guild ’s Educational Courses Barista Hustle’s The Espresso Machine course Read Prof. Jonathan Morris’ book ‘ Coffee: A Global History ’ Do your own coffee museum tour in Italy! MUMAC (Milan) Rancilio Officina 1926 (Milan) Accademia del Caffè Espresso (Florence) Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Jonathan Morris - Instagram Hylan Joseph - LinkedIn Giorgio Rancilio - LinkedIn Anna Cento - LinkedIn Carlos Gonzàlez - LinkedIn Silvia Bartoloni - LinkedIn Jonathan Besse - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems Trabocca Eversys Oatly Fiorenzato Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Nov 22, 2022

How can you make better coffee at home? Well, an easy way is to buy higher quality beans. But, I’m concerned this is going to get harder and harder for you in the future. Climate change is making coffee taste worse while also pushing farmers into financial hardship. In this episode we explore how genetic development can produce a coffee tree that might save the day. Is there a wild coffee tree happily growing in the forests somewhere that could be our silver bullet? What about if we mix existing documented species together? But, the big problem is that genetic research is slow, and farmers can’t wait around. So, in the second half, we learn how coffee farmers in Kenya are trying to fix the problem right now. And I’m actually tentatively hopeful the beans you brew in the morning are not going to get worse. But, it all depends on you, me and the coffee industry making a couple of changes right now. —--- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story - https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O Write a review on Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3sf87MV Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3yHkjcV Learn more about how Trabocca, this episode’s sponsor, works with coffee farmers: https://bit.ly/3Tjn8bV Support the work of World Coffee Research: https://bit.ly/3VtyoV6 Become a member of Kew Gardens: https://bit.ly/3yFZ8b0 Find some of Alvans Mutero’s ( https://bit.ly/3T0NHTy) and Thiriku’s ( https://bit.ly/3CCxHQJ) coffee to taste for yourself Learn more about cloning coffee plants on my other podcast, Adventures in Coffee - https://bit.ly/3EFBmzG Want to listen to more documentary podcasts about coffee? Check out Filter Stories - https://bit.ly/3zb5vnO Connect with my very knowledgeable guests: Sarada Krishnan - LinkedIn ( https://bit.ly/3rW9dwB) and Research Gate ( https://bit.ly/3VvzDTq) Aaron Davis - Kew Gardens ( https://bit.ly/3CAicZg) Hanna Neuschwander - LinkedIn ( https://bit.ly/3MvW2Mi) Bernard Gichimu - LinkedIn ( https://bit.ly/3VrOIFJ) Learn more about the coffee varieties discussed on this episode: SL 28 - https://bit.ly/3MvNIw6 SL 34 - https://bit.ly/3rTX2QX Ruiru 11 - https://bit.ly/3CXmDPf Batian - https://bit.ly/3EEls8M The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More - https://bit.ly/3EEpuxN Marco Beverage Systems - https://bit.ly/3T2YDzY Trabocca - https://bit.ly/3Tjn8bV Eversys - https://bit.ly/3CBkp6X Oatly - https://bit.ly/3exvlKS Fiorenzato - https://bit.ly/3T3nmUQ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Nov 8, 2022

How you brew your coffee dramatically affects what you taste. And I do mean dramatic! Brewing up the same bag of coffee beans can taste like a slice of heaven, or a slap in the face. So, what exactly is happening at a microscopic level when water swirls through coffee grinds? Why does boiling water extract certain flavours, while letting the kettle cool for five minutes make it taste markedly different? In this episode, we dive deep into the academic research conducted at the UC Davis Coffee Center so you can choose your flavour adventure: Do you like your coffees when they’re a sour bomb? A floral caress on the lips? A smokey drag on a pipe? Or a treacle of sweet syrup? We also explore why it can be so difficult getting the same flavours from the same beans consistently. And finally, I equip you with tools so you can begin finding your perfect brew. —--- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story - https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O Write a review on Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3sf87MV Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3yHkjcV Explore this episode’s sponsor Marco Beverage Systems SP 9 brewer and how it delivers consistent brews in the cafe ( https://bit.ly/3Tgh18r) Listen to the Adventures in Coffee episode about making dramatically different brews using the Aeropress: https://bit.ly/3TghsQ7 Want more to listen to more documentary podcasts about coffee? Check out Filter Stories - https://bit.ly/3zb5vnO Want to go deeper into coffee extraction? Mackenzie Batali’s fractionation research - https://bit.ly/3CFnvH0 UC Davis’ brewing control chart research - https://bit.ly/3CLoiGz Take courses on coffee brewing with the Specialty Coffee Association - https://bit.ly/3EQFoVV Study at the UC Davis Coffee - https://bit.ly/3TwSgod Read ‘The Craft and Science of Coffee’ - https://bit.ly/3zb7bN8 Connect with my very knowledgeable guests: Samo Smrke - LinkedIn ( https://bit.ly/3EKrjtg) and Instagram ( https://bit.ly/3IdrfRz) Bill Ristenpart - Academic profile ( https://faculty.engineering.ucdavis.edu/ristenpart/) Mackenzie Batali - LinkedIn ( https://bit.ly/3s7VRxr) Peter Giuliano - LinkedIn ( https://bit.ly/3yT66tv) Danny Pang - LinkedIn ( https://bit.ly/3Sd9mqq) David Walsh - LinkedIn ( https://bit.ly/3VEH7Uo) The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More - https://bit.ly/3EEpuxN Marco Beverage Systems - https://bit.ly/3T2YDzY Trabocca - https://bit.ly/3Tjn8bV Eversys - https://bit.ly/3CBkp6X Oatly - https://bit.ly/3exvlKS Fiorenzato - https://bit.ly/3T3nmUQ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Oct 25, 2022

A newer, updated version of this episode is out — listen here instead ! ----- Water really matters when you’re brewing coffee. Different waters can dramatically change how a single coffee will taste. But what is the right water for the best coffee? In this episode I will give you the answer, but I will first take you back billions of years to tell you the story of a single mineral and how it's responsible for making our coffees taste lame. Because here’s the thing: water science is chemistry, and chemistry is very complicated and easily forgettable. But with a great story, I’m hoping you’ll remember! In the second half, I show you why Christopher Hendon’s book Water for Coffee made a big splash in the coffee community, but also why some academic chemists are critical of the book, and how this all manifested in the creation of the Specialty Coffee Association’s Water Quality Handbook. And, to cap it all off, I offer you some environmentally conscious ways to get hold of good water for coffee, so your coffee brews can finally explode in flavour. —--- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story - https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O Write a review on Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3sf87MV Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3yHkjcV Discover this episode’s sponsor BWT’s water filtration products. I use their Penguin cartridges (http://bit.ly/3Xiuq2a) and cafes can use their BestAqua ROC (https://bit.ly/3EPLIx9) Read Marcia Bjornerud’s amazing book, Reading The Rocks: https://bit.ly/3EQIYj4 Want more to listen to more documentary podcasts about coffee? Check out Filter Stories - https://bit.ly/3zb5vnO Want to go deeper into water chemistry? SCA’s Water Quality Handbook: https://bit.ly/3TyWM5X BWT White Paper on the effects of magnesium (German): https://bit.ly/3TqOFbq How to add magnesium to your soft water out of the tap (scroll to bottom): https://bit.ly/3s5WYOm Christopher Hendon’s Water for Coffee: https://amzn.to/3Tbo3LS Certificate of Advanced Studies at Zurich’s Coffee Excellence Center online course: http://bit.ly/3xlIOel Read ‘The Craft and Science of Coffee’: https://bit.ly/3zb7bN8 Barista Hustle's Water course - https://bit.ly/3z8zSKA James Hoffman's water video - https://bit.ly/3Duxn8f Connect with my very knowledgeable guests: Samo Smrke - LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3EKrjtg) and Instagram (https://bit.ly/3IdrfRz) Chahan Yeretzian - Linkedin (https://bit.ly/3S4emO1) Frank Neuhausen - LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3gg4Fie) Marcia Bjornerud - Academic profile (https://bit.ly/3eCYuEi) Christopher Hendon - LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3EXULMe) and Instagram (https://bit.ly/3eAUuo3) The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More - https://bit.ly/3EEpuxN Marco Beverage Systems - https://bit.ly/3T2YDzY Trabocca - https://bit.ly/3Tjn8bV Eversys - https://bit.ly/3CBkp6X Oatly - https://bit.ly/3exvlKS Fiorenzato - https://bit.ly/3T3nmUQ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Oct 18, 2022

The Science of Coffee is a journey into coffee's hidden microscopic secrets to help you make even better coffee at home. Across six episodes, documentary maker and coffee professional James Harper takes you deep into the world of water for coffee, coffee extraction, plant genetics, espresso technology, latte foam and sonic seasoning. Subscribe to The Science of Coffee here: https://bit.ly/3TdDnHO The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories. Follow James on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O Listen to Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/3zb5vnO The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems Trabocca Eversys Oatly Fiorenzato Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Feb 15, 2022

Sri Lankan coffee has delicious notes of chocolate and caramel. But it’s basically impossible to find, and we’re going to bet you’ve never drank it. But that's really odd, because Sri Lanka has the perfect climate to grow coffee, and was once one of the biggest coffee growing countries in the world. But Sri Lanka was the victim of an ecological ticking time bomb. And this bomb is still ticking, and is going to explode again. In this special episode of Adventures in Coffee, producer James Harper takes co-hosts Scott and Jools on an adventure back in time, across Ethiopia, Yemen, Sri Lanka to trace the origins of this ticking bomb, and what it’s going to take to defuse it. — Subscribe to Adventures in Coffee here: https://bit.ly/300V4jS Sign up for the 2022 Barista League's High Density (free!) conference here: https://bit.ly/3BjAI78 Read Stuart McCook’s excellent book, Coffee Is Not Forever: https://bit.ly/3320rob And follow his Instagram: https://bit.ly/3sJ2OVI Follow Hansa Coffee on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3sOyLfr Listen to James’ stories about El Salvador here: https://spoti.fi/3Lcnuhg Help other people find the show by leaving a rating on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3JYduHY Help others find the show by creating a screengrab of this episode on your podcast player and sharing it on your Instagram stories. Tag us and we’ll reshare it! Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://bit.ly/3oijQ91 Jools Walker / Lady Velo: http://bit.ly/39VRGew James Harper / Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O A massive thanks to Lawrence Goldberg of Hansa Coffee, Ajantha Palihawadana, Professor Stuart McCook and Harm van Oudenhoven. Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jun 15, 2021

Would you ever pay £75 for 100g of coffee beans? Today I'm sharing the most popular episode from Adventures in Coffee, a sister podcast to Filter Stories that I co-created. I'd love to know what you thought of these Adventures in Coffee episodes so we can make an even better show for series 2. Just drop your thoughts in this 5 minute survey here: http://bit.ly/AIC_Survey You can listen to more episodes from Adventures in Coffee here: https://bit.ly/300V4jS Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 27, 2021

Today I'm sharing the story of a coffee drinker, Jools Walker, and how coffee helped her complete an inner journey. Listen to more episodes from Adventures in Coffee here: https://bit.ly/300V4jS Read Jool's book, Back In The Frame: https://amzn.to/2NTbb0r Piano music written and performed by James Harper. Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 13, 2021

Do you grind your beans fresh before brewing your coffee? If so, you are helping overturn a race-to–the-bottom with deep roots in colonial extraction that today is leaving millions of coffee farmers impoverished. Or, at least, that’s what many specialty coffee companies would like you to believe. The truth is a lot less rosy. In this final episode of A History of Coffee, Jonathan and James explore where the specialty coffee movement came from, whether it will succeed in arresting coffee’s race-to-the-bottom, and look into the future to understand what might be the future of coffee. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between James Harper of the Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Visit Jonathan’s Instagram ( https://bit.ly/37eMS3F) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3jNr9ou) & James’ Filter Stories Instagram ( https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3baTsJk) Help other people find the show by leaving a review on... Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3jY42aJ Castbox: http://bit.ly/38sXdcH Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Listen to the bonus episode on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel: http://bit.ly/2NArChO Music featured in this episode: La Traviata, Brindisi (Verdi) by MIT Symphony Orchestra: https://bit.ly/3eGUsIf Infant Holy, Infant Lowly by Ann Alee: https://bit.ly/2SKlaY6 Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Apr 27, 2021

When was the last time you bought a coffee that was Fairtrade certified? Certifications make it easy for consumers to put their ethics into practice. But, hidden beneath the glossy sticker is a maze of complications and paradoxical outcomes. In this fifth episode of A History of Coffee, Jonathan and James explore where coffee certifications came from, how they tried to stop coffee’s devastating race to the bottom and assess whether they succeeded. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between James Harper of the Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Visit Jonathan’s Instagram ( https://bit.ly/37eMS3F) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3jNr9ou) & James’ Filter Stories Instagram ( https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3baTsJk) Help other people find the show by leaving a review on... Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3jY42aJ Castbox: http://bit.ly/38sXdcH Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Future episodes are already out on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel: http://bit.ly/2NArChO Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Apr 13, 2021

How do you drink your instant coffee? If you’re like most of the world, you fill your mug with milk and sugar to sweeten the taste. By adding milk and sugar to your instant, you helped bring new growers - and consumers - into coffee, but arguably contributed to a crisis that left hundreds of thousands of people malnourished. In this fourth episode of A History of Coffee, Jonathan and James explore how the popularity of instant coffee dramatically alters the balance of power amongst coffee growing countries. Coffee as a global commodity takes on a life of its own, sweeping millions of farmers into a race to the bottom. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between James Harper of the Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Visit Jonathan’s Instagram ( https://bit.ly/37eMS3F) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3jNr9ou) & James’ Filter Stories Instagram ( https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3baTsJk) Help other people find the show by leaving a review on... Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3jY42aJ Castbox: http://bit.ly/38sXdcH Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Future episodes are already out on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel: http://bit.ly/2NArChO Coffee and brewing equipment featured in this episode 1930 and 2020 “World Blend” roasted by Smiths Coffee (UK): http://bit.ly/3rtR2g1 Comandante hand grinder: http://bit.ly/3qmTSCN Sage electric grinder: http://bit.ly/2Zf3NyC Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 30, 2021

A hundred years ago one Brazilian man owned so many coffee trees he could fill every inch of a European country with them. But why does Brazil grow so much? And who is drinking these lakes of caffeine? In this third episode of A History of Coffee, Jonathan and James explore how industrialisation dramatically and permanently strips away Brazil’s forests, and why coffee becomes a part of the American dream. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between James Harper of the Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Stay tuned for the upcoming Instagram live session where we unpack how the British produced coffee in Sri Lanka, and why so many Indians die. Visit Jonathan’s Instagram ( https://bit.ly/37eMS3F) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3jNr9ou) & James’ Filter Stories Instagram ( https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3baTsJk) Help other people find the show by leaving a review on... Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3jY42aJ Castbox: http://bit.ly/38sXdcH Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Future episodes are already out on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel: http://bit.ly/2NArChO Coffee and brewing equipment featured in this episode: Marcelo Carvalho Ferraz, Boa Vista, Dom Viçoso. Roasted by Supremo (Germany): http://bit.ly/37UW79u Comandante hand grinder: http://bit.ly/3qmTSCN Sage electric grinder: http://bit.ly/2Zf3NyC Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 16, 2021

Why do we get upset when we’re charged $36 for an ordinary cappuccino? The answer flies us to the Caribbean where white Europeans make black Africans suffer. In this second episode of A History of Coffee, we uncover how colonialism squeezes the price of coffee, and how that changes European culture forever. Future episodes are already out on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel! http://bit.ly/2NArChO Press Subscribe so you don't miss future episodes! A History of Coffee is a collaboration between James Harper of the Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Stay tuned for the upcoming Instagram live session where we unpack how the British produced coffee in Sri Lanka, and why so many Indians die. Visit Jonathan’s Instagram ( https://bit.ly/37eMS3F) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3jNr9ou) & James’ Filter Stories Instagram ( https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3baTsJk) Help other people find the show by leaving a review on... Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3jY42aJ Castbox: http://bit.ly/38sXdcH Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Future episodes are already out on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel: http://bit.ly/2NArChO Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 2, 2021

Here’s a surprising fact: coffee was only invented around the time Michelangelo was chiselling his statue of David. Why did it take so long for humans to invent the cup of coffee? In this first episode of A History of Coffee, Jonathan and James unpack how humans figured out that delicious flavours were contained in the roasted seeds of a coffee tree’s cherries. The answer has nothing to do with dancing goats...but, in some ways, it has everything to do with a shepherd in the forests of Ethiopia. Future episodes are already out on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel! http://bit.ly/2NArChO Press Subscribe so you don't miss future episodes! Watch James and Jonathan bust coffee myths at the Barista League's High Density conference, for free: http://bit.ly/3pxtlSa A History of Coffee is a collaboration between James Harper of the Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Visit Jonathan’s Instagram ( https://bit.ly/37eMS3F) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3jNr9ou) to see Ethiopian coffee ceremonies and historical interpretations of Kaldi. Explore James’ Filter Stories Instagram ( https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O) and Twitter ( https://bit.ly/3baTsJk) to marvel at ancient coffee growing techniques in the mountains of Yemen. Help other people find the show by leaving a review on... Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3jY42aJ Castbox: http://bit.ly/38sXdcH Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Future episodes are already out on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel: http://bit.ly/2NArChO Coffee and brewing equipment featured in this episode: Ethiopia - Dimtu Tera Farm, Guji, Odo Shakiso. Roasted by 19 Grams (Berlin): https://bit.ly/3jQxRKv Yemen - Hasan Al-Salool, Jewain village, West Haraz. Roasted by Darkwoods (UK): http://bit.ly/3db7yxf Comandante hand grinder: http://bit.ly/3qmTSCN Sage electric grinder: http://bit.ly/2Zf3NyC Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Feb 18, 2021

A History of Coffee is the story of how a tiny psychoactive seed changed the world and shapes our lives today. Across six episodes, documentary maker James Harper and professional historian Jonathan Morris narrate how humans race coffee across oceans to keep up with demand for this addictive drink. Coffee creates enormous fortunes for some, and misery for others. Sometimes the environment benefits, but more often it is plundered. If we want to make coffee a more equitable industry that’s also kinder to the environment, a place to start is understanding the stories and systems that put the coffee into your cup this morning. Future episodes are already out on the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel! http://bit.ly/2NArChO Press the Subscribe button so you don’t miss future episodes. Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Follow Filter Stories on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 24, 2020

Sofía is a teenager living on a coffee farm and was going to school five days a week. But a year later, she’s studying only on Saturdays. This might sound trivial, but I’m going to take you on a journey to show you why this undermines an industry worth over $30 Billion. ——————————— A list of charities working in the coffee sector: https://sritson.com/Good-Hands-in-Coffee-Beta Buy your next coffee from a marginalized farmer: http://www.marginalizedfarmers.org/ Leave a review for Filter Stories on Castbox! https://castbox.fm/channel/2604177?country=us Need help on your podcast? Email James at hello@filterstories.org Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper A big thanks to Jake Warga, Ellen Rolfes, Michael McDowell, Janina Grabs, Helena Wolf, Jenn Rugolo, Vasant Chari, Ed Maine, Rachel Knapp, Adam Harper, Pia Klein, Andrew Johnson Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 26, 2020

You’ve just achieved a life goal. Now what? Dream bigger? Quit while you’re ahead? When Federico Bolaños fulfills his dream of helping a young Salvadoran win one of the hardest championships in coffee, he wants to aim higher. But his business partners tell him he risks losing their business. What Federico does next will change his life and El Salvador in ways he wants, and in ways he doesn’t. At the end of it all, I ask him: did you make the right choice? ——————————— Buy your next coffee from a marginalized farmer: http://www.marginalizedfarmers.org/ Leave a review for Filter Stories on Castbox! https://castbox.fm/channel/2604177?country=us Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Guitar song “Frantic" composed and performed by Håkon Vadet (hawkonn72@gmail.com). Produced and mixed by Ekaterina Zueva Need a voice over professional? Visit https://hannahvoice.com Federico Bolaños' new roastery - https://www.instagram.com/alquimiacoffee/ Alejandro Mendez's roastery - https://www.instagram.com/4_monkeyscoffee/ Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://soundfoundryberlin.com/ Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Filter Stories logo design: https://headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to Federico Bolaños, William Hernandez, Alejandro Mendez, Victor Flores Menéndez, Geraldo Diaz Editorial thanks: Hannah Smith, Jasper Marlow, Pia Klein, Adam Harper, Andrew Johnston Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 28, 2020

El Salvador used to grow a quarter of the world’s coffees. Today, it’s barely more than a rounding error. As coffee production fell, illegal migration to America grew. But there are many Salvadorans who want to grow coffee again and give Trump fewer reasons to build a wall. What’s holding them back? ——————————— Buy your next coffee from a marginalized farmer: http://www.marginalizedfarmers.org/ Leave a review for Filter Stories on Castbox! https://castbox.fm/channel/Filter-Stories---Coffee-Documentaries-id1392173?country=us Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo design: https://headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to Álvaro Castro Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Dec 19, 2019

Hector “tito” Vargas passed away in December 2019. We honor him by playing the season finale of the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. Correction: Tito passed away from a gunshot wound and not a heart attack. It's unknown at this stage whether it was suicide or murder. Visiting Panama? I recommend Oscar as your guide: http://muchogustopanama.com/ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Dec 4, 2019

You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they? Over five episodes, we explore a story of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide inequalities and the specialty coffee you drink today. Buried deep in this story is a group of people our coffee dollars are neglecting across the world. Part 5 explores how we can direct our coffee dollars towards historically marginalised farmers across the world. ——————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760 Shape the future of Filter Stories by taking this 10 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/YWH3LZM Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo design: https://headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Cesar Magana, Mauricio Escalón, Álvaro Castro, Emilio Lopez Diaz, Marco Ariz, Francescopaolo Marolla, Walter Retana, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation El Salvador, Rony Cordero, Cafe Salkantay Santa Ana, Jodie Cárcamo, Manuel Jesus Lopez, David Velasquez, Gilberto Baraona, Hugo Hernandez, Sara Cortez, Consejo Salvadoreño de Cafe, Tyler Wright, Josh Fontecha, Robert Durrette, Farmers First Coffee, Mauricio Benjamin Bautista Arucha, Israel Márquez, San Carlos Dos Cooperative, Sixto Ramos, Policar Siciliano, Helena Merivel Dias de Jimenez, Olga Carmel Ramirez, Azules Piedras Cooperative, Luis Ortez Ordoñez, Roberto Figero, Jesus Salvador Ortez, Victor Flores, Bronwen Serna Editorial thanks: Hannah Smith, Tina Ghelani, Adam Harper, Raymond Detweiler, Melanie Böhme, Andrew Johnson, Karin Vališová, Jesse Hartman, Matthias Staeheli Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Nov 25, 2019

You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they? Over five episodes, we explore a story of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide inequality and the specialty coffee you drink today. Buried deep in this story is a group of people our coffee dollars are neglecting across the world. Part 4 asks whether we are denying economic opportunities to the same people our parents and grandparents did? ——————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760 Shape the future of Filter Stories by taking this 10 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/YWH3LZM Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo design: https://headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Cesar Magana, Mauricio Escalón, Álvaro Castro, Emilio Lopez Diaz, Marco Ariz, Francescopaolo Marolla, Walter Retana, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation El Salvador, Rony Cordero, Cafe Salkantay Santa Ana, Jodie Cárcamo, Manuel Jesus Lopez, David Velasquez, Gilberto Baraona, Hugo Hernandez, Sara Cortez, Consejo Salvadoreño de Cafe, Tyler Wright, Josh Fontecha, Robert Durrette, Farmers First Coffee, Mauricio Benjamin Bautista Arucha, Israel Márquez, San Carlos Dos Cooperative, Sixto Ramos, Policar Siciliano, Helena Merivel Dias de Jimenez, Olga Carmel Ramirez, Azules Piedras Cooperative, Luis Ortez Ordoñez, Roberto Figero, Jesus Salvador Ortez, Victor Flores, Bronwen Serna Editorial thanks: Hannah Smith, Tina Ghelani, Adam Harper, Raymond Detweiler, Melanie Böhme, Andrew Johnson, Karin Vališová, Jesse Hartman, Matthias Staeheli Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Nov 20, 2019

You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they? Over five episodes, we explore a story of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide inequality and the specialty coffee you drink today. Buried deep in this story is a group of people our coffee dollars are neglecting across the world. In Part 3, we discover what it takes to almost kill coffee completely. ——————————— Listen to the Coffee Podcast’s series on the history of the coffee price: https://thecoffeepodcast.com/2019/09/30/e137-perspectives-on-the-coffee-price-crisis-history-of-coffee-price-part-i/ Also listen to the Specialty Coffee Association’s podcast with Janina Grabs on the future of the coffee market: https://scanews.coffee/podcast/59/reco-podcast-dr-janina-grabs-on-overcoming-the-single-exit-fallacy-s1-ep-4/ If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760 Shape the future of Filter Stories by taking this 10 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/YWH3LZM Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo design: https://headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Cesar Magana, Mauricio Escalón, Álvaro Castro, Emilio Lopez Diaz, Marco Ariz, Francescopaolo Marolla, Walter Retana, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation El Salvador, Rony Cordero, Cafe Salkantay Santa Ana, Jodie Cárcamo, Manuel Jesus Lopez, David Velasquez, Gilberto Baraona, Hugo Hernandez, Sara Cortez, Consejo Salvadoreño de Cafe, Tyler Wright, Josh Fontecha, Robert Durrette, Farmers First Coffee, Mauricio Benjamin Bautista Arucha, Israel Márquez, San Carlos Dos Cooperative, Sixto Ramos, Policar Siciliano, Helena Merivel Dias de Jimenez, Olga Carmel Ramirez, Azules Piedras Cooperative, Luis Ortez Ordoñez, Roberto Figero, Jesus Salvador Ortez, Victor Flores, Bronwen Serna Editorial thanks: Hannah Smith, Tina Ghelani, Adam Harper, Raymond Detweiler, Melanie Böhme, Andrew Johnson, Karin Vališová, Jesse Hartman, Matthias Staeheli Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Nov 12, 2019

You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they? Over five episodes, we explore a story of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide inequality and the specialty coffee you drink today. Buried deep in this story is a group of people our coffee dollars are neglecting across the world. In Part 2, we reveal why our economist nicknames his own country "El Savage.” ——————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760 Shape the future of Filter Stories by taking this 10 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/YWH3LZM Taste Maria’s coffee and support Filter Stories by joining the Indiegogo crowdfund here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/filter-stories-who-grew-your-morning-coffee/x/22081911#/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo design: https://headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Cesar Magana, Mauricio Escalón, Álvaro Castro, Emilio Lopez Diaz, Marco Ariz, Francescopaolo Marolla, Walter Retana, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation El Salvador, Rony Cordero, Cafe Salkantay Santa Ana, Jodie Cárcamo, Manuel Jesus Lopez, David Velasquez, Gilberto Baraona, Hugo Hernandez, Sara Cortez, Consejo Salvadoreño de Cafe, Tyler Wright, Josh Fontecha, Robert Durrette, Farmers First Coffee, Mauricio Benjamin Bautista Arucha, Israel Márquez, San Carlos Dos Cooperative, Sixto Ramos, Policar Siciliano, Helena Merivel Dias de Jimenez, Olga Carmel Ramirez, Azules Piedras Cooperative, Luis Ortez Ordoñez, Roberto Figero, Jesus Salvador Ortez, Victor Flores, Bronwen Serna Editorial thanks: Hannah Smith, Tina Ghelani, Adam Harper, Raymond Detweiler, Melanie Böhme, Andrew Johnson, Karin Vališová, Jesse Hartman, Matthias Staeheli Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Nov 7, 2019

You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they? Over five episodes, we explore stories of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide inequalities and the specialty coffee you drink today. Buried deep in this story is a group of people our coffee dollars are neglecting across the world. People who decide to migrate north. ——————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760 Shape the future of Filter Stories by taking this 10 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/YWH3LZM Taste Maria’s coffee and support Filter Stories by joining the Indiegogo crowdfund here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/filter-stories-who-grew-your-morning-coffee#/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / http://www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo design: http://www.headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Cesar Magana, Mauricio Escalón, Álvaro Castro, Emilio Lopez Diaz, Marco Ariz, Francescopaolo Marolla, Walter Retana, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation El Salvador, Rony Cordero, Cafe Salkantay Santa Ana, Jodie Cárcamo, Manuel Jesus Lopez, David Velasquez, Gilberto Baraona, Hugo Hernandez, Sara Cortez, Consejo Salvadoreño de Cafe, Tyler Wright, Josh Fontecha, Robert Durrette, Farmers First Coffee, Mauricio Benjamin Bautista Arucha, Israel Márquez, San Carlos Dos Cooperative, Sixto Ramos, Policar Siciliano, Helena Merivel Dias de Jimenez, Olga Carmel Ramirez, Azules Piedras Cooperative, Luis Ortez Ordoñez, Roberto Figero, Jesus Salvador Ortez, Victor Flores, Bronwen Serna Editorial thanks: Hannah Smith, Tina Ghelani, Adam Harper, Raymond Detweiler, Melanie Böhme, Andrew Johnson, Karin Vališová, Jesse Hartman, Matthias Staeheli The British Ambassador’s wife was acted by Heather Simons Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Sep 17, 2019

We meet a man who came from humble beginnings who has achieved what Armando and Maria have only ever dreamed about. ——————————— Taste Maria’s coffee and support Filter Stories by joining the Indiegogo crowdfund here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/filter-stories-who-grew-your-morning-coffee#/ See the Filter Stories live show in Berlin on the 1st and 4th of October 2019: https://www.facebook.com/events/494233377792673/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper More episode information here: www.medium.com/@FilterStories Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo design: www.headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Ignacio Gutiérrez, Maria Zoila Pineda de Rivera, Oscar Rivera, Marco Ariz, Hotel La Palma, Piero Cristiani Editorial thanks: Hannah Smith, Tina Ghelani Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Aug 20, 2019

Imagine you’re a coffee buyer on a mission to buy Salvadoran coffee. We visit Armando and Maria’s farms. Which farm would you choose to buy from? ——————————— Taste Maria’s coffee by joining the Filter Stories Indiegogo crowdfund here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/filter-stories-who-grew-your-morning-coffee#/ Listen to the About Face podcast here: https://www.aboutfacepodcast.com Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper More episode information here: www.medium.com/ @FilterStories Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo design: www.headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Maria Zoila Pineda de Rivera, Oscar Rivera, Marco Ariz, Ignacio Gutiérrez Editorial thanks: Janina Grabs, Jenn Rugolo, Tina Ghelani, Adam Harper Maria and Santos were acted by Ana Kavalis and Eneko Sanz Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Aug 5, 2019

20 years ago specialty coffee patted itself on the back for saving coffee farmers, both big and small, from the misery of low coffee prices. But what's it like for a small coffee farmer getting into this specialty coffee club today? We dive into El Salvador’s Cup of Excellence to contrast the experience of two producers. ——————————— Taste Maria’s coffee by joining the Filter Stories Indiegogo crowdfund here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/filter-stories-who-grew-your-morning-coffee#/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper More episode information here: www.medium.com/ @FilterStories Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: www.headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Maria Zoila Pineda de Rivera, Oscar Rivera, Marco Ariz, Ignacio Gutiérrez Editorial thanks: Janina Grabs, Jenn Rugolo, Tina Ghelani, Adam Harper Maria was acted by Ana Kavalis Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jul 1, 2019

Gerry's cafe failed. We investigate why by putting ourselves in Gerry's shoes and experiencing the coffee world as a blind man. ——————————— Gerry’s roastery: http://www.theunseenbean.com/ More Piano music on Coffee People Zine: https://www.coffeepeople.org/pages/musicv01 Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: https://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper More episode information here: https://www.medium.com/ @FilterStories Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: https://www.headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Gerry Leary, Ever Meister, Ben Cole, Kat Melheim, Sam Neely, Becca Brenowitz, Brian Hergert Editorial thanks: Lerato Maphanyane, Andrew Johnson, Adam Harper, Diksha Dutta Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jun 18, 2019

Gerry has a disability that keeps 2 in 3 adults out of full time work. But Gerry demolishes expectations over and over again. ———————————— Gerry’s roastery: http://www.theunseenbean.com/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filterstoriespodcast/ More episode information here: http://www.medium.com/ @FilterStories Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / http://www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: http://www.headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Gerry Leary, Ever Meister, Ben Cole Editorial thanks: Lerato Maphanyane, Tim Ridley, Luka Kelman, Andrew Johnson, Adam Harper. Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

May 14, 2019

What do you do when you want to buy a cafe but your country is collapsing around you? ———————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! www.itunes.apple.com/de/podcast /filte…327760?l=en&mt=2 Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper More episode information here: http://www.medium.com/ @FilterStories Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / http://www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: http://www.headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Cesar Eduardo Bermejo and Cesar Andres Bermejo of Brew Coffee Company, John Matías, Manual Barsallo of Paddle Coffee Roasters, Giancarlo Effio of Mentiritas Blancas Editorial thanks: Tanya Newton, Tyler Wright, Jack Butcher, Adam Harper, Tom Jarz Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Apr 12, 2019

Mikhail is a specialty coffee barista. But he’s stuck on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He doesn’t want to be there and he’s trying to get off. But he can’t. There are boats and planes, but none will let him on. Mikhail is a victim of an invisible curse that affects up to tens of thousands of people who work in coffee. There is a good chance you’ve drank a coffee that was grown, picked or brewed by a stateless person. ———————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760?l=en&mt=2 Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories UNHCR Statelessness: https://www.unhcr.org/stateless-people.html & https://www.unitedstateless.org More episode information here: https://www.medium.com/ @FilterStories Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: https://www.headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Mikhail Sebastian, Lindsay Jenkins, Valerie Lowson, David Baluarte, Chris Boian Editorial thanks: Karin Vališová, Volkart Wildermuth, Kinga Peçak Episode image © UNHCR Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Mar 10, 2019

What were your dreams at 16? Sofía lives on a remote coffee farm in Nicaragua and hers is to be a great english translator. But Sofía needs school and a lot of luck. Every morning in her blue and white school uniform she walks for an hour to school. The road is deserted and her family knows she may be attacked. And then she walks home. Each coffee we drink holds the hopes of Sofía living a life off this farm. Or is that just wishful thinking? ———————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760?l=en&mt=2 Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Transparent Trade: http://www.transparenttradecoffee.org Project Alianza: http://www.projectalianza.org Janina Grabs’ blog: https://janinagrabs.com More episode information here: https://medium.com/ @FilterStories Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com Filter Stories logo: https://headquarters.studio A big thanks to: Sofia's family and the farm owner, Camila de la Vega, Janina Grabs, Tyler Wright, Amanda Eastwood Editorial thanks: Kate Leismer, Heather Simons, Adam Harper Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Feb 12, 2019

In Central America, you can’t tell the story of coffee without mentioning war. This is Alfonso. He's hugged Fidel Castro and President Reagan chartered a private plane so he could attend a photoshoot at the White House. In the 1980s, Alfonso almost gets murdered three times for trying to bring democracy to Nicaragua. And all the while, his sanctuary, the coffee farm “Aquiares", begins collapsing too. This story reveals the blood and tears that could fill your morning cup of coffee. ———————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760?l=en&mt=2 Join the Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamesharper/filter-stories-youve-heard-the-story-now-taste-the?ref=30q5cc Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter here: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories More episode information here: https://medium.com/ @FilterStories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: https://headquarters.studio/ A big thanks to: Ariel Bravo, the Robelos, Fabio Gadea Mantilla, Carlos Fernando Chamorro Editorial thanks: Kinga Pecak, Daniel Orgera, Anja Krieger. Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Jan 8, 2019

Tito lives on a mountain in Panama, is a rebel and doesn’t listen to anyone. Which is why he makes a terrible decision: he buys a coffee farm instead of getting an education. Tito is now stuck, chained to a system that will keep him poor. But Tito doesn’t give up without a fight. He will spend the next 30 years trying to prove he hasn't made the worst decision of his life. ———————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760?l=en&mt=2 Visiting Panama? Ask for Oscar: http://muchogustopanama.com/ Follow Filter Stories on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filterstoriespodcast/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Episode transcript: https://medium.com/ @FilterStories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: https://headquarters.studio/ More about Filter Stories here: https://www.filterstories.org/ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Oct 2, 2018

Raymond's family want him to spend his life using a horse instead of a car, to live off the grid and have little contact with the outside world. But young Raymond is curious and explores the outside world. His father reacts by moving the family into an even more isolated community. Fast-forward 20 years and Raymond is pulling espressos in Melbourne. How did Raymond escape? And how did he end up as a barista in Melbourne? Trigger warning: this episode contains references to sexual abuse. ———————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760?l=en&mt=2 Follow Filter Stories on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filterstoriespodcast/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Episode transcript: https://medium.com/ @FilterStories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: https://headquarters.studio/ More about Filter Stories here: https://www.filterstories.org/ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Sep 18, 2018

Martin is the best barista in Kenya and has a dream to open a cafe. Except, he can't. Kenyans don't drink coffee. But he has a plan: he’s going to win the World Barista Championships to change coffee drinking culture in Kenya forever. But, he's all alone and up against the richest barista teams in the world. Can he do it? ———————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760?l=en&mt=2 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filterstoriespodcast/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Episode transcript: https://medium.com/ @FilterStories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: https://headquarters.studio/ More about Filter Stories here: https://www.filterstories.org/ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Sep 4, 2018

Murray is one of Ecuador's most famous coffee farmers. But there's a problem: he's only earning $2 profit from 250 espressos. How does he survive? While he struggles, his farm is splashed across Instagram and roasters say they have his interests at heart. This is the real story behind the glossy Instagram posts. The reality might change how you look at your next cup of coffee. ———————————— Murray's Photography: https://www.facebook.com/murraycooperphoto Follow Filter Stories on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filterstoriespodcast/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Episode transcript: https://www.medium.com/ @FilterStories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Sound mixing: Dom Edgley / https://www.domedgleysound.com/ Filter Stories logo: https://www.headquarters.studio/ More about Filter Stories here: https://www.filterstories.org/ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

Aug 16, 2018

Sarah has just landed her dream job working as a barista for the best cafe in North Carolina. Her cafe will soon be featured in the New York Times and grab international attention. But it has nothing to do with the coffee. Rather, Sarah's bosses will hurt many women in her community. This is the real story about misogyny damaging the life of a young woman, her struggle to regain control and bring her community back together. This is the first ever episode of Filter Stories, the untold stories hidden in your cup of coffee. Trigger warning: this episode contains misogynistic language. ———————————— If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/filter-stories/id1428327760?l=en&mt=2 Interested in hearing more under-represented female voices in specialty coffee? Check out the Boss Barista podcast: http://bossbarista.com/bossbarista Follow Filter Stories on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filterstoriespodcast/ Sign up to the Filter Stories newsletter: http://www.eepurl.com/dD-sY1 Recommend Filter Stories to other podcast lovers on Podyssey! https://podyssey.fm/podcast/itunes1428327760-Filter-Stories Episode transcript: https://www.medium.com/ @FilterStories Piano music composed and performed by James Harper Filter Stories logo: https://www.headquarters.studio/ More about Filter Stories here: https://www.filterstories.org/ Join me at World of Coffee Dubai, 18-20 January. Grab your tickets here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .