The Cupping Table - By M-Cultivo

In this episode of the Cupping Table Podcast, host David Paparelli sits down with Mariana Iturralde Costa, owner of Finca Takesi, the most sought-after coffee farm in Bolivia. From fetching a record-breaking $3,000/kg in their recent auction to navigating competition with local gold mines and extreme high-altitude microclimates, Mariana reveals what it truly takes to produce world-class specialty coffee. We dive deep into:- The truth behind Finca Takeshi's high-altitude growing conditions.- Why specialty coffee isn't an instant fix for farm economics.- How Finca Takesi structured an invite-only auction to protect traceability over raw profit.- The reality of labor, team building, and keeping workers in a gold-mining region.Chapters:00:00 - Introduction: Mariana Iturralde Costa & Record-Breaking Auction Results01:25 - The Anomaly of Tarija: Where Wine Country Meets Specialty Coffee05:10 - History & Migration of Coffee Across Bolivia's Diverse Terroirs 09:10 - Is Bolivia’s Coffee Future Commercial or High-End Specialty? 13:19 - The Specialty Coffee Myth: Does High Quality Always Mean Higher Profits?17:11 - Brand Identity: How Finca Takesi Represents Bolivian Coffee Nationally22:12 - What Surprises Visiting Farmers About Finca Takesi’s Crops 26:00 - Extreme Labor Challenges: Competing with Local Gold Mines & Coca Leaf33:05 - Inside the $3,000/kg Live Auction: Why They Banned Deep-Pocketed Bidders42:15 - The Legacy of Finca Takesi & The Future of Bolivian Coffee

What does it actually take to build a sustainable, high-end coffee business around rare, unique, and auction-lot coffees? In this episode of the Cupping Table Podcast, hosted by M-Cultivo co-founder David Paparelli, we sit down with Paul Ross: two-time UK Barista Champion and founder of Special Guests Coffee. Paul shares a rare look behind the curtain at the financial, operational, and philosophy-driven decisions that govern Special Guests. From implementing a pure cost-plus pricing algorithm for green coffee to using single-dose freezing to stall bean aging and maintain brew consistency, this conversation dives deep into the true economics of specialty coffee. In this episode, we explore:- Sustainable Coffee Economics: Why Paul uses a mathematical algorithm to price coffee based strictly on green costs rather than speculative value.- Auction Lots & Rare Varietals: Sourcing strategy, balancing Geshas with overlooked species/varietals, and communicating farm stories to retail consumers.- The Science of Freezing Coffee: Using single-dose frozen tubes to control variables, eliminate waste, and keep peak-rested coffees on the menu longer.- Filter-First Hospitality: Why meeting consumers on a spectrum without judgment creates a viable market for high-value coffees.- The Business of Scaling: Navigating London’s competitive landscape, paying above living wages, and protecting business longevity. Chapters:00:00 - Introduction & Welcome03:00 - The Spectrum of Coffee: Meeting Consumers Without Judgment 07:15 - Sourcing High-End Lots & Navigating Feature Menus 08:09 - Freezing Single Doses: Stalling Aging & Creating Brew Consistency 17:11 - The Real Cost of Auction Coffees & Sourcing High-Value Lots 21:28 - Beyond Gesha: The Value of Unique Varietals & Species 29:41 - The Green-to-Retail Pricing Algorithm & Sustainable Business Models 36:38 - Balancing Coffee Shop, Roastery, and Wholesale44:00 - Technical Realities of Commercial Coffee Preservation 52:00 - Scaling Responsibly: Overhead, Wages, and Business Longevity

Taiwan is one of specialty coffee's most surprising origins, and this October you can bid on its best lots. On October 28–29, the Taiwan Coffee Auction goes live on M-Cultivo.In this episode of The Cupping Table, M-Cultivo co-founder David Paparelli sits down with Leo Liu, Director of International Affairs at Taiwan Coffee Laboratory and coordinator of the Best of Taiwan Invitational. They discuss how the competition works, the new zero-baseline cupping form Taiwan Coffee Laboratory developed, and what's behind this year's top 20 coffees.In this conversation:- How Best of Taiwan and the Taiwan Coffee Auction work, and what "Winners" and "Selects" mean.- Why Taiwan Coffee Laboratory created a new cupping form with a zero baseline.- A 7-Eleven Americano as a quality benchmark.- The results: the top seven coffees scored above 90, and the 20th place scored 88.9.- Why SL34 and Red Bourbon are competing with Geisha.- How Taiwan's tea-farming heritage shapes its coffee producers.- Why Taiwan Coffee Laboratory and ACE parted ways.Chapters:00:00 - Welcome and the auction01:05 - How Best of Taiwan works07:58 - The new zero-baseline cupping form21:18 - The 7-Eleven baseline37:45 - Cupping as a conversation48:50 - The top 20: Geisha, SL34 and Red Bourbon1:00:02 - Single tree cupping and tea heritage1:07:39 - Parting ways with ACE1:25:46 - How to register for the auctionTaiwan Coffee Auction: October 28–29Register at www.mcultivo.com to receive email alerts and find cuppings near you.Download TCL Cupping form:📌 Cupping Formhttps://lihi1.me/DTGlk📌 User Guidehttps://lihi1.me/4RV6FSubscribe for more conversations with the people behind the world's best coffees.

What happens when the philosophy behind one of Panama's most celebrated coffee farms was never written down, only lived? In this episode of The Cupping Table, David Paparelli sits down with Noemi and Sophia of Longboard Specialty Coffee to talk about Wild Dynamics, the minimal-intervention philosophy their father Justin developed before passing away last year, and what it means to carry it forward for the first time as their own.We get into what Wild Dynamics actually means at the farm and in processing, why they harvest based on lunar cycles, how blind cupping can identify which farm a lot came from, why they refuse to make their coffee replicable, and the personal rituals (naming each lot, choosing a song for it) that turn a harvest into a story. Their nano-lots from Misty Mountain and Windy Ridge go to auction October 8th.00:00 – Intro: meet Noemi and Sophia of Longboard01:58 – What "Wild Dynamics" actually means05:43 – Minimal intervention in farming and processing09:08 – Harvesting coffee by lunar cycles18:17 – Why they refuse to make their coffee replicable23:28 – Blind cupping can tell you which farm a lot is from32:11 – From cupping notes to storytelling34:20 – Naming a coffee lot like naming a child42:03 – A year later: taking ownership of their father's legacy50:57 – What they learned meeting fans in China56:00 – Closing thoughts + October 8th auction reminderRegister for the Longboard auction:https://longboard.auction/Follow M-Cultivo:https://www.instagram.com/mcultivo.coffeewww.mcultivo.com

What does it actually take to turn a coffee-growing region into the most sought-after luxury coffee origin in the world? In this episode of The Cupping Table, David Paparelli sits down with Ricardo Koyner — a 30-year veteran of Panama's coffee industry — to unpack how Panama went from an overlooked producer to the home of record-breaking Geisha auctions.We cover the scandal that first revealed Panama's coffee was worth protecting, the science behind why coffee grown two kilometers apart can taste completely different, how the Best of Panama competition is building the world's first Geisha "typicity" flavor wheel, and why the market still doesn't understand what it's paying for when it buys sustainable coffee.0:00 – Intro1:20 – Why this year's harvest is smaller — and better3:51 – One valley, two climates: Panama's microclimates explained6:37 – Inside Panama's collaborative coffee culture9:52 – Founding the Best of Panama competition16:11 – The Kona scandal that changed everything16:56 – From onion farms to luxury coffee20:52 – Mapping Geisha genetics and building a flavor wheel40:56 – $30,000 a kilo: is the Geisha market a bubble?49:49 – The real problem: educating the market on value51:52 – Quality, environment, social: the three pillars56:05 – Closing thoughts + this year's auctionFollow M-Cultivo:www.instagram.com/mcultivo.coffeewww.mcultivo.com