Making Coffee with Lucia Solis

VavaInstagramWebsiteCoffee Milk Blood BookPaulaInstagramWebsiteLowellInstagramWebsiteFrankieInstagramChristopher FeranBlogResources:Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, you can show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal

  Some of the questions I cover on today's episode involve:-how do fruit added fermentations differ from microbe inoculation?-my stance on the usefulness/benefits of probiotics-can we taste yeast in the cup?-what is the future of fermentation for the specialty coffee industry?-we typically ferment cherries or wet parchment but what about fermenting green coffee?-what is honey osmotic dehydration-how can consumers navigate coffee labels when "fermented" coffee produces a wide range of flavors.Resources: Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, you can show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalIf you're interesting in joining me in Colombia in JanuaryFermentation Training Camp 3

In this episode we talk about:Coffee production in KenyaThe similarities between latin and african coffee productionHow we consumers perceive coffee producers vs how coffee producers would like to be seenThe success paradox, when too much financial success can turn off some buyers Resources:Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.If you're interesting in joining me in Colombia in JanuaryFermentation Training Camp 3Vava Coffee IncA bit about Vava Angwenyi...In 2009, Vava Angwenyi started VAVA COFFEE – a Benefit Corporation (B-corp) with a Social enterprise model that exports, roasts and consults on coffee value chains, the organization aims to contribute to better future prospects for coffee communities and the industry as a whole. The company ensures sustainable livelihoods for the people and communities in which it works. Vava is also the co-founder and director of business development & fundraising at GENTE DEL FUTURO (People of the Future). GDF formed in 2017 is an organization born out of a partnership between African Plantations Kilimanjaro, Vava Coffee and Oro Molido three private sector players within the coffee sector to tackle two of the main problems we face as an industry - Producer profitability and Next generation involvement. Gente Del Futuro’s focus is to amplify the voices of youth by creating economic empowerment, choices and sustainability for the coffee industry. The organization offers young people a unique and one of a kind learning opportunity by fusing coffee cultures and knowledge from three different growing origins : Tanzania, Kenya and Colombia.Vava holds a Masters degree-Msc in International Finance and Management from University of Groningen as well as Certificate in Global Asset Management from Warrington College of Business, UF and a BSC in Statistics & Actuarial Science from University of Western Ontario- Canada. Vava’s vision is to challenge the status quo and promote positive social disruption within the Coffee industry. This vision comes from an inborn passion for transformative change and a drive to promote the sustainable production of coffee at various origins by tracing the production of high quality coffee beans to the independent smallholder coffee farmer, who works day in and day out, against major obstacles and with meager resources to produce some of the world’s best tasting coffees, often without an understanding or appreciation of the final fruits of their labor.Vava is also a Q grader and was part of the 2015 IVLP program a prestigious State Department sponsored program. Vava Coffee has also been recognized over the years for its grassroots initiatives and contribution to smallholder farming communities and Youth in agriculture. Vava served on the SCA board 2019- 2020 on the Finance and Sustainability Committees. In 2019 Vava Coffee was recognized as a Best for the world community Honoree - B Corp.Vava recently authored the book “Coffee Milk Blood”. Coffee Milk Blood is a project and book inspired by her own experience as an African woman in the industry and the theme of the book touches on appropriate storytelling/depiction of producers - how producers want to be seen beyond the coffee and as Women , the African woman, the culture of the place as well as underpinnings of Colonialism that are the structures we still operate within in our indust

Today’s episode is a little different. I am sharing a conversation that I had with Katrien of OR Coffee, A specialty coffee roastery & training center in Belgium. This episode is a little different because I’m not interviewing her, She actually interviewed me for her new podcast, Puur Koffie. Fermentation Training Camp: January 2023OR Coffee Website OR Coffee InstagramPuur Koffie PodcastCafesmo

In this episode we talk about:Plastic Grocery bags vs PaperRwanda's Plastic Bag banCoffee Processing GlossaryPower dynamics in coffee buyingSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.ResourcesLife Cycle of Bags 128 Page ReportNYT Article - New Jersey Bag BanNYT - Brad Plumer "Paper or Plastic"NYT- The Cotton Tote CrisisCover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

In this episode we talk about:The months of making EP 44Gas Station Cuisine$17 cup of Yemeni coffeeA winemaker's role and a coffee maker's roleFormula 1 Racing, go karts and TennisWhat does it mean to love coffee?Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Resources:Cover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

In this episode we talk about:Coffee consulting in BrazilWhat is a quakerMatching coffee processing with roasting How Eystein roasts high and low density seedsExtraction and Brewing techniques to maximize acidityHow Eystein would prepare a coffee to show off orange, chocolaty notes Preparing our bodies and palate to be more sensitive to flavorsSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Resources:Connect with Eystein on Instagram @3aondacafeCover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

In this episode we talk about:The class system in ColombiaSpecialty coffee shops in coffee producing countriesExtended fermentations, 500 hoursGermination of dry processed coffees, what is going on?Overview of the role of amino acidsHow do we measure stress in coffee cherries?Stressed grapes vs stressed coffee cherriesSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Ukraine Resources:Ukraine DonationsRitualesDistrito CafeteroPergaminoDesarolladores De CafeStratification of ColombiaSocial Class in ColombiaWorld Bank Statistics on ColombiaRESEARCH PAPERSG. Bytof, SE Knopp, D Kramer, B Breitenstein, JH Bergervoet, SP Groot, D Selmar. Transient occurrence of seed germination processes during coffee post-harvest treatment. Ann Bot. 2007 Jul;100(1):61-6. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcm068. Epub 2007 May 3.D. Kramer, B. Breitenstein, M Kleinwächter, D Selmar. Stress metabolism in green coffee beans (Coffea arabica L.): expression of dehydrins and accumulation of GABA during drying. Plant Cell Physiol. 2010 Apr;51(4):546-53. DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcq019. Epub 2010 Mar 5.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

In this episode we talk about:The long geographical chain of custody for a cup of coffeeWhy do wet process and dry process coffees taste differentlyCoffee seeds: orthodox vs. recalcitrant seedThe yeast metabolism case for quality vs the plant metabolism case for qualityCacao seed germination vs coffee seed germination Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Ukraine Resources:Ukraine DonationsBUY GREEN COFFEE FROM HONDURASCayro CoffeeRESEARCH PAPERS S-E Knopp, G Bytoff, D Selmar, Influence of processing on the content of sugars in green Arabica coffee beans, European Food Research and Technology 2005 223(2):195-201 DOI:10.1007/s00217-005-0172-1D Selmar, G Bytof, S-E Knopp, B Breitenstein,Germination of coffee seeds and its significance for coffee quality, Plant Biol (Stuttg) 2006 Mar;8(2):260-4. DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-923845.Ludlow CL, Cromie GA, Garmendia-Torres C, Sirr A, Hays M, Field C, Jeffery EW, Fay JC, Dudley AM. Independent Origins of Yeast Associated with Coffee and Cacao Fermentation. Curr Biol. 2016 Apr 4;26(7):965-71. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.012.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

In this episode we talk about:Crossing borders on footMy recent trip to Guatemala and Honduras w/ 2 new producer clientsBrewing coffee as a love poemHow instant coffee has a similar problem to instant cake mixesWhen is effort a virtue and when is it a drawback?Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Resources:Ukraine DonationsEnvironmental Impact of Cometeer on Christopher Feran's InstagramBUY GREEN COFFEE FROM HONDURASCAFESMO - Hidardo HernandezFinca Rio Frio - Dario EnamoradoBUY ROASTED COFFEEOR CoffeeSilky DrumCamera ObscuraYellow Place CoffeeVideo:Last Week Tonight - Everest14 Peaks DocumentaryCover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

Welcome to the first episode of the new year and season 3.In this episode we talk about:If sugar follows the direct of water flow, does sugar evaporate out as coffee dries?The difference between sugar in mucilage and inside the seed.Can sugar be a preservative?The benefits and drawbacks of adding cascara to the fermentationHow to inoculate for freeHow to control the fermentation in a hot environment vs a cold one.Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Resources:Momo Tostadores PodcastCover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

As many of you know, we've started doing live hang out after the episodes on Discord a week after the podcast comes out. I find this valuable because I get to hear from listeners and we create our own podcast after the podcast together.In the most recent gathering I had Felipe, Jose and Lucas from Ep 38 on the discussion so listeners of the podcast could ask them questions directly.A few things stuck out to me from that conversation that I want to share here because what started as a fun hang out turned out to provide a key insight for coffee producers. In this episode we talk about:Tank Additions: Mango, lemons, cinnamonWine additions: sugar and acidTransparency: what does it mean and who benefitsEnzymes vs Microbes like yeast and bacteriaHow fermentation is like gravitySupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Resources:Bean Scene ArticleGravity Explained at 5 difficulty LevelsCover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

Today's episode features Lucas, a Patron and exporter with Unblended who sold a Kombucha coffee. I invited him and the producers he works with, Felipe and Jose to talk about their experience reverse engineering a $5 castillo. They started with the end goal in mind, the picked the price, the flavor profile they wanted and then created a process to hit their target.In this episode you'll hear from 3 passionate coffee professionals about:What a successful relationship looks like between producers and exportersThe true cost of experimenting, 80 kilos vs 1 tonThe price the farmer gets vs the roaster priceTheir exact process: preparing and caring for the kombucha SCOBYTheir tracking: ph values and number of fermentation hoursSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah BisbeeContact:For special collaborations, samples, or inquiries about USA and HK on-spot inventory from Felipe, Jose and UVI: https://www.unblended.coffee/ or through Instagram: @UnblendedcoffeeFor connecting, learning more, or suggesting experimentation ideas: Instagram: @Ventolacoffee and @joalherb

Today I am joined by Jamie Isetts, Sourcing Consultant. In this episode we cover:What a green buyer doesHow Jamie became a green buyerHow to organize a coffee contractCommunication red flags between producers and green buyersStrategies for long lasting relationshipsGet in touch with Jamie IsettsSupport the show on PatreonAnd if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah Bisbee

Today's episode is another in a series hearing from coffee producers from all parts of the world. I think one of the common traps we can get into is thinking and talking about "The" coffee farmer. Or "The Average Coffee Farmer." As if coffee farmers are a monolith. The average doesn’t exist. The people who grow and produce coffee are a very diverse group who do it for different reasons in very different conditions.It’s our nature, that when we learn something new, to compare it to what we already know, we learn by grouping and recognizing patterns and assigning categories. We take large amounts of information and shrink it, and distill it until it’s a small enough unit that we can attach a label. My hope with these episodes is to take a microscope to the group, get to know the individuals, how they think and what they think about.Today we get to visit India through the eyes of Pranoy, a 5th generation coffee grower. His family got into the business in 1953 where they have grown different produce in biodiverse, multi-cropped conditions.Support the show on Patreon and get access to research papers.Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah BisbeeMentioned in the Episode:Pranoy's InstagramKerehaklu WebsiteECRE Podcast

 Our sugar journey is almost complete as we round out the third installment in the Brix series. I hope the previous podcast episodes helped open your mind to some of the challenges we face in talking about sugar in the coffee industry.Today's episode focuses on ripeness and how counterintuitively sometimes measuring Brix can lead to lower quality coffee.And to help illustrate this point I'm sharing a lesson from one of my favorite industries: the cork industry. Specifically cork wine stoppers. In 2013 I was invited to visit Portugal as part of a Quality Control trip on behalf of the winery I worked for.In this episode we will talk about Brix and fruit maturity (ripeness), I will discuss the results of research done on a Brazilian coffee farm and we will see if there isn't a better instrument than a refractometer to help us look inside the coffee fruit and determine what will make a quality cup of coffee. Support the show on Patreon and get access to research papers.Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerIntro song: Elijah BisbeeMentioned in the Episode:Worms and Germs Video PresentationComedy Skits: these are weird but hey, maybe you're weird too.SNL Cork Soakers Skit John C Riley Sweet Berry Wine SkitFree conference by The Barista League:High Density Digital Conference

If you started the season with me in October you’ll remember that I started exploring the topic of what we lose when we take a plant from its native environment. Episode #25: A California Coffee Farm & Native vs. Local Yeasts looked at the relationship between coffee trees and the fermentation.Dr. Aimee Dudley’s research showed that the native microbes do not travel with the plant material and therefore all coffee fermentations outside of Ethiopia are non-native fermentations.Episode #26: Do Coffee Trees Talk? How Underground Fungi Affect Coffee Quality showed that when we take a plant from it’s native environment the microbes it needs to have strong immune response are also left behind.So we’ve touched on the above and below ground microbes that we leave behind.But is it only about microbes?Are microbes the most important thing we leave behind?I argue that it is not. As important as I think they are, I think there is something more valuable that is lost.Today, in part 3 I want to talk about another aspect we miss out on when we take something from its native environment.Support the show on Patreon and get access to research papers.Sign up for the newsletter for new podcast releases.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerInto song: Elijah BisbeeMentioned in the Episode:Podcast: How Not To Travel Like A Basic BitchDr. Aimee Dudley's Research LabMaca Pirate VideoThe Nagoya Protocol 

 We usually hear about coffee from roasters or even people like me, who work with coffee producers but we are not producers ourselves. One of my podcast goals is to bring you directly to the source. Whether it's scientific research or hearing directly from coffee producers.Often we leave it to coffee professionals and educators to speak about coffee producers but it’s rare to hear directly from coffee producers about their motivations and challenges. And even when we do hear from them on their social media channels, there is a hidden pressure to present a rosy version of reality. Today’s conversation is with Mark from Finca Rosenheim in the Villa Rica region in Peru.  This conversation is an honest look at some of the challenges producers rarely get to talk about. I asked Mark about organic certifications, climate challenges, coffee competitions, crop diversification, and what happens when markets can’t rebalance themselves. To get samples or buy coffee from Mark:Website: www.fincarosenheim.comEmail: Info@fincarosenheim.comInstagram: @fincarosenheimSupport the show on Patreon and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos.Sign up for the newsletter for new podcast releases.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerInto song: Elijah BisbeeMentioned in the Episode:Vox Video: Coffee Crisis in Colombia

What is left behind when coffee moves to new locations. What is the trade off for innovation?  This episode looks at what else we potentially leave behind when we introduce new plant material to non-native locations.The inspiration for this episode was a beautiful book by Peter Wohlleben called The Hidden Life of Trees. In it, Peter talks about native forests vs planted forests and the differences we (humans) are able to perceive.One of the example trees in Peter's book are oak trees. This was an interesting cross over for me because oak is very important for winemaking. Most of red wine is aged in oak barrels and many Chardonnay's too.This episode is filled with wine information on barrels, tastings and stories of my time in the wine industry.I enjoyed putting this episode together and I hope you enjoy listening to it. If you would like to support the show and help me make more episodes, join the Patreon community.Support the show on Patreon and get access to research papers.Sign up for the newsletter for new podcast releases.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerInto song: Elijah BisbeeMentioned in the Episode:Video: How A Barrel Is MadeVideo: Dr. Susan Simard Ted Talk

This week I want to talk to you about where native coffee yeast come from.  If you are concerned about coffee flavor manipulation by yeast, I hope by the end of the episode you have a broader understanding of where "native" yeast originally came from.To help illustrate the point, we start with non traditional coffee growing regions like Southern California.In the episode I will also be sharing research from Dr. Amiee Dudley.I met Dr. Aimee Dudley in 2017 during SCA EXPO in Seattle when we were on a Re:CO Panel together talking about yeast. I was offering the perspective of practical application of yeast, how coffee producers in situ could use it and Dr. Dudley was presenting her research on yeast genetics. She runs a lab at Pacific North West Research Institute and she is an expert on yeast genetics.Support the show on Patreon and get access to research papers.Sign up for the newsletter for new podcast releases.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerInto song: Elijah BisbeeMentioned in the Episode:The Coffee Podcast: Jay RuskeyFrinj CoffeeDr. Aimee Dudley's Research Lab