Check out these podcasts from coffee professionals across the world during shelter in place.
BY CRAIG BATORY
SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Without a café soundtrack to keep your ears occupied while brewing coffee, it’s likely that you’re either playing your own music, listening to the news, or taking in other media with every single pour. Another aural option is to listen to the many coffee-focused podcasts that are out there, allowing you to stay in tune with what your community is doing during this time and hear some insightful words on all things coffee.
MAP IT FORWARD, including The Daily Coffee Pro
The MAP IT FORWARD Podcast is hosted by Lee Safar and consists of two types of discussions focused around the coffee industry and supply chain. The first segment is called The Daily Coffee Pro, a 15-30-minute discussion from Lee about career, life, and business—usually related to coffee. The second is MAP IT FORWARD, which consists of detailed conversations with respected industry professionals about interesting and relevant subjects facing the entire coffee value chain.
Lee asks important questions directly related to coffee professionals across the globe. She also isn’t afraid of calling out discrepancies and issues she sees within the industry. “I want to have authentic conversations with interesting people,” Lee explains. “I want to learn from them and be challenged by them. I want to laugh with them, celebrate with them, and sometimes even cry with them. If I do my job right, our conversations will be interesting to other people and they’ll be inspired by them. Maybe even enough to challenge their own thoughts and take action to better their own lives.” Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, and YouTube.
TAZA from Alliance For Coffee Excellence
TAZA is a new podcast and video series from the Alliance for Coffee Excellence that you can listen to and watch through Patreon. The Spanish word for “cup,” TAZA is a series of episodes with interviews from different coffee professionals around the world, from producers to café owners, who discuss how COVID-19 has been affecting various related groups and communities. The podcast serves as a resource for learning, news, and connection, and their first episode is with our magazine’s Cofounder and Editor-in-Chief Sarah Allen! You can watch it on Patreon here.
Making Coffee with Lucia Solis
What happens when a former winemaker turns into a coffee-processing consultant? You can find out yourself by listening to Making Coffee with Lucia Solis. Lucia has a background in microbiology from winemaking, which she has segued into her coffee career. Making Coffee dives deep into the ravines of coffee processing by examining all the ways a coffee cherry is prepared prior to roasting. The podcast is also filled with the latest coffee research in microbiology and includes in-depth interviews from coffee producers around the world.
“The inspiration to start the podcast came from the desire to be able to share more scientific information with the coffee community,” explains Lucia. “Another important aspect was to create a space for producers that I work with to share their experiences and reduce the gap (feedback loop) between producers and consumers.” Lucia is very forward-thinking in her approach to creating a sustainable coffee supply chain, which is evident from her topics and prose. “I work one-on-one with coffee producers, and the podcast is an opportunity to share more information with producers and coffee professionals.” Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
Cat and Cloud is a roastery based in Santa Cruz, Calif. Co-Owner Chris Baca started the namesake podcast, and has become a recognizable face from the dozens of videos and 250+ episodes of it, which frequently feature Co-Owner Jared Truby. According to Chris, the podcast was originally created in 2015 inside of a Volvo with an iPhone; its purpose was to provide information about the industry, advice on maintaining mental health, how to overcome diversities in the workplace, and the occasional NBA news update for coffee geeks worldwide. It is one of the longest-running coffee podcasts still active, and a new episode is released almost every week. The podcast has since expanded into a resourceful YouTube channel. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Keys to the Shop was created by café quality specialist Chris Deferio, who has more than 20 years of experience working and studying specialty-coffee retail. Every week Chris talks to café owners and industry leaders across the globe. “I wanted to develop a focused and curated resource of the best practices, ideas, and stories that would help current and future retail professionals thrive and create wonderful, sustainable coffee experiences for themselves, their customers, and staff,” explains Chris. “I hope it helps transform the way people approach leadership and service in the café and how they build their businesses to support a people-first culture that serves with an outward mindset, practicing excellence and mindfulness in all the disciplines that make up the coffee shop.” Every episode has insights and inspiration to help any coffee professional grow and advance their career or business. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
We will continue this feature with more engaging and resourceful podcasts next week.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Craig Batory is a coffee professional, journalist, and digital marketer currently based in Detroit. You can reach him directly at hello@craigbatory.com.
