Coffee Is Me Podcast

Tim is not new in the business world, he built and sold a few successful ventures. When he moved to Grand Rapids, MI, he decided to skip the line and buy his next venture instead of doing the startup hustle.  In this podcast Tim elaborates on why he decided to buy in rather than start up, and whether it was a good idea. He  also gives us valuable tips about how to find and evaluate a company if you’re  thinking to purchase your own. Topics in this show include:  How and why to buy a coffee company Which sales channels do work for Schuil Coffee Flavored coffee. New trend or ghost from the past? What is the magical pricing for grocery stores How to sell your coffee with Trade subscription service Is working with distributors worth it?  Is renting time on your coffee roasters smart? Finally this episode, has a big announcement regarding Unleashed Coffee. If you plan to start a coffee roasting company, you should definitely not miss that part.   Thank you for listening and I hope you will enjoy this

My guest in this episode is Stephen Ezell. Stephen is my old buddy, who together with Jonathan Shepard started Sequential Coffee. Jonathan is the business brain and Stephen is the coffee brain of this operation. It is a dream combo for every coffee nerd out there. Lucky Stephen! In this episode, we talked about the first steps and challenges when starting a coffee roasting operation. Sequential Coffee sells online using Shopify, but also retails in grocery stores, and they recently even started a kiosk. Which of these were good decisions? We also discussed how Covid has influenced their operation and the opportunities this crazy time can offer.  Want to start to work in the coffee industry but don’t know where to start?  Stephen revealed his tips for careers in the industry where you can make a decent living wage. We hope you will enjoy this episode.   Find Sequential Coffee:  website instagram facebook

I am not sure whether it is Joey's fascinating story or the current global situation, but this episode got a bit personal.    Joey first started trading in “commodities” as a drug user and later dealer.  Today he is the CEO of Cafe Kreyol  -- a direct trade coffee importing and roasting company based in Manassas, Virginia.  His path was not straight, but finding God and purpose in his life led him out of the darkness.   Cafe Kreyol has a strong foot in the In this episode I meant to be funny with A question about how his drug smuggling experience helped with direct trade.    That question ended up on the cutting room floor, but we did talk about having a social mission and how it can or can't help with your business, and about coffee farming in Haiti; we discussed different coffee roasters we have used, Joe's wins and losses while building his brand, and finally we returned to a discussion about the universe, soil, and human ego.

Mitchell Popadziuk managed to fall into a perfect team. He is the business mastermind, his brother Tristan brings the coffee passion, and their mother Kelly is the soul of sales and marketing. I am jealous! In a good way ... :) [CxT] is a very young but dynamically growing company which, despite to the fact that Mitch is a podcast listener, fell into the same trap that we at Green Plantation coffee did: underestimating their growth. They initially invested in a US Roaster Corp 5kg roaster which they outgrew very fast. Now they roast on a Loring Falcon. Mitch and I also discussed their sales channels and I shared my experience selling on Amazon, Ebay and Spinn Marketplace. This is the first episode where the guest asked me a question and boy, did I have fun with it! We talked a bit about the idea of electric heating elements in drum roasters and also about use of influencers and Tik Tok for coffee sales.

Nick Walton is a rebel... was a rebel. He grew up on a milk farm, but his revolutionary attitude towards his parents drove his dad to say "enough! Time to grow up!" Nick's coffee story starts with sleeping in a car while homeless. Was this the push he needed to take life seriously, which finds its conclusion in a mysteriously-named coffee roasting company Flag and Wire? I will let him tell the story. As fascinating Nick's story is, our conversation is not only about him. We dig in into concrete strategies and tips for every coffee entrepreneur. We start with advice on naming your company. Nick and his wife hired a naming consultant. I wanted to know how that worked for them, was it worth it? Nick shares his very interesting take on passion in the coffee industry, and how his custom-built air roaster irritated other coffee professionals. We also discuss our experiences with different channels when it comes to selling coffee. Where are they getting results, wholesale, grocery stores, a web shop? Finally we

We are back with a great new podcast featuring a really cool new innovation in coffee roasting - the Bellwether Coffee Roasting Machine. Bellwether has developed a new type of small-batch electric commercial coffee roaster. It doesn’t require ventilation, a gas line, or even a contractor or complicated permit to install. It features tablet based roasting software, and the company has a green coffee sourcing division that allows companies to get up and running quickly with customized roast profiles for each of the coffees in their inventory. Does this sound too good to be true? It may have been designed and built by coffee people, but we were uncertain of the efficacy, practicality, ability to produce delicious coffee, and the cost benefits of such a device. We wondered, do we really need a new roaster? Well, we’ve tasted the coffee and can confidently claim it produces a delicious roast. After seeing the operation, we were equally impressed by what they’ve produced. Join Valerian and Marcus as we discuss t

We are back with part 2 of our discussion with Umeko Motoyoshi, coffee entrepreneur, social media expert, educator, and author. In this episode we continue last week’s discussion with the author of The @wastingcoffee Guide To Not Wasting Coffee and purveyor of the Umeshiso Cupping Spoons. This week we share the results of a super fun and enlightening consumer experiment Valerian, Marcus, and Melissa conducted at the Boot Coffee Campus booth at the San Francisco Coffee Festival and hear Umeko’s take on the experiment and how consumers approach coffee differently from coffee professionals. Umeko also shares some of her secret sauce for social media success. With over 13,000 followers, she knows how to engage social media users! Listen in and learn how being genuine and showing yourself is one way to build a brand. We ask Umeko how influencers, specifically micro influencers, can build a brand; and explore how you can build and reinforce trust in your brand through your social media presence (or risk losing tr

This week we talk with Q grader, author, educator, entrepreneur Umeko Motoyoshi. This is part 1 of a two part episode with Umeko, the creator of the Umeshiso rainbow cupping spoon and author of The @wastingcoffee Guide To Not Wasting Coffee. We discuss how making the cupping and tasting environment more inclusive and accessible can draw customers into the discussion of flavor and taste. Umeko discusses how we should bring ourselves into the cupping room, how taste and flavor perception and experiences are deeply personal, and that it’s okay if we don’t all share the same experience of a coffee. The conversations ranges from Q Grading and the goal objectivity, the way the SCA cupping form informs our experiences and the influence of our upbringings. We loved hosting Umeko and her throughtfulness. Join us as we share impressions of La Mula geisha from Panama, an incredible robusta Marcus discovered on a recent trip to Brazil from Cafe Fazenda Venturim, and two of Valerian’s coffees - one from Green Plantation

In this episode, we interview Rick Appleton (Boston) and Abdulrahman Qurban (Saudi Arabia), students attending the SCA Sensory class at Boot Coffee Campus. What were the hardest parts of the course and what was the ultimate takeaway?  Valerian tests Rick's newly acquired ability to evaluate coffee by applying his skills tasting his skin contact natural wine. How does Rick do?  What is the difference between the SCA Sensory class and the Q Grader class? All these questions are answered in this episode.     

In this episode, we will explore the world of wine with Eric Danch. We focus on tasting and sensory comparison between wine and coffee, but we also touch on the importance of origin, farming and processing techniques when determining the pricing of wine or coffee. Eric was kind enough to share some business techniques they use in the wine industry that can also be used in the coffee world.  In this episode, we talk a lot about Valerian's birthplace, Komarno, and the wines of Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia while drinking Bott Frigyes - 2018 Kadarka. Wine for this podcast was provided by: Danch & Granger - Wines from Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Croatia.  

  In this podcast, we will revisit the question of what is the ideal size of the roaster one should buy for their coffee roasting startup. You can find my old article here: https://coffeecourses.com/buying-a-coffee-roaster-here-are-few-considerations-so-you-do-not-get-burned/ We also got a few questions from you! Thanks! We feel your questions make this podcast more dynamic. Keep them coming, please. 1 Love the podcast! I have a question about adjusting a roasting profile as a coffee ages. We’ve had a few coffees that started out wonderful and juicy, but as the enter or near the ‘past crop’ zone start to taste woody, papery, or sometimes underdeveloped, any advice on how to adjust our profiles?  thanks Matt, Matthew Schodorf Founder / Roaster / Café de Leche ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 I do have a question, and I shall take your roasting courses if you give the answer that cures the issue we are facing. We do roast green coffee beans fr

After a healthy intro about natural wine Marcus and I will answer your questions about coffee roasting. Wine provided for this episode was by Noel Diaz and his Purity Wine. These were your questions we've answered on this episode: 1. ABOUT CAFFEINE I’ve come to believe (but never actually tested) that darker roasted coffee has less caffeine, but I’ve also read that Starbucks is teaching its employees that this is a myth.  Can you settle this for me? Darron Burke   www.cafedonpablo.com https://youtu.be/_YVRDkPRB0   2. ABOUT PRE VS POST ROAST BLENDING COFFEE "Hey guys! Haven't heard of your podcast until now, although we are familiar with Boot Coffee Campus. I look forward to tuning in. I'm with Camellia Coffee Roasters out of Sacramento. We've been roasting for about 3 years as Camellia and have had our cafe for about a year and a half. I would be interested in knowing your thoughts on pre-blending coffee before roast?"   Robert Watson, camelliacoffeeroasters.com   3. ABOUT LPG vs NATURAL GAS

We are Back [in Arnold's accent]. After a long rest, we are back with a very special episode on Rwandan coffee. Smaya will tell us about women in coffee in Rwanda, about how to become East African Aeropress champion and how did she like her first sip of coffee. This and hopefully future episodes are co-hosted with one and only Marcus Young from Boot Coffee Campus. This episode would not happen if we would not sip amazing Viognier Pet Nat. Follow our wine adventures on Instagram, @petnat_ca.    

Where to sell your coffee? What shall be your wholesale price? Is Amazon or grocery stores the answer for your sales? We decided to share our experience from our first year trying to find the best sales channels for our brand Unleashed Coffee.

In this episode, we are going to talk about logo and packaging design. When it comes to the logo design we used plenty of services like Fiverr, 99 Designs and we will describe you the good and the bad about them. We ended up with a local designer. Was it a good idea? We think so. We will describe also the process we went through when ordering our bags. We had to order them from China via Alibaba, but it was not a very smooth ride. Finally, we are going to talk about the importance of barcodes. Barcodes are often overlooked but might be crucial for your sales.  All this and more in this podcast on building your coffee brand. 

This is a promised episode where we try to inspire through our experience of building a coffee brand. After I introduce William - the coffee farmer and the CEO of Unleashed Coffee we will give you few tips how to select the perfect business partner for your project. We also did a small exercise and asked each other our strong points and our weaknesses. This part was unrehearsed and we had a blast to evaluate each other.  Selecting the name for our company was pretty challenging and long process. Did we over think it?  We will share how and what did we find important when selecting the name and how did we test it among potential customers. Are focus groups the right way to test your potential name? If so how can you get most of them? All this and much more in this episode. Do you have questions? Join our Facebook group and ask us!

Denet Lewis from Barbell Coffee will reveal how can you start a coffee business under $10000 and how did they find their crowd in the crossfit niche. In this episode we will also talk about different ways to make cold brew and also how to bottle cold brew. With Denet we will discuss their buttered coffee derivative which is based on the bulletproof coffee. 

In this episode I have a very exciting guest all the way from Paris. Jana Bukovinova opened a cafe/bistro in Paris called Thank You My Deer. She is the business owner, barista, baker and chef. As I mentioned previously I truly believe that coffee roasters and baristas who know how to cook, bake, how to develop flavors have a serious advantage over the rest of the crowd. Jana is one of few who can do that and it does not stop there. She does it extremely well creating buzz all over France. I hope you find her story inspiring the same way as I did. How did she do it? What are her biggest challenges running her coffee business in Paris? You will find out in this podcast.

I think I am not wrong when I say that most coffee professionals dream of going to the origin, tasting the coffee cherry and frolicking on the coffee farm like Kaldi’s goats in 15th century in Ethiopia. But have you ever wondered what do baristas from the origin dream of? We know that 10-20y ago in many coffee producing countries, drinking coffee was not something what was done. Many of the coffee farmers did not even taste their own coffee. This is rapidly changing and origin countries opening amazing cafes, where locals, tourists and coffee farmers can be united by the art of the barista. A good example is Daniel Sibomana from Kigali’s Question Cafe. Dan recently visited the San Francisco Bay Area so I was curious about his cafe in Kigali and how does he perceive the coffee world in the SF bay area. Enjoy the show!

Second episode with Michal Molčan from the Standart Magazine. In this episode Michal will describes his ideal cafe, elaborates on the idea behind Peet's acquisition of Intelligentsia's coffee and debunks the Silicon Valley spirit on failing.