Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries

This episode takes you through the basics of good water for coffee.
To objectively assess a coffee's quality, both producer and buyer need to taste it using the same water. But whose water standards should you choose? Why do roasters often get to define what the "right" water is? What would the coffee world look like if producers set quality standards instead of roasters?
Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show.
Each episode takes one part of the farming business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are actually doing.
Related podcast episodes:
James:
Filter Stories: How Heat Transforms Coffee Beans
Filter Stories: How to Be a Better Taster
Filter Stories: Getting Great Water, Step by Step

Follow us through our newsletters and Social media:
Lucia's Newsletter
James's Newsletter
Lucia Instagram
James' Filter Stories Instagram
People mentioned in the episode:
Karla Boza — Jacinta Y Su Cafe, San Benito, El Salvador
Paulino Quintero — Huila, Colombia
Jesús Antonio Chala — Finca El Silencio, Colombia
Thompson Owen — Sweet Maria's Coffee, USA
Lahari Balireddi — ASG Coffee, Kenya
Manuel Barsallo — Agrícola Geisha, Panama
Lorenz Haschka — BWT water+more

Resources:
Video: How to Make Cold Brew
Physical Coffee Diary
Digital App: Coffee Brew Log
Digital App: Tasting Notes
Sweet Maria's guide to roasting in a pan or popper, with video
Sweet Maria's roasting on a pan or popper tip sheet
Sweet Maria's air popper resources and video
Filter Stories guide: Roasting your own coffee (English)
Guía de Filter Stories: Cómo tostar tu propio café (en español)
Guide to getting a good sample roast
Video: How to Cup Coffee at Home
SCA Cupping Workshop
Video: How to use an Alkalinity Dropper Kit
Buy a water test kit
SCA Water Control Chart
Water calculator to adjust alkalinity
Make your Own Water for Coffee
Video: Make your own water for coffee
BWT bestmax PREMIUM (under-sink option)
BWT bestbarista ROC COFFEE
PDFs of CVA Form in 7 languages
The SCA Coffee Value Assessment, Extrinsic Criteria List
Digital App: Catador
Digital: CVA in your web browser

Cover art: Nick Hafner
The Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:
The Coffee Quest | BWT water+more | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro

Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.

Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.

This episode is a practical guide to tasting coffee, sample roasting and judging quality, built for small producers on a tight budget. That makes it just as useful if you’re early in your coffee journey and want to learn the basics without spending thousands on equipment, starting with a frying pan or a $30 popcorn popper.
If you work in coffee, it reveals the obstacles producers face when they try to discuss quality on equal terms with buyers in the global north.
Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show.
Each episode takes one part of the farming business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are actually doing.
Related podcast episodes:
James:
Filter Stories: How Heat Transforms Coffee Beans
Filter Stories: How to Be a Better Taster
Filter Stories: Getting Great Water, Step by Step

Follow us through our newsletters and Social media:
Lucia's Newsletter
James's Newsletter
Lucia Instagram
James' Filter Stories Instagram
People mentioned in the episode:
Karla Boza — Jacinta Y Su Cafe, San Benito, El Salvador
Paulino Quintero — Huila, Colombia
Jesús Antonio Chala — Finca El Silencio, Colombia
Thompson Owen — Sweet Maria's Coffee, USA
Lahari Balireddi — ASG Coffee, Kenya
Manuel Barsallo — Agrícola Geisha, Panama
Lorenz Haschka — BWT water+more

Resources:
Video: How to Make Cold Brew
Physical Coffee Diary
Digital App: Coffee Brew Log
Digital App: Tasting Notes
Sweet Maria's guide to roasting in a pan or popper, with video
Sweet Maria's roasting on a pan or popper tip sheet
Sweet Maria's air popper resources and video
Filter Stories guide: Roasting your own coffee (English)
Guía de Filter Stories: Cómo tostar tu propio café (en español)
Guide to getting a good sample roast
Video: How to Cup Coffee at Home
SCA Cupping Workshop
Video: How to use an Alkalinity Dropper Kit
Buy a water test kit
SCA Water Control Chart
Water calculator to adjust alkalinity
Make your Own Water for Coffee
Video: Make your own water for coffee
BWT bestmax PREMIUM (under-sink option)
BWT bestbarista ROC COFFEE
PDFs of CVA Form in 7 languages
The SCA Coffee Value Assessment, Extrinsic Criteria List
Digital App: Catador
Digital: CVA in your web browser

Cover art: Nick Hafner
The Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:
The Coffee Quest | BWT water+more | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro

Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.

Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.

What is the right price for coffee? This episode shows what the journey of price discovery looks like from the perspective of a coffee farmer.
Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show.
Each episode takes one part of the farming business - agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales - and lays out what the best farms are actually doing.
Related podcast episodes:
Lucia:
#64: "What Kind of Coffee Lover am I? How Much am I Willing to Pay for a Cup of Coffee?"
James:
Filter Stories: The Hard Business of Selling Beautiful Coffee
Follow us through our newsletters and Social media:
Lucia’s Newsletter
James’s Newsletter
Lucia Instagram
James’ Filter Stories Instagram
People mentioned in the episode:
Karla Boza — Jacinta Y Su Cafe, San Benito, El Salvador
Julia Ortega, Finca Los Pinos, Puebla Mexico
Edilberto Tovar — Finca La Esmeralda, Huila, Colombia
Melissa de Gasperín — Rancho San Felipe, Veracruz, Mexico
Diego Robelo — Aquiares Estate, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Cristian Reyes — Finca El Rodeo, Santander, Colombia
César Marín — Chacra D'Dago, Peru
Gilberto Baraona — Los Pirineos, Usulutan, El Salvador
Lalo Perez, Biofilia
ASOPEP, Planadas, Tolima, Colombia
Piedras Azules cooperative, El Salvador
Agnes Thieleke, InterAmerican Coffee Europe

Resources:
Record keeping and profitability analysis
V-Hub (formerly Cropster Hub)
Coffee Yield Calculator
Cost-of-production calculator
Fairtrade Verified Living Income reference prices
Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide
Chad Trewick interview on Bellwether podcast
Heifer / ASOPEP / Fairtrade Tolima living income study
Book: The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

Cover art: Nick Hafner
The Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:
The Coffee Quest | BWT water+more | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro

Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.

Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.

This episode explores the strange world of the C market, where movements in the Brazilian currency or rebels boarding a random container ship decide the worth of a Colombian farmer's coffee. Yet specialty coffee still uses this number to price the coffees it says are anything but a commodity.
Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show.
Each episode takes one part of the farming business - agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales - and lays out what the best farms are actually doing.
Related podcast episodes:
Lucia:
#64: "What Kind of Coffee Lover am I? How Much am I Willing to Pay for a Cup of Coffee?"
James:
Filter Stories: The Hard Business of Selling Beautiful Coffee
Follow us through our newsletters and Social media:
Lucia’s Newsletter
James’s Newsletter
Lucia Instagram
James’ Filter Stories Instagram
People mentioned in the episode:
Karla Boza — Jacinta Y Su Cafe, San Benito, El Salvador
Julia Ortega, Finca Los Pinos, Puebla Mexico
Edilberto Tovar — Finca La Esmeralda, Huila, Colombia
Melissa de Gasperín — Rancho San Felipe, Veracruz, Mexico
Diego Robelo — Aquiares Estate, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Cristian Reyes — Finca El Rodeo, Santander, Colombia
César Marín — Chacra D'Dago, Peru
Gilberto Baraona — Los Pirineos, Usulutan, El Salvador
Lalo Perez, Biofilia
ASOPEP, Planadas, Tolima, Colombia
Piedras Azules cooperative, El Salvador
Agnes Thieleke, InterAmerican Coffee Europe

Resources:
Record keeping and profitability analysis
V-Hub (formerly Cropster Hub)
Coffee Yield Calculator
Cost-of-production calculator
Fairtrade Verified Living Income reference prices
Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide
Chad Trewick interview on Bellwether podcast
Heifer / ASOPEP / Fairtrade Tolima living income study
Book: The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

Cover art: Nick Hafner
The Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:
The Coffee Quest | BWT | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro

Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.

Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.

This episode explores what a trade show actually feels like for a farmer who flew in on money his community pooled together, why a sausage dog opened a door that hundreds of cold emails couldn't, and why learning English may be a better investment for a farmer than a longer fermentation.
Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show.
Each episode takes one part of the farming business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are actually doing.
Related podcast episodes:
Lucia:
#54: Visiting Producers, Advanced Tourism & The Coffee Hunter (farm visits, the buyer relationship)
#56: Pranoy Thipaia (finding export markets, expo advice)
#65: To Blend or Not to Blend? Wine Vintages, and Harvest Update (sales strategy, consistency over novelty)
Cabal Cafe Podcast en Espanol

James:
Filter Stories: The Hard Business of Selling Beautiful Coffee

Follow us through our newsletters and Social media:
Lucia’s Newsletter
James’s Newsletter
Lucia Instagram
James’ Filter Stories Instagram
People mentioned in the episode:
Diego Robelo — Aquiares Estate, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Cristian Reyes — Finca El Rodeo, Santander, Colombia
Cristian Reyes — Personal Instagram
Catherine Bedoya — Eje Cafetero, Colombia
Hamsini Appadurai — Sangameshwar Coffee Estates, Chikmagalur, India
Melissa de Gasperín — Rancho San Felipe, Veracruz, Mexico
Edilberto Tovar — Finca La Esmeralda, Huila, Colombia
Desnudo Coffee (Austin) — Austin, Texas, USA
Alejandro Rodríguez Delgado — Hacienda San Pedrito, Puerto Rico
César Marín — Chacra D'Dago, Peru
Karla Boza — Jacinta Y Su Cafe, San Benito, El Salvador

Resources:
Algrano — Producer Sign Up
The list of 144 international trade shows
Clases Gratis de Inglés en linea - USA Learns
Clases Gratis de Inglés en linea - Voa News
English Accent Training
The SCA Coffee Value Assessment, Extrinsic Criteria List
PDFs of CVA Form in 7 languages

The Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:
The Coffee Quest | BWT | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro

Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.

Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.