Show Notes
Most coffee is grown on vast plantations using machines, pesticides and fertilisers. But in Ethiopia, coffee grows wild in humid forests surrounded by birds. And that wild coffee matters more than most of us realise. It is the genetic ‘library’ we can turn to find new varieties to help us keep coffee thriving in the face of climate change. But the communities who live alongside them and have safeguarded this genetic treasure often don’t earn enough from coffee to make preservation the obvious economic choice. Could a great story be the answer to earn higher premiums for these communities? Could that story be that all the coffee we drink today can actually be traced back to a single “mother tree” in Ethiopia? This episode is about the history of coffee in Ethiopia, how far back the evidence goes, what counts as evidence, and what we should celebrate (and pay for) when we buy “wild” Ethiopian coffee today. Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Discover how James makes these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to his Substack newsletter Enjoy James’ Standart article about Avicenna and the earliest (supposed) written reference to coffee Read the scientific paper pinpointing where wild coffee forests are in Ethiopia Follow Solomon Tselele's work through his Facebook page Learn more about the Ethiopian coffee ceremony on the Adventures in Coffee podcast Series 3 of A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Ethiopian forest sounds curtesy of George Vlad. Hear more nature sounds here.
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 kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
More from 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
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
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
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
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