Making Coffee with Lucia Solis

The Coffee Producer Toolkit #4: Marketing & Sales

Support the show on Patreon In this fourth episode, we give you a practical guide to finding buyers and selling your coffee into the specialty market. And we finish with the sales conversation itself: the questions to ask in your first five minutes with a buyer, and how to handle the rejection that's coming, because it is coming. The Coffee Producer Toolkit is the podcast that helps you run a more profitable coffee farm. Hosted by coffee journalist James Harper (Filter Stories podcast) and fermentation specialist Lucia Solis (Making Coffee with Lucia Solis podcast), it's built for farmers who want to run their farm like the business it is. 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 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 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 Support the show Support the show

The Coffee Producer Toolkit #3: Fermentation

Support the show on Patreon In this third episode, we give you a practical manual to take control of your fermentations and improve your farm's profitability. We start with the basics — what is actually happening inside your tank, where the microbes come from, and why your coffee is going to ferment whether you want it to or not. Then we go through five ways commercial microbes can make you money: consistency batch to batch, long fermentations you can run safely, lifting the score of your worst cherries rather than your best, clearing bottlenecks in your wet mill, and extending your coffee's shelf life. We cover what a well-run fermentation actually looks like — the cleaning, the monitoring, the record-keeping — with a step-by-step blue-barrel protocol for smaller farms and guidance on when to move to tanks. We also look at the investment sums needed for commercial yeasts and how to justify them. And we finish with the difficult questions — the environmental worries, whether using a starter culture is the same as adulterating your coffee, and how to talk about all of this with buyers who may view commercial microbes with suspicion. Related podcast episodes: Lucia: #72: Planning Your First Coffee Fermentation Trials? Start Here. #76: How Commercial Microbes Threaten The Coffee Industry #80: How Microbiology Can Explain Beginner's Luck James: Filter Stories - Coffee Quality, Part 1: The birth of specialty coffee flavours 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: Lester Lerner, Old Willow Coffee, Colombia Victor Chala, Palma Rosa, Colombia Fridolin Stocker— Mount Sunzu, Zambia Shyira washing station, Rwanda Evangelos Filippatos, La Cabra La Cabra, Copenhagen Helen Riley — Novonesis Gunne Øregaard — Novonesis Franz Zeimetz — Lost Origin Coffee Labs, Panama Alejandra Rodríguez Delgado — Hacienda San Pedrito, Puerto Rico Gustavo Arroyo — Rancho Contento, Puerto Rico Resources: pH meter & buffer Thermometer Novonesis Pichia yeast Novonesis Lactobacillus bacteria Pressure washer Fermentation Log Sheet Yeast’s impact on the environment in research on vineyards Sprudge Best Of Panama coverage Lucia’s Fermentation Training Camp Coffee Wet Mill Sanitize Opciones para la desinfección del beneficio Cabal Cafe Podcast en Espanol Lucia's Favorite Tools: Temperature Gun Ambient Temperature Sensor Temperature Probe pH meter & buffer solution 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 Support the show

The Coffee Producer Toolkit #2: Processing

In this second episode, we show you how to stop losing coffee to a badly calibrated pulper, why chasing 100% ripe cherries is actually costing you money, the $480 fix that lets a small farm sort cherries perfectly well, how to keep your coffee under 40°C during drying without spending a fortune, why a mechanical dryer isn't the villain everyone says it is, the cheap instruments that will deliver consistent quality across harvests, and ways to treat your wastewater. The Coffee Producer Toolkit is the podcast that helps you run a more profitable coffee farm. Hosted by coffee journalist James Harper (Filter Stories podcast) and fermentation specialist Lucia Solis (Making Coffee with Lucia Solis podcast), it's built for farmers who want to run their farm like the business it is. Over two years we interviewed 50+ producers and experts across 20 countries. Each episode takes one part of the business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are doing. Related podcast episodes: Lucia: Making Coffee with Lucia Solis — How to De-Funkify your Naturals Making Coffee with Lucia Solis — Germination: A Close Look at Coffee Drying James: Filter Stories: Why One Colombian Farmer Chose Specialty, and the Other Walked Away 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: Lester Lerner, Old Willow Coffee, Colombia Orlando Osorio, La Primavera, Colombia Astrid Medina, Tolima, Colombia David Velásquez, Los Naranjos, El Salvador Jesús Antonio Chala, Finca El Silencio, Colombia Victor Chala, Palma Rosa, Colombia Melissa de Gasperín, Rancho San Felipe, Córdoba, Mexico Norberto Suárez, Boquete, Panama César Marín, Chacra D'Dago, Peru Manuel Matta, Santa Maria, Colombia Resources: Innovakit: canguaro (picking sleeves) Pinhalense Cherry Floater Pinhalense Vertical Pulper Pinhalense Mechanical Dryers Tolva — Plastic Vertical Hopper Moisture Meter (Mid Tier) Moisture Meter (High End) Cenicafé Low-Water Wet Milling (Ecomill-type systems) Flávio Borém Drying Research DIY Moisture Maths (weight + fixed volume) Lucia's Favorite Tools: Temperature Gun Ambient Temperature Sensor Temperature Probe pH meter & buffer solution 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 Support the show

The Coffee Producer Toolkit #1: Farming

The Coffee Producer Toolkit is the podcast that can help you run a more profitable coffee farm. Hosted by coffee journalist James Harper (Filter Stories podcast) and fermentation specialist Lucia Solis (Making Coffee with Lucia Solis podcast), it's built for farmers who want to run their farm like the business it is. Over two years we interviewed 50+ producers and experts across 20 countries. Each episode takes one part of the business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are doing. In this first episode, we show you how you can benchmark your farm against the two numbers that matter, protect your flowering without paying for irrigation, avoid the exotic variety trap that's costing farmers their harvests, stop wasting money on fertilizer your soil doesn't need, and save weeks of labor a year with tools that cost less than $50. Follow us on Instagram - Lucia (@lluciasolis) - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and tag us in an Instagram story. Join our Patreon community to be a part of our live Office Hours sessions. Stay up to date through our newsletter Discover how James produces Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to his Substack newsletter Cover Art Designed by Nick Hafner Related Podcasts: Lucia: #79: Farm First: Lalo Perez on Long-Term Coffee Health James: The Science of Coffee: The Magic of Soils The Science of Coffee: Plant Genetics People mentioned in episode: Fernando Castillo Guatemala Paulino Quintero, Colombia Orlando Osoria, Colombia Julia Ortega, Mexico Sergio de la Vequia, Mexico Hugo lopez, Innovakit Agronomists: Manuel Mata, Colombia Sam Knowlton, USA Lalo Perez, Mexico Resources Anacafe technical management Coffee Cascara Compost Guidelines (English) Compostaje de la pulpa/cáscara de café (Espanol) Netafim Drip Irrigation manual Innovakit: abonador (fertiliser applicator) Innovakit: aroplateo (tree guard for weed whacking) Innovakit: selector de arvenses (low-drift sprayer) Innovakit: canguaro (sleeves) World Coffee Research variety catalogue Recommended varieties: Centroamericano, H1, H16, Mundo Maya Coffee&Climate Toolbox Access Agriculture World Coffee Research Resources Barista Hustle’s Coffee Farm Management series Our partner sponsors The Coffee Quest Descamex BWT InterAmerican Coffee Pinhalense Novonesis GrainPro Support the show

#81: Nobody Wants to Pick Coffee

Check out our YouTube videos AI writing shape Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter to hear about the next episode, FTC dates, and coffee releases. Support the show

#80: How Microbiology Can Explain Beginner's Luck

Buy Roasted Coffee Here. Check out our YouTube videos #63: Terroir for Busy People Dirty Jobs Hawaiian Coffee Clip Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter to hear about the next episode, FTC dates, and coffee releases. Support the show

#79: Farm First: Lalo Perez on Long-Term Coffee Health

Lalo's substack page Ikaria Coffee (Lalo's farm + roasted coffee) Biofilia (agronomic consultancy) Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter to hear about the next episode, FTC dates, and coffee releases. Support the show

#78: What Is Specialty Coffee? And Who Gets To Define It?

If you would like to watch our YouTube video on "What is specialty coffee" You can watch that here. If you are a roaster and are interested in participating in the Fermentation Project with James Hoffmann, click here -> For Roasters: Buy Fermentation Kit Listers Movie (bird watching) it's beautiful, I highly recommend this. Email info.luxiacoffee@gmail if you would like to discuss Pluribus or Listers Movie in our Discord server. Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Support the show

#77: The Most Challenging Harvest We've Had

Roasterkat IG Reel about rain. YouTube version of the Q&A portion James Hoffmann Healthy Coffee Video The 2025/2026 Harvest has not gone according to plan. Nick and I have found ourselves with some down time and therefore have put together this casual, end of year update on how the season is going so far. Spoiler alert: not well. I've combined a harvest update with listener questions about fermentation. Questions featured in this episode are: Are all coffees that are not anaerobic, aerobic? Am I aware of any efforts to design yeasts for Robusta? Do I think producers should create terms that further describe processing? How can you more precisely measure fermentation process with whole cherries? What's the most eco-friendly way to treat waste water and effluent? Email info.luxiacoffee@gmail if you would like to discuss Plur1bus. Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Intro song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show Support the show

#76: How Commercial Microbes Threaten The Coffee Industry

Sprudge Best Of Panama Article Remanence and survival of commercial yeast in different ecological niches of the vineyard Responses, Inquiries, & questions about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Intro song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show Support the show

#75: Getting Great Water for Coffee

Water massively impacts your coffee's flavours. But most of us struggle to fix our water because water science is confusing... Join me and James as we go step-by-step through: Why these concepts matter for coffee flavour and equipment How to test your water at home How to fix it, depending on what you're working with Check James' website for all of the visuals mentioned in the episode. Resources: #44: Are Wine Making Techniques the Future of Coffee? Responses, Inquiries, & questions about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Intro song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show

#74: Supply Chain Reflections: Consulting Insights from Farm to Roaster w/ Luke Waite

Resources: Responses, Inquiries, & questions about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Get a ticket to FTC-10 December 2025 Luke's Website: Pomelo Coffee Consulting Luke's Book: Pre-Order Pomelo book Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. Office Hours with Luke: 9am (GMT-6) Friday July 18th 2025 Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Intro song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show

#73: Cultivating Identity: A Life Forged by Migration and Fermentation

This episode developed thanks to Nick, who thought it would be a good time to revisit a bit of my history in coffee to reconnect with long-time listeners, and to share a bit more about myself with new listeners. We started this podcast about 6 years ago, and if you've been through all 72 episodes, you probably have a good idea about my coffee philosophies. But I also know that not everyone enjoys, or maybe even has the time to go back and start at the very beginning of a podcast. So we thought it would be a good opportunity to give you a bit of my coffee origin story, and a manifesto of sorts, all under one roof. Resources: Responses, Inquiries, & questions about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Intro song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show

#72: Planning Your First Coffee Fermentation Trials? Start Here.

Today's episode offers a behind the scenes view of how I approach a coffee producer's first time using yeast for their coffee fermentations. We run through all of the potential variables to pay attention to when designing your first trials with commercial microbes. From cost of production to work-flow and data collection. This conversation was recorded during a recent Office Hours session through our private Discord community. If you would like to be a part of this community, join Patreon and come participate in the discussion. View the decision flow-chart here Resources: Inquiries about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Into song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show

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#71: How to De-Funkify Your Naturals and Get Them to Dry Faster.

#54: Visiting Producers, Advanced Tourism & The Coffee Hunter with Tom of Sweet Maria’s #57: Will Frith Solves Terroir & Other Lessons From Vietnam Resources: Inquiries about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Into song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show

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#70: What do coffee cascara and rose wine have in common? Roasted coffee labels, batching your cherries over multiple days

Some of the questions in this episode: What typically happens to the water, along with cascara and whatever else is part of a fermentation, after the fermentation has been completed? Cascara is sometimes processed into a secondary product, cascara tea. Are there other secondary products that are made? As a roaster, what should we put on our bags to better point towards the farm? What's the consensus on adding flavor descriptors to bags? Do or don't? How can I store coffee cherry for 2–3 days without creating high damage? Resources: Inquiries about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Into song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show

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#69: Whole Coffee Cherry Fermentations—The Multiple Paradoxes of Naturals

This episode is a final harvest update and the behind the scenes of performing whole cherry fermentation with various microbes in an attempt to create a Dry Process/Natural coffee that I want to drink. Resources: Inquiries about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Into song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show

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#68: Fermentation vs. Germination: A Look at The Seed From The Inside, Out

I have wanted to make this episode for a long time, but I wasn't sure how to make it work. Finally some research for Dr. Flavio Borem helped crack the topic for me and the result is today's new episode. Things we discuss on this episode: Washed processed that tastes like a natural Process-forward coffees, funky coffee Neutral processing The need for speed, & gentle drying Drying is not just removing water Biggest producer mistakes, not upgrading the drying Fallacy of terroir Support the show

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#67: Addressing Climate Collapse & Coffee Labor in Brazil with Ana Luiza of Fazenda Mió

In this episode we talk about: How Ana decided to join the family business after pursuing a career in art. The advantages and drawback of growing coffee in a "Full Sun" system. The future of coffee picking and the role of Mechanical Harvesters. Brazil's 6 different biomes. How technology helped Brazil jump from 6 coffee bags/hectare in 1960 to 29 bags/hectare in 2023 How climate change has affected the crop How Precision Agriculture is helping the farm use resources efficiently Tattoos! Resources Ana's Precision Agriculture Presentation on Coffee Knowledge Hub (you will need to make an account but it's free!) Anacafe Presentation on Price Volatility (by Albert Scalla in Spanish) Picture of Mechanical Harvester Instagram Support the show

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#66: Winemaker Tools for Coffee Producers: Sugar & Acid Additions, Co-Fermentation w/ Fruit

I was going to create a new episode about Infused vs Inoculated Coffees, but much of what we established back in Episode #39 is still relevant. So I am pulling a Taylor Swift and going to re-release a new version of episode 39, keeping what still works and adding some new perspectives from the last 3 years. In this episode I talk about: The sugar and acid additions that French and California winemakers use How adding mango to a fermentation tank is completely different from adding passion fruit or citrus How to tell when a coffee is infused with a flavor Cinnamon flavor in a coffee Inoculation vs Infusion vs Co-Fermentation The role of enzymes in removing mucilage Gravity! Inquiries about coffee samples or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.com Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos. And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPal Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Into song: Elijah Bisbee Support the show

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