In this episode David is joined by Lucia Solis, a former winemaker and current coffee processing specialist. She also hosts the wildly informative podcast Making Coffee with Lucia Solis. We talk about her history in the wine industry and the series of opportunities that led her into an entrepreneurial journey, as a globally renowned consultant on coffee processing. It’s a dense conversation where she shares the synthesis of her extensive knowledge of microbiology, processing coffee and wine, as well as historical and current challenges of the coffee producer.

0:58 - Lucia’s professional wine career in Napa Valley, and her shift to analyzing yeast usage in coffee processing.

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Website: https://www.rossocoffeeroasters.com/ 

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Website: https://www.luxia.coffee/

Grab a glass of wine and listen to the similar, yet so different world of wine with Erik Mercier & Mark Couillard of Juice Imports. Juice is one of the first companies to import natural wine into Canada.  Erik and Mark break down the difference between natural and conventional wine with great storytelling.  Listen to the importance of buying quality wine (and coffee!) and the dark side of what goes into conventional wine.  The conversation ends with great advice on starting a new business and how to grow during that difficult time.

01:00 - The Juice Imports Origin Story

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Website: https://www.rossocoffeeroasters.com/

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Website: https://www.juiceimports.com

Enjoy listening to Ania B's unique balance as a multi faceted entrepreneur. As one of her many accomplishments Ania was nominated for the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards (CAFA) in the Digital Influencer Of The Year category.  Get tips and tricks on advice for pursuing creative work and how to deal with the fear of failure.  Ania pulls back the curtain on how big brands create promotional content with her and other digital creators. The chat ends on Ania's massive renovation project with her partner Tyler Stalman.

0:52 - Attempting to balance modelling and accounting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crosbyandcoffee

Website: https://www.rossocoffeeroasters.com/

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Grab a cup of coffee and learn about how Freda Yuan (The 3 Time UK Tasters Cup Champion) tastes coffee.  Freda talks with David about her coffee journey into becoming a green coffee buyer.  Through this journey, she found her true passion in the sensory elements of coffee, which started after her struggle, and recovery from bulimia.  Freda also touches on writing a book Sip and Slurp: A Guide to Expert Coffee Tasting.

1:01 - Freda’s history in the industry; growing from Barista to Green Buyer

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Website: https://www.rossocoffeeroasters.com/

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Website: https://www.fredayuan.com/

Buy the Book: https://www.fredayuan.com/product-page/sip-n-slurp

Boram Um has a unique view into the coffee industry as he and his family own two coffee farms, they roast, export and have a chain of coffee shops in São Paulo, Brazil.  Boram talks about the role of yeast fermentation and his thoughts on how it can improve coffee quality in Brazil.  Listen to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on coffee shops in Brazil for the last two years.  The conversation finishes with Boram sharing his experience competing at the World Barista Championship in Milan and his learnings.

1:15 - Boram’s journey to being an exporter, producer, roaster AND cafe owner

10:57 - The role of fermentation in Boram’s production

18:22 - The potential found in having impact over their entire supply chain

24:43 - Home Coffee Plan

25:20 - Boram’s thoughts on using yeast-inoculated fermentation in Brazil

32:07 - How the shifting commodity coffee market has affected the specialty market

39:35 - COVID-19’s impact on Boram’s cafes in Brazil

49:03 - Boram’s road to the 2021 World Barista Championship

55:12 - Socials and Outros

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Website: https://www.umcoffeeco.com.br

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Website: https://www.forward.coffee

Listen to the journey Matt Winton took from Aerospace Engineer into the world of specialty coffee.  Through the dialogue, we deep dive into Matt Winton training for World Brewers Cup.  How he prepared for the competition, blending coffee and his brewing receipe and finding a state of mindfulness.  Matt finishes talking about what's changed for him personally since winning and notes some amazing tips and tricks for home brewers.  

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Website: https://www.forward.coffee

James Boettcher shares his story of Righteous Gelato - growing from a small gelato shop he acquired in 2009 to an internationally recognized brand. An impactful business in the community, Righteous is a B-Corp Certified brand, which produced over 1 million pints of gelato in 2021. In this podcast, James speaks about overcoming adversity and how to make an impact with your business beyond a balance sheet.

1:08 - James' Role at Righteous

2:06 - How James took on leadership at Righteous

15:19 - Scaling the business and what it means to James

19:30 - B-Corp Certification and Righteous' high score

29:32 - Giving back to the community

41:40 - James' advice to himself in 2009

51:58 - What makes quality gelato and what is "overrun"?

57:38 - Outro and socials

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Website: https://www.righteousgelato.com

Instagram for James: https://www.instagram.com/jamesboettcher

David sits down with Meredith Root and Alex Parker of Tactic Nutrition. Both Meredith and Alex competed at the CrossFit Games and have transitions into Nutrition coaching for individuals 1 on 1. Perfect timing with the start of 2022 - they dive deep into value of fitness trackers, fad diets they would erase, eating well while on the road. Hear their discussion from transiting from Biological Engineer and Lawyer into the Nutrition coaching.

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Website: https://tacticmethod.com/

Instagram for Meredith: https://www.instagram.com/meredith_root

Instagram for Alex: https://www.instagram.com/aaparker1

Samuel Ronzon has made a name for himself as a third-generation coffee producer.  He is the operations manager of La Joya micro-mill based in Veracruz, Mexico.  Samuel has a unique ability to highlight new and interesting flavours in his coffee, through intentional processing.  Samuel and his wife Gloria are at the fore-front of specialty coffee, utilizing modern scientific techniques with sophisticated regenerative farming practices. 

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Website: https://www.rossocoffeeroasters.com/

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Ever wonder who supplies all the cool equipment a barista uses in your favourite cafe?  Jen Farnell and Wes Farnell from Eight Ounce Coffee started off selling Aeropress and Keepcups to a few cafes to now distributing to over 4000 cafes, roasters, hotels across North America.  Jen and Wes provide insight on when to transition from a 9 to 5 job to going full time with your own business.  Listen to how they balance being married partners, in business together and parents!    

Time Stamps are as follows:

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Website: https://eightouncecoffee.ca/