MAP IT FORWARD Middle East

Advertising Sponsor
MIF Coffee Business Plan Review Service: AI can write a business plan. We'll help you determine whether it will work in the real world. Email [email protected] or DM @mapitforward.coffee to get started.

Episode Description

This is Part 2 of a 5-part series with Brazilian coffee agronomist Jonas Leme Ferraresso and Map It Forward Founder Lee Safar, exploring what every coffee professional should understand about Brazil's 2026 harvest and what it means for the global coffee market.

One of the biggest misunderstandings in today's coffee market isn't how much coffee Brazil is producing, it's how much coffee is actually available.

When people hear that Brazil has coffee stored in warehouses, many assume those inventories provide a comfortable safety buffer. The reality is far more complicated.

In this episode, Jonas explains the difference between coffee that physically exists and coffee that is commercially available. We discuss why warehouse inventories have become so important after the volatility of recent years, what remains from previous harvests, and why declining stock levels can amplify market uncertainty even when a new crop is arriving.

This conversation also explores how producers, exporters, and traders think about inventory management after several years of weather disruptions, supply chain instability, and historically volatile coffee prices. Understanding coffee stocks isn't simply about counting bags—it's about understanding risk, liquidity, logistics, and timing.

If you're trying to understand why the coffee market continues to react so strongly to seemingly small changes in supply, this episode provides critical context that goes well beyond production estimates.

Whether you're a producer, importer, exporter, roaster, trader, café owner, or anyone working across the coffee value chain, this discussion will help you better understand one of the least appreciated drivers of today's coffee market.

Connect with Jonas Leme Ferraresso here:

https://www.instagram.com/jonascoffeeagronomist

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonas-leme-ferraresso

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series.

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About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Arcadia Green Coffee, Colombian coffee exporters taking fresh green coffee from Colombia to the world, farm to roastery, direct. New office now open in the UK.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcadiagreencoffee/
WhatsApp: https://wa.me/353877871523

Episode Description

This is Part 1 of a 5-part series with Brazilian coffee agronomist Jonas Leme Ferraresso and Map It Forward Founder Lee Safar, exploring the realities of Brazil's 2026 coffee harvest, why expectations have shifted so dramatically, and what coffee professionals should actually be paying attention to.

At the start of 2026, many analysts expected Brazil to produce a massive crop that would drive coffee prices significantly lower. But the reality on the ground has been very different.

In this episode, Jonas explains what he's seeing across Brazil's producing regions, why early production estimates are changing, and how weather, harvest conditions, and farm-level realities are creating a much more complicated picture than market headlines suggest.

This conversation lays the foundation for the rest of the series, where we explore market volatility, global trade, El Niño, fertilizer availability, and what these factors could mean for coffee businesses over the next two years.

Whether you're a producer, exporter, importer, roaster, trader, or simply trying to understand what's happening in coffee right now, this series provides valuable context from someone working directly with coffee producers across Brazil.

Connect with Jonas Leme Ferraresso here:

https://www.instagram.com/jonascoffeeagronomist

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonas-leme-ferraresso

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
MIF Coffee Business Plan Review Service: AI can write a business plan. We'll help you determine whether it will work in the real world. Email [email protected] or DM @mapitforward.coffee to get started.

Episode Description

This is Part 5 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar.

Our guest in this series is Ana Maria Donneys, a fifth-generation Colombian coffee producer, founder of Café Primitivo in Quindío, Colombia, and President and Co-Founder of IWCA Colombia.

Across this series, Lee and Ana have explored how Colombian coffee farmers are navigating one of the most volatile periods the coffee industry has experienced in decades. Together they've discussed climate, politics, financing, pricing, and what producers are experiencing as El Niño begins reshaping coffee production.

In this final episode, Lee asks Ana a simple but important question:

What advice would you give coffee roasters over the next 6–18 months?

Ana's answer centres on relationships.

She encourages roasters to speak directly with producers or importers, understand how farms are being affected by El Niño, and ask important questions about financing and payment terms before signing contracts. She explains why flexible payment structures, honest communication, and planning ahead could make the difference between producers surviving this period of volatility—or being forced to step away from specialty coffee altogether.

The conversation also explores how expectations around coffee quality may need to change over the coming harvests. Ana believes dependable, repeatable coffees that create sustainable businesses for both producers and roasters may become more important than chasing increasingly scarce ultra-high-scoring lots.

Lee closes the series with a direct challenge to the industry: after everything producers risk to grow coffee, the very least buyers should do is pay them on time.

If you buy, roast, import, or sell coffee, this episode provides practical advice that could help strengthen your business and your relationships throughout the supply chain.

Connect with Ana and Café Primitivo here:

https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/

https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/

https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Map It Forward Podcast Advertising. Interested in advertising on this podcast? Email [email protected] to learn more.

Episode Description

This is Part 4 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar.

Our guest is Ana Maria Donneys, a fifth-generation Colombian coffee producer, founder of Café Primitivo in Quindío, Colombia, and President and Co-Founder of IWCA Colombia.

Throughout this series, Lee and Ana explore how Colombian coffee farmers are navigating one of the most volatile periods the coffee industry has experienced in decades, discussing climate, politics, pricing, financing, and the future of the coffee supply chain.

In this episode, they tackle one of the biggest misconceptions in coffee today: the belief that historically high coffee prices mean producers are finally making good money.

Ana explains why that's simply not true.

Using examples from her own farm, she shows how lower yields, climate impacts, labour shortages, rising wages, and increasing production costs mean that even coffee selling above US$3 per pound may only be covering the cost of production. For many producers, there is little or no profit left.

The conversation also explores the important differences between industrial coffee farming and smallholder production. Lee and Ana discuss why comparing Brazilian industrial farms with Colombian smallholder farms creates unrealistic expectations and why the future of specialty coffee will depend on innovation, mechanisation, and finding new ways to support producers before labour shortages become an even bigger challenge.

If you've ever wondered why higher coffee prices haven't solved the coffee industry's problems, this episode provides one of the clearest explanations you'll hear.

Connect with Ana and Café Primitivo here:

https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/

https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/

https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
Want to join our Map It Forward Monthly Community Discussion Group? Head to https://patreon.com/mapitforward to join the community by signing up for the "Roasted Coffee" tier for 20 USD per month. Find other like-minded people in the coffee industry. This community is open to all stakeholders in the coffee industry

Episode Description

This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar.

Our guest is Ana Maria Donneys, a fifth-generation Colombian coffee producer, founder of Café Primitivo in Quindío, Colombia, and President and Co-Founder of IWCA Colombia.

Throughout this series, Lee and Ana explore how Colombian coffee farmers are navigating one of the most volatile periods the coffee industry has experienced in decades, discussing climate, pricing, financing, politics, and what coffee businesses should be preparing for over the next 6–18 months.

In this episode, the conversation turns to politics—not from an ideological perspective, but from the practical reality of running a coffee business.

Ana explains how Colombia's changing political landscape is influencing security, business confidence, labour costs, logistics, fuel prices, exchange rates, and ultimately the viability of coffee production. She also shares her perspective on the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC), explaining why it remains one of the most important institutions supporting producers through research, extension services, guaranteed coffee purchasing, and infrastructure investment.

Lee and Ana also explore how international events, including conflict in the Middle East, continue to affect producers through higher freight costs, rising fuel prices, and increasing input costs. The conversation highlights an important reality: coffee businesses don't operate separately from politics. Every decision made by governments, both locally and globally, eventually finds its way back to the farm.

Whether you're producing coffee, roasting it, importing it, or serving it in a café, this episode offers valuable context for understanding the broader forces shaping today's coffee economy.

Connect with Ana and Café Primitivo here:

https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/

https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/

https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
MIF Coffee Business Plan Review Service: AI can write a business plan. We'll help you determine whether it will work in the real world. Email [email protected] or DM @mapitforward.coffee to get started.

Episode Description

This is part 2 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest in this series is Ana Maria Donneys, a fifth-generation Colombian coffee producer, founder of Café Primitivo in Quindío, Colombia, and president and co-founder of IWCA Colombia.

In this series, Lee and Ana explore how Colombian coffee farmers are navigating 2026’s volatility across the C Market, climate, liquidity, politics, pricing, and producer-roaster relationships.

In this episode, Lee and Ana focus on El Niño and how it is already impacting the coffee harvest in Colombia.

Ana explains where Café Primitivo is in the harvest cycle, what happened during the Mitaca, and why the second semester harvest may be far more difficult. She describes the practical signs farmers are seeing on the ground: higher heat, less rain, dry soil, struggling young trees, disease pressure, and cherries that may not develop properly.

This conversation also looks at why Colombia is not prepared for irrigation in the way some other producing countries may be, why a smaller harvest does not automatically mean better outcomes for farmers, and why many Colombian producers are entering the second half of the year exhausted and uncertain.

For roasters, buyers, importers, and coffee business owners, this episode offers an important origin-side view of what El Niño could mean for supply, quality, pricing, and producer resilience over the next 6 to 18 months.

Connect with Ana and Café Primitivo here:

https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/

https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/

https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Arcadia Green Coffee, Colombian coffee exporters taking fresh green coffee from Colombia to the world, farm to roastery, direct. New office now open in the UK.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcadiagreencoffee/
WhatsApp: https://wa.me/353877871523

Episode Description

This is part 1 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest in this series is Ana Maria Donneys, a fifth-generation Colombian coffee producer, founder of Café Primitivo in Quindío, Colombia, and president and co-founder of IWCA Colombia.

In this series, Lee and Ana explore how Colombian coffee farmers are navigating 2026’s volatility across the C Market, climate, liquidity, politics, pricing, and producer-roaster relationships.

In this episode, Lee and Ana discuss whether 2026 is progressing the way coffee producers expected. After a year where many people believed the price of coffee would fall sharply, the C Market moved in the opposite direction, creating new pressure for producers, roasters, importers, and the wider coffee supply chain.

Ana explains why she cannot build her business around the C Market, even though the C Market still affects her. She talks about the conversations she had with clients at the beginning of the year, the importance of knowing her cost of production, and why liquidity has become one of the biggest challenges of 2026.

This episode is a clear look at why coffee volatility is not just about price. It is about cash flow, risk, trust, contracts, and the ability of coffee businesses to pay each other on time.

Connect with Ana and Café Primitivo here:

https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/

https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/

https://www.cafeprimitivocolombia.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadonneys/

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Map It Forward Podcast Advertising. Interested in advertising on this podcast? Email [email protected] to learn more.

Episode Description

This is Part 5 of a 5-part solo series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, with founder and host Lee Safar.

Climate change is often discussed as a problem for coffee producers. But the reality is that every business in the coffee supply chain depends on the health, productivity and resilience of coffee farms. When climate changes production, it changes availability. When availability changes, the effects ripple through exporters, importers, roasters, cafés and, ultimately, consumers.

In this final episode, Lee explores why understanding harvest cycles has become an essential business skill for anyone working in coffee. She explains how different coffee-producing countries move through the harvest calendar, why no two origins experience the same growing conditions, and why understanding what's happening at origin can help businesses make better purchasing and planning decisions.

Lee also examines the potential impact of a forecast Super El Niño and why it deserves the attention of the entire coffee industry. From Brazil and Vietnam to Colombia, Central America and East Africa, different producing regions are likely to experience different challenges. Because coffee is a perennial crop, today's weather events don't simply affect this year's harvest. They can influence flowering, tree health, productivity and coffee quality for years to come.

This episode concludes the series by bringing together everything discussed over the previous four episodes. Liquidity, changing consumer behaviour, technology and geopolitics all matter. But none of them can be separated from the realities of agricultural production. Building resilient coffee businesses begins with understanding the systems that make coffee possible in the first place.

Connect with Lee Safar and Map It Forward here:

- https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee

- https://www.instagram.com/leesafar

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar

- https://mapitforward.coffee

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. In the next episode, we explore how global geopolitics is impacting food supply chains.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
MIF Coffee Business Plan Review Service: AI can write a business plan. We'll help you determine whether it will work in the real world. Email [email protected] or DM @mapitforward.coffee to get started.

Episode Description

This is Part 4 of a 5-part solo series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, with founder and host, Lee Safar.

For many years, the coffee industry has treated geopolitics as somebody else's problem. Wars, elections, shipping disruptions, sovereign debt and currency movements were seen as issues for governments, economists and financial markets. Today, they are becoming business issues for every participant in the coffee supply chain.

In this episode, Lee explores why understanding geopolitics has become essential for coffee businesses. From the Strait of Hormuz and global energy markets to fertilizer prices, shipping costs, currencies and political uncertainty in producing countries, she explains how events taking place thousands of kilometres away can directly influence the cost of producing, moving and buying coffee.

Rather than focusing on headlines, this episode examines the mechanisms that connect global events to everyday business decisions. Lee discusses why markets and economics are often telling very different stories, why rising production costs may not be reflected in coffee prices, and how uncertainty creates new risks for producers, exporters, importers, roasters and cafés alike.

This episode encourages coffee professionals to broaden their perspective beyond the coffee industry itself. Because building a resilient coffee business today requires understanding not only what's happening in coffee, but what's happening in the world around it.

Connect with Lee Safar and Map It Forward here:

- https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee

- https://www.instagram.com/leesafar

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar

- https://mapitforward.coffee

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. In the next episode, we explore how global geopolitics is impacting food supply chains.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
Want to join our Map It Forward Monthly Community Discussion Group? Head to https://patreon.com/mapitforward to join the community by signing up for the "Roasted Coffee" tier for 20 USD per month. Find other like-minded people in the coffee industry. This community is open to all stakeholders in the coffee industry

Episode Description

This is Part 3 of a 5-part solo series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, with founder and host, Lee Safar.

Artificial intelligence has dominated conversations about technology over the past year, but the biggest transformation taking place in coffee isn't AI itself. It's the way technology is changing access to information, lowering barriers to entry, and redistributing power across the coffee value chain.

In this episode, Lee explores how producers are finding new ways to connect directly with customers, how language barriers are disappearing, and why traditional advantages built on access to information are becoming less valuable than they once were. She also examines how technology is changing the way coffee businesses build relationships, make decisions, and compete in an increasingly connected world.

Rather than asking whether technology will replace jobs, this conversation asks a more important question: what happens when technology changes who holds the power? From independent producers and small businesses to multinational corporations, every participant in the coffee industry is being challenged to rethink where they create value.

This episode builds on the discussions around liquidity and changing consumer behaviour by exploring one of the biggest accelerators of change in coffee today. Technology isn't simply creating new tools. It's changing the structure of the industry itself.

Connect with Lee Safar and Map It Forward here:

- https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee

- https://www.instagram.com/leesafar

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar

- https://mapitforward.coffee

If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. In the next episode, we explore how global geopolitics is impacting food supply chains.

***************************************

About Map It Forward

The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.

Website: https://mapitforward.coffee

Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/

Contact: [email protected]