The world’s two most popular hot, caffeinated beverages square off in this debate about whether specialty tea has a place in the coffee-focused coffee shop. Joining us on the show is tea expert, educator, writer, and consultant Suzette Hammond, founder of Being Tea (beingtea.com).

In today's episode, Meister debates the virtues of automated coffee brewing with Charles Babinski, former U.S. Barista Champion and current co-owner of Los Angeles's Go Get 'Em Tiger and G&B Coffee. Does "manual" always mean "better," and can there ever be an art to making coffee by machine?

Cafe Imports' other full-time coffee buyer, Piero Cristiani, sits down to talk with Meister about his history in the industry, the future of some projects he's undertaking with producing partners, and a little about why coffee tastes so bad at origin. (Note: Joe Marrocco is out this week, but our regularly scheduled debate programming will pick up next time.)

Believe it or not, lots of people love "bad" coffee: Should we let them? In this week's debate, Fleet Coffee's Lorenzo Perkins argues whether it's specialty coffee's moral duty to encourage people to drink better quality coffee. We also discuss what "bad" and "good" coffee is, and how consumers can understand the difference.

Director of Counter Culture Coffee wholesale sales, Jesse Kahn, discusses the benefits and drawbacks of a cafe offering coffees from multiple or rotating roasters. Does the multiroaster model excite or confuse customers?

One of Cafe Imports' green-coffee buyers, Luis "Lucho" Arocha, briefly talks with Joe and Meister about some of the pros and cons of his job.

Nathanael May, director of coffee for Portland Roasting Coffees, takes on the tough question of whether a roasting company needs to have a direct relationship with the farmers who grow the coffee it buys, or if it is possible to buy great coffee without establishing that direct connection.

Some of the finest restaurants in the country are responsible for some of the worst coffee, but why? In today's debate, Casey Underkofler of the award-winning Minneapolis restaurant The Bachelor Farmer argues whether or not great restaurants can do good coffee well.

Coffee cupper, buyer, and consultant Christopher Feran joins us to argue about natural coffees: Should they even have a place in specialty coffee, and do we need to have a separate grading system for them? The conversation starts out a little fermenty, but it has a nice sweet finish.

Cody Kinart of Colectivo Coffee joins us to debate the concept of "Coffee as a Fast Food" and the influences these industries have on each other.