Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by CoffeeListings.com by Map It Forward. The marketplace where the coffee world does business. Launching Sept 17th, 2026. Follow https://www.instagram.com/coffeelistings/ to stay updated.

Episode Description

This is part 5 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster.

In this final episode, Lee and Norbert look ahead and ask what coffee might actually look like over the next 20 years.

Norbert is optimistic that coffee will still be here, but he expects the industry to change significantly. Climate pressure, shrinking suitable growing areas, new coffee varieties, changes in consumer behaviour, rising prices, technology, and different approaches to production will all shape what survives and what does not.

From an agricultural perspective, Norbert discusses the pressure climate change is placing on coffee production, particularly Arabica. As temperatures rise, suitable growing areas may shift to higher elevations, where there is naturally less available land. At the same time, work on more climate-resilient varieties may help protect quality and production in the years ahead.

The conversation also explores whether consumers may eventually drink less coffee but value it more. Norbert suggests that coffee could become a more deliberate experience rather than simply a caffeine delivery system, with consumers drinking fewer cups but being more willing to pay prices that support a sustainable supply chain.

Lee and Norbert then turn to the rapid growth of experimental processing and fermentation. Norbert is cautious about treating these techniques as a universal solution. While controlled fermentation can create value, it can also introduce significant risk when producers lack the equipment, knowledge, or buyer relationships needed to manage the process consistently.

They discuss why experimental processing may make more sense inside closely connected supply chains where roasters and producers share the risk, investment, product development, and responsibility for finding a market for the final coffee.

The conversation also questions the idea that the future of coffee will simply become “hyper-specialty.” Norbert warns against assuming that because a small number of consumers will pay extraordinary prices, the wider market will follow. Highly exclusive coffee may continue to exist, but it is unlikely to represent the majority of the industry.

Pricing is another major part of the discussion. Norbert argues that a sustainable future requires both higher prices for farmers and greater price stability. Rapid price swings make planning difficult across the supply chain, while continually pushing commodity prices lower fails to account for the environmental systems coffee production depends on.

Technology will also continue to reshape coffee. Digital tools, AI, and the vast amounts of data collected over the past two decades may help businesses make better decisions and operate more efficiently. Hardware innovation may be more incremental, but increasingly automated equipment could change both cafés and the growing home coffee market.

Lee and Norbert also discuss how cafés may continue to divide. Businesses offering distinctive quality, service, and experience may need to move further up in price, while more generic businesses risk competing primarily on cost.

The home coffee market could become increasingly important as well. Consumers may still be willing to pay more for high-quality coffee while avoiding some of the additional cost associated with consuming it in cafés.

The series closes with a simple but important idea: the future of coffee is not predetermined.

Farmers, traders, roasters, café owners, technology companies, and consumers all influence what the industry becomes. Sustainability will depend on whether enough of those participants choose to build systems that can continue functioning economically, environmentally, and socially over the long term.

Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster:

Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/

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

‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

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

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by CoffeeListings.com by Map It Forward. The marketplace where the coffee world does business. Launching Sept 17th, 2026. Follow https://www.instagram.com/coffeelistings/ to stay updated.

Episode Description

This is part 4 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster.

In this episode, Lee and Norbert explore what a sustainable coffee supply chain actually looks like in practice and why technology, data, and better visibility are becoming increasingly important to making that possible.

Norbert explains how the coffee industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years as digital tools, connected systems, and data collection have improved. Where businesses once relied heavily on spreadsheets, manual processes, and individual knowledge, they can now access much more detailed information about quality, inventory, roasting, pricing, sourcing, waste, and other parts of their operations.

But having more data does not automatically make a business more sustainable.

A central point in the conversation is that businesses need to measure what they are actually doing if they want to know whether change is happening. Norbert shares Cropster’s own experience with B Corp certification and how the company discovered that good intentions were not enough. In some areas, they simply did not have the data to prove whether they were performing as well as they believed they were.

That process forced them to measure more carefully, identify where assumptions did not match reality, and make better decisions.

Lee and Norbert discuss how the same principle applies across coffee businesses. A roaster might measure inventory, consistency, loss, quality, and production. A café might discover that seemingly small amounts of coffee wasted during dialing-in translate into significant financial losses over time. A producer needs to understand who the customer is and what happens to the coffee further down the supply chain.

The conversation also challenges the idea that businesses can remain isolated within one part of the industry. Sustainable systems require people to understand what happens beyond their immediate role, whether they are producing coffee, roasting it, manufacturing equipment, developing software, or operating cafés.

Norbert explains that Cropster itself depends on this kind of cross-industry understanding. The company does not manufacture roasting or espresso machines, but it needs to understand how those machines work, how people use them, and where operational problems occur if its software is going to support those businesses effectively.

Lee and Norbert also discuss why data alone is not enough. The real value comes from interpretation: understanding what the numbers mean for the specific business, its goals, its customers, its brand, and its sustainability priorities.

Technology can help businesses identify patterns, reduce guesswork, and avoid being blindsided. Consultants can help interpret that information, and AI is increasingly capable of helping people make sense of complex reports and identify the areas that deserve closer attention.

The goal is not to replace human judgment. It is to give businesses better information so that decisions become more deliberate and less reactive.

At its core, Norbert argues that sustainability requires businesses to remain proactive. That means asking better questions of the data: are farmer prices sustainable? Is the business financially stable? Are wages livable? Is waste under control? Are suppliers reliable? Are the people working in the business able to remain invested in it?

A sustainable coffee supply chain is not simply one that collects more information. It is one that understands what that information is saying and acts on it before problems become crises.

Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster:

Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/

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

‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

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

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by CoffeeListings.com by Map It Forward. The marketplace where the coffee world does business. Launching Sept 17th, 2026. Follow https://www.instagram.com/coffeelistings/ to stay updated.

Episode Description

This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster.

In this episode, Lee and Norbert explore the relationship between environmental sustainability and economic sustainability, and why coffee businesses cannot afford to treat them as separate conversations.

Norbert defines environmental sustainability as creating production systems that can continue over the long term without depleting the soil, water, land, or wider ecosystem they depend on. That can involve regenerative agriculture, intercropping, recovery periods, and production models that leave the system in the same or a better condition than when production began.

Economic sustainability works in much the same way. A business needs enough resources to continue operating, pay people, reinvest, adapt to difficult periods, and survive disruption without constantly running at the edge of failure.

Lee and Norbert discuss what happens when those two forms of sustainability collide. Climate events, logistics disruptions, shipping delays, crop failures, and other external shocks can quickly become economic problems when cash is tied up, inventory is delayed, or businesses are forced to find replacement coffee at short notice.

The conversation then turns to the C-market and the growing disconnect between commodity pricing and the actual cost of producing coffee sustainably. Norbert argues that the market does not adequately account for farmer economics or environmental realities, while many producers remain price takers despite carrying much of the production and climate risk.

They also explore what happens when farmers are environmentally sustainable almost by necessity but remain economically unsustainable. If the price they receive does not cover the true cost of production and provide a viable return, the system only continues while those farmers have no better alternative.

That creates a deeper long-term risk for coffee. If farming is no longer economically viable, producers may leave coffee altogether, sell their land, or move into other activities. Once that productive land leaves coffee, the supply base becomes smaller and more vulnerable.

Lee and Norbert also discuss the role of direct trade, technology, and platforms that help producers and buyers connect more directly, improve transparency, and build supply relationships outside of traditional pricing structures.

The episode closes with the central conclusion that environmental and economic sustainability have to work together. Environmental sustainability without economic viability becomes a project dependent on outside resources. Economic sustainability that destroys soil, water, farms, or supply relationships eventually removes the foundation the business depends on.

Sustainability is not achieved by fixing one part of the system. It requires continually strengthening the whole ecosystem.

Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster:

Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/

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

‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

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

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by CoffeeListings.com by Map It Forward. The marketplace where the coffee world does business. Launching Sept 17th, 2026. Follow https://www.instagram.com/coffeelistings/ to stay updated.

Episode Description

This is part 2 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster.

In this episode, Lee and Norbert explore where sustainability is most lacking across the coffee supply chain.

Norbert starts with a blunt observation: in many places, the current system itself is evidence of unsustainability. Farmers often lack the income, economic power, and resilience needed to absorb shocks. Traders can fail when market volatility becomes too extreme. Roasters can struggle when coffee costs rise faster than their ability to adjust pricing. Meanwhile, environmental systems including soil, water, and land continue to deteriorate.

The conversation looks at why these problems rarely have quick fixes. Coffee is an agricultural product built around long cycles, fragmented relationships, and global supply chains. Changing farming systems can take years. Rebuilding sourcing models, customer expectations, pricing, and internal business structures also takes time and resources.

Lee and Norbert discuss how fragmentation makes sustainability harder, but also creates an opportunity. Different farmers, roasters, and supply-chain partners can experiment with better models without having to change the entire industry at once. The challenge is making successful ideas transferable so that they can be adopted by more businesses rather than remaining isolated examples.

They also explore how business owners can identify unsustainable parts of their operations before they become a crisis. Norbert recommends looking at the business from all sides: economics, employees, supply chain, sourcing, external risks, and what happens when assumptions change.

A major part of the conversation focuses on coffee businesses that were built around cheaper coffee and are now waiting for prices to fall back to where they used to be. Lee and Norbert challenge that approach and discuss why relying on the C-market as the main indicator of what coffee should cost may no longer reflect the realities of producing coffee sustainably.

Norbert also explains why sustainability cannot exist in a silo. A business may protect its own margins for a period of time, but if the farmers, suppliers, environment, or other parts of the system it depends on become unsustainable, that eventually becomes a risk to the business itself.

The episode closes with a practical recommendation for businesses wanting to assess where they stand: use frameworks such as B Corp as a way to ask better questions about the economic, environmental, workforce, and supply-chain impacts of the business, even if certification itself is not the goal.

Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster:

Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/

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

‘The Coffee Report’: 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 new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guest on the podcast for this series is Norbert Niederhauser, co-founder and Impact & Sustainability Officer at Cropster.

Norbert returns to the podcast eight years after his first appearance on The Map It Forward Podcast in 2018. In this new series, Lee and Norbert are exploring what sustainable coffee supply chains actually look like, where the industry is falling short, and what needs to change if coffee is going to remain viable in the decades ahead.

In this episode, the conversation starts with a basic but increasingly difficult question: what does sustainability in coffee actually mean?

Norbert argues that sustainability cannot be reduced to carbon emissions, packaging, or environmental initiatives. It has to include the full ecosystem around a business, including employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, the environment, and whether the decisions being made today allow everyone involved to continue operating into the future.

Lee and Norbert also discuss the relationship between capitalism and sustainability, why economic sustainability has to remain part of the conversation, and what happens when shareholder return becomes the only measure that matters.

The discussion moves across the coffee supply chain, from farmers and traders to roasters and consumers, and looks at the responsibility each participant carries. They also explore the risk involved in changing established sourcing and business practices, why sustainable change often needs to happen gradually, and why businesses need to be transparent about what they have and have not yet achieved.

For roasters considering changes to sourcing, product strategy, or customer communication, Norbert’s advice is practical: start somewhere, test the change, communicate honestly, avoid greenwashing, and stay with the process long enough for customers to understand why the change matters.

This episode sets up the central question for the series: what would it actually take to build a coffee supply chain that can continue functioning for everyone involved?

Norbert first appeared on The Map It Forward Podcast in Episode 28 in 2018: https://www.mapitforward.coffee/podcasts/the-map-it-forward-podcast-episode-28-with-norbert-niederhauser

Contact Norbert Niederhauser and Cropster:

Website: https://hubs.la/Q04w4bKG0

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norbertniederhauser/

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

‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward

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

Contact: [email protected]

Advertising Sponsor
Get “The Coffee Report by Map It Forward” directly to your inbox every Friday by signing up for either our Green Coffee or Roasted Coffee Patreon tiers in our Patreon community. Head to https://www.patreon.com/collection/2275485 to read our first report for free. Sign up for as little as $5 per month.

Episode Description

PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA

Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet

Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container

This is episode 5 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco.

In this final episode, the conversation turns to the longer-term consequences of the earthquake and what the global coffee industry can do to help.

Angel explains that recovery will depend heavily on access to resources. Larger cities and businesses may be able to rebuild more quickly, while smaller towns and rural communities could struggle for much longer. Ana points out that unlike the 1999 Armenia earthquake, this disaster has affected many different cities and departments at once, making it much harder to concentrate reconstruction efforts.

The long-term impact is not only financial.

Ana explains that women in coffee are already asking for mental-health support as they deal with trauma, aftershocks, family responsibilities and the pressure of rebuilding businesses and communities.

When asked what the international coffee industry can do, both Ana and Angel give a clear answer: keep doing business with Colombia.

Continue buying Colombian coffee. Maintain relationships with producers and exporters. Be flexible when small delays happen. Keep talking about what has happened. And if you were planning to visit Colombia, don’t automatically cancel.

Angel also warns that buyers may be tempted to switch origins if Colombian coffee remains more expensive than alternatives. But abandoning established relationships during a difficult year could deepen the economic damage for producers already trying to rebuild.

The episode closes with a broader conversation about the future of coffee farming, generational change, the need for stronger commercial relationships, and why supporting farmers means investing in the future of the coffee industry itself.

Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco:

https://www.belco.fr/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/

https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/

https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/

Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo:

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

‘The Coffee Report’: 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

PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA

Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet

Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container

This is episode 4 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco.

In this episode, the conversation turns to what the earthquake could mean for Colombian coffee exports.

Angel explains that while coffee continues to move, the consequences of the earthquake extend well beyond the immediate damage. Pereira lost a major transport connection when its airport was badly affected, tourism and local economic activity slowed, labour has been redirected toward reconstruction, and truck availability has tightened as vehicles are used to move humanitarian assistance.

At the same time, Colombia is preparing for El Niño.

Ana explains that resources originally intended to help farms prepare for drought and difficult growing conditions are now being redirected toward rebuilding roofs, wet mills, roads and processing infrastructure.

That creates a second problem.

Colombia is globally known for washed coffee, but some areas are already experiencing water rationing. If water availability worsens, producers could face difficulties processing coffee in the way their farms and markets have traditionally required.

Angel explains why simply switching the country to natural processing is not straightforward. Colombia’s production systems, quality controls and export structures have been built around washed coffee for decades.

The bigger risk may therefore be quality and future production.

Ana describes the combination producers are now facing: damaged processing infrastructure, water shortages, possible electricity constraints, high temperatures, currency pressure and the possibility of a greater percentage of coffee developing defects that reduce its export value.

The earthquake itself lasted minutes. Its impact on Colombian coffee could extend through 2026 and well into 2027.

Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco:

https://www.belco.fr/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/

https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/

https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/

Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo:

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

‘The Coffee Report’: 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

PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA

Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet

Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container

This is episode 3 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco.

In this episode, the conversation turns to what the earthquake means for Colombia’s coffee industry on the ground.

Ana explains why recovery will take time. Farms and businesses that were focused on harvest preparation, production and normal operations suddenly had to redirect money, labour and attention toward urgent needs, repairs and reconstruction.

For many coffee producers, the most important priority is not rebuilding their homes first. It is restoring the infrastructure that allows them to process and sell coffee.

Ana describes producers using temporary coverings on damaged homes while prioritising wet mills, drying areas and washing stations because without those facilities they cannot generate the income needed to rebuild.

Angel explains that this disruption is arriving at an especially difficult moment. Colombia was already preparing for a potentially severe El Niño, with concerns around drought, water rationing and electricity shortages. Now the earthquake has added damaged farms, homes, mills, roads and infrastructure to that risk.

The effects are also logistical. Buenaventura was closed for approximately a week following damage, some roads were disrupted, and trucks normally used to move coffee have been redirected to carry humanitarian aid into affected regions.

Meanwhile, El Niño is beginning to bring hotter conditions and fires in parts of Colombia, creating another potential challenge just as the next harvest approaches.

The message from this episode is clear: Colombia’s coffee industry cannot simply stop while communities rebuild. Producers need functioning businesses, reliable buyers and timely payments if recovery is going to be sustainable.

Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco:

https://www.belco.fr/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/

https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/

https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/

Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo:

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

‘The Coffee Report’: 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

PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA

Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet

Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container

This is episode 2 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco.

In the previous episode, Ana and Angel described what it was like when the earthquakes struck. In this episode, the conversation turns to what happened next.

Angel describes sleeping in his car because he no longer felt safe inside his home, returning to the Belco office the next day, and discovering that several colleagues had been displaced from their apartments. For hours, there was still uncertainty about whether everyone was safe.

But amid the disruption, something else emerged very quickly: people started helping each other.

Angel and his colleagues began organising food and coffee for emergency workers and affected communities. Ana describes restaurants becoming donation centres, WhatsApp groups coordinating meals and transport, and trucks carrying supplies arriving from Bogotá, Medellín and other parts of Colombia.

The episode also begins to reveal the scale of the disruption facing coffee-producing communities.

Some rural areas were left without electricity, internet or road access for days. Landslides isolated farms. While the coffee trees themselves appear to have been relatively resilient in many places, farmers’ homes, wet mills and other infrastructure were damaged or destroyed.

Angel also explains that the Port of Buenaventura was affected, with terminal damage, fallen containers, and shipments delayed, an early indication that the consequences could extend beyond the immediate disaster zone and into Colombia’s coffee supply chain.

Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco:

https://www.belco.fr/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/

https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/

https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/

Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo:

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

‘The Coffee Report’: 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

PLEASE SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN COLOMBIA

Zona J Foundation / IWCA support initiative:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zonajnet

Colombian Red Cross - Emergency Colombia Earthquake: https://ayuda.cruzrojacolombiana.org/emergencia-colombia-terremoto#afrus-container

This is episode 1 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar, examining the impact of the August 10, 2026 earthquakes in Colombia with Ana Maria Donneys of Cafe Primitivo and Angel Barrera of Belco.

Before the earthquakes struck, Colombia’s coffee sector was already navigating a difficult environment.

Ana describes lower yields following heavy rain and preparations for El Niño ahead of Colombia’s important second-semester harvest. Angel explains how a smaller and delayed harvest had tightened coffee availability, intensified competition among exporters and pushed Colombian coffee differentials sharply higher.

At the same time, the strengthening Colombian peso was reducing what producers received locally while production costs remained high.

Then, on the morning of August 10, everything changed.

Angel describes driving toward Pereira when animals suddenly began running along the road and his car started moving beneath him. What initially seemed like a problem with his tires became a prolonged earthquake. With communications and electricity down, he returned home to collapsed buildings, frightened neighbours and a cloud of dust hanging over Pereira.

Ana was on the sixth floor of a building in Armenia when the shaking began. What she initially assumed would be another small tremor continued until she could barely stand. After reaching her family, she immediately travelled to the farm to check on workers, buildings and the coffee operation.

This first episode documents what “day zero” looked like through the experiences of two people working directly within Colombia’s coffee industry, and the economic conditions the sector was already facing before the earthquake arrived.

Connect with Angel Barrera and Belco:

https://www.belco.fr/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-barrera-8a0b2236/

https://www.instagram.com/koliafobiano/

https://www.instagram.com/belco.coffee/

Connect with Ana Maria Donneys and Cafe Primitivo:

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.

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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

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Contact: [email protected]