A simple mistake as a new barista sparked a passion for learning everything about coffee—and helped propel her all the way to becoming a Q Instructor just a few years later. Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host, Greg Hess, as they sit down with Candice Madison—a coffee-industry leader, coffee consultant, roaster, barista, and coffee educator who is preparing to launch her own coffee company—Kandake Boutique Coffees.
Find out how a camisole and a jug of burned milk kick-started Candice’s incredible career in the coffee industry, one that’s been fueled by curiosity and her passion for learning. Candice shares how a live webinar she organized in 2020 helped launch the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity, why she hopes her experiences will help more people recognize that “coffee is for everybody,” and how a recent health crisis gave her a new perspective on how many lives she’s touched.

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

What happens when an aspiring winemaker wants to leave behind the late-night hours? Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host, Greg Hess, in a conversation with Patrick O’Malley, an award-winning coffee educator, serial entrepreneur, and thirty-year veteran of the coffee industry. Patrick shares how a simple request to create a more palatable schedule wound up changing the trajectory of his career—from winemaker to master coffee roaster.

Patrick offers his expert insights on how the coffee industry has changed over the past thirty years, and hear his candid assessment of the industry’s progress and challenges and shares why educating coffee professionals is his favorite aspect of his career—and why he believes educated coffee roasters are the key to creating more educated coffee consumers.

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

How does a chemical engineer become a leading voice in the coffee industry? Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host Greg Hess as they sit down with Scott Stouffer, a chemical engineer by training and a 30-year coffee veteran. His remarkable journey started with a chance role as a process engineer for a “little expanding startup company”—Starbucks—and today he’s the Chief Sales Officer at PROBAT, a global leader in coffee roasting equipment.

Scott shares what’s behind PROBAT’s commitment to building enduring machines that not only stand the test of time but also adapt to the ever-evolving coffee landscape—and why Scott says they’re “becoming as much a technology company as a roasting company” to better support coffee roasters.

Learn about PROBAT’s pioneering sustainability efforts, including a commitment to being carbon neutral by 2030. Prepare to be inspired by his dedication to mentoring future engineers in discovering unique career paths and why supporting coffee research is part of PROBAT’s mission to foster a vibrant coffee community.

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host Greg Hess in an enlightening conversation with Lucas Venturim, a fifth-generation Brazilian coffee producer and commercial director of Café Fazenda Venturim, which specializes in fine Robusta coffees. He’s on a mission to change the narrative around Robusta by educating coffee roasters, baristas, and coffee lovers about its unique flavor profile. He shares why he firmly believes that highlighting Robusta's distinct value can lead to a more environmentally friendly, socially equitable, and economically viable coffee industry.

Lucas shares how his background in engineering has fueled his innovative approach to coffee production—and why he’s experimenting with different approaches to harvesting, processing, roasting, and brewing in order to change attitudes about Coffea canephora. Tune in to hear why he believes economic sustainability is crucial for the future of coffee and how his efforts to include Coffea canephora growers in the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) are a key part of this vision.

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host Greg Hess in an enlightening and inspiring conversation with Dehab Mesfin, the founder and general manager of Diamond Enterprise and Dahab Specialty Farm, a woman-owned coffee business that’s focused on sustainability and women’s empowerment.

Dehab’s specialty coffee farm—Dahab Specialty Farm—is nestled within the buffer zone of Ethiopia’s Kafa Biosphere Reserve, the largest UNESCO biosphere reserve in the country, which gives her an insightful perspective on the delicate balance between coffee cultivation and nature preservation. She shares why her farm's unique location not only drives their sustainable practices in both farming and processing and traceability initiatives but also infuses their coffee beans with an incredible, one-of-a-kind flavor.

Tune in to find out why Dehab says coffee is “a connection point for the women” of Ethiopia, and how her commitment to empowering women led her to spearhead a groundbreaking training program focused on sustainability, financial empowerment, and a unique product—coffee honey!

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee. 

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host Greg Hess in an inspiring conversation with Francisco Lacayo, general manager of L53 Family Estates, a multifaceted family-run operation that includes two Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, co-ownership of a dry mill, and an export company.

Francisco’s father first entered the coffee industry in 1994, when Francisco was seven years old. Twenty years later, after completing his undergraduate degree at Purdue University and an MBA at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Francisco returned home to Nicaragua, where he joined his father in a new venture: purchasing a coffee farm together.

Today, Francisco is leading L53 with a focus on community development, sustainability, and providing their customers with consistently excellent green coffees.Francisco shares why L53 prioritizes traceability—all the way down to the day their cherries were picked—and why he believes that “coffee is a relationship industry.” Tune in to learn more about complex challenges that coffee producers face—from climate change to choosing cultivars and caring for their crops—and what Francisco says governs 90% of the process of growing coffee.

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host Greg Hess in an inspiring conversation with Jake Elster and Ben Heins, co-owners of Crop to Cup Coffee Importers, a green-coffee importing company that’s committed to a people-first approach to coffee.

Hear all about how their paths collided in a serendipitous meeting at the University of Chicago. Ben, a trailblazer in the ready-to-drink coffee game, was on a quest to learn more about “how coffee happens.” Meanwhile, Jake’s connections to Uganda’s coffee communities inspired him to design a radical new model for coffee imports—one that put farmers front and center—at Crop to Cup Coffee Importers. Their synergy and shared passion for coffee fueled Crop to Cup’s mission: to empower smallholder farmers and revolutionize the specialty coffee industry.

Today Crop to Cup represents coffee producers from more than 110 coffee-growing communities in a dozen countries. Their team serves as invested ambassadors, connecting underrepresented coffee-producing communities with roasters who are excited about their offerings. Their mission grows from a shared core belief: “Good coffee comes from good people.”

And tune in to learn more about U3 Coffee’s newest initiative—the U3 Coffee Bank—and how it’s supporting coffee producers, coffee roasters, and coffee entrepreneurs to make a positive impact on the coffee industry!

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host Greg Hess as they chat with Bill Ristenpart, professor of chemical engineering and founding director of the UC Davis Coffee Center, a groundbreaking multidisciplinary academic center focused on research to support and improve the coffee industry.

What started in 2013 as 18 engineering students in a freshman engineering seminar has now served more than 250,000 alumni around the world and attracted partnerships with some of the biggest names in the coffee industry, including Peet’s, Probat, La Marzocco, and Toddy. Bill shares how a single cup of coffee changed the course of his career, how academic research can help optimize coffee from farm to cup, and why he says “the coffee industry is special.”

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host Greg Hess in a conversation with Michael Shultz, founder of Fairgrounds Craft Coffee & Tea, a café experience founded on the principles of diversity, choice, and community.

After two decades working in the restaurant industry, and with his first child on the way, Michael started to think about the legacy he wanted to leave behind. He wanted to find ways to make systemic change, touch the lives of other people, create opportunities for others, and make people happy. So, two days before his daughter was born, Michael took the leap into entrepreneurship with his first café

In 2016, that journey, and his focus on making positive change, led him to create Fairgrounds Craft Coffee & Tea, a café experience founded on the principles of diversity, choice, and community. As part of Infuse Hospitality, which services more than 40 million square feet of custom food and beverage solutions across North America, Fairgrounds allows customers to choose from a dozen coffee roasters, a variety of brewing styles, coffee flights, and chef-created food options. Today, Fairgrounds is thriving in four cities across the country, and meeting the wide range of needs that bring people to their cafés.

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.

Join U3 co-founder Kristi Ross and her co-host Greg Hess in an inspiring conversation with Tim Coonan, co-founder of Big Shoulders Coffee, a hospitality-driven company that prioritizes their customers, their team, and their producers.

When Tim and his wife Patricia, both accomplished leaders in the restaurant industry, were starting to think about their own coffee business fourteen years ago, there were very few cafés in Chicago that were as focused on customer-centered service as their restaurant counterparts. So they set out to change that with Big Shoulders.

Today, Big Shoulders Coffee is an award-winning coffee roasting company with six cafés across Chicago, a booming online retail shop, and a thriving food service wholesale. Their long list of accolades includes being named Small Chain/Franchise Champion in the 2024 Golden Bean World Series and being named the #1 Independent Coffee Shop in the US by USA Today in 2023.

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This podcast is created by U3 Coffee for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, opinions and representations of facts are those of individuals and not necessarily U3 Coffee.

Copyright © 2024 U3 COFFEE, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use on u3coffee.com apply. Reproduction, distribution, or public display is prohibited. Download for personal use is permitted.

'U3 COFFEE' is a trademark owned by U3 COFFEE, LLC.