Making Coffee with Lucia Solis
A behind the scenes look at what goes into making one of the world's favorite beverages. Lucia is a former winemaker turned coffee processing specialist. She consults with coffee growers and producers all over the world giving her a unique perspective into the what it takes to get a coffee from a seed to your cup.
Episodes
#79: Farm First: Lalo Perez on Long-Term Coffee Health
Lalo's substack pageIkaria Coffee (Lalo's farm + roasted coffee)Biofilia (agronomic consultancy)Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter to hear about the next episode, FTC dates, and c
#78: What Is Specialty Coffee? And Who Gets To Define It?
If you would like to watch our YouTube video on "What is specialty coffee"You can watch that here.If you are a roaster and are interested in participating in the Fermentation Project with James Hoffmann, click here -> For Roasters: Buy Fermentation KitListers Movie (bird watching) it's beautiful, I highly recommend this.Email info.luxiacoffee@gmail if you would like to discuss Pl
#77: The Most Challenging Harvest We've Had
Roasterkat IG Reel about rain.YouTube version of the Q&A portionJames Hoffmann Healthy Coffee VideoThe 2025/2026 Harvest has not gone according to plan. Nick and I have found ourselves with some down time and therefore have put together this casual, end of year update on how the season is going so far. Spoiler alert: not well.I've combined a harvest update with listener questions about fe
#76: How Commercial Microbes Threaten The Coffee Industry
Sprudge Best Of Panama ArticleRemanence and survival of commercial yeast in different ecological niches of the vineyardResponses, Inquiries, & questions about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.comSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos.And if you don't want to commit,
#75: Getting Great Water for Coffee
Water massively impacts your coffee's flavours. But most of us struggle to fix our water because water science is confusing...Join me and James as we go step-by-step through:Why these concepts matter for coffee flavour and equipmentHow to test your water at homeHow to fix it, depending on what you're working withCheck James' website for all of the visuals mentioned in the episode.Re
#74: Supply Chain Reflections: Consulting Insights from Farm to Roaster w/ Luke Waite
Resources:Responses, Inquiries, & questions about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.comGet a ticket to FTC-10 December 2025Luke's Website: Pomelo Coffee ConsultingLuke's Book: Pre-Order Pomelo bookSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos.Office Hours with Luke: 9a
#73: Cultivating Identity: A Life Forged by Migration and Fermentation
This episode developed thanks to Nick, who thought it would be a good time to revisit a bit of my history in coffee to reconnect with long-time listeners, and to share a bit more about myself with new listeners. We started this podcast about 6 years ago, and if you've been through all 72 episodes, you probably have a good idea about my coffee philosophies. But I also know that not everyone en
#72: Planning Your First Coffee Fermentation Trials? Start Here.
Today's episode offers a behind the scenes view of how I approach a coffee producer's first time using yeast for their coffee fermentations.We run through all of the potential variables to pay attention to when designing your first trials with commercial microbes. From cost of production to work-flow and data collection.This conversation was recorded during a recent Office Hours session
#71: How to De-Funkify Your Naturals and Get Them to Dry Faster.
#54: Visiting Producers, Advanced Tourism & The Coffee Hunter with Tom of Sweet Maria’s#57: Will Frith Solves Terroir & Other Lessons From VietnamResources:Inquiries about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.comSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos.And if you don'
#70: What do coffee cascara and rose wine have in common? Roasted coffee labels, batching your cherries over multiple days
Some of the questions in this episode:What typically happens to the water, along with cascara and whatever else is part of a fermentation, after the fermentation has been completed?Cascara is sometimes processed into a secondary product, cascara tea. Are there other secondary products that are made?As a roaster, what should we put on our bags to better point towards the farm?What's the consen
#69: Whole Coffee Cherry Fermentations—The Multiple Paradoxes of Naturals
This episode is a final harvest update and the behind the scenes of performing whole cherry fermentation with various microbes in an attempt to create a Dry Process/Natural coffee that I want to drink.Resources:Inquiries about coffee sales or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.comSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research pape
#68: Fermentation vs. Germination: A Look at The Seed From The Inside, Out
I have wanted to make this episode for a long time, but I wasn't sure how to make it work. Finally some research for Dr. Flavio Borem helped crack the topic for me and the result is today's new episode. Things we discuss on this episode:Washed processed that tastes like a naturalProcess-forward coffees, funky coffeeNeutral processing The need for speed, & gentle dryingDrying is not j
#67: Addressing Climate Collapse & Coffee Labor in Brazil with Ana Luiza of Fazenda Mió
In this episode we talk about:How Ana decided to join the family business after pursuing a career in art.The advantages and drawback of growing coffee in a "Full Sun" system.The future of coffee picking and the role of Mechanical Harvesters.Brazil's 6 different biomes.How technology helped Brazil jump from 6 coffee bags/hectare in 1960 to 29 bags/hectare in 2023How climate change h
#66: Winemaker Tools for Coffee Producers: Sugar & Acid Additions, Co-Fermentation w/ Fruit
I was going to create a new episode about Infused vs Inoculated Coffees, but much of what we established back in Episode #39 is still relevant. So I am pulling a Taylor Swift and going to re-release a new version of episode 39, keeping what still works and adding some new perspectives from the last 3 years. In this episode I talk about:The sugar and acid additions that French and California winema
#65: To Blend or Not to Blend? Wine Vintages, and Harvest Update.
On today's episode I will be updating you on the coffee we made this harvest season and speaking of the importance of blends.If you’ve listened to even 1 other episode of this podcast, you’ll know that I'm usually trying to discourage the coffee industry from blindly adopting wine culture. Usually I share my thoughts that adopting a wine model benefits consumers more than producers and f
#64: What Kind of Coffee Lover am I? How Much am I Willing to Pay for a Cup of Coffee?
This episode also comes on the heels of our recent trip to London. Our very first stop was the Nagare coffee shop in Shoreditch in North London. Nick and I do what we usually do when we step into a coffee shop and order the pour overs. They had 2 different coffees on the menu for a pour over so we got one of each and sat back at our cute little table in a cozy cafe, and it was only when we looked
#63: Terroir For Busy People
Inquiries about coffee samples or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.comSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Cover Art by: Nick HafnerIn
#62: The Commercial Yeast vs Wild Microbes Debate w/ Pranoy of Kerehaklu
Today I bring you a third installment with Pranoy from Kerehaklu. In this new episode we talk about:The pros and cons of commercial strains vs wild microbesThe over-complication of fermentationsThe drawback of high altitude farmingThe drawback of honey processAn alternative to adding fruit to your tank Terroir vs Ecological nichePranoy's approach to cultivating his local microbesAnd much more
#61: Coffee Fermentation Review with Ashley Rodriguez of Boss Barista
RESOURCESInquiries about coffee samples or future Fermentation Training Camps: info.luxiacoffee@gmail.comBoss Barista SubstackBoss Barista PodcastSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts, and get access to research papers, transcripts and videos.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behi
#60: Thermoshock, Where Does Citrus Flavor Come From & How To Find Your Fermentation Soulmate
In this listener Q&A episode we talk about:How to use ThermoshockDoes drying pull sugar out of the seed?What labels are important on a coffee bag?How do I prepare my coffee?How to know if you've hit "The One" on a fermentation trialHow do citrus flavors get into coffee?How did a coffee from Panama fool a listener into thinking it came from Ethiopia?RESOURCESInquiries about coff
#59: What's Altitude Got To Do With It? Microbes & Meters Above Sea Level
In this new episode I talk about:A review of how dry process and wet process are differenthow microbes get into our fermentationsWhat I look for in a coffee label, 4 key elementshow I’ve changed my mind about descriptive processing labelsstudies showing contradictory results when they look at altitude in different countries.The Altitude of Coffee Cultivation Causes Shifts in the Microbial Communit
#58: Direct Trade & Other Misleading Labels w/ Natali from Nachteulen Coffee
In this new episode with Natali we talk about:Growing up in a coffee producing country, but finding coffee later in lifeFalling into the specialty coffee rabbit holeThe challenges of running a small business while keeping full time jobsDirect trade, fair trade and single originHow Natali chooses what information to put on her roasted coffee bagsWhy Decaf is important for night owls & coffee lo
#57: Will Frith Solves Terroir & Other Lessons From Vietnam
You cannot utter a sentence about Vietnam specialty coffee without including the name Will Frith. In this new episode we talk about:Will’s journey from a coffee purist to being more reasonableMeeting people where they areThe importance of a middle class to support a new coffee categoryWill’s rule of thumb for cheap coffeeWhat he drinks in the morningBeing careful to not bring a western mindset to
#56: Finding Work/Life Balance as a Coffee Producer w/ Pranoy Thipaiah from Kerehaklu in India
Today I bring you a long overdue second conversation with Pranoy from Kerehaklu in India. His first appearance on the podcast was EP#34 in May 2021I have been wanting to catch up with Pranoy for more than 2 years, and after spending a week together processing coffee and learning we were able to sit down in Jakarta after the intense week of FTC and talk. In this new episode we talk about:How he has
#55: Coffee Waste, A Feminine Approach, & Confident Processing–With Rani Mayasari
Today I bring you a conversation with an extraordinary producer: Rani from Java Halu in Indonesia. I do not use this word lightly. Rani is a truly exceptional person and my new coffee crush.I met her because she was the only woman who attended FTC Indonesia in June. Each previous FTC has been minimum 50% female, this is very important to me because so many coffee spaces are still very male dominat
#54: Visiting Producers, Advanced Tourism & The Coffee Hunter with Tom of Sweet Maria’s
The conversation with Tom Owen is wide ranging, but one main theme we talk about is coffee travel and tourism. How the host and guest dynamics play out including the unintentional burden we may be placing on coffee producers when we visit them.Its an interesting time to be reflecting on the role of travel in coffee, since I just had a major trip to teach coffee fermentation. You’ll hear Tom bring
#53: Reforesting, Finding Your People & The Hidden Cost of Coffee Production w/ Mark from Finca Rosenheim
In this conversation I got to ask him how he feels differently about the coffee industry since our last conversation.I highly recommend you listen to Ep #27 first, or as a refresher because we refer to that conversation frequently in this episodeIn this episode I follow up with him on his thoughts on:coffee certifications and competitionshis relationship with social media and sharing on redditre-i
#52: Carbonic Maceration in Wine vs Coffee & Two Ways to Improve Robusta
In this episode we talk about:Carbonic Maceration in winemakingCarbonic Maceration in coffee and best guidelines to followHow to process Robusta differently than ArabicaBenefits of fermentation in coffee fruit vs green seed modificationSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign
#51: The Kenyan Auction System; Lessons, Takeaways, & Cautions with Vava Angwenyi
VavaInstagramWebsiteCoffee Milk Blood BookPaulaInstagramWebsiteLowellInstagramWebsiteFrankieInstagramChristopher FeranBlogResources:Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, you can show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSupport the show
#50: Listener Q&A: Honey Osmotic Dehydration, Fermenting Green Coffee & What Champagne Can Teach Us About The Flavor of Yeast
Some of the questions I cover on today's episode involve:-how do fruit added fermentations differ from microbe inoculation?-my stance on the usefulness/benefits of probiotics-can we taste yeast in the cup?-what is the future of fermentation for the specialty coffee industry?-we typically ferment cherries or wet parchment but what about fermenting green coffee?-what is honey osmotic dehydrat
#49: Exposing the Producer’s Gaze & the Success Paradox with Vava Angwenyi
In this episode we talk about:Coffee production in KenyaThe similarities between latin and african coffee productionHow we consumers perceive coffee producers vs how coffee producers would like to be seenThe success paradox, when too much financial success can turn off some buyers Resources:Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show you
#48: My Philosophies on Coffee Processing, and the Future of the Industry, with Katrien of OR Coffee
Today’s episode is a little different. I am sharing a conversation that I had with Katrien of OR Coffee, A specialty coffee roastery & training center in Belgium. This episode is a little different because I’m not interviewing her, She actually interviewed me for her new podcast, Puur Koffie. Fermentation Training Camp: January 2023OR Coffee Website OR Coffee InstagramPuur Koffie PodcastCafesm
#47: Coffee Has a Plastic Bag Problem
In this episode we talk about:Plastic Grocery bags vs PaperRwanda's Plastic Bag banCoffee Processing GlossaryPower dynamics in coffee buyingSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.ResourcesLife Cycle of Bags 128 Page R
#46: What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Wine & Coffee Comparisons
In this episode we talk about:The months of making EP 44Gas Station Cuisine$17 cup of Yemeni coffeeA winemaker's role and a coffee maker's roleFormula 1 Racing, go karts and TennisWhat does it mean to love coffee?Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the ne
#45: Reflections on Coffee Flavor Through Processing, Roasting and Brewing with Eystein Veflingstad
In this episode we talk about:Coffee consulting in BrazilWhat is a quakerMatching coffee processing with roasting How Eystein roasts high and low density seedsExtraction and Brewing techniques to maximize acidityHow Eystein would prepare a coffee to show off orange, chocolaty notes Preparing our bodies and palate to be more sensitive to flavorsSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord h
#44: Are Wine Making Techniques the Future of Coffee?
Next time you set about making your morning coffee, take a moment to peruse the info on your bag of beans. What do you notice? The variety of beans? Flavor notes? Technical details on where the coffee was grown? They're not so different from the sort of blurb you might find on the back of a wine bottle in many ways. And that’s intentional. Specialty coffee has taken a lot from the world of wi
#43: Germination & Drying–Continuous vs. Resting
In this episode we talk about:The class system in ColombiaSpecialty coffee shops in coffee producing countriesExtended fermentations, 500 hoursGermination of dry processed coffees, what is going on?Overview of the role of amino acidsHow do we measure stress in coffee cherries?Stressed grapes vs stressed coffee cherriesSupport the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don&apo
#42: Germination & Processing–Wet/Washed vs. Dry/Natural
In this episode we talk about:The long geographical chain of custody for a cup of coffeeWhy do wet process and dry process coffees taste differentlyCoffee seeds: orthodox vs. recalcitrant seedThe yeast metabolism case for quality vs the plant metabolism case for qualityCacao seed germination vs coffee seed germination Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don&apo
#41: How Much Effort Should Good Coffee Require? Cometeer Instant Coffee, Cake and Everest
In this episode we talk about:Crossing borders on footMy recent trip to Guatemala and Honduras w/ 2 new producer clientsBrewing coffee as a love poemHow instant coffee has a similar problem to instant cake mixesWhen is effort a virtue and when is it a drawback?Support the show on Patreon to join our live Discord hangouts.And if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time
#40: Listener Q&A: Water Evaporation & Sugar, Avoiding Acetobacter, How to Inoculate w/o Spending Any Money
Welcome to the first episode of the new year and season 3.In this episode we talk about:If sugar follows the direct of water flow, does sugar evaporate out as coffee dries?The difference between sugar in mucilage and inside the seed.Can sugar be a preservative?The benefits and drawbacks of adding cascara to the fermentationHow to inoculate for freeHow to control the fermentation in a hot environme
#39:Infused vs Adulterated coffees, Cinnamon and Fermentation Failures
As many of you know, we've started doing live hang out after the episodes on Discord a week after the podcast comes out. I find this valuable because I get to hear from listeners and we create our own podcast after the podcast together.In the most recent gathering I had Felipe, Jose and Lucas from Ep 38 on the discussion so listeners of the podcast could ask them questions directly.A few thin
#38:Reverse Engineering a $5 Castillo in Colombia w/ Lucas, Felipe & Jose
Today's episode features Lucas, a Patron and exporter with Unblended who sold a Kombucha coffee. I invited him and the producers he works with, Felipe and Jose to talk about their experience reverse engineering a $5 castillo. They started with the end goal in mind, the picked the price, the flavor profile they wanted and then created a process to hit their target.In this episode you'll h
#37: Jamie Isetts Reimagines the Coffee Producer & Green Buyer Relationship
Today I am joined by Jamie Isetts, Sourcing Consultant. In this episode we cover:What a green buyer doesHow Jamie became a green buyerHow to organize a coffee contractCommunication red flags between producers and green buyersStrategies for long lasting relationshipsGet in touch with Jamie IsettsSupport the show on PatreonAnd if you don't want to commit, show your support here with a one time
#36: Lactic Acid 101—Rejecting Inoculation, Fermentation Fight Club & Defining Rot
In this episode I will cover:the yeast inoculation history of wine to better understand why the natural wine and sour beer movements are rejecting inoculation.the difference between rot, wild fermentations and controlled fermentations.the role of salt in a coffee fermentation.are lactoferments better for low or high elevation farms?to pulp or not to pulp coffee cherries?how lactoferments differ fr
#35: Acetic Acid 101—Kombucha & Making a Washed Coffee Taste Like a Natural
Do you drink kombucha? Coming from California, kombucha is about as normal as orange juice. But I imagine it might not be as popular in other parts of the world. Kombucha is probably more popular in North America and Europe (coffee importing countries) and probably very rare in coffee producing countries.I can imagine a near future where buyers are drawn to or supportive of kombucha process withou
#34: Robusta, Tropical Fruits and Mechanical Drying. Visiting India w/ Pranoy of Kerehaklu.
Today's episode is another in a series hearing from coffee producers from all parts of the world. I think one of the common traps we can get into is thinking and talking about "The" coffee farmer. Or "The Average Coffee Farmer." As if coffee farmers are a monolith. The average doesn’t exist. The people who grow and produce coffee are a very diverse group who do it for diff
#33: Listener Q&A: Learning from Thailand, Avoiding Mold Growth in Honey and Dry/Natural Processing in Humid Locations
Today’s questions all come from Dr. Mack in Bangkok, Thailand. Even though he is asking the question on behalf of coffee producers in Thailand, I wanted to answer them on the podcast because they are relevant to all of the newer coffee producing regions.Thailand didn’t export coffee until 1976! This is very recent and not a lot of time for coffee growers and producers to develop their craft and ca
#32: Where Is Ripeness? Lessons From Brazil on Brix & Color
Our sugar journey is almost complete as we round out the third installment in the Brix series. I hope the previous podcast episodes helped open your mind to some of the challenges we face in talking about sugar in the coffee industry.Today's episode focuses on ripeness and how counterintuitively sometimes measuring Brix can lead to lower quality coffee.And to help illustrate this point I&apo
#31: What Are We Measuring When We Measure Brix?
I hope the previous podcast episode helped open your mind to some of the challenges we face in talking about sugar in the coffee industry. In today's episode we are adding another element, another piece of the puzzle—the refractometer and the other instruments used to measure sugar.In today's episode we will see how a refractometer can give a high Brix reading even when there is zero sug
#30 Untangling Sugar, Sweetness and Brix
Where does sweetness come from? Can something taste sweet that has no sugar? How can we measure sugar in coffee?This will be a more technical episode where we will talk about the sugar compounds like carbohydrates, sucrose, glucose and fructose and sweetness as a concept. We will also look at how sugar content differs based on processing style: washed, honey or natural.Support the show on Patreon
#29: How Can Yeast Help in a Rural Ugandan Setting: Consulting w/ The Coffee Gardens
Today you get to be a fly on the wall of a consulting session between myself and a coffee producer in Uganda. The Coffee Gardens is a newer project of coffee producers who have partnered with select coffee farmers in Eastern Uganda. They currently work directly with 300 small holder farmers. They have a micro-processing station in the foothills of Mount Elgon.This episode might be most relevant to
#28: Origin, Native, Indigenous and Local: Building Our Coffee Vocabulary
If you started the season with me in October you’ll remember that I started exploring the topic of what we lose when we take a plant from its native environment. Episode #25: A California Coffee Farm & Native vs. Local Yeasts looked at the relationship between coffee trees and the fermentation.Dr. Aimee Dudley’s research showed that the native microbes do not travel with the plant material and
#27: Searching for the Escape Velocity of Coffee–w/ Mark from Finca Rosenheim
We usually hear about coffee from roasters or even people like me, who work with coffee producers but we are not producers ourselves. One of my podcast goals is to bring you directly to the source. Whether it's scientific research or hearing directly from coffee producers.Often we leave it to coffee professionals and educators to speak about coffee producers but it’s rare to hear directly fr
#26: Do Coffee Trees Talk? How Underground Fungi Affect Coffee Quality
What is left behind when coffee moves to new locations. What is the trade off for innovation? This episode looks at what else we potentially leave behind when we introduce new plant material to non-native locations.The inspiration for this episode was a beautiful book by Peter Wohlleben called The Hidden Life of Trees. In it, Peter talks about native forests vs planted forests and the differences
#25: A California Coffee Farm & Native vs. Local Yeasts
This week I want to talk to you about where native coffee yeast come from. If you are concerned about coffee flavor manipulation by yeast, I hope by the end of the episode you have a broader understanding of where "native" yeast originally came from.To help illustrate the point, we start with non traditional coffee growing regions like Southern California.In the episode I will also be s
#24: Tea and Coffee: Conscious Uncoupling w/ Aurora Prehn
Aurora is back for another tea chat.Unfortunately I think coffee and tea are often lumped together in similar categories but they have very different histories and I think it’s worth trying to de-couple these beverages.Join us as we discuss how:-tea is largely consumed in it's botanical origins and coffee is not. -the different flavors of stress (positive and negative)-over extraction and the
#23: Tasting Authenticity—When Different Countries Have Similar Flavor Profiles
What happens when the best in the world can't tell if a wine comes from the Willamette Valley in Oregon or Burgundy, France? What happens when the experts can't tell if the bubbles are from Champagne or California.Does a place really have a taste? Can we find it in the glass?That is the premise of terroir, tasting the land, localizing the product. But often, when put "terroir"
#22: Terroir—Part II: Yeast, Bacteria & Transparent Coffee Processing
Welcome to the next installment of terroir in coffee.This one little word contains a whole world of history and has an important role in the economic viability of certain agricultural products.After the last episode I heard from some of you who wished I had talked about soil minerals and plant nutrition from soil. Others also asked about the wine making regions like Bordeaux where Terroir is regul
#21: Terroir—Part I: The Soil, The Science & The Human Element
I'm so excited for you to join me in this discussion about terroir. Terroir comes from latin, for terra - soil. Also translated as land, or “taste of the land”.Terroir is predominantly a wine concept, so why are we even talking about it in reference to coffee?If you’ve listened to other episodes, you’ll know that there are certain concepts that the coffee industry likes to borrow from the win
#20: Listener Q&A: Slow vs Fast Fermentations, Adding Foreign Yeast, & Post Harvest Effect on Density
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you introduced foreign yeast and bacteria into a coffee farm? Or maybe you're curious if we can speed up a long fermentation by warming it up. How does post harvest processing affect the density of the seed?In today's podcast episode I’m answering listener questions like these and also sharing how I approach designing a fermentation.When I was
#19: Botanical Awareness, Tea Fermentation & Processing with Aurora Prehn
For those who know, it may not come as a surprise when I share how much I love tea. But professionally, today is the day I come out of the tea closet. I drink logarithmic levels of tea compared to coffee, and the more I confess that, the more other coffee professionals share with me that they too love specialty teas.Unfortunately I think coffee and tea are often lumped together in similar categori
#18: Anaerobic Fermentation: Building Our Coffee Vocabulary
In today's Making Coffee Podcast episode, we're taking a deep dive into anaerobic fermentation and how language reflects values.Specialty coffee is a young industry. In the consumer space we have only recently started to differentiate between processing styles like natural, washed and honey and now we’re jumping off the deep end into the microbiology of these processing styles. I wanted
#17: Coffee Photography, Marketing and Consent
Today's Making Coffee Podcast episode is a continuation of the theme of coffee pickers and their role in quality.In the previous episode I shared my surprisingly difficult experience trying to source red ripe coffee cherry. It was surprisingly difficult to pay the farmers more for a different quality than they were used to picking because of the established system, a system that developed ove
#16: The Elusive Search for Red Ripe Coffee Cherry
Today's episode is part 1 of a 2 part series talking about the people who pick our coffee.In episode 15 we went deeply into how a molecule of sucrose in the coffee cherry pulp becomes a flavor compound like banana or peach and gets into the coffee seed.Flavor is an accessible entry point for specialness.However, I don’t like talking about flavor and coffee too much. I don’t think coffee flav
#15: How Microbes Contribute Body, Acidity, & Fruity Flavors To Your Cup of Coffee
Today's episode is very special because it was picked by the Making Coffee Podcast Patrons. I sent my patrons a poll on what they wanted to hear about next and the topic most people wanted to hear about was HOW fermentation impacts coffee flavor. How can the same yeast that makes bread rise also make my coffee taste like apricot or jasmine?Maybe you’ve thought that farmers added fruit to the
#14: George Howell on Cup of Excellence, Coffee Pricing and Craftsmanship
Join me in listening to this conversation with George Howell, where we cover topics such as Cup of Excellence, coffee pricing, processing styles, craftsmanship, additives in processing, kamikaze farmers, and much more.George was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award from the SCA in 1996, even before he helped found the Cup of Excellence program in 1999. He's accomplished a lot towards improv
#13: Growing Up On A Coffee Farm, With Sofia Handtke of Mapache
Hello friends,Today I want to share an interview with Sofia Handtke from Mapache Coffee in El Salvador. I recorded this last November at the end of my time with them. That was my second season working with them and designing fermentation lots at their mill. Over the last 2 harvest seasons we've done about 40 different batches combining 4 strains of yeast, 3 cultivars and various lengths (# of
#12: The Dark Side of Seeking Fresh Coffee
I'm at the halfway mark of this trip and I officially ran out of coffee.I mentioned before that a significant portion of my carry-on space was dedicated to roasted coffee. Bringing coffee from home would mean that towards the end I was drinking coffee that was about 2 months old. Generally, I don’t like to drink coffee that is over 2 months old. I don’t like stale coffee but what I’ve found i
#11: Listener Q&A: Why Ferment? Submerged vs Dry Tanks, and Can You Taste Yeast vs Bacteria?
Hello friends,In today’s podcast episode I get to do something a little different. Instead of giving you my thoughts on a particular coffee topic, I’m answering questions from 4 different listeners. Ideally I would like to have an episode for each question because they are rich with topics but many listeners have submitted questions through my website. The pile is growing quite large and I think i
#10: What Do Coffee Producers Drink?
When most people hear that I’m going to Central America for work, they often say some variation of “how cool! you’re going to have such great coffee” which is true, but only because I haul most of if myself from The United States back to Central America in my suitcase. Consuming countries pay a higher price for good coffee - so by design the best coffee leaves the countries where it was produced.
#9: Doubling Down in El Salvador with Jan Carlo of Mapache
In this episode, I had the chance to speak with Jan-Carlo Handtke of Mapache Coffee. Jan-Carlo shares important perspectives of what it's like to be a 5th generation producer today. When most people are leaving coffee, Jan-Carlo and his wife Sofia are doubling down, buying new farms and making significant investments in education and equipment.In this conversation we talk about the role of so
#8: "Empowerment": The New Colonialism Trap
I want to start by thanking everyone who has reached out to me and sent questions/comments or just let me know that you enjoy listening. I started this podcast as my offering to chip away at the knowledge gap between coffee producers and consumersIn today’s podcast episode we’re going to hear from 2 sides of the value chain in very different parts of the world. Brendan from Semilla Roasters in Can
#7: Coffee Travel: Helping or Hurting?
I’m writing this from a hotel in the small town of Ataco, El Salvador. I’ve been away from home for 21 days out what will eventually be 120.It’s currently coffee harvest time in Central America this is the time of the year when I am traveling the most seeing clients at their mills and designing fermentation lots. This is an interesting industry because of the amount of travel required by many part
#6: The Sommelier of Coffee?
You heard my experience getting my Q grader license on last weeks episode. Today’s podcast is a continuation of the Q grader discussion but focusing on its role with coffee producers.I mentioned that it’s tempting to use the wine Sommelier certification as a shorthand to describe the Q grader license because the Sommelier’s has been around much longer and its a more familiar term than Q grader. I’
#5: To Be or Not To Be A Q-Grader
What is a Q Grader?In the coffee industry the Q Grader license is often compared to the sommelier exam in wine—this is a shorthand that can be useful to provide some vague ballpark approximation, but over the next 2 podcast episodes we will see how different these tests are.When I started to get serious about working in the coffee industry I was looking for ways to deepen my knowledge and the Q Gr
#4: Over Fermentation and Brettanomyces
I find the term "over fermentation" to be especially annoying. From a biology point of view this term is nonsense.When coffee professionals use this term it's understood to mean a defect, usually vinegar, "boozy" or like rotting fruit. Everyone agrees that it's a negative trait for a coffee to have. I think it's important to be able to identify this trait but I t
#3: The Best Cup of Coffee I've Ever Had
If you made it through last week's deep dive about how we talk about and label specialty coffee - you've earned your coffee-nerd badge!This week I want to pull back the lens and talk more broadly about quality and value. Instead of examining the rigidity of microbiology, this week's episode explores the subjective side of preference and what makes something "good".I tell y
#2: How Bad Coffee Labels Hold Us Back
The first step in expanding the role of processing in the coffee quality conversation is how we label these coffees. I have noticed a lot of redundancy and confusion in how we describe the coffees.I've heard various forms of; fermented coffees, yeasted coffees, anaerobic fermentation, lactic process, acetic process.The labels we use set up the foundation, and I argue that when the labels are
#1: A Winemakers Perspective on Specialty Coffee
In this very first episode, I wanted to give you a little background on how I approach coffee processing as a former winemaker and microbiologist. I discuss the similarities and differences in the processing methods of wine and coffee, and how they can impact perception and education within coffee processing.Support the show
Welcome to Making Coffee with Lucia Solis
A behind the scenes look at one of the world's favorite beverages. Lucia is a former winemaker turned coffee processing consultant. This podcast will talk about the steps in getting a coffee cherry ready for roasting, share current coffee research in microbiology and have interviews with coffee producers in different parts of the world.Photo by @a.w.klassDesign by @hafner.nickMusic by @elijah
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