
30 episodes

Adventures In Coffee Coffee Podcasts
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- Arts
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4.8 • 36 Ratings
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Adventures in Coffee is a BBC / NPR-style show where we take you around the world to hear surprising stories about your cup of coffee.
We never get too geeky, you're guaranteed a laugh every episode and you'll never see your cup of coffee the same way again.
Join us on our Adventures in Coffee!
Adventures in Coffee is a collaboration between Scott Bentley, founder of award-winning magazine Caffeine, Jools Walker, best selling cycling author, and James Harper, creator of critically acclaimed documentary podcast Filter Stories.
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The Lie of Direct Trade
Have you ever noticed your daily caffeine fix tastes that little bit sweeter when you know the coffee has been ethically sourced?
The term “direct trade” has cropped up all over the place in specialty coffee in recent years and, on the face of it, would seem to imply just that.
But what does “direct trade” actually mean? And has anyone — let alone coffee farmers — really benefited from it?
In the final episode of series 3, James takes Scott and Jools on a journey into how coffee actually gets traded.
Chad Trewick from the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide shares his first hand experience of being in the direct trade vanguard. Chris Kornman, author and Director of Education at The Crown, explains the rise of evangelists with the mantra of cutting out the middle men. And Erica Koss, co-author of the Specialty Coffee Association’s sustainability course and Research Associate at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi in Nairobi, reveals some of the limitations of the direct trade ideal.
And, as a parting gift for the summer, James offers tips on how YOU can identify those roasters who are trying to do right by the farmer.
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What do you want to listen to in Series 4? Take five minutes to fill out our survey! https://bit.ly/3I2FPw8
Join our Patreon to support the show! https://bit.ly/3vrispx
Go on your own coffee adventures at home with the Siemens EQ700 fully automatic espresso machine: https://bit.ly/3Ia8yy5
Find your perfect roast with the Ikawa Home: https://bit.ly/3IdYVPc
In North London? Check out Michaela’s cafe, Bean and Brew: https://bit.ly/3IBqfrH
Find the roasters who are trying to do right by the farmer on the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide: https://bit.ly/3ItiFPB
Learn more about the intricacies of coffee trading with Chris Kornman’s book, Green Coffee: A guide for Roasters and Buyers (https://bit.ly/3Ilx7Jg) and also by visiting the Royal Coffee blog (https://bit.ly/3Au5FY5).
Check out the Coffee Shop Innovation Expo, taking on the 19th and 20th October 2022: https://bit.ly/3yMba38
Work with us at Adventures in Coffee! https://bit.ly/3Pdd1U8
Follow our wonderful guests on LinkedIn!
Chad Trewick (Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide): https://bit.ly/3uyc8gJ
Chris Kornman (Royal Coffee): https://bit.ly/3yqMewu
Erika Koss (Co-author of SCA’s acclaimed Coffee Sustainability course): https://bit.ly/3yq90EJ
Take a screenshot and tell your friends about Adventures in Coffee!
Tag our Instagram handles:
James Harper / Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O
Jools Walker / Lady Velo: http://bit.ly/39VRGew
Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://bit.ly/3oijQ91 -
Coffee’s Cutting Edge: Innovations at Origin
Once upon a time, the simple pleasures of a homemade cup of coffee would have been limited to those in Ethiopia's cool, wet mountain forest regions. Today, a multi-billion dollar global industry means we can sip on an espresso virtually anywhere in the world. But what about coffee's future?
Scott, Jools and James embark on a mission into the unknown to each reveal an element of the magical and evolving world of coffee growing. The team (or most of them…) savour a specially brewed coffee alongside each story, all prepared on the Siemens EQ700 fully automatic espresso machine.
Scott talks genetics with World Coffee Research's Hanna Neuschwander as he takes us to the frontline of the battle to save coffee from climate change.
James enlists the help of coffee processing specialist and fellow podcaster Lucia Solis to decipher what the latest bamboozling terms on our coffee bags actually mean.
And Jools is joined by Jessy Luo as she whisks us away to one of the world's newest coffee-growing regions in a rather unexpected corner of the globe.
What do F1 and Dolly the Sheep have to do with the future of coffee? Click 'download' to find out!
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What do you want to listen to in Series 4? Take five minutes to fill out our survey! https://bit.ly/3I2FPw8
Join our Patreon to support the show! https://bit.ly/3vrispx
Go on your own coffee adventures at home with the Siemens EQ700 fully automatic espresso machine: https://bit.ly/3Ia8yy5
Find your perfect roast with the Ikawa Home: https://bit.ly/3IdYVPc
Visiting Glasgow? Follow Perch and Rest on Instagram (https://bit.ly/3OH3zb8).
Discover more about coffee genetics at World Coffee Research: https://bit.ly/39RuiTO
Learn more about coffee and wine growing with Lucia Solis on her Making Coffee podcast: https://bit.ly/3z7dJ0j
Find Jessy Luo, Chinese coffee specialist, on the interwebs: https://bit.ly/39TcUxI
Take a screenshot and tell your friends about Adventures in Coffee!
Tag our Instagram handles:
James Harper / Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O
Jools Walker / Lady Velo: http://bit.ly/39VRGew
Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://bit.ly/3oijQ91 -
The Rise and Fall of Jamaican Blue Mountain
Jools' investigation into this elusive coffee will leave your taste buds clamouring for the sweet and fruity notes of Blue Mountain Coffee…
When was the last time you encountered Jamaican coffee in your favourite cafe? Chances are, unless you frequent the high-end establishments of Mayfair (or happen to be royalty), the answer may well be "never."
In this special episode, Jools takes Scott on a poignant personal journey into the land of her paternal heritage while casting light on Jamaican coffee's fascinating and disturbing past.
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee was once considered the cream of the coffee crop, but plummeting production beneath an ominous veil of secrecy has left the country's coffee industry in crisis.
Along the way, the author of "The Mother of Us All", Karla Gottlieb, paints a picture of a paradise island invaded by colonialists and the ingenious fightback by a cunning queen. Smith's Coffee's Colin Smith explains the historical quirks that have led to most Jamaican coffee being sold to Japan.
Dominic Wyndham-Gittens of Wyndhams Coffee Roasters in Barbados points the finger at the Jamaican coffee industry's painful decline.
And Marshalee Valentine, President of JAWiC, offers a glimpse of hope for some green shoots of recovery.
Content Warning: This episode contains mentions/descriptions of slavery and violence against enslaved people that can be disturbing or triggering.
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Join our Patreon to support the show! https://bit.ly/3vrispx
Jamaican Women in Coffee: https://bit.ly/3tBFBpL
Karla Gottlieb book, “Queen Nanny: The Mother of Us All” - https://bit.ly/3x4N95p
Lisa Hanna’s article on the state of the Jamaican coffee industry: https://bit.ly/39sCsSb
Video of a Jamaican coffee farmer discussing the state of the industry : https://bit.ly/3NODsPF
Taino Calling Song - https://bit.ly/3x5LlKx
Smith’s Coffee - https://bit.ly/3akAfs8
HR Higgins Instagram (https://bit.ly/3yRqY4T)
Wyndham’s Coffee - https://bit.ly/3MXzcgl
Find your perfect roast with the Ikawa Home: https://bit.ly/3IdYVPc
Visiting Bristol? Follow Bank on Instagram (https://bit.ly/3aOqXES).
Learn more about the Siemens EQ700 fully automatic espresso machine: https://bit.ly/3Ia8yy5
Listen to our episode about Hansa coffee in Sri Lanka: https://bit.ly/3zDwpVK
Take a screenshot and tell your friends about Adventures in Coffee!
Tag our Instagram handles:
James Harper / Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O
Jools Walker / Lady Velo: http://bit.ly/39VRGew
Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://bit.ly/3oijQ91
#behikesanakori #tainocallingsong #tainopeoplestillexist #arayekeyukayek -
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? Flavour 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 wine.
But could the increasing overlaps be a problem for coffee farmers — or even dangerous?
In this episode, Scott and Jools join forces with coffee processing specialist and former winemaker Lucia Solis from the Making Coffee podcast to dive deeper into where our coffee comes from and what (if anything) wine's got to do with it.
Lucia talks to coffee producer Karla Boza from the Finca San Antonio Amatepec coffee farm in El Salvador and vintner Todd Kohn from the Wayfarer Vineyard in California to shed some light on the techniques behind picking, transporting and processing their precious produce.
Take a sip on this (soon-to-be-a-good) vintage episode to pique your curiosity about how coffee and wine are made, and why it matters.
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Join our Patreon to support the show! https://bit.ly/3vrispx
Learn more about coffee and wine growing with Lucia Solis on her Making Coffee podcast: https://bit.ly/3z7dJ0j
Follow Karla Boza’s farm (https://bit.ly/3M0msUO) and Todd’s winery (https://bit.ly/3PPBRKI) on Instagram
Find your perfect roast with the Ikawa Home: https://bit.ly/3IdYVPc
Visiting Edinburgh? Follow Fortitude on Instagram (https://bit.ly/3Gtm7J0).
Learn more about the Siemens EQ700 fully automatic espresso machine: https://bit.ly/3Ia8yy5
Enjoy the Doña Aracelly Roble’s coffee from Girls Who Grind: https://bit.ly/3z6JmXO
Take a screenshot and tell your friends about Adventures in Coffee!
Tag our Instagram handles:
James Harper / Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O
Jools Walker / Lady Velo: http://bit.ly/39VRGew
Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://bit.ly/3oijQ91 -
Scott's Home Roasting Adventure
Can a secondhand popcorn popper really be used to roast delicious coffee…? The answer to that question may (or more likely, may not) surprise you!
Scott falls back in love with an old hobby as he embarks on a mission to separate the bean from the chaff with the IKAWA Home Roasting System.
On a personal journey of coffee-roasting discovery, Scott learns to find the sweet spot between first and second crack, and reveals just how much difference the way your beans are roasted makes to the flavour in your cup.
Respected roasting instructor Ildi Revi explains all about the significance of different “development” times and the Maillard reaction. Scott also decides to pit his roasting skills against the experts with none other than 2018 World Barista Champion Agnieszka Rojewska as the judge!
Can the self-proclaimed King of Caffeine out-roast a machine? Find out in Scott’s Roasting Journey.
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Join our Patreon to support the show and win a free premium hand grinder! https://bit.ly/3vrispx
Find your perfect roast with the Ikawa Home: https://bit.ly/3IdYVPc
Follow Ildi Revi on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/3FunuXs) and Agnieszka Rojewska on Instagram (https://bit.ly/3LWSd1G).
Learn more about the Siemens EQ700 fully automatic espresso machine: https://bit.ly/3Ia8yy5
Take a screenshot and tell your friends about Adventures in Coffee!
Tag our Instagram handles:
James Harper / Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O
Jools Walker / Lady Velo: http://bit.ly/39VRGew
Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://bit.ly/3oijQ91 -
Help! What is caffeine doing to me?
It’s every coffee drinker’s worst nightmare. You’ve rushed to that important morning meeting, but everything’s feeling a little hazy. You’re struggling to concentrate, and a nagging headache starts to creep in before you know it.
Then it hits you — you haven’t had your daily caffeine fix!
So what is it about this mysterious substance that can derail your whole day if you don’t have it? In a bid to find out, James conducts a cruel experiment with Scott and Jools, depriving them of coffee for 24 hours.
Producer man James bothers clever people to get to the bottom of what caffeine is and what it does to our bodies and brains!
Danielle Gulick from the Morsani College of Medicine explains how your morning cup can change your thinking. Lindsy Kass from the University of Hertfordshire tells us how some people can get away with a double espresso right before bed. Professor Jonathan Morris reveals how it’s not just humans who get a buzz from caffeine.
Ultimately we seek to find out: Do we really need to worry that an extra cup of coffee could be the end of us?
Join our Patreon to support the show and win a free premium hand grinder! https://bit.ly/3vrispx
Check out our wonderful caffeine experts online, including Lindsy Kass’ on Twitter (https://bit.ly/3Ou0k7y), Danielle Gulick (https://bit.ly/3K3Xpzh) and Jonathan Morris on Instagram (https://bit.ly/37eMS3F).
Listen to the A History of Coffee podcast (https://bit.ly/2NArChO) and read Jonathan’s book, Coffee: A Global History (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU).
Follow Sibling Cafe in Cardiff (https://bit.ly/3L4YDLQ) on Instagram and taste Perky Blender’s decaf produced by Angele Ciza in Burundi (https://bit.ly/3rGPlOr)
Learn more about the Siemens EQ700 fully automatic espresso machine: https://bit.ly/3Ia8yy5
Find your perfect roast with the Ikawa Home: https://bit.ly/3IdYVPc
Tell your local barista about Adventures in Coffee!
Our Instagram handles:
James Harper / Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O
Jools Walker / Lady Velo: http://bit.ly/39VRGew
Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://bit.ly/3oijQ91
Customer Reviews
Morning pick me up
One of my feel good podcasts. I love drinking coffee but didn’t think I was particularly interested in coffee, but the hosts are so lovely that I would gladly learn about any topic by them. I’ve admired Jools’ cycling advocacy but I didn’t know she was a radio talent as well! Totally recommend this for Monday mornings or any other moments when your soul needs a little pick me up.
Always makes me feel better
You 2 have the best voices and the best banter! I’m also very happy to learn something after each episode not only about coffee but sustainability. It never fails to cheer me up and after a difficult year, this is just the podcast I needed. Thank you Scott and Jules xx
Can’t stop listening
This is such a good pod cast. The depth of knowledge and understanding these guys have and find through their contact/guests is amazing. Some really hard hitting facts about the history of coffee that really open your eyes to the fact that some of what we call history is actually the present as well.
You have made me think a lot more in to my coffee and where it comes from and how the framers that produce this lovely bean are doing, and what we can do differently.
Thank you and keep the good stuff rolling