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[This Week On The Podcast] "The Black Curtain of Coffee?" with Bob and Michelle Fish from Biggby Coffee
[This Week On The Podcast] "The Black Curtain of Coffee?" with Bob and Michelle Fish from Biggby Coffee

And just like that, another year comes to an end and we notched up another 50 series/250 new episodes on the podcast for 2024!

This week, we premier our last new series for the year with Bob and Michelle Fish from Biggby Coffee and One Bigg Island In Space, and boy oh boy are we finishing on a bang! With 400+ franchises across 12 states and another 100 signed, Biggby’s growth defies the challenges most businesses are facing.

In this five-part series, we explore “The Black Curtain of Coffee”—what it is, why it exists, who benefits from it, and what’s next for the coffee industry. When I tell you that Bob and Michelle did not come to play, I mean it. As buyers of some major volumes of coffee and proud capitalists, they have lots to say about how they have changed over the decades and what needs to change on an industry level as coffee reshapes itself.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "2024 From The Perspective of Coffee CEOs" with Anne Djerai from Metropolis Coffee Company
[This Week On The Podcast] "2024 From The Perspective of Coffee CEOs" with Anne Djerai from Metropolis Coffee Company

What an absolutely wild end to the year we’re having with history-making highs on the C-Market this week at 3.45 USD.

Last week on the podcast we examined how this market volatility was being experienced by coffee producers with an excellent series with Ana Donneys from Cafe Primitivo in Colombia.

This week on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast, we’re joined by Anne Djerai, CEO of Metropolis Coffee Company in Chicago. With over 20 years of experience in the coffee business, Anne shares her perspective on market volatility, the evolving role of coffee CEOs, and what lies ahead for the coffee industry.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "Coffee’s Next Generation: Gen Z Farmers & Market Volatility" with Ana Donneys from Cafe Primitivo
[This Week On The Podcast] "Coffee’s Next Generation: Gen Z Farmers & Market Volatility" with Ana Donneys from Cafe Primitivo

The wild ride continues with market volatility again creating chaos for speculators, producers, traders, and other stakeholders alike. We’ll know at the end of this week if the dip in prices was caused by speculators or not, but it has to be said that Carley Garner predicted this selloff in this episode of the podcast a few months ago..she also predicted that it would surge again after that but by how much, none of us know. (none of this is financial advice)

This week on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast, we’re spotlighting the next generation of coffee farmers with our guest, Ana Donneys, a 5th generation coffee producer and CEO of Cafe Primitivo, based in Quindio, Colombia.

When Ana took over her family’s farm six years ago, she faced significant debt and the challenge of honoring her grandfather’s legacy. Using her business education, Ana developed a strategy focused on specialty coffee, profitability, and regenerative farming practices. With the C-Market hitting 47-year highs (at the time of the recording of this series) , Ana’s decisions are paying off, and she’s helping redefine the future of coffee farming.

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BlogLee SafarAna Donneys, Cafe Primitivo, colombian coffee farmer, c-marketComment
[This Week On The Podcast] "Financing and Logistics In Coffee Is Changing" with Angel Barrera from Belco Coffee
[This Week On The Podcast] "Financing and Logistics In Coffee Is Changing" with Angel Barrera from Belco Coffee

Welcome to another series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward podcast for the week commencing Nov 25, 2024!

What a wild wild week it’s been! I sincerely hope that you’re managing these very volatile times as best you can. I suspect if you’re a part of the Map It Forward community, you were prepared for this a long time ago and have strategies in place. Many are not so lucky and most are blissfully unaware that anything is happening at all.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "Taking Coffee Brands Global" with Nawar Adra from Stitch Coffee
[This Week On The Podcast] "Taking Coffee Brands Global" with Nawar Adra from Stitch Coffee

Coffee Market Spikes, Global Expansion, and EUDR Delays!

On The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward this week, we’re joined by Nawar Adra, founder of Stitch Coffee in Sydney, Australia. After nearly a decade, Stitch Coffee is expanding into Asia, targeting markets in China and Japan.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "Keeping A Cafe Open During Wartime" with Joseph Sayegh from Levant Cafe in Beruit
[This Week On The Podcast] "Keeping A Cafe Open During Wartime" with Joseph Sayegh from Levant Cafe in Beruit

This week on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast, we’re inspired by the resilience of Joseph Sayegh, owner of Levant Cafe in Beirut, Lebanon. Despite the challenges of war in Gaza and Beirut, Joseph has kept his cafe open, offering connection and comfort during a time of immense hardship.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "Becoming a Big Coffee Trader" with Lennart Clerkx from This Side Up Coffee
[This Week On The Podcast] "Becoming a Big Coffee Trader" with Lennart Clerkx from This Side Up Coffee

Our latest podcast series features Lennart Clerkx, co-founder of This Side Up Coffee, an independent coffee trading house based in the Netherlands that has an eye on strategically becoming one of the “Big Guys”. Lennart and I discuss whether values-driven coffee traders can stay true to their principles while navigating the challenges of a volatile market.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "A Living Income For Coffee Farmers" with Miguel Zamora from the International Coffee Organization (ICO)
[This Week On The Podcast] "A Living Income For Coffee Farmers" with Miguel Zamora from the International Coffee Organization (ICO)

This week on the podcast we have Miguel Zamora from the International Coffee Organization (ICO) joining us to discuss how the ICO is working with governments and other partners around the world to achieve a living income for coffee producers.

I found this discussion very enlightening. The ICO is one of those organizations that we’ve all heard of but may not know exactly what they do. In this series, Miguel did a great job helping me to understand what the ICO and more specifically, what he as the coordinator of ‘The Coffee Public Private Taskforce” is hoping to accomplish.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "Introduction to Regenerative Coffee Farming" with Map It Forward and the "Professors"
[This Week On The Podcast] "Introduction to Regenerative Coffee Farming" with Map It Forward and the "Professors"

this week Map It Forward has an announcement! We are proud to present “Introduction to Regenerative Coffee Farming” - A live online event for coffee producers and the wider coffee industry in English, Spanish, and Portuguese on Oct 28, 29, and 30th.

This is the first phase in a 3 phase project and this week on the podcast, you’ll hear from the trainers of our workshops on why our focus as an industry needs to be on regenerative agriculture if we’re going to have a future for the supply of coffee.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "EUDR and Coffee Traders" with Pedro Manga from Caravela Coffee
[This Week On The Podcast] "EUDR and Coffee Traders" with Pedro Manga from Caravela Coffee

European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is fast approaching and many people have opinions about what it will do to the coffee supply chain, coffee producers, and the price of coffee in general in Europe.

The main issue I’m hearing is that coffee producers “don’t need another expense to add to the list of things to get coffee to the consumer”.

4 months out from the regulation coming into effect, I am keen to understand how different stakeholders are positioned now that EUDR is about to become a reality for them and their partners.

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[This Week On The Podcast] "Building Values Driven Coffee Businesses" with David "Rabbithole" Lalonde from Rabbithole Roasters
[This Week On The Podcast] "Building Values Driven Coffee Businesses" with David "Rabbithole" Lalonde from Rabbithole Roasters

We’re living in very volatile times politically and economically in the coffee sector and while we don’t often get political on this show, this week we couldn’t not!

Our guest for this series is David "Rabbithole" Lalonde from Rabbithole Roasters, based in Montreal, Canada.

David is best known for his Instagram meme account @davidsrabbithole, where he encourages discussions on various uncomfortable supply chain, social, political, and economic issues within and outside the coffee

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[This Week On The Podcast] "The Privilege In Coffee" with Camila Khalife - Coffee Impact and Comms Specialtist
[This Week On The Podcast] "The Privilege In Coffee" with Camila Khalife - Coffee Impact and Comms Specialtist

I have said many times on the podcast that we need to empower coffee producers. This week, my guest helped me understand why that might not be the right way to look at it and while we didn’t agree on everything, the discussion was fascinating and insightful!

Our guest on the podcast for this next series is Camila Khalife, an impact and communications specialist in the coffee sector and the creator of the meme account @concaradecafe which speaks about social and economic justice for coffee producers and women in origin countries.

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[This Week On The Podcast] An Unusual Year For Indian Coffee with Komal Sable from South India Coffee Co
[This Week On The Podcast] An Unusual Year For Indian Coffee with Komal Sable from South India Coffee Co

At first glance, it might seem like a win for coffee producers, with higher C-Market prices on the ICE Exchange in New York suggesting that they might finally receive fairer compensation for their hard work. However, a deeper analysis of the supply chain reveals more significant, troubling issues that underscore the magnitude of the coffee crisis and the potential long-term negative impacts on producers.

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[This Week On The Podcast] Fairtrade Coffee with Monika Firl from Fairtrade International
[This Week On The Podcast] Fairtrade Coffee with Monika Firl from Fairtrade International

Earlier this year, when we started using the term “Coffee Crisis” we were contacted by Fairtrade International asking to come and discuss the work they were doing.

I have been curious about Fairtrade over the years because of the mixed messages I get from stakeholders in the industry that engage with Fairtrade Coffee. So when they approached me about the potential for a discussion on the podcast, I was very interested. I was especially keen to hear their perspectives on the role that regenerative agriculture would play in the future of coffee supply stability.

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BlogLee Safarmap it forward, This Week On The Podcast, monika firl, fairtrade international, fairtrade coffeeComment
[This Week On The Podcast] Market Structure and Certified Coffee Stocks with Judy Ganes
[This Week On The Podcast] Market Structure and Certified Coffee Stocks with Judy Ganes

It's official...we are not in a normal coffee market!

Judy Ganes, everyone's favourite on the podcast is back to explain that we are in "backwardation" (the price of contracts on the exchange decreases as we go into the future), an abnormal state for the market.

Judy, the director of J Ganes Consulting, is a world-renowned market advisor with over 40 years of experience in the commodities sector.

In this series Judy gives us insight into "market structure" and "certified stocks" and why the situation we're facing at the moment isn't what the "typical" market is faced with.

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[This Week On The Podcast] Pricing Volatility of the Coffee Futures Market with Carley Garner of DeCarley Trading
[This Week On The Podcast] Pricing Volatility of the Coffee Futures Market with Carley Garner of DeCarley Trading

Perhaps the greatest source of anxiety at the moment across the coffee supply chain is pricing instability and volatility.

Our returning guest in this series is the owner of US-based boutique commodities brokerage, DeCarley Trading, Carley Garner.

With all the price volatility in the market recently, as well as the uncertain pricing in the near and medium future, I thought it was time to have Carley back on the podcast to help us with clarity on where the futures market is, what it's likely to do, and how we can adapt to hedge against any negative consequences no matter where we are on the supply chain.

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[This Week On The Podcast] Antonie Fountain - Will Coffee Follow The Same Trend As Cacao?
[This Week On The Podcast] Antonie Fountain - Will Coffee Follow The Same Trend As Cacao?

To say this month is off to an interesting start is an understatement! With coffee prices soaring again on the C-Market at the same time as global economics are experiencing high volatility and throwing currencies into a spin, people are understandably wondering what comes next!

Some are asking if the volatility that we saw in Cacao will be witnessed in coffee. To answer this question I wanted to get an expert onto the podcast who understands what happened in Cacao earlier this year.

This week on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward podcast hosted by founder, Lee Safar, our guest is Antonie Fountain, managing director and co-founder of VOICE Network (cocoa) and VOCAL Alliance (coffee).

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