Making Coffee with Lucia Solis

Lucia

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.

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Episodes

#55: Coffee Waste, A Feminine Approach, & Confident Processing–With Rani Mayasari
Aug 15 2023
#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 dominated. During our plan for FTC Indonesia, I handed over many of the logistics to the Bandung Coffee Exchange team. It was only after 23 tickets were sold that I looked at the roaster and saw 22 males and 1 female. I thought this might make Rani a bit shy but I couldn’t have been more wrong. In this episode we talk about:How her past influences her presenthow she developed her business acumenturning waste into new moneycivet coffee without civetsthe contradiction of “specialty wet-hulled” coffeewhy women are important to the sucess of her businessthe importance of getting research out of the lab and into the farmsRESOURCESInquiries 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.To connect with Rani:Rani's Instagram Java Halu InstagramWebsiteLeo and Lisa Cover Art by: Nick HafnerInto song: Elijah Bisbee
#54: Visiting Producers, Advanced Tourism & The Coffee Hunter with Tom of Sweet Maria’s
Jul 31 2023
#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 this up when he asks me about FTC being a form of advanced tourism. Sweet Maria’s is an incredible resource for curious coffee nerds who want to learn about home roasting basics, green coffee quality, roast profiles and cupping. The website has an extensive coffee library and resource page, so I highly recommend you check it out if these topics interest you. In this episode we talk about:why he keeps traveling to coffee farms after 26 yearswhat is the role of travel in coffee when can we use Zoom & WhatsApp instead of hopping on a planewhat is his approach to sourcing coffeehow he is like a personal shopperetiquette when visiting a producer, what questions to ask ourselves before we visitthe coffee hunter trope and caricatures of our industryRESOURCESSweet Maria's Podcast episode #38-#39Inquiries 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.To connect with Tom:Instagraminfo@sweetmarias.comCover Art by: Nick HafnerInto song: Elijah Bisbee
#49: Exposing the Producer’s Gaze & the Success Paradox with Vava Angwenyi
Nov 10 2022
#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 your support here with a one time contribution: PayPalSign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures.If you're interesting in joining me in Colombia in JanuaryFermentation Training Camp 3Vava Coffee IncA bit about Vava Angwenyi...In 2009, Vava Angwenyi started VAVA COFFEE – a Benefit Corporation (B-corp) with a Social enterprise model that exports, roasts and consults on coffee value chains, the organization aims to contribute to better future prospects for coffee communities and the industry as a whole. The company ensures sustainable livelihoods for the people and communities in which it works. Vava is also the co-founder and director of business development & fundraising at GENTE DEL FUTURO (People of the Future). GDF formed in 2017 is an organization born out of a partnership between African Plantations Kilimanjaro, Vava Coffee and Oro Molido three private sector players within the coffee sector to tackle two of the main problems we face as an industry - Producer profitability and Next generation involvement. Gente Del Futuro’s focus is to amplify the voices of youth by creating economic empowerment, choices and sustainability for the coffee industry. The organization offers young people a unique and one of a kind learning opportunity by fusing coffee cultures and knowledge from three different growing origins : Tanzania, Kenya and Colombia.Vava holds a Masters degree-Msc in International Finance and Management from University of Groningen as well as Certificate in Global Asset Management from Warrington College of Business, UF and a BSC in Statistics & Actuarial Science from University of Western Ontario- Canada. Vava’s vision is to challenge the status quo and promote positive social disruption within the Coffee industry. This vision comes from an inborn passion for transformative change and a drive to promote the sustainable production of coffee at various origins by tracing the production of high quality coffee beans to the independent smallholder coffee farmer, who works day in and day out, against major obstacles and with meager resources to produce some of the world’s best tasting coffees, often without an understanding or appreciation of the final fruits of their labor.Vava is also a Q grader and was part of the 2015 IVLP program a prestigious State Department sponsored program. Vava Coffee has also been recognized over the years for its grassroots initiatives and contribution to smallholder farming communities and Youth in agriculture. Vava served on the SCA board 2019- 2020 on the Finance and Sustainability Committees. In 2019 Vava Coffee was recognized as a Best for the world community Honoree - B Corp.Vava recently authored the book “Coffee Milk Blood”. Coffee Milk Blood is a project and book inspired by her own experience as an African woman in the industry and the theme of the book touches on appropriate storytelling/depiction of producers - how producers want to be seen beyond the coffee and as Women , the African woman, the culture of the place as well as underpinnings of Colonialism that are the structures we still operate within in our indust
#44: Are Wine Making Techniques the Future of Coffee?
Jun 3 2022
#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 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.—Follow Karla Boza’s farm and Todd’s winery on Instagram Tag our Instagram handles:James Harper / Filter StoriesJools Walker / Lady VeloScott Bentley / Caffeine MagazineJames' PodcastsHistory of Coffee (do not miss this series!)Adventures in Coffee Filter Stories (producer oriented stories)Fifth Wave (for the economics nerd)Bellwether New Wave Coffee (cafe focused)SCA Competitions