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Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries

Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries

By: James Harper
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Coffee stories with an extra shot of history and science. Filter Stories is a podcast revealing coffee’s hidden microscopic secrets, its powerful past, and how your choice of beans impacts tens of millions of people. See the behind-the-scenes stories on Instagram @filterstoriespodcast. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!Copyright James Harper Art Cooking Food & Wine Science World
Episodes
  • Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 2 - Why plastics are not all equal

    Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 2 - Why plastics are not all equal
    Oct 26 2026
    This episode explores the black box between coffee leaving the farm and the roaster's warehouse, and how quality can be ruined. Wrapping the coffee in any old plastic bag won't do. We get geeky looking at how hermetic bags like GrainPro actually work.Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show.Each episode takes one part of the farming business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are actually doing.Related podcast episodes:Lucia:#68: Fermentation vs. Germination: A Look at The Seed From The Inside, Out (Flávio Borém's drying research and how drying works)James:Filter Stories: Farm to Port – Why Specialty Costs MoreFilter Stories: Freshness and Grinding, Pt 1 (oxidation, diffusion and how to store coffee)Follow us through our newsletters and Social media:Lucia's NewsletterJames's NewsletterLucia InstagramJames' Filter Stories InstagramPeople mentioned in the episode:Ronald de Hommel — The Coffee QuestPaulino Quintero — Huila, ColombiaGilberto Baraona — Los Pirineos, Usulutan, El SalvadorMarvin Tala — Engineering Department head, GrainPro PhilippinesHazel Valera — COO, GrainPro PhilippinesResources:GrainPro hermetic bags, container linersNKG / GrainPro bag recyclingHow to Protect Coffee Against Container RainData loggersCover art: Nick HafnerThe Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:The Coffee Quest | BWT water+more | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainProUse ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.Meet the Mazzer Super Jolly g, the iconic grinder that's got even better. Click here to learn about its super fast grinding, bump protection, and 100th-of-a-gram accuracy.
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    29 mins
  • Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 1 - How coffee gets ruined on the farm

    Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 1 - How coffee gets ruined on the farm
    Oct 26 2026
    This episode explores the many ways coffee can get ruined while still on the farm, including fishy concrete tanks, the importance of not using jute sacks to collect coffee cherries, and solutions to unpredictable rains ruining coffee drying on the patio.Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show.Each episode takes one part of the farming business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are actually doing.Related podcast episodes:Lucia:#68: Fermentation vs. Germination: A Look at The Seed From The Inside, Out (Flávio Borém's drying research and how drying works)James:Filter Stories: Farm to Port – Why Specialty Costs MoreFilter Stories: Freshness and Grinding, Pt 1 (oxidation, diffusion and how to store coffee)Follow us through our newsletters and Social media:Lucia's NewsletterJames's NewsletterLucia InstagramJames' Filter Stories InstagramPeople mentioned in the episode:Orlando Osorio — La Primavera, Huila, ColombiaThai Dang — 96B Cafe and Roastery, Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamFlávio Borém — UFLA, BrazilResources:Perforated harvest baskets/cratesGrainPro Collapsible Dryer CaseDryer PDF (full spec table)Borém's intermittent drying researchCover art: Nick HafnerThe Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:The Coffee Quest | BWT water+more | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainProUse ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.Meet the Mazzer Super Jolly g, the iconic grinder that's got even better. Click here to learn about its super fast grinding, bump protection, and 100th-of-a-gram accuracy.
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    24 mins
  • Producer Toolkit: Quality Assurance, Pt 2 - The basics of good water for coffee

    Producer Toolkit: Quality Assurance, Pt 2 - The basics of good water for coffee
    Oct 12 2026
    This episode takes you through the basics of good water for coffee. To objectively assess a coffee's quality, both producer and buyer need to taste it using the same water. But whose water standards should you choose? Why do roasters often get to define what the "right" water is? What would the coffee world look like if producers set quality standards instead of roasters? Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show. Each episode takes one part of the farming business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are actually doing. Related podcast episodes: James: Filter Stories: How Heat Transforms Coffee BeansFilter Stories: How to Be a Better TasterFilter Stories: Getting Great Water, Step by Step Follow us through our newsletters and Social media: Lucia's Newsletter James's Newsletter Lucia Instagram James' Filter Stories Instagram People mentioned in the episode: Karla Boza — Jacinta Y Su Cafe, San Benito, El SalvadorPaulino Quintero — Huila, ColombiaJesús Antonio Chala — Finca El Silencio, ColombiaThompson Owen — Sweet Maria's Coffee, USALahari Balireddi — ASG Coffee, KenyaManuel Barsallo — Agrícola Geisha, PanamaLorenz Haschka — BWT water+more Resources: Video: How to Make Cold BrewPhysical Coffee DiaryDigital App: Coffee Brew LogDigital App: Tasting NotesSweet Maria's guide to roasting in a pan or popper, with videoSweet Maria's roasting on a pan or popper tip sheetSweet Maria's air popper resources and videoFilter Stories guide: Roasting your own coffee (English)Guía de Filter Stories: Cómo tostar tu propio café (en español)Guide to getting a good sample roastVideo: How to Cup Coffee at HomeSCA Cupping WorkshopVideo: How to use an Alkalinity Dropper KitBuy a water test kitSCA Water Control ChartWater calculator to adjust alkalinityMake your Own Water for CoffeeVideo: Make your own water for coffeeBWT bestmax PREMIUM (under-sink option)BWT bestbarista ROC COFFEEPDFs of CVA Form in 7 languagesThe SCA Coffee Value Assessment, Extrinsic Criteria ListDigital App: CatadorDigital: CVA in your web browser Cover art: Nick Hafner The Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: The Coffee Quest | BWT water+more | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro
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    42 mins
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