IT’S JUST COFFEE!

What actually makes coffee “specialty”?

Is it an 80+ cup score? A traceable farm? The flavour, the barista, the ethics, the hospitality, or is it all just vibes?

In this episode, Rohan and Ben open one enormous can of worms and ask whether “specialty coffee” still means what we think it means. They trace the term from its original definition through the coffee-price crisis, fair trade, direct trade and the rise of third-wave coffee.

Then things get messy.

Can Starbucks technically be specialty coffee? Does pre-batched espresso count? If an automated machine makes a more consistent drink, is that less specialty than something made by hand? And when someone pays $6 for a latte, what are they actually paying for?

There’s no neat manifesto at the end of this one. Just a much bigger conversation about quality, craft, traceability, flavour and what we want specialty coffee to stand for now.

If you’re new here (welcome), our show dives into some of the best coffee conversations on the internet, but we will always remind ourselves at the end of the day: It’s Just Coffee!

CHAPTERS!

00:00 What the Hell Is Specialty Coffee?

03:16 Meet Rohan, Ben and Liam

03:38 APAX LAB

04:17 The Technical Definition of Specialty Coffee

08:27 The SCA’s New Definition

11:50 Why This Conversation Matters Now

14:21 Coffee Prices and Shrinking Café Margins

17:52 Where “Specialty Coffee” Came From

19:08 The Coffee Crisis That Changed Everything

21:59 Fair Trade vs Direct Trade

26:13 Cup of Excellence and Third-Wave Coffee

28:21 Is Starbucks Specialty Coffee?

31:54 Specialty Coffee Was Never Just One Thing

32:59 What Specialty Means Across the Supply Chain

37:31 What Does It Mean to the Customer?

39:56 Automation, Pre-Batching and the Future of Craft

43:39 Does the “Specialty” Label Still Work?

45:05 What Are You Actually Paying $6 For?

47:30 What Specialty Coffee Means to Us

50:46 Does the Definition Survive 2026?

53:27 Where Does Specialty Coffee Go Next?

55:57 Final Thoughts

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Proudly sponsored by:

APAX LAB: https://apaxlab.com/

Riverina Fresh: https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

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How can cafes generate additional revenue beyond selling coffee? We discuss leveraging existing assets like knowledge and physical space to offer products, educational workshops and events. Plus we outline the importance of curating retail that feels authentic and relevant to your business. Expand on what a cafe can be in meaningful and practical ways. Tune in!

Coffee Break is your weekly inside scoop into the coffee community. Everything from on the fly barista tips, honest and unfiltered cafe reviews (eek), hospitality stories and gate kept coffee secrets.

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IT'S JUST COFFEE: https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=4e8cead0-6644-4c4a-b419-28c825b1b236

Want to get in touch? Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com for any questions or comments.

Proudly sponsored by:

Apax Lab: https://apaxlab.com/

Riverina Fresh: https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

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Can you make espresso with room-temperature water and sound waves?

Dr Francisco Trujillo and his team at UNSW have developed an entirely new brewing process that uses ultrasound to produce espresso-strength coffee in under three minutes, while using around one-quarter of the energy of a traditional espresso machine.

In this episode, Francisco takes us inside the science of ultrasonic coffee. We unpack acoustic cavitation, the microscopic bubbles that pit and fracture coffee grounds, why tamping matters far less in this system, and how the team built the technology into something that still looks surprisingly close to a normal espresso machine.

We also get into the taste test. One hundred regular coffee drinkers compared the ultrasonic brew with traditional espresso, with no significant difference found across the key sensory measures. Francisco explains where the drinks do differ, including crema, bitterness and aftertaste, and why the biggest opportunity may not be your local café at all, but large-scale ready-to-drink coffee production.

If you’re new here (welcome), our show dives into some of the best coffee conversations on the internet, but we will always remind ourselves at the end of the day: It’s Just Coffee!

CHAPTERS!

00:00 A New Way to Brew Coffee

01:17 How Ultrasonic Espresso Works

02:18 Where the Idea Came From

03:29 From Three-Minute Cold Brew to Espresso Strength

04:58 Acoustic Cavitation Explained

10:35 Brew Ratio, Grind Size and Tamping

13:54 Is It Really Espresso?

16:34 Why the Brew Takes Three Minutes

18:04 Testing Different Coffees and Roast Levels

19:29 Brewing With Room-Temperature Water

21:40 The Blind Taste Test

28:24 What Happens to Aroma?

31:05 Extraction Yield and TDS

32:23 Less Bitterness and a Cleaner Aftertaste

33:48 The Energy-Saving Opportunity

35:41 APAX LAB

36:54 Can Ultrasonic Coffee Scale Up?

39:19 Patents and Commercialisation

42:04 Francisco’s First Coffee Project

44:39 The Team Behind the Research

45:08 Where to Find Francisco’s Work

Dr Francisco Trujillo, UNSW: https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/francisco-trujillo

Ultrasonic espresso research: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2026.113193

Want more coffee content?

IT’S JUST COFFEE: https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod

Want to get in touch? Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com with your questions, hot takes or guest suggestions.

Proudly sponsored by:

APAX LAB: https://apaxlab.com/

Riverina Fresh: https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

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Your grinder could be making a bigger difference to your coffee than you think.

This week we are getting granular. Literally. We’re breaking down coffee grinder burrs, what they actually do and why choosing between flat and conical can completely change what ends up in your cup.

Why do conical burrs create more body? Are flat burrs always better for filter coffee? What are fines and boulders? Does a bigger burr automatically mean better coffee? And when is upgrading your grinder actually worth the money?

From particle size and burr geometry to heat, retention, seasoning and choosing the right grinder for your café, this is our Coffee Grinder Burrs 101. We definitely don’t claim to have settled the debate, so grinder nerds, please tell us what we missed.

Plus, APAX LAB introduces us to Conflux, and Condesa Co.Lab joins us with the weekly coffee market report.

COFFEE BREAK! is your weekly inside scoop into the coffee community. Everything from on-the-fly barista tips, honest and unfiltered café reviews (eek), hospitality stories and gatekept coffee secrets.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Why Grinder Burrs Matter01:26 What Is a Coffee Grinder Burr?04:08 Flat vs Conical Burrs06:24 Fines, Boulders and Particle Size08:33 How Burrs Change Coffee Flavour11:23 The Best Burrs for Espresso and Filter12:59 Heat, Speed and Grinding Coffee15:14 Body vs Clarity16:57 APAX LAB17:35 Does Burr Size Matter?18:43 Retention and Angled Grinders20:16 Burr Coatings and Durability21:44 Should You Season New Burrs?22:55 When Should You Upgrade?26:12 Coffee Market Report28:41 How Much Grinder Does a Café Need?31:16 What Coffee Science Still Doesn’t Know

Want more coffee content?

IT’S JUST COFFEE:https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod

Want to get in touch?

Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com with your questions, comments or hot takes.

Proudly sponsored by:

Condesa Co.Lab:https://condesacolab.com.au/

APAX LAB:https://apaxlab.com/

Riverina Fresh:https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

Thanks for listening!
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Onyx Coffee Lab was just voted the best coffee shop in the world!

Not in New York, Copenhagen or Melbourne. In Arkansas.

Andrea Allen and her husband Jon opened Onyx in 2012 with a wildly ambitious idea: one day, they would serve the best coffee in the world. At the time, success meant paying the bills, the staff and the rent.

Fourteen years later, Onyx sits at number one on the World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops list and has become a James Beard nominee for Outstanding Bar.

Andrea joins us to unpack how they built a hometown coffee company into one of specialty coffee’s most influential brands, without losing the point of view that made it special.

We talk about creating destination cafés, why every Onyx venue is completely different, the failed ideas nobody sees on Instagram and how their newest location, The Preserve, evolved from the slightly unhinged idea of building a bike path through a café.

Andrea also shares how a cold DM eventually led to working with Jimmy Butler and BIGFACE, why Doyenne grew far beyond expectations and what genuine transparency should look like across the coffee supply chain.

Plus, Hugh Grant, Elon Musk, broken robot baristas and Andrea’s defence of the humble mocha.

If you’re opening a café, building a brand or trying to create something people genuinely care about, this one is packed.

CHAPTERS!

00:00 Meet Andrea Allen01:56 Winning World’s Best Coffee Shop04:19 Hugh Grant, Elon Musk and George Howell07:04 Building the Onyx Brand09:13 Why Arkansas?12:36 Opening a Café Outside a Major City14:58 Teaching Customers About Specialty Coffee18:23 Working With Jimmy Butler and BIGFACE23:47 Why Every Onyx Café Is Different26:10 The Onyx Ideas That Failed29:28 Inside Onyx at The Preserve33:11 Coffee as an Accessible Luxury36:05 How to Create Better Hospitality39:49 Doyenne and Women Coffee Producers47:17 Onyx Becomes a James Beard Nominee50:24 Changing the World Through Coffee51:28 What Coffee Transparency Really Means59:34 Andrea’s Advice for New Café Owners01:02:06 Andrea’s Favourite Coffee Shops01:04:31 Hot Take: The Mocha Is a Pro Move01:07:31 Industry Shout-Out: Niki Weegens

If you're new here (welcome), our show dives into some of the best coffee conversations on the internet, but we will always remind ourselves that at the end of the day, it’s just coffee!

Find Andrea and Onyx here:

Onyx Coffee Lab:https://onyxcoffeelab.com/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/onyxcoffeelab/

Want more coffee content?

IT'S JUST COFFEE:https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share

Want to get in touch?

Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com for any questions or comments.

Proudly sponsored by

APAX LAB:https://apaxlab.com/

Condesa Co.Lab:https://condesacolab.com.au/

Riverina Fresh:https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

Thanks for listening!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices