Episode 43: Why is regenerative coffee farming the future? A conversation with Lalo Perez from Biofilia
In this episode, I sit down with Lalo Perez to talk about biological agriculture and how it differs from conventional coffee farming.
Lalo begins by sharing his background in coffee, and how a frustrating remark, that there is no good coffee from Mexico, sparked his journey into biological agriculture and led to the founding of his company, Biofilia.
We discuss what biological agriculture actually means, why it is needed, and how coffee farming must evolve in response to climate change. Lalo explains how farmers can make the shift in a practical and meaningful way, with a strong focus on bringing life back into the soil.
We also speak about the commitment I have made to the farmers we work with: within ten years, all the coffee I purchase must be grown biologically without the use of harmful fertilizers and agrochemicals.
All of them have agreed to take part in this transition, and we have launched pilot trials on six farms as part of what we call the "TW Biological Project". In these trials, we compare biological and conventional farming practices side by side in order to assess their impact over a three-year period.
Lalo and his team at Biofilia are key partners in this project, and we are working closely with them to implement trials on all the farms we collaborate with.
We talk about the changes we hope to see, and how we are working together to reach our long-term goals.
Music by my uncle, Jens Wendelboe.
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Episode 42: Our 10-Year Plan for Regenerative Coffee Farming - A Conversation with Maren Myhre Gullvik
The biggest project we are working on right now is what we call our "TW Biological Project". Our goal is that all the farms we buy from in 10 years will be practising regenerative and biological farming. We are currently testing this on six farms in latin-America, where we are comparing biological farming techniquea to how they are currently working (conventional farming) on two similar areas of each farm to see what the results will be within three years. We are discussing the results we expect and how we plan to work to reach our goal.
In this episode, I sit down with Maren from our team. Maren has worked with us since 2021, having previously worked as both a barista and a coffee roaster, before moving to Italy to complete her Master's degree in local development. She has now finished her degree and is currently our project coordinator for sustainability. She is leading the development of our sustainability strategy and works closely with me and the farmers we buy from.
We talk about regenerative agriculture, what it means and why it could be the future of coffee. We discuss topics such as biological farming vs conventional farming, sustainable consumption, greenwashing, certifications in coffee, climate change effects , and labour on coffee farms.
One of Maren's main focus right now is EUDR (European Union Deforestation Regulation). The main objective of the regulation is to uncover potential cases of deforestation related to coffee production, and end the supply of products on the European market that has contributed to deforestation. We need to map and have an overview of the farms we work with to verify whether or not deforestation or forest degradation has taken place, which is a lot of work – even for us, as we only work with a handful of coffee farmers.
Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.
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Episode 41: Coffee in Kenya - A conversation with Stephen Vick
In this episode, I sit down with my good friend Stephen Vick during my recent visit to Kenya. Stephen shares his journey in the coffee industry, which began in Oregon, USA, and has since brought him to Kenya. Together, we reflect on how the industry has evolved over the more than twenty years we have both been a part of it.
Stephen works for the Danish Coop, a grocery store chain in Scandinavia. He oversees their roasting and export of roasted coffee from Kenya to Scandinavia. He explains how his work in Kenya operates and the impact of exporting roasted coffee as opposed to unroasted coffee makes locally.
We talk about the supportive barista community in Nairobi, where sharing knowledge has become more common and important for growth. We also discuss robusta coffee and the increasing interest in experimenting with new cultivars.
Additionally, we talk about the rise of organically certified coffees in Kenya, which is still relatively rare but showing promising growth. Finally, Stephen shares what excites him most about the future of Kenyan coffee and the local coffee community.
Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.
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Episode 40: 2024 - A Coffee Year in Review
In this episode, I sit down with Ben Symes, our wholesale manager, to reflect on the highlights of 2024.
We discuss our favourite coffees of the year, including the washed coffee from Tatmara and the Java from Finca Tamana, as well as developments on the farms we work with. Tim also shares insights from the farmer symposium he held in Honduras and our plans to help convert all the farms we work with to biological farming practices.
This year brought many memorable experiences, such as time spent in Kenya with Klaus Thomsen, our pop-up at the Coffee Collective in Denmark, the Ljubljana Coffee Festival with James Hoffmann, and a special dinner at Noma to mark the close of our chapter with them.
Being recognised as the best roastery by Roastful was a standout moment, made possible by the dedication of our team across every aspect of the business, from roasting and packaging to serving in the espresso bar and managing orders. But we would not be where we are without the hard work and dedication that all the coffee producers we buy from put in every year.
Finally, we reflect on what it means to be the "Best Roaster" and look ahead to 2025 with new harvests and plans.
Join us for a review of 2024 and a look at what is to come.
Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.
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Episode 39 - Q&A Part 2 - We answer questions from our followers. With Ben Symes & Tim.
In this episode, I am joined by our Wholesale Manager, Ben Symes, to answer your questions.
This is the second part of our Q&A podcast episode, where we answer questions sent in by our followers. In this episode, we focus on your questions about brewing, as well as other topics such as coffee buying and origin.
Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.
New Zealand