Tim Wendelboe Podcast

This episode was recorded "live" from the C. Dorman cupping lab while Tim was in Kenya in January in order to taste and select coffees for purchasing.

Like many of our listeners and followers already know, we prefer to work directly with farmers over years in order to improve the quality of their coffees and their farms.  Due to how the Kenyan coffee industry is organised, it is the only origin we buy from where we do not have a direct relationship with a single farmer.  

This is because the majority of the best coffees are coming from smallholder farmers who sell their coffee cherries to co-operatives, where the coffees are bulked together for processing and drying.

Buying coffees in Kenya is therefore a bit different to what we are used to and Tim visits Kenya on an annual basis in order to taste through hundreds of coffee samples to make his selection every year. 

Listen in on Tim's thoughts around Kenyan coffee quality and how he approaches buying coffees in Kenya.

As the year comes to a close, I sit down with Ben Symes, our wholesale manager, to reflect on 2025 and look back on what has made this year special.

In this episode, we talk about the farms we work with around the world, reflect on the 2025 harvests, the coffees that stood out to us, and the relationships we continue to build with the people who produce our coffees. We also share highlights from our projects this year, including our biological farming initiative, producing long-format films from the farms, and following the achievements of our team.

Alongside the farms, we look back on experiences that made 2025 memorable: being recognized 5th on the 100 Best Coffee Shops list, celebrating Stephanie’s 15-year anniversary and Ben’s 10 years with the company, traveling to inspiring coffee events and destinations, and, for the third year in a row, receiving the Sprudgie Award for Best Coffee Podcast, an achievement we are truly grateful for and could not have done without the support of our listeners.

Above all, we want to thank you for supporting us. Every day we strive to make the coffees we roast and share as good as they can be, and we look forward to sharing more great coffee experiences with you in 2026.

In this second episode with Tom Hopkinson, Head of Coffee and Customer Success at ROEST, we continue our conversation about roasting, technology, and the development of modern sample roasters. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, we recommend starting there to get the full story of Tom’s background and the origins of our collaboration with ROEST.

 

In Part 2, we dive deeper into how roasting practices have evolved, the challenges and possibilities of automation, and the way ROEST approaches innovation in both hardware and software. Tom shares his perspective on where roasting technology is heading, what roasters still misunderstand, and how better tools can lead to better coffee.

 

Tune in if you are interested in roasting, sample roasters, and the future of coffee technology.

 

Learn more about ROEST on their website here: https://www.roestcoffee.com/

 

Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.

In this first of two episodes, I sit down with Tom Hopkinson, Head of Coffee and Customer Success at ROEST, and dive deep in to coffee roasting. Tom found his way into coffee by opening a café with no experience at all. The café lasted less than a year, but his fascination for coffee only grew. He went on to work at Prufrock, where he learned the fundamentals of coffee, before moving to Dublin to focus on roasting. Later, he continued his journey in Berlin, working with The Barn and Five Elephant, and writing courses and educational content for Barista Hustle. Two years ago, Tom decided to settle down and moved to Norway to join ROEST.

My collaboration with ROEST began about 12 years ago, when one of the founders, Sverre, presented his master thesis to me and Morten Wennersgaard (of Nordic Approach.) Sverre's goal was to develop a 1 kg home roaster, but both Morten and I did not see a commercial need for a roaster like that. At the time, we were both frustrated with the limitations of the traditional sample roasters in the market and wanted to contribute to the development of something better. We therefore recommended Sverre to develop a modern sample roaster. Some years later the p100 sample roaster was launched in the market and it has been a huge success ever since.

In this episode, Tom and I talk about how the ROEST sample roasters have evolved from those early prototypes to what they are today. We discuss the technological improvements, the shift from manual to more automated processes, and how these innovations have made consistency in roasting more achievable than ever before. Tom also shares his perspective on what sets ROEST apart from other sample roasters and how the company has helped influence the wider roasting industry.

Tune in if you are interested in roasting, roaster technology, and the thinking behind one of the most influential sample roasters in today’s coffee world.

This is Part 1 of 2, and Part 2 is coming soon.

Learn more about ROEST on their website here: https://www.roestcoffee.com/

Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.

In this episode, I sit down with Benjamin Paz, a coffee producer from Santa Bárbara, Honduras, and one of the key people behind San Vicente, a coffee exporting company working with over 600 producers in Honduras. His role is to connect producers with buyers, helping to build lasting and healthy relationships that allow both farmers and roasters to grow together.

Benjamin’s family has been in coffee since the 1950s, but it was through the Cup of Excellence that they became closely tied to the specialty coffee world. He has since won the competition twice himself, in 2022 and 2024, and continues to inspire producers with his belief that hard work makes anything possible.

In our conversation, Benjamin talks about the challenges producers are facing today, from unpredictable weather to pests appearing in new areas, and the importance of keeping workers in the country to secure the future of coffee production. He explains the role of the “middleman” in specialty coffee – helping farmers improve their processing, define a strategy for their farms, and find long-term buyers.

Benjamin also shares his personal reasons for buying his own farm, running a coffee shop, and starting a roastery – to truly understand the producers’ perspective and to bring the benefits back to the community.

Looking ahead, Benjamin is also part of our TW Biological Project and our ten-year plan to transition all the farms we work with towards regenerative agriculture. His farm is one of the pilot sites where we are already seeing promising results: reduced costs, renewed excitement among workers, and a clearer picture of what the land needs in terms of shade trees and biodiversity. With Benjamin’s involvement, we hope this knowledge can spread further in Santa Bárbara, creating a stronger and more sustainable coffee community.

 

Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.