Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries

Why was decaf so bad for so long, and why is good decaf still so hard to find? In the final episode of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, we go inside a decaffeination plant in Veracruz, Mexico, to see what it actually takes to pull the caffeine out of a coffee bean, and why a farm needs around 50 hectares before single-origin decaf starts to make sense. 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 Beans Filter Stories: How to Be a Better Taster 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: Gerrit Peters — 19grams / Grownd, Berlin, Germany Óscar Hernández — Finca Nogales, Pitalito, Huila, Colombia Óscar Hernández — Finca Nogales Instagram Pablo Salazar — Cafeología, Chiapas, Mexico Carlos Rendón — Finca Kassandra, Veracruz, Mexico Sergio de la Vequia — Mexico Demetrio Arandia, Daniel Robles and Ignacio Martínez — Descamex, Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico Melissa de Gasperín — Rancho San Felipe, Veracruz, Mexico Ernesto Pérez Orea — Grupo Cafetalero APG, Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico Communal Coffee — Berlin, Germany Resources: James Hoffmann's Decaf Project Photo of the raw caffeine at Descamex (James's Instagram) NCA National Coffee Data Trends 2025 Perfect Daily Grind: Does decaf deserve better? Lucia's Fermentation Training Camp Coffees cupped before and after Descamex's Mountain Water Process: Brazil Sierra Negra, Peru SHB, Mexican SHG RFA, Colombian Organic JAS, Sumatra Mandailing G1, Ethiopia Sidamo G2 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 Use 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. Elevate your cafe's menu with Prana Chai: whole leaf tea sourced direct from farmers, blended with fresh whole spices, sweetened with honey. Request a sample here. Support Filter Stories at Ko-Fi.com/FilterStories

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 More Filter Stories: Freshness and Grinding, Pt 1 (oxidation, diffusion and how to store coffee) 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: Ronald de Hommel — The Coffee Quest Paulino Quintero — Huila, Colombia Gilberto Baraona — Los Pirineos, Usulutan, El Salvador Marvin Tala — Engineering Department head, GrainPro Philippines Hazel Valera — COO, GrainPro Philippines Resources: GrainPro hermetic bags, container liners NKG / GrainPro bag recycling How to Protect Coffee Against Container Rain Data loggers 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 Use 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. Elevate your cafe's menu with Prana Chai: whole leaf tea sourced direct from farmers, blended with fresh whole spices, sweetened with honey. Request a sample here. Support Filter Stories at Ko-Fi.com/FilterStories

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 More Filter Stories: Freshness and Grinding, Pt 1 (oxidation, diffusion and how to store coffee) 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: Orlando Osorio — La Primavera, Huila, Colombia Thai Dang — 96B Cafe and Roastery, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Flávio Borém — UFLA, Brazil Resources: Perforated harvest baskets/crates GrainPro Collapsible Dryer Case Dryer PDF (full spec table) Borém's intermittent drying research 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 Use 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. Elevate your cafe's menu with Prana Chai: whole leaf tea sourced direct from farmers, blended with fresh whole spices, sweetened with honey. Request a sample here. Support Filter Stories at Ko-Fi.com/FilterStories

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 Beans Filter Stories: How to Be a Better Taster Filter 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 Salvador Paulino Quintero — Huila, Colombia Jesús Antonio Chala — Finca El Silencio, Colombia Thompson Owen — Sweet Maria's Coffee, USA Lahari Balireddi — ASG Coffee, Kenya Manuel Barsallo — Agrícola Geisha, Panama Lorenz Haschka — BWT water+more Resources: Video: How to Make Cold Brew Physical Coffee Diary Digital App: Coffee Brew Log Digital App: Tasting Notes Sweet Maria's guide to roasting in a pan or popper, with video Sweet Maria's roasting on a pan or popper tip sheet Sweet Maria's air popper resources and video Filter Stories guide: Roasting your own coffee (English) Guía de Filter Stories: Cómo tostar tu propio café (en español) Guide to getting a good sample roast Video: How to Cup Coffee at Home SCA Cupping Workshop Video: How to use an Alkalinity Dropper Kit Buy a water test kit SCA Water Control Chart Water calculator to adjust alkalinity Make your Own Water for Coffee Video: Make your own water for coffee BWT bestmax PREMIUM (under-sink option) BWT bestbarista ROC COFFEE PDFs of CVA Form in 7 languages The SCA Coffee Value Assessment, Extrinsic Criteria List Digital App: Catador Digital: 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 Use 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. Elevate your cafe's menu with Prana Chai: whole leaf tea sourced direct from farmers, blended with fresh whole spices, sweetened with honey. Request a sample here. Support Filter Stories at Ko-Fi.com/FilterStories

This episode is a practical guide to tasting coffee, sample roasting and judging quality, built for small producers on a tight budget. That makes it just as useful if you’re early in your coffee journey and want to learn the basics without spending thousands on equipment, starting with a frying pan or a $30 popcorn popper. If you work in coffee, it reveals the obstacles producers face when they try to discuss quality on equal terms with buyers in the global north. 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 Beans Filter Stories: How to Be a Better Taster Filter 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 Salvador Paulino Quintero — Huila, Colombia Jesús Antonio Chala — Finca El Silencio, Colombia Thompson Owen — Sweet Maria's Coffee, USA Lahari Balireddi — ASG Coffee, Kenya Manuel Barsallo — Agrícola Geisha, Panama Lorenz Haschka — BWT water+more Resources: Video: How to Make Cold Brew Physical Coffee Diary Digital App: Coffee Brew Log Digital App: Tasting Notes Sweet Maria's guide to roasting in a pan or popper, with video Sweet Maria's roasting on a pan or popper tip sheet Sweet Maria's air popper resources and video Filter Stories guide: Roasting your own coffee (English) Guía de Filter Stories: Cómo tostar tu propio café (en español) Guide to getting a good sample roast Video: How to Cup Coffee at Home SCA Cupping Workshop Video: How to use an Alkalinity Dropper Kit Buy a water test kit SCA Water Control Chart Water calculator to adjust alkalinity Make your Own Water for Coffee Video: Make your own water for coffee BWT bestmax PREMIUM (under-sink option) BWT bestbarista ROC COFFEE PDFs of CVA Form in 7 languages The SCA Coffee Value Assessment, Extrinsic Criteria List Digital App: Catador Digital: 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 Use 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. Elevate your cafe's menu with Prana Chai: whole leaf tea sourced direct from farmers, blended with fresh whole spices, sweetened with honey. Request a sample here. Support Filter Stories at Ko-Fi.com/FilterStories