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Making Coffee with Lucia Solis

Making Coffee with Lucia Solis

Written by: Lucia
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About this listen

A behind the scenes look at what goes into making one of the world's favorite beverages. Lucia is a former winemaker turned coffee processing specialist. She consults with coffee growers and producers all over the world giving her a unique perspective into the what it takes to get a coffee from a seed to your cup.

© 2026 Making Coffee with Lucia Solis Art Cooking Food & Wine Science
Episodes
  • The Coffee Producer Toolkit #8: Decaf

    The Coffee Producer Toolkit #8: Decaf
    Nov 9 2026
    Support the show on Patreon to help us keep making new episodes.In this eighth episode, we give you a practical manual to take your coffee into the fast-growing market for decaf.We look at what it takes to decaffeinate coffee yourself on the farm. Then, we take you inside the Descamex plant in Veracruz, Mexico, to see how the Mountain Water Process works at scale, from steaming and osmosis to slow drying and in-house caffeine testing.We cover what decaffeination does to flavor: a mellowing of intensity, aromas that sometimes come forward, harsh coffees softened, and a "spa effect" that can bring tired, baggy coffee back to life. We also look at which of your lots to send first, and which to keep away from decaf.And we finish with the practical stuff: five-tonne minimum batches and why you should find your buyer before you commit, sharing a container and splitting a lot across smaller buyers, booking six to nine months ahead, what it costs, and why you should pass that cost on rather than swallow it.Hosted by coffee journalist James Harper (Filter Stories podcast) and fermentation specialist Lucia Solis (Making Coffee with Lucia Solis podcast), it's built for farmers who want to run their farm like the business it is.Over two years we interviewed 50+ producers and experts across 20 countries. Each episode takes one part of the business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are doing.Related podcast episodes:James:Filter Stories: How Heat Transforms Coffee BeansFilter Stories: How to Be a Better TasterFollow us through our newsletters and Social media:Lucia’s NewsletterJames’s NewsletterLucia InstagramJames’ Filter Stories InstagramPeople mentioned in the episode:Gerrit Peters — 19grams / Grownd, Berlin, GermanyÓscar Hernández — Finca Nogales, Pitalito, Huila, ColombiaÓscar Hernández — Finca Nogales InstagramPablo Salazar — Cafeología, Chiapas, MexicoCarlos Rendón — Finca Kassandra, Veracruz, MexicoSergio de la Vequia — MexicoDemetrio Arandia, Daniel Robles and Ignacio Martínez — Descamex, Córdoba, Veracruz, MexicoMelissa de Gasperín — Rancho San Felipe, Veracruz, MexicoErnesto Pérez Orea — Grupo Cafetalero APG, Coatepec, Veracruz, MexicoCommunal Coffee — Berlin, GermanyResources:James Hoffmann's Decaf ProjectPhoto of the raw caffeine at Descamex (James's Instagram)NCA National Coffee Data Trends 2025Perfect Daily Grind: Does decaf deserve better?Lucia's Fermentation Training CampCoffees 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 G2Cover Art: Nick HafnerThe Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:The Coffee Quest | BWT | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainProSupport the showSupport the show
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    49 mins
  • The Coffee Producer Toolkit #7: Storage

    The Coffee Producer Toolkit #7: Storage
    Oct 26 2026
    Support the show on Patreon to help us keep making new episodes.In this seventh episode, we give you a practical manual to protect the quality you've worked so hard to create, all the way from the coffee tree to the export container.During picking, we look at why heavy jute sacks crush and heat your cherries, and why smaller, ventilated, stackable baskets protect both your fruit and your workers.On the drying patio, we cover what unseasonal rain does to your parchment, from mould to faster fading, and compare plastic tarps with a collapsible dryer that zips shut. We also hear what Flávio Borém's research says about multi-phase drying.Once the coffee leaves the farm, we follow it through warehouses, ports and shipping containers. We hear what happens to jute sacks at the port of Cartagena, explain why regular plastic sacks aren’t good enough to protect coffee and how GrainPro's multi-layer bags block both oxygen and moisture. And we finish with the money: what hermetic bags cost, how to clean and reuse them, and why you should build their cost into your price when a buyer asks you for a micro-lot.The Coffee Producer Toolkit is the podcast that helps you run a more profitable coffee farm.Hosted by coffee journalist James Harper (Filter Stories podcast) and fermentation specialist Lucia Solis (Making Coffee with Lucia Solis podcast), it's built for farmers who want to run their farm like the business it is.Over two years we interviewed 50+ producers and experts across 20 countries. Each episode takes one part of the business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are 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)People 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 loggersFollow us through our newsletters and Social media:Lucia’s NewsletterJames’s NewsletterLucia InstagramJames’ Filter Stories InstagramCover Art: Nick HafnerThe Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:The Coffee Quest | BWT | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainProSupport the showSupport the show
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    43 mins
  • The Coffee Producer Toolkit #6: Quality Control

    The Coffee Producer Toolkit #6: Quality Control
    Oct 12 2026
    Support the show on Patreon to help us keep making new episodes.In this sixth episode, we give you a practical manual to judge your own coffee quality, so you can negotiate with buyers on a level playing field.We start with the simplest step of all: drinking your own coffee. We cover how to brew and taste it, how to build a catalogue of its flavours, and why tasting your neighbours' coffees in a monthly tasting club gives you negotiating power.Then we look at sample roasting, and why a producer's goal is consistency rather than the perfect roast. With help from Thompson Owen of Sweet Maria's, we go from roasting in a pan, to a $30 popcorn popper, to top-end sample roasters, and lay out the basics of a consistent roast: weight, moisture loss, time and your own senses.We spend a good part of the episode on water, the most overlooked factor in how your coffee tastes on the cupping table. We start with a blind test at World of Coffee Geneva, where the same coffee tasted completely different just by changing the water. Then we explain alkalinity, how to test it with an inexpensive drip kit and what range to aim for, and we compare the options for getting good water on your farm: bottled water, distilled water with mineral sachets, under-sink filtration, and a full system that matches what your buyers use.And we finish with grading. How to use the Coffee Value Assessment to describe your coffee in the same language as your buyers and why you should always get more than one independent opinion on your quality.The Coffee Producer Toolkit is the podcast that helps you run a more profitable coffee farm.Hosted by coffee journalist James Harper (Filter Stories podcast) and fermentation specialist Lucia Solis (Making Coffee with Lucia Solis podcast), it's built for farmers who want to run their farm like the business it is.Over two years we interviewed 50+ producers and experts across 20 countries. Each episode takes one part of the business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are 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 StepPeople 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, PanamaLawrence — BWTResources: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 browserFollow us through our newsletters and Social media:Lucia’s NewsletterJames’s NewsletterLucia InstagramJames’ Filter Stories InstagramCover Art: Nick HafnerThe Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:The Coffee Quest | BWT | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainProSupport the showSupport the show
    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
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