The Cupping Table - By M-Cultivo

In this episode of The Cupping Table, David Paparelli sits down with Roland Glew, the green coffee buyer at Ozone Coffee, to explore the intricate realities of global coffee sourcing. Roland shares deep insights from his travels to origins like Peru, Malawi, and Costa Rica, emphasizing how infrastructure and individual expertise can make or break the quality of a harvest and the reputation of a co...

In this episode of the Cupping Table podcast, David Paparelli sits down with Kenneth Barigye, the founder of Mountain Harvest and Chairman of the Uganda chapter of AFCA. Kenneth shares his unique journey of entering the coffee industry in 2017—tasting his very first cup of coffee only after founding his company—with a mission to challenge the global perception of Ugandan coffee quality. The conver...

In this special episode of The Cupping Table, M-Cultivo co-founder David Paparelli breaks down the "nuts and bolts" of the 2026 coffee auction season, specifically focusing on the unique hybrid format of the Dubai Coffee Auction. Following a record-breaking year in 2025 where coffee reached prices of $30,000 per kilo, David explains how the platform connects a global network of producers...

In this episode of The Cupping Table, David Paparelli sits down with José "Pocho" Gallardo, the visionary engineer behind the world-renowned Finca Nuguo in Panama. Pocho shares his unique perspective on what it takes to master high-altitude Geisha, detailing how his background in engineering informs his approach to coffee. They discuss the "magic" of the Panamanian coffee commu...

In this deep-dive interview, Mokhtar Alkhanshali explores the intersection of heritage, identity, and the high-stakes world of luxury coffee production at the Al-Khanshali Estate. As a self-described "third culture kid," Mokhtar discusses how his upbringing between San Francisco and Yemen allows him to act as a cultural translator, bridging ancient cultivation techniques with the modern...

In this episode, we are joined by Ratibor Hartmann and Tessie Palacios of Mi Finquita, a nine-hectare farm representing the third generation of the Hartmann family’s 100-year coffee legacy in Panama. We delve into their revolutionary approach to ultra-specialty coffee, focusing on their award-winning Chicho Gallo varietal—a unique Ethiopian discovery named in honor of Ratibor’s father. Ratibor and...

In this episode of The Cupping Table, David Paparelli sits down with Kraig Lee, the founder of Kona Farm Direct and a 30-year veteran of Hawaiian coffee farming. Fresh off a breakout year where his coffee sold for a record-breaking $910 per kilo at the Dubai coffee auction , Kraig shares the incredible journey behind Kona’s resurgence on the global stage. They dive deep into the fascinating story...

In this episode of The Cupping Table, David sits down with Raul Rivera, the visionary behind El Salvador’s legendary Finca Santa Rosa. Raul shares the emotional journey of taking over the family farm after his father's passing and transforming it into a four-time Cup of Excellence winner. They discuss how Raul applied his corporate background in economics to coffee production, his controversia...

In this episode, David sits down with Jay Ruskey, the founder of FRINJ Coffee, to discuss how he pioneered the California-grown coffee movement by transforming avocado groves into high-end coffee farms. Jay dives deep into the agronomy of coffee, explaining why stressing plants is actually a mistake, how California’s unique "latitude over altitude" climate produces distinct flavor profil...

In this episode of The Cupping Table, we sit down with Jorge Castro, Director of Production at Inmaculada Coffee Farms, to discuss how an industrial engineering background helped them produce some of the world's most successful competition coffees, including the legendary Eugenioides. Jorge reveals Inmaculada's data-driven approach to experimental processing, explains why metrics like Brix...

Join host David Paparelli as he sits down with Kevin Doyle, co-founder of the celebrated Colombian coffee farm, Mikava. Kevin shares the incredible journey of how a family "hobby" transformed into a world-record-breaking operation, securing a 92.71 Cup of Excellence win for a natural processed coffee. He details their "personal obsession with fermentation" , including an innova...

We're joined by Gabriel Agrelli, the Product and Marketing Development Director for Daterra in Brazil , a company he's been with for 16 years and one he calls a "driving force" in the Brazilian specialty coffee scene. Gabriel shares his unique journey, which started as a 13-year-old in a foundation run by the same family and grew into a "fast track" education in coffee,...

The Africa Fine Coffee Association (AFCA) is challenging the idea of a simple competition by relaunching Taste of Harvest as an event to celebrate the entire coffee community. AFCA Executive Director Gilbert Gatali joins The Cupping Table to discuss the vision for this continental platform and the importance of celebrating Africa's vast coffee diversity. He details how the ambition to honor ev...

Celebrating their 10th anniversary, Clearpath Coffee founder Vicente Mejia discusses the company's idealistic origins, which focused on creating a social impact by connecting remote Colombian producing families with the global market. We also talked about "new school" innovative processing (using technology and specialized methods) and "old school" tradition (focusing on te...

Finca Sophia defied skeptics by proving high-altitude Geisha farming was possible. Founding partners Willem Boot and David Pohl join The Cupping Table to discuss the 10-year waiting period and the immense risks involved in establishing an award-winning farm on the "very edge of what is possible" in Volcán, Panama. They detail how the ambition to produce coffee at unprecedented altitudes...

UK's 2025 Barista Champion, Will Woodhouse-Banks, details his four-year journey culminating in preparation for the World Barista Championship (WBC). The Innovation Developer at Taylor's of Harrogate and evolved Q Grader competes not just for the title, but also for professional growth and to honor the trusted, long-term relationships he has built with coffee producers. Fresh off his UK vic...

For the last 25 years Longboard Coffee has produced beautiful Panamanian coffees. Justin Boudeman founded Longboard through a love of Panama and a love of surfing. Over the years he took an unconventional, meticulous approach to coffee farming, that emphasized the authentic expression of the terroir. Justin sadly passed away recently. His legacy has been carried forward by his daughters Sophia and...

Why do certain coffees get extraordinary prices? In this episode of The Cupping Table our co-founder, David Paparelli, discusses auction buying trends. The recording was done in 2024 at the Producer Roaster Forum in Guatemala. The next Producer Roaster Forum is in El Salvador in March 2026 for all interested in attending.

Enrique Navarro is a fourth generation coffee producer in Costa Rica. In this episode we discuss the evolution of the Costa Rican specialty coffee industry, the history of Monte Copey, and the innovation that Enrique is bringing to his micro mill to carry on his family's legacy.

Tamiru Tadesse founded Alo Coffee in 2020 and won Cup of Excellence in 2021. In this episode Tamiru shares his experience starting strong and navigating the complexities of Ethiopian coffee. From community to the processing methods to the cupping table to the market, Alo strives towards excellence.

Wilford Lamastus Jr. is the next generation at Lamastus Family Estates. Lamastus sold a coffee last year for $13k USD per kilogram. It takes more than excellent quality coffee to get to that price. In this episode Wilford Jr. shares his experience in the Best of Panama competition, the future of his family's estates, and his vision for the emerging luxury class of coffee.

Julith and Hacienda La Esmeralda meet for the first time in this episode. An interesting conversation on any day, but Julith and Esmeralda just made history. Serkan of Julith won Rachel Peterson and the Esmeralda team's geisha washed, the best coffee ever produced, on auction for $30k USD per kilogram for a total purchase of over $600k USD for just 20 kilograms of coffee. This breaks the previ...

21 years ago Hacienda La Esmeralda became synonymous with Geisha coffee. Rachel tells the remarkable story of what led to Esmeralda's historic "Triple Crown" victory at the Best of Panama competition. For the first time, a single farm won first place for its Natural, Washed, and varietal coffees, building on the Peterson family's legacy in specialty coffee production.

From a challenging start to a world-renowned Gesha Forest, Max Perez of Finca La Hermosa shares his story of passion, perseverance, and pioneering innovation in Guatemalan coffee.

"What if we do this ourselves?" Adam Overton and Rachel Samuel, the visionary founders of Gesha Village, walk us through their journey from documentary filmmakers to pioneering coffee producers. Their passion and insight come through in this episode of The Cupping Table. Their journey captures the beauty, quality, and community of the remote Ethiopian forrest that became Gesha Village.