The Coffee Smarter Podcast

Anu Menon is the Co-Founder of Driftaway Coffee Roasters. Along with their partner, they've been running the business in Brooklyn, NY since 2014. A lot has changed in Specialty coffee since then, including Driftaway being named Roast Magazine's 2026 Roaster of the Year. Find online at: ⁠⁠⁠https://driftaway.coffee/ The full episode dropped May 21, 2026. Recorded at CoffeeFest NYC in March 2...

Coffee Smarter with Jean Brillman, the Co-Founder of White Horse Coffee Roasters in Jenkintown, PA. She was our very first guest at our Coffeefest NYC 2026 pop-up podcasting session, and game to chat about her path into entrepreneurship, advice for someone opening a coffee shop, and how a love for the equestrian community turned her into a coffee-preneur. The full episode dropped March 25, 2026, a...

Josh Taves is the Founder of Dialed Coffee Services based in Grand Rapids Michigan. He shares some Coffee Smarter advice on small business marketing.. The full episode dropped March 4, 2026. Watch and subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠ @coffeepeoplepodcasts ⁠⁠⁠ for more context, subscribe to the Coffee People podcast newsletter at: https://www.coffeepeoplepodcast.com/. Find online at: ⁠https://dialedcoffeeservices....

Will Reif is the Founder and President of Roastar Coffee Packaging. He joined the Coffee People podcast to share his journey into coffee thru entrepreneurship, a lot of advice for leading a business, and in this video he shares some Coffee Smarter advice for entrepreneurs. The full episode dropped February 11, 2026. Watch and subscribe to  @coffeepeoplepodcasts  for for more context, subscribe to...

Jing Lin is the Founder of Coffee Confessionals. We ask her to help us Coffee Smarter. Coffee Confessionals is a Hollywood, CA cafe that focuses on more than the coffee and food they serve. They also encourage customer engagement. Their motto is Spill The Beans!. Conversations starter cards dot the tables, and the space is used to host interactive events, including panels, comedy nights, and open...

Jared Hales is the CoFounder of Hacea Coffee Source, a green coffee importer based in Anaheim, CA and with an outpost in Portland, OR. Jared joins the Coffee Smarter podcast to educate and advise us on all things coffee industry. During this session we cover green coffee contracts and contract terminology, green coffee moisture content standards, customizing a cupping plan for a coffee roaster, wh...

Advice from Grant Gamble and Suneal Pabari, the Co-Founders of Leaderboard: The Coffee Game (Toronto). Leaderboard is a worldwide tasting game that prizes both the educational and communal experience of coffee. Find Online: ⁠https://leaderboard.coffee/ • ⁠ ⁠@leaderboardcoffee⁠ Coffee People is presented by Roastar, Inc., the premier coffee packaging company utilizing digital printing. Roastar enab...

Advice for coffee people from Chuck Patton, the Founder, Head Roaster, and namesake of Chuck's Roast Coffee (San Diego, CA) and Patton Coffee Consultancy. His new ventures focus on roasting excellence, offering coffee education, and providing advice for burgeoning and established coffee businesses. Chuck is also known for founding the iconic Bird Rock Coffee Roasters. He joined the Coffee Peop...

Sage advice on starting a coffee business and coffee roasting from Swelter Coffee's Founder and Head Roaster Stephanie Walter-Krause. Find more coffee content in our newsletter on Substack at ⁠⁠roastwestcoast.com⁠⁠ . A special thanks to our presenting sponsor Roastar, Inc. They are focused on coffee packaging. They enable small and burgeoning coffee businesses tell their big story. Learn more...

Cropster's Erick Armbrust joins the podcast to introduce us to Cropster Cafe software, and discuss the merits of art vs. software enable consistency in roasting. Learn more at ⁠Cropster.com⁠ , and find more coffee content in our newsletter on Substack at ⁠roastwestcoast.com⁠ . Shout out to Roastar, the premier digital printing company focused on coffee packaging. Roastar helps small and burgeoning...

Cropster's Erick Armbrust joins the podcast to introduce himself and Cropster's original Roast software. Learn more at Cropster.com , and find more coffee content in our newsletter on Substack at roastwestcoast.com . Shout out to Roastar, the premier digital printing company focused on coffee packaging. Roastar helps small and burgeoning coffee businesses tell a big story. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Hacea Coffee Source's Jared Hales rejoins the podcast to answer share thoughts on the recent dockworker strike's impact on coffee. We chatted hours before it was resolved! Buy Green Coffee or Sign Up for a Coffee Class online: ⁠⁠⁠https://haceacoffee.com/⁠ Shout out to Roastar, the premier digital printing company focused on coffee packaging. Roastar helps small and burgeoning coffee businesses tel...

Hacea Coffee Source's Jared Hales rejoins the podcast to answer some pressing questions, like Does my brewer need to be level and How accurate should my scale be? Buy Green Coffee or Sign Up for a Coffee Class online: ⁠⁠https://haceacoffee.com/ Shout out to Roastar, the premier digital printing company focused on coffee packaging. Roastar helps small and burgeoning coffee businesses tell a big sto...

Hacea Coffee Source asked me to join four CQI Q-Graders to judge their recent roasting competition. Each competitor blind roasted a blend of three green coffee beans (Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia). We cupped all of them. Winner details on the Hacea Coffee Source blog. Find online: ⁠https://haceacoffee.com/blogs/roasting/results-from-first-hacea-roasting-championship⁠ Coffee People is presented by Ro...

First published on Coffee Smarter Pro: Alvin Kim is our guest coffee expert. He is the marketing manager for the Baratza which is part of the Breville group. Head to ⁠baratza.com⁠ to see the full line-up of coffee grinders they offer, from the Encore to the Forte they’ve got a grinder suited for the coffee enthusiast to the cafe countertop. And if you have a grinder question, reach out to Baratza...

Find our In Case You Missed it Newsletter here: ⁠https://open.substack.com/pub/roastwestcoast/p/in-case-you-missed-it-coffee-smarter⁠ Learn more & subscribe to the R!WC newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠coffeesmarterpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . BUY US A CUP OF COFFEE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/roastwestcoast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thanks for all your support! The Coffee Smarter Pro podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Roasta...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to the Coffee Smarter Podcast hosted by Ryan Woldt. In the 4th episode of Coffee Smarter Season 3, Chris O'Brien of Coffee Cycle Roasting and I chat about how those of us buying coffee to brew at home can communicate with our local coffee roasters, and learn from each other. The goal of this show is to enable you to brew a better cup of coffee at home. Check out the R!W...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to the Coffee Smarter Podcast hosted by Ryan Woldt. In the 3rd episode of Coffee Smarter Season 3, Chris O'Brien of Coffee Cycle Roasting and I discuss making milk alternatives to add to our coffees at-home. Apologies to the cows. The goal of this show is to enable you to brew a better cup of coffee at home. Check out the R!WC Brewer issue of the newsletter at this link:...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to the Coffee Smarter Podcast hosted by Ryan Woldt. In the second episode of Coffee Smarter Season 3, Chris O'Brien of Coffee Cycle Roasting and I discuss brewing espresso at-home...again. This time when using or shopping for an automatic espresso brewer. We discuss single versus double-boilers, all-in-one machines, and more. The goal of this show is to enable you to brew...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to the Coffee Smarter Podcast hosted by Ryan Woldt. In the first episode of Coffee Smarter Season 3, Chris O'Brien of Coffee Cycle Roasting and I discuss brewing espresso at-home. The goal of this show is to enable you to brew a better cup of coffee at home. Check out the R!WC Brewer issue of the newsletter at this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.roastwestcoast.c...

The Coffee Smarter Podcast is on break. In its place, enjoy this episode of Coffee People hosted by Ryan Woldt. Former pro snowboarder Nick Visconti, founder of Drink Coffee. Do Stuff in South Lake Tahoe, CA joins the podcast to share his coffee journey. Be sure to follow Coffee People wherever you're listening to this podcast! Coffee People is presented by Roastar.com Support this show by SUB...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to the Coffee Smarter Podcast hosted by Ryan Woldt. In the last episode of Coffee Smarter Season 2, Chris O'Brien of Coffee Cycle Roasting and I recap some of our top coffee brewing tips from the first two seasons of the podcast. The goal of this show is to enable you to brew a better cup of coffee at home. Check out the R!WC Brewer issue of the newsletter at this link: ⁠⁠⁠...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to the Coffee Smarter Podcast hosted by Ryan Woldt. In this episode, Chris O'Brien of Coffee Cycle Roasting and I discuss adding milk and milk alternatives to our delicious cups of coffee. The goal of this show is to enable you to brew a better cup of coffee at home. Check out the R!WC Brewer issue of the newsletter at this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.roastwestcoast....

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to the Coffee Smarter Podcast hosted by Ryan Woldt. In this episode, Chris O'Brien of Coffee Cycle Roasting and I discuss adding sugar and sweeteners to our delicious cups of coffee. The goal of this show is to enable you to brew a better cup of coffee at home. Check out the R!WC Brewer issue of the newsletter at this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.roastwestcoast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Welcome to the Coffee Smarter Podcast hosted by Ryan Woldt. In this episode, Chris O'Brien of Coffee Cycle Roasting and I discuss hand grinding coffee. The goal of this show is to enable you to brew a better cup of coffee at home. Check out the R!WC Brewer issue of the newsletter at this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.roastwestcoast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Support this show by SUBSCRIBIN...