In this episode, Kenneth sits down with Rob Hoos of Iteration Coffee and Hoos Coffee Consulting. He is a coffee roasting consultant who has visited numerous coffee farms during his career. Today, he provides insight into what modern coffee farming is like. Rob speaks about the different coffee farming business models he has seen. Everything from harvesting coffee from wild bushes to running huge heavily mechanized farms.
They also discuss some of the challenges the farmers face. Including dealing with diseases, and pests and gaining and maintaining organic certification. As well as talking about the challenge of making sure that those who work in the industry are not exploited by having to work long hours for little pay.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Many coffee farmers still run small farms. Some even pick it from wild trees.
In places, farmers take small batches of coffee to a central processing point or a co-operative facility.
There are also large-scale, highly mechanized farms in every country.
In many areas, people are still working for little pay. Specialty coffee is helping to change that.
Fighting disease and pests is expensive and can negatively impact the quality of the product.
Naturally dried coffee has a nicer flavor profile.

 
BEST MOMENTS
‘For example, harvesting coffee in Ethiopia where they don´t even necessarily own the trees. ´
‘Specialty coffee …. saves coffee farmers by giving them better pricing.’
‘Coffee is actually more nuanced than wine.’
 
EPISODE RESOURCES
Iteration Coffee: http://iteration.coffee/
Hoos Coffee: http://hoos.coffee/
Contact Rob of Hoos Coffee: rob@hoos.coffee
Angel´s Cup Coffee: https://angelscup.com/
 
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Award-winning single-origin specialty coffee: https://umblecoffee.com/
 
You’re disciplined and high achieving. You never settle. Shouldn’t the fuel that helps you reach your goals be held to those same standards? Instead of a crash-inducing cup of jo, you need coffee with optimal antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. A coffee so good that you can drink it black.
At Umble Coffee, we only roast specialty-grade arabica coffee from around the world with cupping scores 84 and above. Don’t sabotage yourself in pursuing your goals - drink coffee that tastes better and is better for you. No crash, great taste, and better long-term health benefits. That’s Umble Coffee. 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/umblecoffee/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/umblecoffee/
Twitter:  https://mobile.twitter.com/umblecoffee
 
ABOUT THE HOST
As a coffee lover, physician, chemical engineer, serial entrepreneur, competitive runner, writer, and family man, Kenneth knows what it’s like to push yourself to achieve goals very few accomplish. He’s one of the best specialty coffee roasters in the United States as he’s a multi-year US Coffee Roasters’ Competition Finalist. He created Umble Coffee Co with the belief that, if sourced and roasted right, coffee can taste phenomenal and be good for you.
“Life’s too short to drink bad coffee.”
 
CONTACT METHOD
Want to reach Kenneth? Have questions, show ideas, or want to just let us know you’re enjoying the show? The best way is to leave us a great review and put your thoughts in the comment section - Kenneth reads all of them! The second-best way is through DM on social media.
 
HOW TO LEAVE A REVIEW
Enjoying the show?!  We’d love for you to leave us a review. It helps us grow and educate more people about coffee! Here’s how: if you’re on apple podcasts, ‘search’ for us as if you didn’t already follow the show. When you click on the show, scroll down to ratings and you’ll see where you can leave a rating. Spotify is a little easier - follow and listen to the podcast, then you can rate and review it.
 
Podcast Description
Coffee 101 is an educational show on all things coffee. The host, Kenneth Thomas, starts with the most basic questions about coffee and builds your knowledge from there. If you love coffee, are curious about coffee, or you’re a business just loo