Julien Langevin is the 2022 US Cup Tasters Champion, founder of the Tomato Coffee Class, and an outspoken advocate for mental health and trans rights. In this episode, Langevin discusses the recovery process after a mental health episode, and the stigma around mental health. Help Julien with Emergency Recovery and Expenses GoFundMe Podcast transcript available here. A Better Table is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series.

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Vancouver, BC-based Slothee Coffee founder Jessica Lui on the latest episode of A Better Table. Lui specializes in a form of latte art known as etching (when tools are used after milk is poured to draw and/or sculpt) and creates incredible works of colorful art. With Slothee Coffee, Lui teaches latte art classes, organizes coffee service pop-ups, and works as a photographer and content-creator. This episode is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series.

You might know Oregon-based coffee professional Morgan Eckroth from their wildly popular @morgandrinkscoffee TikTok and YouTube and Instagram accounts. You might know Morgan Eckroth as the Director of Content at Onyx Coffee Lab. You might even know Morgan as the 2022 US Barista Champion and the 2022 World Barista runner-up. And if you don’t know Morgan? Listen to the latest episode of A Better Table with Umeko Motoyoshi! A Better Table is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series.

In this episode, Motoyoshi interviews Mx. Suni Reid, founder of Auntie’s Coffee in West Hollywood, California. 

Welcome to a new episode of A Better Table, a podcast on the Sprudge Media Network where host Umeko Motoyoshitalks to guests and discusses social, economic, and environmental sustainability. "Sustainability means a lot of different things, but here are my guiding questions, the questions I want to explore," explains Motoyoshi. "What sustains communities? What sustains relationships? What sustains your heart?" In this episode, Motoyoshi interviews Marissa Childers, founder of Coffee...

In this episode, Motoyoshi interviews Ashley Rodriguez. "Ashley is a freelance writer," says Motoyoshi, "creator and host of Boss Barista podcast, my friend—which is such an honor—and an all around really powerful, but also gentle and also creative and funny figure in coffee who's so important to the community in terms of putting ideas out there for people to chew on about social sustainability and also all kinds of sustainability."

In this episode, Motoyoshi interviews 2022 United States Cup Tasters Champion Julien Langevin (he/them) from Coffee By Design in Portland, Maine. Langevin goes on to compete in the World Cup Tasters Championship this week in Milan.

Motoyoshi interviews Sonam Parikh of Mina's World in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sonam Parikh is the co-founder of Mina's World, a Philadelphia cafe with an innovative menu, a beautiful selection of local handmade goods, and thriving community ties. Last year, Arielle Gordon wrote about Mina's World for Sprudge: Mina’s World was built on the excitement of shared dream: founders Sonam Parikh and Kate Egghart wanted to create a space where their local community of artists, musicians, youth,...

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Neichelle Guidry, founder of Black Girl Black Coffee, an initiative to amplify the voices and stories of Black women through specialty coffee.

In this episode of A Better Table, host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Glitter Cat Barista Director of Positive Outcomes Eric Grimm. "Glitter Cat is probably best known for their coffee competitions, which are accessible and free, created to spotlight marginalized, hospitality professionals, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, disabled and persons of marginalized gender," explains Motoyoshi. In this episode, we learn more about Glitter Cat's initiatives beyond coffee competitions, and...

In this episode of A Better Table, host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Jackie Nguyen, founder of Cafe Cà Phê. Cafe Cà Phê is Kansas City’s first Vietnamese coffee shop serving coffee grown in Vietnam in a variety of innovative specialty drinks. Find out how Nguyen left acting in New York to living in Kansas City with a full-time job, a full-time corporate job, and a seat on the board of Parks and Recreation on the new episode of A Better Table. This season of A Better Table is sponsored...

In this episode of A Better Table, Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Arielle Rebekah, the founder of Trans and Caffeinated. Trans and Caffeinated is a blog, an Instagram page, and a podcast dedicated to uplifting the "trans and queer community and also to educate cis folks about trans and queer issues." A Better Table is sponsored by Chobani.

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Mikey Rinaldo, the founder of New Math Coffee. New Math Coffee is a Chicago-based roaster that highlights coffee from Asian coffee producers all around the world, including diasporic Asian producers. Motoyoshi finds out about Rinaldo's start in coffee, and what lead them to open a roasting company. A Better Table is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear and Chobani.

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Carmel Laurino. Laurino is the founder of Kalsada Coffee, a Manila-based company that processes, exports, and imports specialty coffee from the Philippines. Laurino talks about how the company got started and its work with Philippine specialty coffee and Kalsada's sustainability innovations. A Better Table is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gearand Chobani.

Umeko Motoyoshi speaks to Bianka Alloyn And Sabreen Naimah, co-founders and owners of Cute Coffee in Oakland. Cute Coffee is a team of two and the pair do all their own marketing, packing, roasting, sourcing, and importing. They work exclusively with women coffee producers in countries all over the world. Motoyoshi finds out how they got started in coffee, how Cute Coffee got off the ground, and how they've grown their small business during the pandemic. Sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear and...

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Gary Lambert, founder of Bright Land Coffee in Philadelphia. Gary has been featured in a couple of different contexts on Sprudge over the last year, but there's another layer to the story that hasn't really been told yet—Lambert started the company as a dream following a cancer diagnosis. Learn about Lambert's life before coffee, the growth of Bright Land Coffee, Bright Land's work with transparency in green sourcing, the wonders of CBD and coffee, and so much more.

Bartholomew Jones is a co-founder of Cxffeeblack based in Memphis, Tennesee. Cxffeeblack is a multimedia operation promoting the Black history—and present—of coffee. Cxffeeblack spreads this message through music, apparel, a podcast, and roasted coffee. Jones joins Motoyoshi to talk about the Cxffeeblack story and a new project: the Anti-Gentrification Coffee Club. This episode of A Better Table is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear and Chobani.

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Madeleine Longoria Garcia, a co-owner of Pacific Coffee Research. PCR is a Specialty Coffee Association Premier Training Campus, quality analysis & cupping lab, roastery, and Hawai’i coffee education center in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Season One of A Better Table is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear, Baratza, Oatly, and Urnex Brands.

Host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Chris McCauley and Cydni Patterson of Getchusomegear. Chris McAuley's Getchusomegear is built around the mission of “hookin’ up marginalized coffee pros and business owners with free coffee gear". They just recently announced an incredible slate of charitable grant recipients, and are actively working to make the coffee world a better and more equitable place in real, tangible ways. This episode is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear, Baratza, Oatly, and Urnex...

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Nick Castellano of Taste The Origin. Taste The Origin is a coffee subscription that only works with roasters in producing countries.

In the latest episode of A Better Table, host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Latasha Barr Lewis and Camden Myer of Cam's Coffee. Cam's Coffee is a Black family-owned business founded by Cam, who is 12 years old. Cam has a Traumatic Brain Injury and he is focused on creating diverse, supportive employment for disabled people. His mom, Latasha is an educator and the company's COO. A Better Table is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear, Baratza, Oatly, and Urnex.

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Will Frith of building.coffee about the coffee species Robusta. A Better Table is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear, Baratza, Oatly, and Urnex.

In the fourth episode of A Better Table, Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Laetitia Mukandahiro. Mukandahiro is a renowned coffee professional in Kigali, Rwanda. She is an accomplished cupper, a licensed Q Grader, and she has judged Cup of Excellence multiple times. In this episode, Mukandahiro shares the experience of women in Rwandan coffee production. Season One of A Better Table is sponsored by Baratza, Oatly, and Urnex Brands.

Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Emily Haddad, an acupuncture student, barista, and works as a key organizer in the Tartine Union. Tartine Bakery originally opened in 2002 in San Francisco. In 2020, Tartine was operating 5 retail storefronts in the Bay Area, three in LA and four in Seoul, Korea. That same month, over 140 employees declared their intention to unionize to management. Motoyoshi sits down with Emily Haddad and had a conversation about the efforts to unionize. Sponsored by Urnex,...