In this episode of The Exchange, Mark Inman and Todd Mackey discuss the value of working with a coffee trader. They emphasize the importance of building a relationship with a trader who understands your business and can provide personalized service. They highlight the advantages of working with a trader who has expertise in areas such as market knowledge, finance, or social and environmental issues. They also discuss the red flags to watch out for when choosing a trader and the benefits of a...

Join Mark and Todd as they muscle through the complexities of the futures market and hedging for green coffee buyers. Think you're not yet buying enough green coffee to consider hedging as an option? Stay tuned until the end, when Todd introduces a new opportunity for Covoya customers for whom, traditionally, hedging may not have been an option.

Coffee roasting from hobby to business? How does that even happen? Mark and Todd talk about some of the coffee roasters they've watch go from passion project to profits. And welcome home, Mark Inman!

Green coffee storage, a few things to keep in mind if you're new to coffee roasting, thinking about coffee roasting, or well on your way and expecting to grow.

I think the biggest reason that Centrals didn’t return to Europe at pre-war volumes is that several years before the war, the coffee industry in San Francisco got fed up with the fact that they couldn’t buy more Central American coffees even though they were interested in quality and willing to pay for it. They understood that the difference between them and the industry in Europe were the relationships, so they started sending delegations to Central America to spend time, not like tourists...

Because coffee is a collaborative voyage, Rob Stephen, Managing Director of Covoya U.S. chats with his counterpart and colleague, Phil Schluter, Managing Director of Covoya U.K. Rob and Phil just scratch the surface of his long experience in coffee, including the roots of his family coffee business in East Africa.

The coffee industry has had its share coffee spokespeople over the years, both fictional and nonfictional; but for longevity and pure iconic-ness, none of them can really compare to Juan Valdez, the advertising character who has been representing National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers for over 60 years.

Because coffee is a collaborative voyage: Covoya coffee trader Todd Mackey talks with Benjamin Chauvin about starting out as a coffee roaster with a popcorn popper and then graduating to a...modified Weber grill. Apologies to Benjamin and his crew for referring to their company as Rockford Coffee Company in the introduction when they are, of course, Rockford Roasting Company, link in the show notes. Fair warning, we were recording in a room with 10,000 people so, adjust your expectations...

Managing Director for Covoya Specialty Coffee, Rob Stephen, has a conversation with Senior Trader and Director of Sourcing Ian Kluse about his more than 20 years in the coffee industry.

You’ve been Googling. And it’s not helping. Not that the search results are lacking. In fact, as is so often the case when one Googles, there are so many results you’re having trouble sorting it all out. You’ve tried clicking on a few things but that only leads to more questions and fewer answers. But never fear, you’re here, and I’m going to review a few things to help you if the only thing you know right now is that you want to purchase green coffee.

Today, coffee quality exists on a continuum with bad coffee on one end, exceptional quality on the other, and miles of coffee that is good enough in the middle. Given innovations in instant coffee processing and the increasing availability of private label manufacturing, better than expected instant coffee has become a reasonable place to play for specialty coffee roasters.

The topic for this episode is the early history of Folgers Coffee Company where, surprisingly to some, we might find lessons for today's specialty coffee roasters.

Coffee traders Charlie Requadt and Rob Stephen talk about green coffee buying for growing coffee roasters.

Mike Ferguson reads his blog "300 Years of Coffee Talk - Words About Words About Coffee from 1722 to 1922."

We're talking about coffee blends with Patrick Barter of Gracenote Coffee and guest co-host Todd Mackey.

Mike Ferguson reads his blog "Speaking of Coffee Prices - Thoughts for Roasters and their Customers."

Byron Holcomb, specialty coffee manager in Guatemala joins us to talk about coffee origin issues and what makes a good green coffee buyer.

Mike Ferguson chats with green coffee professionals Charley Requadt and Ethan White about advice they offer new coffee roaster or those who are looking foreword to being coffee roasters one day.

Connie Blumhardt joins Mike Ferguson to talk about their 24 years as friends in coffee, starting Roast Magazine in 2003 (or was it 2004), and her observations of the coffee roasting sector.

Welcome Back! In the two years between seasons 2 and 3 much has happened but we're back, rebooting The Exchange with a few changes. In this episode Mike Ferguson interviews Todd Mackey. Todd talks about his career in coffee, his job as a coffee trader, and the challenges of the last two years.

Our hosts Mark Inman and Todd Mackey interview the podcast’s director, Mike Ferguson

#24 The Coffee Roaster & Scary Physical Defects-Part 2 by Olam Specialty Coffee

Welcome to our second annual Halloween episode. Once again we are talking about "Scary" defects but this time it's physical defects and, of course, scary movies.

Part 2 starts with Todd doing math and ends with Todd barely avoiding electrocution at the end of his career as an equipment tech. There's never a dull moment as Mark and Todd continue their conversation on The Coffee Roaster & Providing Retail Equipment. You can find a transcript of this episode here: https://bit.ly/2JaTfsD