Tim Wendelboe Podcast

In this episode, I am in Marcala, Honduras, visiting Finca El Puente to sit down with Moises Herrera. Moises and his wife, Marysabel Caballero, are world-renowned producers we have worked with since 2010. Their operation is incredibly professional, as they manage every step of the process, from the seed to the final export bag, through their own wet and dry mills. In our conversation, Moises shares the harsh realities of the last two harvests. The 2025 crop was severely affected by frost, which damaged about 50% of the coffee of some farms and forced them to sort the beans up to ten times to maintain quality. We also discuss the first year of our TW Biological Project on their land. Moises explains the mental shift required to move away from farming with agro-chemicals and synthetic fertilizers toward biological solutions working with shade trees and soil micro organisms. Looking ahead, Moises and Marysabel are focusing on consolidating their cultivars and increasing shade tree populations on their farms. They are now planting around 10,000 shade trees per year to protect the coffee from stress and support local wildlife. A process that requires patience but is necessary for the future of their farms. Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.

In this episode, I travel to the top of the Tecapa volcano in El Salvador to sit down with Diego Baraona, a fifth-generation coffee producer and the owner of Los Pirineos farm. Diego took over the family business in 2020 after his father passed away and he has since become a vital partner in our mission to produce more resilient and mindful coffee. In our conversation, we focus on the progress of the TW Biological Project, an initiative we launched together in 2023 with the goal of transitioning his farming practices toward a regenerative model over a ten-year period. Diego explains how he has managed to drastically reduce his reliance on chemical fertilizers and herbicides, cutting his annual input costs from nearly $100,000 down to just $12,000. This was achieved by building aerobic bioreactors to grow beneficial microorganisms and fungi, such as mycorrhizae, to restore the natural biology of the soil. We discuss the critical role of shade trees, the use of traditional varieties like Pacamara and Bourbon, and his recent experimentation with new genetics like Geisha from Malawi and Arara from Brazil. Beyond the technical information, Diego reflects on the shift in mindset required to be a modern producer: having the patience to let the ecosystem heal and the desire to create a farm that is not only a source of high-quality coffee, but a thriving home for local biodiversity. His optimism after seeing the first visual improvements on the farm is a promising sign that the path toward regenerative agriculture is the right one for the future of specialty coffee.   Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.

This episode was recorded "live" from the C. Dorman cupping lab while Tim was in Kenya in January in order to taste and select coffees for purchasing. Like many of our listeners and followers already know, we prefer to work directly with farmers over years in order to improve the quality of their coffees and their farms.  Due to how the Kenyan coffee industry is organised, it is the only origin we buy from where we do not have a direct relationship with a single farmer.   This is because the majority of the best coffees are coming from smallholder farmers who sell their coffee cherries to co-operatives, where the coffees are bulked together for processing and drying. Buying coffees in Kenya is therefore a bit different to what we are used to and Tim visits Kenya on an annual basis in order to taste through hundreds of coffee samples to make his selection every year.  Listen in on Tim's thoughts around Kenyan coffee quality and how he approaches buying coffees in Kenya. 

In this discussion, Ben Symes, a dedicated wholesale manager with a decade of experience at Tim Wendelboe, reflects on the significant events of 2025. They delve into the importance of long-term relationships with farmers, spotlight the challenges faced at Finca Tamana, and highlight the transition to biological farming at Los Pirineos. The duo celebrates their ranking as the 5th best coffee shop globally, while also discussing standout coffees and team milestones. Their commitment to producing great coffee shines as they anticipate more innovations in 2026.

In this second episode with Tom Hopkinson, Head of Coffee and Customer Success at ROEST, we continue our conversation about roasting, technology, and the development of modern sample roasters. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, we recommend starting there to get the full story of Tom’s background and the origins of our collaboration with ROEST.   In Part 2, we dive deeper into how roasting practices have evolved, the challenges and possibilities of automation, and the way ROEST approaches innovation in both hardware and software. Tom shares his perspective on where roasting technology is heading, what roasters still misunderstand, and how better tools can lead to better coffee.   Tune in if you are interested in roasting, sample roasters, and the future of coffee technology.   Learn more about ROEST on their website here: https://www.roestcoffee.com/   Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.

Tom Hopkinson, Head of Coffee and Customer Success at ROEST, shares his journey from an inexperienced café owner to a coffee roasting expert. He discusses the evolution of ROEST's sample roasters, emphasizing the shift from manual to automated roasting driven by data. Tom highlights the advantages of air roasters and the importance of customer feedback in design. The conversation touches on innovative roasting technology like the P3000 and its modular features, along with the benefits of small-scale roasting for quality control.

In this episode, I sit down with Benjamin Paz, a coffee producer from Santa Bárbara, Honduras, and one of the key people behind San Vicente, a coffee exporting company working with over 600 producers in Honduras. His role is to connect producers with buyers, helping to build lasting and healthy relationships that allow both farmers and roasters to grow together. Benjamin’s family has been in coffee since the 1950s, but it was through the Cup of Excellence that they became closely tied to the specialty coffee world. He has since won the competition twice himself, in 2022 and 2024, and continues to inspire producers with his belief that hard work makes anything possible. In our conversation, Benjamin talks about the challenges producers are facing today, from unpredictable weather to pests appearing in new areas, and the importance of keeping workers in the country to secure the future of coffee production. He explains the role of the “middleman” in specialty coffee – helping farmers improve their processing, define a strategy for their farms, and find long-term buyers. Benjamin also shares his personal reasons for buying his own farm, running a coffee shop, and starting a roastery – to truly understand the producers’ perspective and to bring the benefits back to the community. Looking ahead, Benjamin is also part of our TW Biological Project and our ten-year plan to transition all the farms we work with towards regenerative agriculture. His farm is one of the pilot sites where we are already seeing promising results: reduced costs, renewed excitement among workers, and a clearer picture of what the land needs in terms of shade trees and biodiversity. With Benjamin’s involvement, we hope this knowledge can spread further in Santa Bárbara, creating a stronger and more sustainable coffee community.   Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.

In this episode, I sit down with Yurany Roa Sanchez, the daughter of Elias Roa and Bellanid Sanchez, the owners of Finca Tamana in Colombia. She grew up surrounded by coffee, first on her parents’ original farm in Acevedo and later at Finca Tamana in Pital, Huila. Now 26 years old, Yurany has a degree in International Business and although her original plan was not to work with coffee, she eventually changed her mind. Today, she manages her own farm while also helping her parents at Finca Tamana and assisting me with my farm, Finca el Suelo, which is located right next to theirs. To manage Finca el Suelo, Yurany works closely with Lalo Perez Varona and Ana Tejedo from Biofilia, who has been supporting us with knowhow since March this year. In this episode, we talk about what Yurani have done so far, the challenges she has faced in coffee production this year – such as finding enough workers during harvest – and her ambitions for the future. Yurany also shares her pride in her parents and their constant drive to improve and develop, as well as her own plans for her farm, Finca Tamana, and Finca el Suelo. Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.

In this episode, I talk with Håkon Rydningen, filmmaker and founder of Rammelaus. We have had the pleasure of working with Håkon for the past five years – he is the person behind many of our videos, including the subscription videos. In 2023, Håkon travelled with me to Finca Tamana in Colombia to film the daily life on the farm and document all the work we have done with Elias and Bellanid over the years. Earlier this year, he also joined me on my annual trip to Honduras and El Salvador, where he filmed at Los Pirineos, Finca el Puente and Finca Nacimiento. In this episode we talk about Håkon’s background in film and photography, his relationship with coffee. Håkon has been a coffee enthusiast for quite some time which opens up for a conversation about what he knew about coffee before we started working together, and what his experience with coffee is today after seeing how coffee is produced. Håkon shares his thoughts on what it was like to be a “fly on the wall” during our trips to origin and how spending time on coffee farms changed his perspective on what quality coffee really means. We also talk about the similarities between filmmaking and coffee production, what Håkon has learned along the way, and how he now views the work we do at origin. If you have not yet seen the videos from Finca Tamana or Los Pirineos, you can find them on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@TimWendelboeCoffee Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.

In this episode, I sit down with Damian from our team, who became the Norwegian Cup Tasters Champion in March this year. Damian works both as a barista in our espresso bar and as a roaster in our roastery, and he has been part of the team since 2023. We talk about his journey into coffee, how he ended up working with us, and what it is like to work in Norway compared to his previous jobs. We also discuss how he brews coffee at home, what motivates him to keep learning, and how he approaches tasting and quality control in his daily work. As part of his prize for winning the national championship, Damian travelled to Honduras to take part as a judge in the Cup of Excellence – a competition for high-quality coffees. He shares his impressions from visiting coffee farms for the first time, what he learned from producers like Jobneel, and how seeing the production side of coffee has shaped his perspective. This week, Damian will represent Norway in the World Cup Tasters Championship in Geneva. We talk about his goals for the competition, how he has been preparing, and what he has learned about himself through the process. Music by my uncle, Jens Wendelboe.