EP1651 Part 1 of 5 | Where Technology Is Really Changing Coffee (Matthew Thornton) | Map It Forward

Advertising SponsorWant to join our Map It Forward Monthly Community Discussion Group? Head to https://patreon.com/mapitforward to join the community by signing up for the "Roasted Coffee" tier for 20 USD per month. Find other like-minded people in the coffee industry. This community is open to all stakeholders in the coffee industryEpisode DescriptionThis is Part 1 of a five-part series with Matthew Thornton from Arkena Coffee Market on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar, exploring where technology is genuinely changing the coffee industry, and where it still isn't.Artificial intelligence, automation, traceability, digital marketplaces, and data are dominating conversations across coffee. Yet despite all the excitement surrounding technology, many parts of the global coffee supply chain remain surprisingly disconnected from the tools that promise to transform them.In this opening conversation, Lee Safar and Matthew Thornton step back to ask a deceptively simple question: Where is technology actually showing up today?Rather than focusing on future predictions, they examine the current reality across the supply chain, discussing where technology has become embedded into everyday coffee businesses, where adoption remains slow, and why the experience of technology often looks completely different depending on whether you're a roaster, importer, exporter, producer or farmer.Throughout the discussion, they begin laying the foundation for one of the central themes of this series: technology is not inherently valuable simply because it exists. Its value depends entirely on whose problems it solves, who benefits from it, and whether it creates meaningful improvements for the people expected to use it.As AI lowers the barriers to building software and new coffee technology companies emerge at an unprecedented pace, this conversation offers an important framework for thinking beyond innovation itself and towards practical usefulness.If the coffee industry hopes to build a more resilient future, understanding where technology is already succeeding, and where significant gaps remain, may be one of the most important conversations we can have.Connect with Matthew Thornton and Arkena Coffee Market here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkenacoffee/Website: https://arkenacoffee.com/If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. ***************************************About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.Website: https://mapitforward.coffeeMailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglistPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforwardInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/Contact: [email protected]