Organic Coffee, Part 1: The magic of soil

from Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries · host James Harper

The world’s farming soils are deteriorating quickly. Conventional coffee farming where plants are grown using agrochemicals allowed farmers to reap huge harvests these last 70 years. But these agrochemicals have been at the expense of soil health. I travel to Honduras to explore a potential solution: organic coffee farming. Come with me as I show you the organic farming tricks of Don Rufino, one of the region’s leading organic farmers. He nurtures the soil around his coffee trees using mountain microorganisms, a huge diversity of shade trees, attentive tree pruning, and very funky batches of homemade bug spray. The results speak for themselves: when I pick up a handful of his soil, it is moist, dense and writhing with life. Could these cultivation techniques be the answer to the coffee world’s declining soil health? Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Dive deeper into organic coffee Explore Sustainable Harvest’s range of certified organic and Fairtrade coffees Are you a coffee farmer? Get in touch with Lalo Perez Varaona Check out Don Rufino’s organic cooperative, RAOS Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Lalo Perez Varaona - LinkedIn Tommie Hooft van Huysduynen - LinkedIn Alison Streaker - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here. See the Mikafi countertop roaster at the Thermoplan stand (6637) at World Of Coffee Brussels. Not attending? See it here. What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here. "Seize the Moment", the tabletop device from DiFluid that guides your customers through their coffee as it cools. Use code FILTER and this link to get 10% off.

What this episode covers

The world’s farming soils are deteriorating quickly.Conventional coffee farming where plants are grown using agrochemicals allowed farmers to reap huge harvests these last 70 years. But these agrochemicals have been at the expense of soil health. I travel to Honduras to explore a potential solution: organic coffee farming.Come with me as I show you the organic farming tricks of Don Rufino, one of the region’s leading organic farmers. He nurtures the soil around his coffee trees using mountain microorganisms, a huge diversity of shade trees, attentive tree pruning, and very funky batches of homemade bug spray. The results speak for themselves: when I pick up a handful of his soil, it is moist, dense and writhing with life. Could these cultivation techniques be the answer to the coffee world’s declining soil health?Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee!Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter! Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram storyWrite a review on Apple PodcastsLeave a 5 star rating on SpotifyDive deeper into organic coffeeExplore Sustainable Harvest’s range of certified organic and Fairtrade coffeesAre you a coffee farmer? Get in touch with Lalo Perez VaraonaCheck out Don Rufino’s organic cooperative, RAOSConnect with my very knowledgeable guestsLalo Perez Varaona - LinkedInTommie Hooft van Huysduynen - LinkedInAlison Streaker - LinkedInThe Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisationsBWT Water and MoreMarco Beverage SystemsROESTSustainable HarvestMahlkönigThe Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here.Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here. See the Mikafi countertop roaster at the Thermoplan stand (6637) at World Of Coffee Brussels. Not attending? See it here.What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here."Seize the Moment", the tabletop device from DiFluid that guides your customers through their coffee as it cools. Use code FILTER and this link to get 10% off.

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Organic Coffee, Part 1: The magic of soil

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This episode is 38 minutes long.

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This episode was published on February 26, 2024.

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