MAP IT FORWARD is committed to elevating the discussions involving the global coffee industry and the stakeholders within the supply chain.
Our main mechanism for having these discussions is our podcast, The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, The Map It Forward Middle East podcast, and the Map It Forward Japan Podcast - each with its own playlist.
Our daily short-form podcast tracks five episodes over a week with stakeholders within the coffee industry and related industries.
Over the past 9 years, with 1300+ episodes, we have discussed the supply chain, business strategy, commerce, economics, business and professional development, industry politics, geopolitics, education, and so so much more.
It is a privilege to do this podcast with your support. Please subscribe, tune in, like, comment, and share these episodes with your colleagues and coffee industry-curious friends.
Map It Forward
There’s a lot of noise right now about how hard it is to run a coffee business in this economy.
That part is obvious.
What’s more useful is hearing from operators who are still building with clarity, discipline, and a real understanding of what the market is asking of them now.
This coming week, we’re releasing a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast with Nawar Adra, the founder of Stitch Coffee (6 locations in Sydney, 2 in China, and brand presence in Japan)
It’s a direct conversation about growth, risk, branding, hospitality, consumer behavior, and how the business model for coffee is changing in real time.
Nawar has built something special with Stitch over almost a decade. The events of 2020 offered the brand the opportunity to lean into the retail side of the business, and that growth hasn't stopped.
The last 12-24 months have seen even further rapid expansion in an economy that most would say is for the risk-averse.
This series is another banger from Nawar, who is a regular on the podcast.
If you’re trying to understand what it takes to build a coffee business in this market without defaulting to the same old playbook, this series is worth your time.
Paid Patreon members and paid YouTube members already have early access to the full series.
For everyone else, we’ll be releasing one new episode each weekday starting Monday, May 25, 2026.
Watch this 5-part series here:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/qU1V0dJIuSY
Part 2: https://youtu.be/UhQ5fyeHenw
Part 3: https://youtu.be/ROaborMyTMQ
Part 4: https://youtu.be/0q25IsXFk1E
Part 5: https://youtu.be/mw8NxOgJwQo
3 days ago | [YT] | 0
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Map It Forward
What if the smartest move in coffee right now is to stop trying to grow?
Next week on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast, we’re releasing a 5-part series with Jan-Cort Hoban from Mr. Hoban's Coffee Roastery in Germany.
This series asks a question I think more coffee business owners need to be asking themselves right now: What if getting bigger isn’t actually the goal?
For years, our industry has glamorized scale - more stores, more staff, more investment, more growth.
But what if that pressure is actually pulling people further away from why they got into coffee in the first place?
In this podcast series, Jan-Cort and I talk about:
• The myth of “success” in coffee
• The emotional and financial cost of growth
• Downsizing without shame
• Why lean businesses may be better positioned for what’s coming next
• How staying smaller can actually keep you closer to your customers, producers, and product
This conversation is beautifully honest, and something I feel might be helpful to those who have overbuilt their businesses "chasing the status quo" and might be wondering if downsizing and "running lean" is the next move.
Jan-Cort is running a successful business that's not without its challenges. There is risk to running lean, but in times like this, the advantages seem to outweigh the drawbacks.
Early access to the full series is available for our Patreon community and YouTube subscribers now.
For everyone else, a new episode drops each day next week on podcast apps and our YouTube channel.
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1
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Map It Forward
There’s a lot of talk right now about Brazil having a strong coffee harvest.
But what’s happening on the ground tells a more nuanced story.
In this clip from my conversation with Brazilian coffee agronomist Jonas Ferraresso, he explains something that often gets missed in market conversations: Coffee production doesn’t respond instantly to current weather conditions.
What we’re seeing in the 2026 harvest is not just about what’s happening this year. It’s the result of what happened in previous seasons.
Arabica, in particular, is highly sensitive. Drought, frost, heat waves - these events don’t just impact one harvest, they ripple forward.
So while recent rains across Brazil have been strong and well distributed, that doesn’t necessarily mean a record that will beat the 2021 crop (despite what some are saying).
What it may mean is something else entirely.
A healthier 2027 harvest, if conditions continue.
This is one of the biggest disconnects I’m seeing right now between market expectations and what farmers are actually experiencing.
Want to know what's really going on for the upcoming harvest in Brazil from the mouth of a specialist on the ground who works with the farmers day in and day out? This series is a must-watch!
The full five-part series, “The 2026 Brazilian Coffee Harvest,” is now available for paid Patreon supporters and paid YouTube subscribers, with episodes rolling out daily for everyone else.
If you’re buying coffee or making decisions based on Brazil’s production outlook, this is worth paying attention to.
Here are links to each episode of this 5 part series:
https://youtu.be/gdgAaknivN0
https://youtu.be/8z1pv_RS-7s
https://youtu.be/cnIDGrmkr6c
https://youtu.be/pSkrpMX44oU
https://youtu.be/n9J6SP6CTjo
2 months ago | [YT] | 0
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Map It Forward
There’s a lot of noise right now about the conflict in the Middle East and what it might mean for the global economy.
What I’m seeing in the coffee industry is something different: a lot of people assuming this won’t affect them.
That assumption worries me.
In the past few walk-and-talks, I've made it pretty clear that we should be looking at the different ways this conflict could ripple through the global coffee industry.
Not just at origin. Not just in shipping. Across the entire system.
Next week is a solo series on the podcast (just me) discussing this at great length so that if you are unconvinced or confused about why I'm trying to raise the alarm, you'll see the details and consider applying them as soon as possible.
In the series I break down:
• Part 1: Why war affects coffee - https://youtu.be/XppB48428Y4
• Part 2: How global shipping routes actually move coffee around the world - https://youtu.be/x26tmG-mYKY
• Part 3: Who gets hit first in the coffee value chain - https://youtu.be/qDCCGgp7MYY
• Part 4: The macroeconomic domino effects (oil, freight, currency) - https://youtu.be/GN_1uH-TA-w
• Part 5: What signals the coffee industry should be paying attention to right now - https://youtu.be/ObFdzVpF9B4
This isn’t a predictions series.
It’s about understanding systems, signals, and risk so that coffee businesses can make better decisions in volatile times.
If you work anywhere in the coffee value chain, producer, exporter, importer, trader, roaster, or cafe owner, this series was recorded to help you think through what might be coming next. If you don't speak english, YouTube will automatically translate the audio for you into any language.
The full five-part series is already available to paid Patreon supporters and paid YouTube subscribers.
For everyone else, episodes will begin releasing daily on the podcast starting Monday.
If you think someone in the coffee industry should be paying attention to this moment, please send the series to them.
The more people who understand what’s happening, the better prepared our industry will be.
2 months ago | [YT] | 1
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