Tim Wendelboe Podcast
This podcast is hosted by Tim Wendelboe, an award-winning coffee roaster and the 2004 World Barista Champion. In each episode, Tim shares his extensive knowledge about coffee, covering topics such as roasting, brewing, and the specialty coffee industry. He also offers insights from his own experiences as a roaster and café owner. The show is a valuable resource for coffee enthusiasts and professionals looking to deepen their understanding of coffee craftsmanship.
Episoder
Episode 57 - Finca El Suelo: A Year Under the Biofilia Project
In this episode, I sit down with Yurany, the farm manager at Finca El Suelo in Colombia, and the daughter of Elias and Bellanid at Finca Tamana.
We reflect on a year of farming under the Biofilia Project and discuss the challenges and progress of managing the farm using 100% biological techniques, without synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides .
The year brought extreme drought and i
Episode 56: Evolution, Genetics, and the Future of Coffee – A Conversation with Professor Andreas Tribsch.
In this episode, Tim speaks with Andreas Tribsch, a Professor of Botany at the University of Salzburg. Andreas brings a unique perspective as both an expert in plant evolution and a partner in an Austrian coffee shop, offering insights into the coffee plant from a biological and systematic viewpoint.
We dive deep into the history of coffee, discussing how Coffea Arabica evolved as a coffee species
Episode 55: Ranked No. 2 in the World – Exceeding Guest Expectations with Stephanie Dawn Holm
In this episode, I return to our Oslo studio to welcome back a very special guest: Stephanie, our Espresso Bar Manager, who has been an essential part of Tim Wendelboe for 15 years. As the person responsible for training our baristas and overseeing the daily operations of the espressobar, Stephanie is the heartbeat of our retail experience.
We discuss the impact of being ranked 2nd in the world on
Episode 54 - The Future of Honduran Coffee: The Biofilia Transition - A conversation with Benjamin Paz
In this episode, I am back in Santa Bárbara, Honduras, to sit down with Benjamín Paz. Benjamín is a key collaborator in our Biofilia Project, an initiative focused on improving coffee production through biological techniques that restore the natural balance of the environment.
We discuss Benjamín’s decision to transition his entire farm to the Biofilia system, moving away from the traditional reli
Episode 53 - Adapting coffee farms to prepare for the future – A Conversation with Moises Herrera from Finca el Puente
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 share
Episode 52 - Transitioning to Biological Farming – A Conversation with Diego Baraona
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
Episode 51 - Purchasing coffees in Kenya - Live from the cupping lab
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
Episode 50 - 2025 – A Coffee Year in Review
As the year comes to a close, I sit down with Ben Symes, our wholesale manager, to reflect on 2025 and look back on what has made this year special.
In this episode, we talk about the farms we work with around the world, reflect on the 2025 harvests, the coffees that stood out to us, and the relationships we continue to build with the people who produce our coffees. We also share highlights from o
Episode 49 - A Deep Dive into ROEST and Modern Roasting Technology with Tom Hopkinson - Part 2
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 pra
Episode 48 - A Deep Dive into ROEST and Modern Roasting Technology with Tom Hopkinson - Part 1
In this first of two episodes, I sit down with Tom Hopkinson, Head of Coffee and Customer Success at ROEST, and dive deep in to coffee roasting. Tom found his way into coffee by opening a café with no experience at all. The café lasted less than a year, but his fascination for coffee only grew. He went on to work at Prufrock, where he learned the fundamentals of coffee, before moving to Dublin to
Episode 47 - Connecting Farmers with Roasters – A Conversation with Benjamin Paz
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 coff
Episode 46 - The Next Generation of Coffee - A Conversation with Yurany Roa Sanchez
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 eventua
Episode 45 - Behind the Camera - A Conversation with Håkon Rydningen from Rammelaus
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 th
Episode 44 - Norwegian Cup Taster Champion: A Conversation with Damian Bialek
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
Episode 43 - Why is regenerative coffee farming the future? A conversation with Lalo Perez from Biofilia
In this episode, I sit down with Lalo Perez to talk about biological agriculture and how it differs from conventional coffee farming.
Lalo begins by sharing his background in coffee, and how a frustrating remark, that there is no good coffee from Mexico, sparked his journey into biological agriculture and led to the founding of his company, Biofilia.
We discuss what biological agriculture actual
Episode 42 - Our 10-Year Plan for Regenerative Coffee Farming - A Conversation with Maren Myhre Gullvik
The biggest project we are working on right now is what we call our "TW Biological Project". Our goal is that all the farms we buy from in 10 years will be practising regenerative and biological farming. We are currently testing this on six farms in latin-America, where we are comparing biological farming techniquea to how they are currently working (conventional farming) on two similar areas of e
Episode 41 - Coffee in Kenya - A conversation with Stephen Vick
In this episode, I sit down with my good friend Stephen Vick during my recent visit to Kenya. Stephen shares his journey in the coffee industry, which began in Oregon, USA, and has since brought him to Kenya. Together, we reflect on how the industry has evolved over the more than twenty years we have both been a part of it.
Stephen works for the Danish Coop, a grocery store chain in Scandinavia. H
Episode 40 - 2024 - A Coffee Year in Review
In this episode, I sit down with Ben Symes, our wholesale manager, to reflect on the highlights of 2024.
We discuss our favourite coffees of the year, including the washed coffee from Tatmara and the Java from Finca Tamana, as well as developments on the farms we work with. Tim also shares insights from the farmer symposium he held in Honduras and our plans to help convert all the farms we work wi
Episode 39 - Q&A Part 2 - We answer questions from our followers. With Ben Symes & Tim.
In this episode, I am joined by our Wholesale Manager, Ben Symes, to answer your questions.
This is the second part of our Q&A podcast episode, where we answer questions sent in by our followers. In this episode, we focus on your questions about brewing, as well as other topics such as coffee buying and origin.
Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.
Episode 38 - Q&A Part 1 - We answer questions from our followers. With Ben Symes & Tim.
In this episode, I am joined by our Wholesale Manager, Ben Symes, to answer your questions.
Earlier in October, we invited you to send in any questions you had for us. We received such a great response that we had to split the podcast into two parts. In this episode, Ben and I will be focusing on your questions about roasting and tasting.
Music by my uncle Jens Wendelboe.
Episode 37 - Coffee in Ethiopia - A conversation with Mats Fredheim Vidby
In this episode, I’m joined by Mats Fredheim Vidby, our roastery team leader and one of our dedicated coffee roasters, who has been with us since 2021.
Our conversation this time takes a deep dive into Ethiopian coffee, focusing on how we select and buy coffees from the birthplace of coffee. We will be discussing the farms we work with, Echemo and Tatmara, and go in to details about the fresh har
Episode 36 - Future Plans and a Year in Review at Los Pirineos with Diego Baraona
In this episode, I am back at Diego Baraona's farm, Los Pirineos, in El Salvador, one year after our last recording. Since then, significant developments have unfolded both on the farm and in Diego's future plans.
Having closely collaborated with Diego for nearly four years, and previously with his father, Gilberto Baraona, I've witnessed Diego's growth as a coffee producer firsthand. Taking over
Episode 35 - Inside Kenya’s Coffee Market - Part 2
In this episode, I am joined by Muki Yeung, specialty coffee trader at C. Dormans in Kenya, to explore the current dynamics of Kenya's coffee market.
With over a decade of experience working in coffee both in Australia, Brazil and Kenya, Muki offers valuable insights into the evolving coffee buying process in Kenya. We delve into recent shifts in market dynamics and their implications for the av
Episode 34 - Inside Kenya's Coffee Market - Part 1
In this episode, I have the pleasure of sitting down with my friend Kennedy Keya, director of trading and operations at C.Dorman in Kenya.
Join us as we delve into our coffee-buying process in Kenya today.
In the past year, there have been significant changes in how the coffee market operates in Kenya. Previously, companies like C.Dorman were involved in multiple stages of the coffee production
Episode 33 - 2023 - A Coffee Year in Review
In this episode, I sit down with Ben Symes, our wholesale manager, to reflect on an eventful 2023.
Join us as we discuss how our espresso bar has been a pivotal part of our growth this year and how we have managed to grow the production in our roastery to an all time high.
We also delve into our partnership with Noma in Copenhagen. Celebrating a decade of collaboration, this year we took a signif
Episode 32 - From Kaffa’s Forests to Your Cup: The story of Negussie Tadesse and Tatmara Coffee Plantation
In this episode, I'm thrilled to introduce you to Negussie Tadesse, the man behind Tatmara Coffee Plantation in the historic region of Kaffa, Ethiopia - a place many consider the birthplace of coffee.
Join us as we explore Negussie's inspiring story: from his initial journey into coffee farming to the enormous task of establishing Tatmara Coffee Plantation in 2010.
We discuss our collaboration wi
Episode 31 - Celebrating a Quarter Century in Coffee with Andreas Hertzberg - Part 2
Join me as I sit down once again with Andreas Hertzberg for the second part of our conversation celebrating my 25-year journey in the coffee industry. This episode is a deep dive into the genesis of my own company and how my vision, encapsulated in a business plan from 2006, has grown into the reality that is Tim Wendelboe AS today.
As we commemorate the opening of my coffee shop in June 2007,
Episode 30 - Celebrating a Quarter Century in Coffee with Andreas Hertzberg
In this special episode, I celebrate my 25th year of working in the coffee industry. Joining me for this reflective chat is my good friend Andreas Hertzberg, the Co-founder of Nordic Approach and the chairman of our company's board.
We retrace our steps to the early days at Stockfleth’s and Solberg & Hansen, reminiscing about our shared journey – a journey filled with mutual learning, inspira
Episode 29 - Three star coffee service: Coffee at restaurant Noma with Carolyne Lane
In this episode, I'm joined by Carolyne Lane, one of the driving forces behind restaurant Noma's celebrated tea and coffee programme. Having honed her skills over 5 years at Noma, Carolyne provides an in-depth look into the meticulous approach that defines Noma's unique coffee service.
We delve into how Noma, one of the worlds most renowned restaurants, has changed how they prepare and serve coffe
Episode 28 - Jens Wendelboe: Mastering the Symphony of Success
This episode takes a detour from our usual discussions about coffee, but trust me, it’s a conversation you won't want to miss. I’m absolutely thrilled to introduce you to a guest who has shaped my life in countless ways: my Uncle Jens Wendelboe. An accomplished composer, conductor, and musician, Jens is not just family, but an inspiring role model in brand building, career development, and a whole
Episode 27 - Meet The Producer - Caballero Farm’s Marysabel Caballero and Moises Herrera, Part 2
Delighted to welcome you back to Part Two of my in-depth chat with the visionary behind the Caballero coffee farms, Moises Herrera. This episode holds an extra special treat as we are also joined by Moises' wife, Marysabel Caballero, a third-generation coffee farmer and a vital pillar of the Caballero enterprise.
In this episode, we retrace the steps that Marysabel and Moises took when they first
Episode 26 - Meet The Producer - Caballero Farm’s Moises Herrera, Part 1
In this episode, I’m delighted to welcome a dear friend and esteemed coffee producer of the Caballero coffees in Honduras, mr. Moises Herrera.
Moises is part of a family that has helped shape the high-quality coffee production industry in Honduras, and his stories and experiences are nothing short of inspiring.
We journey through Moises’ own history in coffee, recalling when our paths first inte
Episode 25 - Meet The Producer - A conversation with Diego Baraona at Los Pirineos
In this episode, I am joined by Diego Baraona on his farm Los Pirineos in El Salvador.
I have been working with the Baraona family for many years. In 2020 our dear friend, pioneering coffee producer Gilberto Baraona sadly passed away. During his time leading Los Pirineos, Gilberto transformed his farm from being an average farm to becoming one of the most spectacular farms in Central-America. Foll
Episode 24 - Coffee in Kenya - A conversation with Morten Wennersgaard
In this episode, I am joined once again by my good friend Morten Wennersgaard. Morten is one of the founders of Norwegian green coffee import company, Nordic Approach. He has been buying coffee in Kenya for a long time and even lived in Kenya for a small period when he started his company.
Our conversation this time focuses on Kenyan coffee, how it is grown and sold. We have both recently been in
Episode 23 - Sustainability in coffee — A conversation with Anja Bakken Riise
In this episode, I speak with Anja Bakken Riise, who is the president of Norwegian environmental and solidarity organisation Framtiden i våre hender (The future in our hands).
The organisation, which now has over 45,000 members, has been instrumental in promoting sustainability in Norway. Recent achievements include helping the Transparency Act come into effect; a law giving consumers the right to
Episode 22 - 2022 - A Coffee Year in Review
In this episode I’m joined by our wholesale manager Ben Symes.
For our final episode of the year, we’re reviewing the highlights of the past 12 months, in both our business and the wider coffee industry.
We discuss how our company has grown and evolved in the past year, my farm Finca el Suelo’s recent second harvest and plans for the project in 2023 and take a look back at this year's coffees.
We
Episode 21 - A conversation about our coffee farm Finca el Suelo
In this special episode, Tim swaps seats and becomes a guest on the show, handing over hosting duties to our customer service consultant, Sebastian Dyrdal.
To celebrate the launch of its second harvest, Sebastian and Tim talk about Tim's coffee farm project, Finca el Suelo.
Finca el Suelo is a 7 hectare farm located in El Vegon, in the municipality of El Pital in Huila, Colombia. Tim's goal with t
Episode 20 - What Does a Coffee Importer Do? A conversation with Morten Wennersgaard
In this episode, I speak with Morten Wennersgaard, who is one of the founders of the Norwegian green coffee import company, Nordic Approach.
Morten and I have been good friends for many years, and we have collaborated on a number of interesting projects, including Nordic Approach.
Our main focus in this conversation, is about how a coffee importer works, and how green coffee is bought and sold.
Episode 19 - 15 years of business - A walk down memory lane with Anders Valde
In this episode, I speak with the legendary first World Aeropress Champion Mr. Anders Valde, who has been a customer in our espresso bar since the day we opened.
Anders is one of the few people who has tasted all the coffees we have ever roasted and has seen our espresso bar evolve over the past 15 years from a customers point of view.
Listen in while we walk down memory lane and talk about the 15
Episode 18 - How we help offices, restaurants and cafés serve tasty coffee - With Malin Borgås
In this episode our guest is Malin Borgås, our subscription manager that also works with wholesale customer support. By wholesale we mean other businesses that buy and serve our coffee, so B2B sales if you want. Whether it is in an office, a restaurant, coffee shop or a café, Malin works together with our wholesale manager Ben Symes to help our customers succeed with brewing and serving great coff
Episode 17 - How we source and roast coffee — A conversation with our roastery team
In this episode I am joined by Maren Myhre Gullvik and Daniel Vareide. Maren and Daniel are members of our team that work as roasters and baristas.
The episode can best be summed up as a team training session. In this wide ranging conversation, you get to join us at the roastery and learn about how small roasters like us buy coffee and work with producers, and how we operate our roastery.
If you w
Episode 16 - How to use a coffee flavour wheel — A conversation with Coffee Mind
In this episode I speak once again with one of my favourite researchers and educators in coffee, Mr. Morten Munchow and his colleague and sensory scientist Ida Steen.
They are the people behind the Coffee Mind academy and are doing some fascinating research in coffee. I have had the privilege to be involved with some of their research in various forms and have personally learned a lot from them bo
Episode 15 - The importance of transparency in coffee — A conversation with Coffee Collective
In Episode 15 of our podcast I speak with Peter Dupont and Klaus Thomsen who together with Casper Engel founded the Coffee Collective in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2007.
The Coffee Collective is by many, including myself, considered to be one of the few coffee companies in the wold that really walk the talk. They are one of the highest regarded companies in the world when it comes to sourcing and roa
Episode 14 - 2021 A Coffee Year in Review
Join Ben Symes, our whole sale manager, and Tim Wendelboe as they informally sum up and talk about the year 2021 from a coffee roasters perspective. 2021 was an ever changing year, where Covid was dominating the first and last months of the year, there was a frost in Brazil making commodity prices on coffee rise and a lot of people talking about how Kenyan coffees are not what they used to be. Tun
Episode 13 - Talking about Colombian Coffee with Alejandro Renjifo
In this episode I speak with Alejandro Renjifo who was the one who introduced me to Colombia back in 2007 and who is exporting the coffees we buy from Elias Roa and his farm Finca Tamana.
Alejandro has a long history in the coffee industry and is one of the pioneers in the developing of the FNC’s (Colombian Coffee Growers Federation) specialty coffee program.
Today Alejandro is an exporter of hi
Episode 12 - Interview with the 2021 World Barista Champion Diego Campos
In this episode I am having a long conversation with my dear friend and freshly crowned World Barista Champion of 2021 Diego Campos. Diego is a Colombian barista that I have known since 2014 when he came with me to Finca Tamana to help me translate. It did not take long before we became good friends and since 2014 I have been privileged to be able to work with Diego both on improving the farm prac
Episode 11 - Tasting coffees from Finca el Suelo with Fotios Daflas
In episode 11, my guest is Mr. Fotios Daflas. Fotios used to work with us as a barista and coffee roaster but is now working at Solberg & Hansen in their roastery. In 2019 Fotios traveled with me to Colombia to visit Finca Tamana and our own farm Finca el Suelo. For a full week he helped me work on the farm, making compost, spraying compost tea, spreading wood chips around the trees and removing w
Episode 10 - Morten Munchow on Organic Acids in Coffee
This is the second episode that I recorded with Mr. Morten Munchow during my trip to Copenhagen in August 2021. Morten is an old coffee friend of mine and a fabulous coffee scientist. He runs the company Coffee Mind and together with his colleague Ida Steen he has been doing a lot of interesting research within the coffee world, mainly focusing on coffee roasting and the sensory evaluation of cof
Episode 9 - Coffee Scientist Morten Munchow on Coffee Roasting
The guest in this episode is Mr. Morten Munchow who is an old coffee friend of mine. Morten is a scientist and runs the company Coffee Mind. Morten and his colleague Ida Steen have been doing a lot of interesting research within the coffee world, mainly focusing on coffee roasting and the sensory evaluation of coffee. They also provide training for both coffee professionals and other people who ar
Episode 8 - Funky coffee
Join us for another coffee podcast episode where I discuss funky coffees together with Jamie Jongkind who works with sales and coffee purchasing at Nordic Approach. It is no surprise that I am personally not a huge fan of coffees that have pronounced flavours of fermentation, but our guest Jamie explains why he loves funky coffees and what fermentation can contribute with in terms of flavours.
T
Episode 7 - Managing Our Espresso Bar With Stephanie Dawn Holm
In our 7th episode I speak with our fantastic bar manager, Stephanie Dawn Holm who has been working with us for 10 years and has been our bar manager for a very long time. Listen while we talk about how we hire, train and do our quality control in our Espresso Bar.
Episode 6 - A chat about Marit's trip to Central-America
In this episode I am joined by my team member Marit who is one of our roasters and baristas. Marit was traveling with me to Central America in February this year where we visited Gilberto at Los Pirineos in El Salvador, Moises Herrera and Marysabel Caballero in Marcala and Jobneel at Finca Nacimiento in Santa Barbara in Honduras. Marit shares some of her experiences from her first ever visit to a
Episode 5 - Coffee Processing at Los Pirineos with Gilberto Baraona
In our fifth episode I visit famous coffee producer Gilberto Baraona on his coffee farm Los Pirineos in El Salvador. Listen in while we speak about coffee processing and also about Gilberto's farm that has been in his family for over 100 years. Gilberto will also explain how different processes like washed, natural, honey or anaerobic fermentation affect coffee flavour and how he is able to custom
Episode 4 - Espresso with Anders Fretheim - Part 2
In our fourth podcast episode, I am joined by our colleague Anders Fretheim who works with sales and customer support. Anders is also a barista and used to run his own coffee shop. In this episode we discuss Espresso and why it is almost always disappointing. We share our experience on how to fix common problems to get your extractions up so that your shots starts to taste really good.
This is pa
Episode 3 - Espresso with Anders Fretheim - Part 1
In our third podcast episode, I am joined by our colleague Anders Fretheim who works with sales and customer support. Anders is also a barista and used to run his own coffee shop. In this episode we discuss Espresso and why it is almost always disappointing. We share our experience on how to fix common problems to get your extractions up so that your shots starts to taste really good.
Here are so
Episode 2 - Roasting with Ben Symes - Part 2
In our second podcast episode, I continue chatting with our roaster, trainer and overall cool guy Ben Symes. Ben recently started hosting roast workshops at our lab and roastery in Oslo, Norway and also abroad.
In part two of this podcast we talk about why green coffee moisture meters are confusing, modulating roast profiles, the perfect roast curve, the importance of colour measurements and what
Episode 1 - Roasting with Ben Symes - Part 1
In our first podcast episode, I am joined by our colleague, roaster, trainer and overall cool guy Ben Symes. Ben recently started hosting roast workshops at our lab and roastery in Oslo, Norway and also abroad. Here we discuss some of the topics we generally will teach in a roasting class.
In part one we discuss the importance of green coffee quality, the secrets behind our 8 Nordic Roaster Champi
