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Artwork for Filter Stories

Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries

James Harper
Coffee
Specialty Coffee
Cold Brew Coffee
Coffee Science
Water For Coffee
Organic Coffee
Coffee Extraction
Commodity Coffee
Mahlkönig
Sensory Science
Hamburg
Alkalinity
Brazil
Sustainability In Coffee Production
Coffee Roasting
Water Filtration Science
Espresso Preparation Techniques
Brewing Techniques
Flavor Chemistry
Specialty Coffee Association

Coffee stories with an extra shot of history and science. Filter Stories is a podcast revealing coffee’s hidden microscopic secrets, its powerful past, and how your choice of beans impacts tens of millions of people. See the behind-the-scenes stories on Instagram @filterstoriespodcast. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

PublishesDailyEpisodes95Founded8 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
FoodArtsHistory

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Artwork for Filter Stories

Latest Episodes

This episode explores the black box between coffee leaving the farm and the roaster's warehouse, and how quality can be ruined. Wrapping the coffee in any old plastic bag won't do. We get geeky looking at how hermetic bags like GrainPro actually work... more

YouTube

This episode explores the many ways coffee can get ruined while still on the farm, including fishy concrete tanks, the importance of not using jute sacks to collect coffee cherries, and solutions to unpredictable rains ruining coffee drying on the pa... more

YouTube

This episode takes you through the basics of good water for coffee.

To objectively assess a coffee's quality, both producer and buyer need to taste it using the same water. But whose water standards should you choose? Why do roasters often get to de... more

YouTube

This episode is a practical guide to tasting coffee, sample roasting and judging quality, built for small producers on a tight budget. That makes it just as useful if you’re early in your coffee journey and want to learn the basics without spending t... more

YouTube

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Marvin Tala
Engineering Department manager at GrainPro Philippines
GrainPro Philippines
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 2 - Why plastics are not all equal
Hazel Valera
Chief Operating Officer of GrainPro Philippines
GrainPro Philippines
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 2 - Why plastics are not all equal
Thai Dang
Co-founder of 96B Cafe and Roastery
96B Cafe and Roastery
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 1 - How coffee gets ruined on the farm
Karla Boza
Producer in El Salvador introduced as a case study in quality misalignment
Independent producer/El Salvador
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Quality Assurance, Pt 1 - A practical guide to tasting and roasting coffee
Julia Ortega
Seven-hectare farm owner in Mexico
Mexico coffee producer
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Price, Pt 2 - Discovering the true value of coffee
Edilberto Tovar
Five-hectare farm in Southern Colombia
Finca La Esmeralda
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Price, Pt 2 - Discovering the true value of coffee
Melissa de Gasperín
Mexico-based producer featured in a cautionary tale
Mexico coffee producer
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Price, Pt 2 - Discovering the true value of coffee
César Marín Acre
Peruvian producer cited for negotiation tactics
Peru coffee producer
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Price, Pt 2 - Discovering the true value of coffee
Diego Robelo
From Aquiares in Costa Rica, roaster interactions and price discovery
Aquiarés Roastery partner
Episode: Producer Toolkit: Price, Pt 2 - Discovering the true value of coffee

Hosts

James Harper
Creator and principal host guiding narrative and interviews; co-creator of ongoing series on coffee documentary storytelling.
Lucia Solis
Co-host and expert quoted throughout episodes; brings hands-on farmer experience and fermentation/processing expertise.

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 396 ratings
  • You Had Me At “Water”

    This is the show you’re looking for coffee nerds!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    JaySeeB
    United Statesa year ago
  • Relaxing and educational

    James Harper has a gift in telling stories especially about coffee

    His honest efforts in researching each podcast in great detail is truly inspiring to be both relaxing and stimulating educational has brought my troubled mind a great deal of peace

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    77TJ
    United Statesa year ago
  • Brillant storytelling and great information all about coffee

    My favorite podcast by far!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    vattolinos
    Switzerland2 years ago
  • Amazing stories by an independent podcast producer

    I love listening to James’s podcast. I am an eager consumer of coffee and I found his stories always fascinating, helping me understand the beauty and the dark side of this product I so much love.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Spennna81
    Germany2 years ago
  • Really well produced

    Great storytelling, insightful, wonderful sound and music.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    keepcalmcoffee
    Germany2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Brings human stories to the forefront of coffee discourse.
A must-listen for coffee lovers and industry folks alike.
Excellent storytelling with in-depth science and history.
Well-produced and endlessly informative about the coffee supply chain.
Inspiring coverage of farmers, labor, and sustainability with practical takeaways.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#171
United States/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#175
United Kingdom/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#239
Canada/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#113
Italy/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#177
Germany/Arts/Food
Apple Podcasts
#233
Australia/Arts/Food

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 1 - How coffee gets ruined on the farm
Q: So what solution did you come up with on the farm?
They used plastic tarps to cover drying coffee, although Lucia notes that tarps are not fully waterproof.
Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 1 - How coffee gets ruined on the farm
Q: So how did he fix it?
He re-tiled the concrete fermentation tank with ceramic tile, which stopped the fishy aroma from affecting the coffee.
Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 2 - Why plastics are not all equal
Q: But James, could we just use the EVOH as our only plastic layer?
James explains that EVOH blocks oxygen but is poor at blocking moisture, so it needs to be combined with polyethylene.
Producer Toolkit: Storage, Pt 2 - Why plastics are not all equal
Q: So Lucia, you've dragged your coffee. It's sitting in bags in parchment, ready to leave your farm off to the dry mill. The hard part is over, right?
Lucia says drying is an important achievement, but coffee remains vulnerable to spoilage during storage and transport after it leaves the farm.
Producer Toolkit: Fermentation, Pt 2 - The case for avoiding exciting fermentations
Q: Why can't you just add microbes and expect the same results everywhere?
Because the baseline conditions, farm context, and management practices determine outcomes; microbes are a tool that must be paired with good processes and environment to achieve consistent results.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
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Frequently Asked Questions About Filter Stories

What is Filter Stories about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Across episodes, listeners encounter practical, data-informed discussions on coffee farming, processing, drying, and post-harvest workflows, with a strong emphasis on sustainability, labor dynamics, and profitability. The show blends hands-on farmer experience with agronomy, history, and science to reveal how choices from shade to water management and biodiversity shape flavor, resilience, and equity along the supply chain. A notable strength is weaving together field anecdotes, low-cost tooling, and larger-system context to help producers, traders, and enthusiasts understand not just the cup, but the people, environments, and history behind it.

Where can I find podcast stats for Filter Stories?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Filter Stories. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Filter Stories and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Filter Stories get?

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What are the audience demographics for Filter Stories?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Filter Stories, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does Filter Stories have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Filter Stories has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Filter Stories?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Filter Stories:

1. Making Coffee with Lucia Solis
2. 99% Invisible
3. IT’S JUST COFFEE!
4. Tim Wendelboe Podcast
5. Strong Message Here

How many episodes of Filter Stories are there?

Filter Stories launched 8 years ago and published 95 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Filter Stories?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Filter Stories?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Filter Stories from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Filter Stories?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Filter Stories. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on Filter Stories?

Recent guests on Filter Stories include:

1. Marvin Tala
2. Hazel Valera
3. Thai Dang
4. Karla Boza
5. Julia Ortega
6. Edilberto Tovar
7. Melissa de Gasperín
8. César Marín Acre

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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