The Coffee Show with Kirk Pearson

Though he would never own up to it, Andrew Kelly is one of the Four Horseman of Melbourne's specialty coffee industry. Andrew is the Founder of Small Batch Coffee, a seminal Melbourne roastery and Sharesource, which sources coffee that ensures farmers financial sustainability and aims for better outcomes on farm. The key contention of this podcast is how do we as an industry better communicate to consumers why buying ethically sourced coffee is a good thing. Have we been selling the message wrong? Have we been to prone to lecturing the public instead of having a better discourse?Kirk and Andrew also discuss why being 'delusional' is very important for a young entrepreneur or anyone wanting to make a change in the world. Also, does Melbourne make better Pizza than Italy? Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!

Scott Rao is the most recognised coffee roasting expert in the world. Through his consulting work he has helped countless coffee roasters to improve their roasting and day to day operations. The who's who of coffee all look up to him. Kirk and Scott cater to roasters that are at the beginner, intermediate and advanced level of roasting, so if you roast coffee already or you want to learn, this is the best podcast you can listen to. Scott and Kirk both tell some horror stories of workplaces they have had in previous years. And has Scott become a co-ferment guy? Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!

WARNING! This podcast has nothing to do with coffee. Pokemon is the most successful game/movie/merchandising franchise in the world by a long way, and in recent times that has gone to a whole new level. In the podcast we are joined by Jonathan D'allessando of Card Bot AU, a company that sells cards through vending machines. What started as a hobby for his brother CJ, ended up becoming a thriving business that cannot stock their machines quick enough! Regular listeners to this show know that Kirk LOVES Pokemon, so here is an opportunity to have some fun on a different topic.So what caused the Pokemon card wars? And how will they end? Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!

The World Coffee Championships recently unveiled their new sponsors, with Ceado now being the grinder sponsor for the barista category and Option O for brewers cup.Coffee competitions have always been costly, but this year they're going to a new level and the frequency at which the sponsors change make it hard for would be competitors to budget accordingly.Perhaps the most shocking change is that for the Brewers Cup competitors will now be required to use the same grinder for compulsory and open service which is a massive change that has already upset many competitors.Plus, Kirk apologises to Ceado for singling them out in a previous post.Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!

On the weekend US President Donald Trump and his administration captured Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela and his wife, sparking international outcry and condemnation.While the world is still learning more details there is much conjecture on what comes next. One thing is for sure, if the region were to become unstable and if shipping near one of the worlds busiest shipping routes is disrupted, the outcome for the coffee industry would be dire. Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!

In our recent tour of Europe, we touched down in Berlin to attend the launch of Oatly's 'Look Book' they formulated to help cafes and home enthusiasts to make better drinks that are better for the planet! Kirk sat down with Toby Weedon who is the Barista Development Director at Oatly who oversaw the creations in the Look Book. Along with the launch of the look book Kirk and Toby discuss the 'Future of Taste' report that Oatly developed which looks into upcoming trends within the coffee industry, like: - The Global Flavor Exchange - Conscious Indulgence - Fibre Has Entered the Chat - Destination Drinks - The Future State of MatchaThis is a great podcast to understand what trends could emerge in 2026 and what the future of coffee might look like! Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!

The prophecy foretold that one day Gabrel Tan would become Australian Barista Champion, and alas! Here we are!! Gabrel Tan of Veneziano Coffee Roasters, who has finished second three times to eventual World Champions Anthony Douglas and Jack Simpson, was finally able to break through and earn his first national title! Gabrel overcame a challenge from the legendary Angus Mackie of Ona Coffee using coffee from Finca Janson in Panama and unique microlot from Indonesia! In this episode we discuss Gab's journey where he competed against the very best in Australia's top heavy barista competition and what it took for him to overcome the mental hurdles of defeat! Jack Allisey is the Head of Coffee for the Nomad Coffee Group which is roasts more than 100 tonnes of coffee a week supplying some of Australia's biggest coffee brands. Jack is also Gab's coach for competition and has worked with Gab throughout his competition journey! Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!

Matt Perger and Jeremy Challender, co-founders of Barista Hustle, explore the future of coffee with intriguing insights on pre-made espresso. They reveal surprising results from a blind tasting, where day-old espresso was often preferred for its smoother flavor. The discussion dives into automation's impact on barista roles and coffee quality over the years. They tackle challenges in batch brewing and emphasize the importance of effective coffee education. Plus, they share valuable training resources and tips for improving coffee quality!

Alex Moore is the runner up of the Australian Brewers Cup and staff member at Project Zero Coffee. Alex was trained by Kirk and overachieved in his first season as a competitor. What was special about Alex routine is that he was the only competitor that used a washed coffee in the whole competition. In recent years, natural and experimental fermentations have dominated the Australian competition scene, this year Alex coffee was the highest scoring of the whole weekend despite coming second to the legendary Simon Gautherin! In this podcast Alex breaks down his entire competition prep, how the coffee was sourced, roasted, brewed and every other little detail. Plus, Project Zero Coffee is opening a second store soon and the concept is something that will be an amazing success, or a spectacular failure! Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!

Matt Winton a World Brewers Cup Champion now residing in Switzerland. Sierra Yeo is a National Brewers Cup Champion (previously representing the UK) and recently won the Swiss Brewers Cup, meaning she will compete again at the World Brewers Cup in Brussels. Matt and Sierra are happily married and together run Rose Coffee Roasters, and internationally famed roastery that sells some of the highest quality and unique coffee the world has to offer. At Host Milan, Kirk, Sierra and Matt all linked up to record a podcast and touched on the quality that competition has reached recently. Plus, they all play an entertaining game of "he's a ten, she's a ten!"Like this podcast? Leave a review and please tell two of your friends!