

The Coffee Show with Kirk Pearson
The Coffee Show with Kirk Pearson
Uncovering the untold stories about coffee
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 14, 2025 • 1h 5min
Jack Simpson: Can He Win Finally Win The World Barista Championship?
Jack Simpson has won the Australian Barista Championship for the past three years. At the world level he has placed 3rd and 2nd in consecutive years and this year he looks to do one better in what might be his final campaign. Jack has evolved over the years, and this year Kirk thinks he is looking better than ever. Kirk and Jack discuss competition at length and Kirk also tells a story about Strawberry Matcha you might not believe! Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jul 7, 2025 • 1h 23min
Rhys Woods: 10 Things You Should Know Before Opening A Cafe
Are you thinking of opening a cafe or wanting improve your current one? Then this podcast is an excellent resource for you. Kirk is joined by Rhys Woods of Ona Coffee and together they distill some 10 great points on what you should consider before opening a cafe, some of the tips will save you a lot of pain! Rhys Woods works as an Account Manager for Ona Coffee, who are a successful and quality focused coffee wholesaler in Australia, while Kirk Pearson is a cafe owner himself. Together their information formed these ten 'commandments' that you should consider. Plus, Rhys and Kirk discuss the recent Best of Panama results, some competition news and UFC! Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jun 30, 2025 • 51min
Aston Utan: Building The Indonesian Specialty Coffee Scene
Aston Utan is one of the founders of Common Grounds in Jakarta Indonesia. Common Grounds are hugely responsible for the development of the Indonesian specialty coffee scene and Aston is their CEO. In this episode Kirk and Aston discuss how the Indonesian coffee scene has grown to be one of the most vibrant in the world. Aston and Kirk also discuss how technology will influence coffee service in the future and why customers prefer buying coffee from people rather than robots. Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jun 23, 2025 • 36min
Kai Janson - Pana-drama! What Makes Coffee From Panama So Special?
Kai Janson is a world leading coffee producer from Panama operating Janson Family Estates. Coffee from the Janson family is internationally applauded and used in competitions all over the world. In 2023 Janson Geisha was used by Boram Um to win the World Barista Championship, a first for the Janson family. In this episode Kirk and Kai discuss what it is that makes coffee from Panama so special! Kai also spills the beans on what some call 'pana-drama,' a term that describes the friendly rivalry between coffee producers in Panama who many believe produce the worlds best coffee. Securing this interview was a win for us at the Coffee Show and offers insight into some of the unspoken tales of Panamanian coffee. The highs, the lows, the beginning and the pana-drama!Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jun 19, 2025 • 28min
Mikael Jasin: World Barista Champion, Cafe Owner, Coffee Exporter
Mikael Jasin is the reigning World Barista Champion, cafe owner and coffee exporter. Mikael took the world by storm winning the World Barista Championship prioritising mindfulness and recounting the challenges he had to overcome to finally win, a great metaphor for life in general. Above everything, Mikael is a proud Indonesian. Since winning the WBC he has been a powerful ambassador for his own country and greater Asia . In this podcast Mikael and Kirk discuss how competition could improve, what Indonesian coffee farmers need to grow and a vision for the coffee industry in the future. Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jun 16, 2025 • 20min
Boram Um: World Barista Champion, Coffee Producer, K-Pop Star?
Boram Um is the 2023 World Barista Champion, a coffee producer and contender for worlds most handsome barista! In this podcast Kirk and Boram discuss the challenges of preparing for a world title run, how Boram prepared and how life changed for him after the win. Boram and his family own Fazenda Um in Brazil from which he produced one of his world championship coffees. Interestingly, Boram is an advocate for the new changes to the coffee scoring system under the Coffee Value Assessment, which is contrast of a lot of coffee personalties based in consuming countries. Do coffee farmers actually see this as a good thing? Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jun 11, 2025 • 20min
Daryanto Witarsa: How Jakarta Cemented Itself As a Global Coffee City
Daryanto Witarsa is a well known coffee entrepreneur in Indonesia who now works as high ranking government official overseeing food security. Hosting the World of Coffee is now a competitive process and Yanto lobbied for years to make it happen. This year that dream was achieved with unprecedented success. The show was bustling and set a new standard. In Yanto's new role, he oversees a project of national importance working in the government of newly elected Prabowo Subianto, as a director of food security. Prabowo as he is known to Indonesians, has prioritised nutrition for Indonesians as a key pillar for their economic goals which are ambitious. Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jun 9, 2025 • 35min
Jay Kim: Why Hospitality Will Always Be The Secret Ingredient To Great Coffee!
Jay Kim is the co-founder of the UFO dripper and growing personality in the specialty coffee space. Jay's public profile has grown enormously in recent times for his inspiring social media posts and videos emphasising the importance of hospitality in coffee.In this podcast Jay and Kirk talk at length about inequality in coffee and how drinking coffee is a privilege, not a right.Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jun 4, 2025 • 23min
Savina Giachgia: Why Sustainability Is More Important Than Ever In Coffee
Savina Giachgia is a runner up in the World Brewers Cup competition of 2023 and passionate advocate for sustainability in coffee. In this discussion Kirk and Savina discuss why everyone should be more concerned about sustainability and what we risk if we don't pay attention. Kirk also reflects on a recent farm visit in Indonesia and highlights why investing in farms is essential for the future of coffee production and maintaining financial viability of coffee farms. Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.

Jun 4, 2025 • 50min
Jordy & Herru of Ombe Kofie
Jakarta's specialty coffee industry is booming! With more cafes opening than anyone can keep track of, Ombe Kofie has remained adored in a hyper competitive market. Ombe coffee serve some of the best coffee in all of Indonesia (we can confirm that). We were lucky enough to record this podcast inside one of their venues. Two of Ombe's leaders, Jordy and Herru join us to explain the origins of Ombe Coffee (founded by Jordie's father Jason). Why did they decide to open a cafe? How challenging was it? What is the coffee scene like in one of Asia's most populated cities? Jordie and Haru answer all in this podcast. Like this podcast? Leave a review or even share to some friends! Sharing helps us grow so that we can go to more places and share more stories around the world.


