Advertise on podcast: AA Cafe Podcast

Every year Mark and Brian conjure up a "ten things" list, and this year it's memories of 2025. Brian's cohost for the episode is KC, an Oklahoma girl who is a fan of DoubleShot and just so happened to be in the studio when it was crunch time. The pair taste and talk about Priscilla Gonzalez's Bambito Estate Yellow Catuai Anaerobic Natural, banter about Mango coffee and Mango the street artist, and celebrate the first harvest of Dos Manzanas. The episode ends with Brian's ten things, and then Mark's - from afar.

In this extended episode, Juan Ramón Diaz comes to Tulsa to visit DoubleShot. Mark and Brian begin by chatting about a chocolate tasting with David De Olier from Salento, Quindio, Colombia. Then Juan breaks in to serve his own coffee in the AA Cafe studio. Producer Juan Ramón and Roaster Brian held an event to talk about all things coffee. The audio isn't perfect, but you'll feel like you're right there in the room listening. It's a long one, but probably worth a listen if you're interested in what it's like to be a coffee farmer or how your roastmaster works with producers to get the great coffees served at DoubleShot.  Buy Juan Ramón's Pacamara natural. And check out our selection of chocolate bars from David De Olier.

Brian just returned from a trip to Colombia, visiting Cofinet in the Quindio region. While there, he had lunch with Luz Helena Salazar, owner of Maracay - producer of several coffees in the DoubleShot lineup over the past couple years. Felipe Arcila, co-owner of Cofinet sat down for an interview on the farm. While there, some turmoil came to a head (Brian's head, specifically) about coffee prices and what other roasters are doing to keep costs down. Costs at DoubleShot are not going down. We cut out a fairly aggressive rant that spontaneously erupted during recording, and Mark and Brian went back for a stab at more civil discussions about what set Brian off in the first session. Listen at your own risk. Order that Maracay Honey at DoubleShotCoffee.com

Liz Blood was the guest on this episode, discussing her career in journalism and her current projects in TV and print media. Mark and Brian discuss the meaning of art, the new graffiti-inspired BOOST summer coffee shandy, and Liz's new book, the Creative Field Guide to Northeastern Oklahoma. Get the shandy and the book at DoubleShotCoffee.com.

Mark is OOO and Amanda has stepped in for her podcast debut. In an abbreviated episode, get caught up on the status of The Coffee Purist, a teaser on something definitely NOT puristic from the coffee purist himself, and an opportunity to listen to a chapter of the book with a certain AA Cafe-inspired slant. Most everything besides the coffee is available at the website purist.coffee.

The annual convention for the Specialty Coffee Association was held in Houston April 25-27. Amanda, Mark and Brian all went down to represent DoubleShot, try and pre-sell some of The Coffee Purist books (slated to be on your coffee table by fall 2025), catch up with old friends, and get a pulse on what's happening today in "specialty coffee." This episode is all about that experience. Of note: a first introduction to Wondafrash Edema, a run with Firaol Ahmed, an insightful conversation with George Howell, and a lot of whispering about the T-word.

Brian has just returned from another trip to Nicargaua, where he had a few revelations concerning cupping, relationships, and the world economy. Mark comes along for the ride and the diatribe. Throughout the episode, you might learn about the effects of tariffs on coffee prices and business sustainability, the importance of judging coffees circumstantially rather than absolutely, and the prevalence of coffee roasters lying about their relationships with producers. It's hot and heavy. And hopefully thought-provoking.

DoubleShot Coffee Company turns twenty-one on March 5, 2025. Mark and Brian discuss the ever-perplexing birthday poster, which incorporates a spray painted chimpanzee ripped off from nemesis, which was originally created as a part of the second human trial for a banana coffee through the spurious American Society for the Caffeination of Primates. Wednesday marks the launch of the Sappy Meal, available at DoubleShot. You too can wear the Sappy shirt seen in the nemesis painting, available at DoubleShotCoffee.com. While you're there, buy a pound of Juan's Montelin Pacamara Natural. Happy birthday to us.

It's January and coffees harvested a year ago are just arriving in Tulsa. With coffee commodity prices soaring and shipping complications worldwide, the coffee industry is in chaos. Jim McEnanay joined Brian and Mark via zoom to discuss the state of affairs. This interview was recorded December 6, and since then the EUDR has been postponed to December 30, 2025. The dockworkers' strike that was set to begin on January 15 has been averted due to a new contract agreement. The commodity price of coffee today is $3.98, up from $1.89 one year ago today.

As 2024 draws to a close, Mark and Brian talk about the highlights of the past twelve months. And end with their annual "ten things" lists. Check out the playlist on spotify, if you dare. Happy holidays.

All this talk about "the Gesha," and the day finally arrived for Franklin to roast it. With over eighty orders in the queue, the roastmaster went to work. And then sat down in the AA Cafe studio immediately afterward to talk about how it felt. If you pre-ordered the coffee, you'll be enjoying it soon. If you didn't, you're missing out on an amazing experience. Don't let that happen to you again; check out the craziness unfolding at purist.coffee/nemesis.

Franklin is roasting another Gesha. Maybe the best one he's ever roasted. Certainly one of the best that Felipe Arcila at Cofinet has ever produced in their ten years. Felipe sat in on a zoom interview with the roastmaster. Mark and Brian sip on some coffee from La Pastora - the second holiday coffee of the year at DoubleShot. Buy the Gesha online at DoubleShotCoffee.com.

It's the Thanksgiving episode of AA Cafe and full of holiday cheer. Mark and Brian sip Beredo and talk to Firaol Ahmed about its origins. There's a diversion discussing Firaol's VO2 Max, and then they launch directly into talk of a very fresh Gesha natural out of Colombia, which is available for pre-purchase on the DoubleShot app and at DoubleShotCoffee.com.

Herb Gottfried is quite a character. A renaissance man, Mark says. Herb has been a regular at DoubleShot for quite some time, and decided to give us an oar he got from Cornell University when he taught rowing there. We sat down with him to discuss his life and career, his love for rowing, and the history of this oar. He's a fascinating guy, and his episode of the DoubleShot Folk podcast is well worth a listen. Find it at DoubleShotFolk.org or on the DoubleShot website. The first holiday coffee of the year is on the shelves and available online and on the DoubleShot app. And David De Olier came through with another chocolate bar that's unusual and intense. Find both of these at DoubleShotCoffee.com.

With the political season coming to a close and autumn in full swing, Mark and Brian fire up the mics to talk about shipping. Significant issues have caused delays in shipping that have hindered our ability to get coffee from both Ethiopia and Nicaragua. Brian has a conversation with Firaol Ahmed from Moii Coffee about shipping out of his home country of Ethiopia. And then Brian Phillips from Anthem Coffee Imports made the drive from Kansas City to Tulsa to discuss shipping delays out of Nicaragua. Things you might not normally think about, but our societies ride the tides of worldwide shipping. Have a listen.