The story behind Jesse Hartman\u2019s creation of <\/span>The Coffee Podcast<\/span><\/i> is pretty simple. About five years ago, he and a buddy both worked in the coffee industry. His friend, Weston Peterson, worked in the trader segment and Jesse worked in cafes as he moved toward opening and managing coffee shops. Between the two, they had what Jesse calls a <\/span>\u201ctwo-dimensional view of the industry.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
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\n<\/span>\u201cNo joke, we would seriously sit around and just talk coffee for hours at a time. We loved it. One day, we were just hanging out doing our thing, both listening to podcasts, and we said, <\/span><\/i>\u201cHey\u2014what if we recorded our conversations?<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/i>
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\n<\/span>Weston had an Instagram account he used to share very professional-looking photos of his coffee with his followers. The pair decided to leverage that Instagram account by telling Weston\u2019s followers they were releasing a podcast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesse, a musician, already had a ton of equipment they could use to make it happen, including a microphone, set, logic software, sound editing software, and computer system. Episode 1 of <\/span>The Coffee Podcast<\/span><\/i> was produced in a matter of days.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Jesse, from the creator standpoint, the podcast has been <\/span>\u201csurprisingly emotional\u201d<\/span><\/i> as well as <\/span>\u201cimpressively relational.\u201d <\/span><\/i>
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He says: <\/span>
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\n<\/span><\/i>\u201cI’m sure other podcasters can relate to this\u2026 I have this \u2018strange\u2019 relationship with my listeners, because it feels very one-sided at times, right? I’m talking into a microphone. People get to know me, but I don’t get to know them. With that, though, is also a lot of opportunity for growth.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
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\n<\/span>Some of the topics Jesse and Weston have covered since Episode 1 were very basic, like how to brew better coffee at home. But the conversation quickly evolved between Episode 1 and Episode 20 as they began to realize there were conversations in coffee occurring that involved people in the growing regions\u2026 the <\/span>producers<\/span><\/i> of coffee. The hosts found those conversations captivating\u2014it was very compelling for them to cover the well-being of those who are actually growing and making coffee around the world. <\/span>
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\u201cThose conversations turned into what we called at the time <\/span><\/i>\u2018All The Hands.\u2019<\/span> The idea behind it was to feature <\/span><\/i>\u2018All The Hands\u2019<\/span> that touch your cup of coffee before it gets to you, the consumer. A lot of us drink quite a bit of coffee, yes. But it was at this time that the idea of our podcast not being just about coffee, but about people, really took deep roots in our hearts.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
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\n<\/span>That was a major turning point for Jesse\u2014it\u2019s also what keeps him going even during the times he\u2019s wanted to quit. This type of motivation is especially important since, about a year into production, Weston had a calling to join the Marines. Even though he\u2019s still part of the podcast in spirit, Jesse now mans the mic solo now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s bigger than I am. It’s bigger than my personality, and bigger than what I have to bring to the table. There are conversations that need to happen in coffee, and this medium is a public ground for people to be a part of them, even if they’re just listening.<\/span><\/i>
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\u201cOver time, people have reached out to me saying <\/span><\/i>\u2018Hey, you know, your podcast has inspired me to do XYZ,\u2019<\/span> and those are the emails I think back on that put the wind in my sails to continue. People will say things on the street like <\/span><\/i>\u2018How do you have a podcast about coffee for five years? How do you keep putting out content about coffee?\u2019<\/span> Well, it’s not just about coffee, right? The industry is complex and fascinating. But really, it\u2019s the people in coffee that keep the podcast going.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

That and, of course, and his love of coffee.<\/span>
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\u201cMy relationship with coffee began when I was young. My dad always drank it, and I loved the smell. I remember being at a play wi<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

th my parents and catching the scent, so I asked if I could have some. My mom didn’t want me to, but my dad snuck me some. I remember that as clear as if it happened yesterday. He put a splash in a little creamer cup and handed it to me. Maybe my memory of this is more \u2018romantic\u2019 than it actually was, but in mind, it’s got the feel of a fantasy or something.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

After that initial coffee experience, Jesse was smitten. As a high school student, he dreamed of working at Starbucks, and eventually, he did. At the same time, he was introduced to what’s called \u201cspecialty coffee\u201d\u2014an entire subculture of the coffee industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, my manager at Starbucks didn’t like me very much, because I was doing all this research on quality: how to make things better, how to pour better lattes, that kind of thing. And at that particular store, it was all about speed. So I have this aspect of integrity in me where I’m like, you know, the customers paying X amount of dollars for a beverage\u2026 I want to give them something beautiful! My manager disagreed, so I quit that job and found myself in specialty coffee.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
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\n<\/span>Jesse\u2019s curiosity combined with his love of learning and leading, and soon, he found himself in managerial positions and opening coffee shops for hospitality groups. People started calling him <\/span>\u201cthe coffee guy.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been in coffee from the beginning of my career, and I\u2019m still in it now with the podcast.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/h2>\n

Jesse credits the conversations he has on the show with helping him teach and support other people\u2019s growth while fueling his own passion and development\u2014especially when it comes to fairly engaging with the producers who bring that amazing scent and taste to the lips of coffee drinkers all around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s those conversations that make me want to do coffee the rest of my life. It’s really very emotional for me\u2014an emotional attachment. It’s a relational attachment. It’s not just about the drink. It’s about the connections. I think everybody who’s been to a coffee shop or has got the coffee \u2018bug\u2019 gets that. Some people go to coffee shops even though they get tea. They go because they’re know they\u2019re going to connect.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI get to have that same kind of joy of experience through the podcast. People listen in from all over the world and reach out to me because coffee is a thing that brings people together. It transcends typical barriers, like language and cultural barriers, that can come between people. As the world becomes more global, coffee becomes something that reveals just how connected we all are.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to Jesse, from the creator standpoint, the podcast has been \u201csurprisingly emotional\u201d as well as \u201cimpressively relational.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[157,365,367,366,362,364,363],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n