In this episode Dario and Julian talk about the extremely sought-after equipment that SOVDA is producing, what makes it stand out and how all your favourite roasteries are using this technology to further increase the quality gap.

Julian visited the roastery in June 2026 to commission our Pearl Mini. Dario and

After a 30 year career in specialty coffee, Tim has some thoughts and reflections that he shares with Dario. Tim has pioneered transparent trade, producer development, consistent roasting and has always championed clean, washed coffees. He has set the gold standard for well traded, high quality green coffee programs for countless roasteries and continues to innovate in this space.

Tim's roastery, Tim Wendelboe, is based in Norway. He is the Head of quality, green coffee buying and coffee expertise. Enjoy this fascinating insight into one of the most revered coffee businesses in the world.

Scott Rao truly needs no introduction. Well regraded across the entire specialty coffee industry as the leading thinker in the roasting space, Scott is a revered name amongst coffee pros and consumers.

Scott has 30 years of experience in the industry, as a roastery owner, cafe owner, consultant, author and leader. Dario and Scott chat air roasters vs drum roasters, is specialty coffee undergoing loss of human touch or improvement in quality?, all things motivation and drive, and the inner workings of the specialty coffee industry and owning a specialty coffee roastery.

Markus unpacks what business ownership looks like, 7 years later. How his passions have changed and how his life has changed (they're called Sophia and Lucas ☺️) since he started Sweet Spot. He and Dario also do a deep dive into water in the cafe, and how to use water to get the best tasting coffee. Listen now on all podcast streaming platforms!

Louis-Philippe and Veronique founded Dak Coffee Roasters in Amsterdam in 2019. Since then they have become one of the leading specialty coffee roasteries in the world. Now, 7 years on, Louis is able to lean in to his financial engineering skillset and Veronique is able to focus on her expertise in branding and marketing. Dak is a fascinating company, from their meteoric rise to their uncompromising approach to quality. Dario breaks all of it down with Louis in this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It.

Why are we leaving barista competitions in the past? After 5 years on the competition stage, we've decided it's not for us. Find out why in this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It. Dario opens the new season of with Luhle, Bluebird's Wholesale Manager. Luhle just finished 5th at the South African National Barista Champs. In this episode, he breaks down his preparation, his approach to competition and they discuss Bluebird's role in competition in the future.

It’s 2025! Welcome back to the coffee and business podcast, Coffee Made Me Do It. We’re starting the year with a sit down chat with the Bluebird team. Join Dario as he reflects on 2024 with Fanie, Luhle and Katie, as well as talk about intentions for 2025. They talk barista competition, rebranding, staying motivated, hobbies and training in 2025. Catch up with the Bluebird team in this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It.

Max, from BlueWater Group, dives into the advanced conversations being had about water for coffee. Questions around minerals, TDS, Reverse Osmosis and BlueWater’s answers to these questions. Water makes up about 95% of your brewed coffee, that makes it an extremely important ingredient in your recipe. Water quality is inseparable from the ultimate quality of your brewed coffee.
Dario and Max talk water, skiing, his background as a chef, sustainability focused food and what makes the BlueWater systems revolutionary.
Give it a listen on any podcast streaming platform. Live now.