[Week 25/2025 at Map It Forward] Yozo Otsuki from Kurasu and Mohamad Merhi from Cypher Urban Roasters

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Map It Forward JAPAN IS COMING

This week, we’re announcing the launch of 'Map It Forward Japan,' an initiative to make select content that airs on The Daily Coffee Pro, our global podcast, accessible to the Japanese coffee community in Japanese.

You can find out more about Map It Forward Japan at https://mapitforward.coffee/japan and https://instagram.com/mapitforwardjapan.

The Industry - challenging times

There’s no denying it, things feel fragile right now, globally and in coffee.

From conflict zones to climate shifts, political instability to inflation, the world is being stretched in every direction, and the coffee industry is feeling the impact.

Crops are delayed. Logistics are strained. Prices are unpredictable. Labour is hard to find. And for small businesses across the supply chain, margins are non-existent.

But most of the industry’s surface still looks calm - cafes are full, competitions are running, trade shows go on, and new products and businesses are launching.

So, firstly, if you’re feeling anxious about the future of your business or your career, you’re not alone. We’re (mostly) an industry of highly empathetic people, and with all that’s going on, I’d be concerned if you weren’t concerned. These are tough times.

Now more than ever, staying informed, building honest relationships, and managing risk wisely are essential.

We’ll keep doing our part to bring you the conversations that matter, so you can keep navigating what’s ahead, eyes open, values intact.

I invite us all to admit when things don’t look or feel right, to pay attention to transactional relationships that aren’t serving us anymore, and to make sure that the people around us are the people that we want to experience the challenges ahead with. You got this!

Also, following on from the series with Michael Sheridan from Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) last week, I got lots of questions from people asking how I would do things differently when it comes to talking about “quality” in coffee. You can hear my thoughts about this here, as well as my thoughts about a recent article published in the Daily Coffee News about rather incorrect (in my opinion) claims being made by the NCA. Happy to hear your thoughts in the comments section of the post.

The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast - Yozo Otsuki

Our guest for our five-part series on our global podcast, The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, is Yozo Otsuki from Kurasu.

In this series, we're exploring the journey that Yozo went on, starting, building, growing, and expanding Kurasu within Japan and around the world with a franchise model.

After the intensity of some of the series in 2025, this conversation with Yozo was just a beautiful conversation with a deeply intentional business owner, building a beautiful brand.

Here are the 5 episodes in this series:

1. Becoming a Japanese Coffee Entrepreneur -https://youtu.be/UjLa9smn1Sg

2. The Japanese Coffee Industry - https://youtu.be/wO-8-1l7JZM

3. Building a Coffee Concept - https://youtu.be/CSgDRXENn04

4. Growing Kurasu Beyond Homewares - https://youtu.be/T_mXVLBkxCg

5. Expanding Kurasu Globally - https://youtu.be/TfohROuLiow

You can have early access to our series as Patreon backers or premium subscribers on our YouTube Channel. It helps support the production of this podcast.

The MIF Middle East Podcast - Mohamad Merhi

Our guest on the Map It Forward Middle East Podcast this week is Mohamad Merhi, founder of Cypher Urban Roasters based in Dubai, UAE.

In this series, Mohamad and Lee discuss what it takes to grow a successful coffee brand in the Middle East.

The 5 episodes in this series are:

1. Middle East Coffee Brands Are Innovating - https://youtu.be/tCqW8OyNIdo

2. What We're Getting Wrong Building Coffee Brands - https://youtu.be/iWPiFRf7aUU

3. How to Build Your Coffee Business Right - https://youtu.be/U74SoHsTZ-o

4. Current Coffee Crisis In The Middle East - https://youtu.be/1MO9KsMuhKY

5. Growth In The Region During The Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/ThBm_wle0m8

This series is excellent, and yet another great insight into a thriving values-based business based in the Middle East.

p.s. If you want to support our work, please consider joining our Patreon or becoming a premium subscriber on our YouTube Channel. If you’re looking for ways to support us for free, please share this email with your colleagues in coffee. It really does help us get this information out to more people.


Access “Introduction to Regenerative Coffee Farming” On-Demand for as little as $10 at the new Map It Forward On-Demand Learning Hub here: www.ondemand.mapitforward.coffee

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