EP1635 Part 5 of 5 | The Advice Every Coffee Roaster Needs to Hear (Ana Maria Donneys) | Map It Forward
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Episode Description
This is Part 5 of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar.
Our guest in this series is Ana Maria Donneys, a fifth-generation Colombian coffee producer, founder of Café Primitivo in Quindío, Colombia, and President and Co-Founder of IWCA Colombia.
Across this series, Lee and Ana have explored how Colombian coffee farmers are navigating one of the most volatile periods the coffee industry has experienced in decades. Together they've discussed climate, politics, financing, pricing, and what producers are experiencing as El Niño begins reshaping coffee production.
In this final episode, Lee asks Ana a simple but important question:
What advice would you give coffee roasters over the next 6–18 months?
Ana's answer centres on relationships.
She encourages roasters to speak directly with producers or importers, understand how farms are being affected by El Niño, and ask important questions about financing and payment terms before signing contracts. She explains why flexible payment structures, honest communication, and planning ahead could make the difference between producers surviving this period of volatility—or being forced to step away from specialty coffee altogether.
The conversation also explores how expectations around coffee quality may need to change over the coming harvests. Ana believes dependable, repeatable coffees that create sustainable businesses for both producers and roasters may become more important than chasing increasingly scarce ultra-high-scoring lots.
Lee closes the series with a direct challenge to the industry: after everything producers risk to grow coffee, the very least buyers should do is pay them on time.
If you buy, roast, import, or sell coffee, this episode provides practical advice that could help strengthen your business and your relationships throughout the supply chain.
Connect with Ana and Café Primitivo here:
https://www.instagram.com/cafeprimitivo/
https://www.instagram.com/anadonneys/