A Better Table Podcast

A Better Table is hosted by Sprudgie Award-winning journalist and community organizer Umeko Motoyoshi. This show is a journalistic deep dive into the topics that matter in today's coffee world, from disability access to coffee producer rights at origin to labor organizing in the modern coffee workforce, and much, much more. Motoyoshi's fearless journalism isn't afraid to ask big questions: who is coffee for, what ways can we challenge existing systems, and how do we come together to create a better table for all.

Julien Langevin 06/30/2023

Julien Langevin Julien Langevin is the 2022 US Cup Tasters Champion, founder of the , and an outspoken advocate for mental health and trans rights. In this episode, Langevin discusses the recovery process after a mental health episode, and the stigma around mental health. . A Better Table is sponsored by . /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/27335319

Jessica Lui 05/11/2023

Jessica Lui Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Vancouver, BC-based Slothee Coffee founder Jessica Lui on the latest episode of A Better Table. Lui specializes in a form of latte art known as etching (when tools are used after milk is poured to draw and/or sculpt) and creates incredible works of colorful art. With Slothee Coffee, Lui teaches latte art classes, organizes coffee service pop-ups, and works as a photographer and content-creator. This episode is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/26812665

Morgan Eckroth 12/06/2022

Morgan Eckroth You might know Oregon-based coffee professional Morgan Eckroth from their wildly popular @morgandrinkscoffee and and . You might know Morgan Eckroth as the Director of Content at . You might even know Morgan as the and the . And if you don’t know Morgan? Listen to the latest episode of A Better Table with Umeko Motoyoshi! A Better Table is sponsored by . /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/25244709

Suni Reid Of Auntie’s Coffee 11/22/2022

Suni Reid Of Auntie’s Coffee In this episode, Motoyoshi interviews Mx. Suni Reid, founder of in West Hollywood, California. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/25093977

Marissa Childers 10/06/2022

Marissa Childers Welcome to a new episode of A Better Table, a podcast on the Sprudge Media Network where host talks to guests and discusses social, economic, and environmental sustainability. "Sustainability means a lot of different things, but here are my guiding questions, the questions I want to explore," explains Motoyoshi. "What sustains communities? What sustains relationships? What sustains your heart?" In this episode, Motoyoshi interviews Marissa Childers, founder of and co-founder of . Marissa Childers is a member of the Sprudge Twenty class of 2022—, and listen for a lively interview with Umeko Motoyoshi. A Better Table is sponsored by . /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/24605829

Ashley Rodriguez 08/17/2022

Ashley Rodriguez In this episode, Motoyoshi interviews Ashley Rodriguez. "Ashley is a ," says Motoyoshi, "creator and host of Boss Barista podcast, my friend—which is such an honor—and an all around really powerful, but also gentle and also creative and funny figure in coffee who's so important to the community in terms of putting ideas out there for people to chew on about social sustainability and also all kinds of sustainability." /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/24079608

Julien Langevin 06/22/2022

Julien Langevin In this episode, Motoyoshi interviews Julien Langevin (he/them) from in Portland, Maine. Langevin goes on to compete in the this week in Milan. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/23508683

Sonam Parikh Of Mina's World 04/06/2022

Sonam Parikh Of Mina's World Motoyoshi interviews Sonam Parikh of in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sonam Parikh is the co-founder of Mina's World, a Philadelphia cafe with an innovative menu, a beautiful selection of local handmade goods, and thriving community ties. Last year, : was built on the excitement of shared dream: founders Sonam Parikh and Kate Egghart wanted to create a space where their local community of artists, musicians, youth, and queer and trans folks could safely gather and form meaningful connections. The folks at Mina’s World want to be known for creating a safe and welcoming environment where “amazing humans” can gather to consume a delicious product served by kind people. Each member of the Mina’s team has a unique and varied skillset that sets them apart. Parikh and Egghart’s passion for helping their community extends far beyond their cafe doors. They maintain consistent involvement in mutual aid efforts around their city, setting aside a percentage of profits for donations. They love to support (CBTEL), a West Philadelphia-based mutual aid network seeking to redistribute wealth to Black LGBTQ+ people, as well as the . This episode of A Better Table is sponsored by . /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/22697372

Neichelle Guidry 03/02/2022

Neichelle Guidry Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Neichelle Guidry, founder of , an initiative to amplify the voices and stories of Black women through specialty coffee. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/22309664

Eric Grimm 01/20/2022

Eric Grimm In this episode of A Better Table, host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Glitter Cat Barista Director of Positive Outcomes Eric Grimm. "Glitter Cat is probably best known for their coffee competitions, which are accessible and free, created to spotlight marginalized, hospitality professionals, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, disabled and persons of marginalized gender," explains Motoyoshi. In this episode, we learn more about Glitter Cat's initiatives beyond coffee competitions, and Eric Grimm talks about the Human Resources program they've helped build. This episode of A Better Table is sponsored by . /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/21831473

Jackie Nguyen 11/16/2021

Jackie Nguyen In this episode of A Better Table, host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Jackie Nguyen, founder of Cafe Cà Phê. Cafe Cà Phê is Kansas City’s first Vietnamese coffee shop serving coffee grown in Vietnam in a variety of innovative specialty drinks. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/21186479

Arielle Rebekah 10/20/2021

Arielle Rebekah In this episode of A Better Table, Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Arielle Rebekah, the founder of Trans and Caffeinated. Trans and Caffeinated is a blog, an Instagram page, and a podcast dedicated to uplifting the "trans and queer community and also to educate cis folks about trans and queer issues." A Better Table is sponsored by Chobani. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/20884571

Mikey Rinaldo of New Math Coffee 07/14/2021

Mikey Rinaldo of New Math Coffee Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Mikey Rinaldo, the founder of New Math Coffee. New Math Coffee is a Chicago-based roaster that highlights coffee from Asian coffee producers all around the world, including diasporic Asian producers. Motoyoshi finds out about Rinaldo's start in coffee, and what lead them to open a roasting company. A Better Table is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear and Chobani. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/19814225

Carmel Laurino 06/07/2021

Carmel Laurino Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Carmel Laurino. Laurino is the founder of Kalsada Coffee, a Manila-based company that processes, exports, and imports specialty coffee from the Philippines. Laurino talks about how the company got started and its work with Philippine specialty coffee and Kalsada's sustainability innovations. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/19385603

Bianka Alloyn And Sabreen Naimah of Cute Coffee 05/05/2021

Bianka Alloyn And Sabreen Naimah of Cute Coffee Umeko Motoyoshi speaks to Bianka Alloyn And Sabreen Naimah, co-founders and owners of Cute Coffee in Oakland. Cute Coffee is a team of two and the pair do all their own marketing, packing, roasting, sourcing, and importing. They work exclusively with women coffee producers in countries all over the world. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/18996023

Gary Lambert of Bright Land Coffee 04/08/2021

Gary Lambert of Bright Land Coffee Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Gary Lambert, founder of Bright Land Coffee in Philadelphia. Gary has been featured in a couple of different contexts on Sprudge over the last year, but there's another layer to the story that hasn't really been told yet—Lambert started the company as a dream following a cancer diagnosis. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/18653060

Bartholomew Jones 03/25/2021

Bartholomew Jones Bartholomew Jones is a co-founder of Cxffeeblack based in Memphis, Tennesee. Cxffeeblack is a multimedia operation promoting the Black history—and present—of coffee. Cxffeeblack spreads this message through music, apparel, a podcast, and roasted coffee. Jones joins Motoyoshi to talk about the Cxffeeblack story and a new project: the Anti-Gentrification Coffee Club. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/18462158

Madeleine Longoria Garcia 02/17/2021

Madeleine Longoria Garcia Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Madeleine Longoria Garcia, a co-owner of Pacific Coffee Research. PCR is a Specialty Coffee Association Premier Training Campus, quality analysis & cupping lab, roastery, and Hawai’i coffee education center in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/17990531

Chris McAuley and Cydni Patterson 12/18/2020

Chris McAuley and Cydni Patterson Host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Chris McCauley and Cydni Patterson of Getchusomegear. Chris McAuley's Getchusomegear is built around the mission of “hookin’ up marginalized coffee pros and business owners with free coffee gear". They just recently announced an incredible slate of charitable grant recipients, and are actively working to make the coffee world a better and more equitable place in real, tangible ways. This episode is sponsored by Seattle Coffee Gear, Baratza, Oatly, and Urnex Brands. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/17241719

Cam's Coffee 11/09/2020

Cam's Coffee In the latest episode of A Better Table, host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Latasha Barr Lewis and Camden Myer of Cam's Coffee. Cam's Coffee is a Black family-owned business founded by Cam, who is 12 years old. Cam has a Traumatic Brain Injury and he is focused on creating diverse, supportive employment for disabled people. His mom, Latasha is an educator and the company's COO. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/16745813

Will Frith 09/30/2020

Will Frith Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Will Frith of building.coffee about the coffee species Robusta. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/16224749

Laetitia Mukandahiro 08/18/2020

Laetitia Mukandahiro In the fourth episode of A Better Table, Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Laetitia Mukandahiro. Mukandahiro is a renowned coffee professional in Kigali, Rwanda. She is an accomplished cupper, a licensed Q Grader, and she has judged Cup of Excellence multiple times. In this episode, Mukandahiro shares the experience of women in Rwandan coffee production. Season One of A Better Table is sponsored by Baratza, Oatly, and Urnex Brands. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/15664211

Emily Haddad 07/27/2020

Emily Haddad Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Emily Haddad, an acupuncture student, barista, and works as a key organizer in the Tartine Union. Tartine Bakery originally opened in 2002 in San Francisco. In 2020, Tartine was operating 5 retail storefronts in the Bay Area, three in LA and four in Seoul, Korea. That same month, over 140 employees declared their intention to unionize to management. Motoyoshi sits down with Emily Haddad and had a conversation about the efforts to unionize. Sponsored by Urnex, Baratza, and Oatly. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/15374735

Adam JacksonBey 06/23/2020

Adam JacksonBey In the third episode of A Better Table, Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Adam JacksonBey. JacksonBey is the founder of GoFundBean, a nonprofit organization that supports, uplifts, and protects the hourly coffee professional. Motoyoshi and JacksonBey discuss workplace and career sustainability for baristas and the important work GoFundBean is doing to make that possible. Season One of A Better Table is sponsored by Baratza, Oatly, and Urnex Brands. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/14934344

Kim Elena Ionescu 05/27/2020

Kim Elena Ionescu Host Umeko Motoyoshi interviews Kim Elena Ionescu, the Chief Sustainability and Knowledge Development Officer at Specialty Coffee Association. Ionescu and Motoyoshi dive deep into an issue impacting coffee farmers all over the world: labor shortages. Even if you’ve never encountered these issues before, settle in with the show and you will come away asking questions and pondering the bigger picture. Presented by Baratza, Urnex, and Oatly. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/14581442

Alice Wong 04/22/2020

Alice Wong In the first episode of A Better Table, Umeko Motoyoshi interviews disability rights activist and author Alice Wong (Disability Visibility). Alice Wong is an award-winning disability awareness activist, consultant, and media producer based in San Francisco, and was appointed to the National Council on Disability by President Obama. The Disability Visibility Project has collected over 140 oral histories in collaboration with the nonprofit organization StoryCorps. /episode/index/show/abettertable/id/14090384

A Better Table Podcast

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