Coffee Made Me Do It

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.

Ian Kissick is the owner of Formative Coffee and 6th Place World Barista Champion 2024. In this episode, Dario and Ian dive into coffee culture, changing perceptions around coffee, putting flavour before brand name, preparing for competition and how he approached the 2024 World Barista Championships. Ian owns and operates Formative Coffee in London, a cafe serving some of the world's best coffee, but with a creative twist. Ian has brought his competition expertise into the cafe to create an experience that puts flavour in the foreground, and prompts some subtle questions about how his customers perceive the role of coffee in their lives. It's a long, casual chat that thoroughly explains Ian's mindset, approach and philosophies. Grab a coffee and put your headphones on, this is a good one!

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario talks to founder and creative director of Dark Arts Coffee, Brad Morrison. They talk about building a brand that is a reflection of ourselves, catering for an audience of one, community and the “why” behind Dark Arts. This is one we are so stoked to share, and we're big fans of Brad and his team.  Brad moved to London to be a muralist and got a starting job as a barista. Fast forward to today and his roastery has a huge, cult-like, following and is bringing better coffee to the cups of Londoners (and beyond).  Listen to Dario's casual conversation with Brad as they drink a beer (or two

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario talks to Thomas and Lola, founders of Motors Coffee in Paris. Motors has fast gained a reputation for serving some of the best coffee in Europe. It is certainly one of our favourite cafes! Dario sat down with Thomas and Lola after a Bluebird Coffee Roastery popup at Motors. In true Parisian style, this was recorded while sitting outside a cafe, people watching :) https://www.instagram.com/motorscoffee/ https://www.instagram.com/thxmasphilips/ https://www.instagram.com/wedontgiveafunk/ ⁠https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/

Patrik is a coffee icon and pioneer of quality, education and progress. His presence at the highest level of international coffee competitions and the philosophies that his company has been built on have rattled the cage of the specialty coffee industry. Undeniably, his approach has moulded some significant changes and conversations in the industry over the 8 years since April was founded. Dario sits down with him to break down what April is at its core, what Patrik's vision for it is and what his ultimate goals are for his time in coffee. Where is specialty coffee going? Is it at it's worst point ever? They also get into your more serious questions, like how much Patrik deadlifts

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario talks to Alex Kitain, founder of Coffeevine. Alex has spent 10 years sourcing incredible coffees from the worlds best roastery's and shipping these curated selections to subscribers in over 60 countries! It's fair to say that Alex has seen it all when it comes to trends, challenges and opportunities within the world of high end coffee. This was such a fun conversation and we hope you enjoy it! https://www.instagram.com/thecoffeevine/ https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario talks to Cole Torode of Rosso Roastery and Forward coffee in Canada. Cole is a legend of the Specialty Coffee industry and competition arena. Twice a winner of the Canadian Barista Champs, twice a finalist at WBC, once a Canadian Brewers Cup Champion and most recently, a key member of Boram Um's World Barista Championship winning Dream Team. Its fair to say Cole has some unique insights into coffee competitions and their impact on our amazing industry. We hope you enjoy! https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario talks to Markus Pytell, owner and founder of Sweet Spot Kaffee in Munich. Markus opened his specialty-coffee-showroom café in 2020 (as lockdown hit). He and his team have become renowned for their standout brewing and their exceptional selection of coffees from the world's best roastery's. Markus is as dedicated as they come. Dario talks to him about automation in coffee shops, opening a cafe in lockdown, quitting your job and starting in coffee and how he approaches a work-life balance. Markus is a friend, customer and an inspirational entrepreneur. We think you'll love this one :) https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario sits down with Fanie and Luhle to talk about our Sprudgie Nomination and goals for the year ahead. VOTE HERE!!⁠ Fanie and Luhle play two very important roles in Bluebird Coffee Roastery as Production Roaster and Wholesale Manager. They are also doing their final preparation for round one of the 2024 Barista Competition cycle. LFG!! We hope you enjoy it!! VOTE HERE!! https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/ https://www.instagram.com/the_slightly_emo_barista/ https://www.instagram.com/thandoluhlemnyandu/

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario talks to Andrew Stordy, the Founder of IKAWA. IKAWA was the first sample roaster of its kind and remains one of the leaders in their industry. (We roast our samples on an IKAWA at Bluebird) Andrew speaks about the beginnings of IKAWA, growing up in producing countries and his vision for the future of roasting coffee and the supply chain. Enjoy legends :) https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario sits down with Nicole Battefeld-Montgomery. Nicole is a prolific coffee pro whose influence reaches across the world. She is a multiple time German Brewers Cup Champion and has placed 7th at the World Brewer's Cup among many other competition titles. She chats about her start in the world of coffee, her exploration of a career as a professional chef and her hunt for her passion. Dario and Nicole also talk about some of other Nicole's hobbies and passions: tattooing at home, everything pigs, good customer service and more. Enjoy legends :) https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/ https://www.instagram.com/nbattefeld/

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario talks to Sam Corra, Director of Coffee at Ona Coffee and the mind behind the LINK roaster. Amongst Sam's many achievements, he has roasted the coffee used to win multiple WBC and WBrC titles and he has placed 2nd at WBrC himself. Sam prefers to be behind the scenes leading us to believe that he is probably your favourite coffee pro's favourite coffee pro. We hope you enjoy it!! https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/ https://www.instagram.com/drink.coffee.wit.me/ https://www.youtube.com/@bacco555888

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario sits down with Fanie and Katie to talk about their trip to World of Coffee in Athens. It was a months worth of experiences in just 10 days. This was such a fun conversation looking back on a serious fun trip. We hope you enjoy it!! https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/ https://www.instagram.com/the_slightly_emo_barista/ https://www.instagram.com/katie.burnett/

In this episode of Coffee Made Me Do It, Dario sits down with the founders of The Coffee Magazine. Iain and Mel pioneered coffee publications in South Africa and today they run an award winning magazine, host Creative Coffee week, run SA's only roasting competition and so much more! They spoke about talk print media, favourite coffee experiences, what competition does for coffee and what the philosophy behind their award-winning magazine is. We hope you enjoy it! https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/ https://www.instagram.com/thecoffeemag/https://www.instagram.com/thecoffeemag/

Jordan has worked in coffee since he was 13 years old. From public pool cafeteria barista to marketing manager at Ona Coffee to coffee journalism, Jordan's got some great stories to tell. He also happens to be an honorary Bluebird (even though he's an Aussie, we forgive him) In this episode, Dario and Jordan talk about Jordan's 15+ years in the coffee industry, how he's seen it change and what's exciting about the future of coffee. They talk about everything from his approach to coffee marketing, backstage at the world's biggest coffee competitions and some pretty wild travel experiences. This is one not to miss!  https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/ https://www.instagram.com/umjordan/

In this episode, Dario talks to Pepe Jijon about his world-famous farm, Finca Soledad, coffee culture after covid, brewing coffee at home, changing the way we look at consuming coffee and his minimalist approach to life. We are honoured to work with Pepe and Finca Soledad at Bluebird, we have a few of his coffees on our menu at the moment. This is a good one, we hope you enjoy!!

In this episode Dario Scilipoti speak to friend and long time green coffee partner, Alejo Castro. Alejo is a sixth generation coffee farmer and is at the helm of his family's award winning farm, Volcan Azul. Dario and Alejo discuss farming, family, entrepreneurship and the future of one of the world's most exciting coffee farms. We hope you enjoy Episode 004. Please 5 star it, share, follow along and do the other things we should be asking you to do. Either way, Episode 005 is coming soon :) https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.bluebirdcoffeeroastery.co.za/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/ https://www.instagram.com/alejocastrok/

In this episode Dario Scilipoti, Fanie Botes and Luhle Mnyandu talk about barista competition! We hope you enjoy Episode 003. Please 5 star it, share, follow along and do the other things we should be asking you to do. Either way, Episode 004 is coming soon :) https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ Bluebird Coffee Roastery

In this episode Dario Scilipoti and Diego Baraona talk about coffee, sport, music and the future of the world famous Los Pirineos coffee farm in El Salvador. Diego took over from his father, Gilberto Baraona, a decade earlier than he thought he may enter the coffee producing world. Diego is a legend and we are so happy to share this conversation with you.  We hope you enjoy Episode 002. Please 5 star it, share, follow along and do the other things we should be asking you to do. Either way, Episode 003 is coming soon :) https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/diego.baraona/ https://www.instagram.com/lospirineoscoffee/ Bluebird Coffee Roastery

After years of good intentions, we have finally launched our podcast! In this episode Dario Scilipoti and Fanie Botes talk about the fear of starting, their journeys into coffee and they discover that Coffee Really Did Make Them Do It. We hope you enjoy Episode 001. Please 5 star it, share, follow along and do the other things we should be asking you to do. Either way, Episode 002 is coming soon :)