51. From Barista to Champion to Leader at Origin. Raul Rodas on Coffee’s Real Challenges

What happens when a design student accidentally becomes a barista and ends up changing the global coffee game?

In this episode, we sit down with 2012 World Barista Champion from Guatemala, to unpack his wild journey: from his first training shift to going rogue on the WBC stage with Intelligentsia coffee and making James Hoffmann laugh in the process.

But this isn’t just about competition...

We get into the real stuff:

→ What it actually means to represent an origin country

→ The hard challenges of coffee sourcing in Guatemala

→ Labor shortages, pricing pressure, and global market chaos

→ How innovation in processing is changing what’s possible

Raul gets real about purpose, identity, and what it takes to survive and lead in the coffee industry.This is the untold story of hustle, heartbreak, and how a single cup can change a life!

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