Coffee People: Top 5 - A Look Back
It's been a long year. So much coffee. So many Coffee People.
It's been a long year. So much coffee. So many Coffee People.
I don’t want to speak for anyone else, but 2023 has felt like a long, long year.* For Roast! West Coast, it has been a year of growth and change. It has been a year of honing our craft and dialing in what we’re offering the world with the help of our collaborators, listeners, and readers. There will be more of that in 2024.
Until then, I’m sitting near the summit of an epic Colorado Rocky Mountain peak, drinking coffee (and some whiskey) and reflecting on the many, many, many mugs that came before. Thank you to everyone who gave this podcast and newsletter a shot in 2023. I’m looking forward to more coffee community with you in the coming year.
Happy holidays. Enjoy a look back at our Top 5 Episodes from 2023 and a few new features because can’t stop, won’t stop. Until then, please tip your baristas and drink good coffee. See you in 2024.
*I mean…so did 2020, ‘21, and ‘22, but who is really keeping track.

Coffee With: Matthew Hankes
Roast! West CoastRyan Woldt
Coffee People: Nick Visconti, Drink Coffee, Do Stuff.
Roast! West CoastNick Viscontin
Coffee People: Taylor MacInnis & Aaron Moore, Craft 42 Roasters
Roast! West CoastRyan Woldt
A Pop-in with: Erin Harper, Ascend Roasters
Roast! West CoastRyan Woldt
Coffee People: Bill Kennedy, San Franciscan Roasters
Roast! West CoastRyan Woldt
Roast! West CoastRyan Woldt
Roast! West CoastRyan Woldt
Roast! West CoastTrevor Ridgaway
I was a guest on the I Like Beer podcast, apparently for the second time. I brought along Karl Strauss’ Golden Coffee Stout to share. Please don’t hold this episode against me. I used to drinking coffee on-air, not beer!
R!WC’s Ryan Woldt was asked about about the explosion of coffee businesses in the SoCal marketplace for a recent feature in the North County Pipeline.
North County Pipeline
A huge, on-going thank you to all of this show’s industry partners. Click these links!
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Acento Coffee Roasters • Sivitz Roasting Machines

I’ve used this brewer nearly 150 times. I take making recommendations pretty seriously. Full review coming soon. No drama. It ends with me recommending it. In fact, I agreed to be a promotional partner with Simply Good Coffee. Clicking the link below will get you all the product details, and if you end up purchasing one, it will support Roast! West Coast:

Do you want to support the show without subscribing? Help keep us caffeinated by buying us a cup of coffee. Thanks for all your support.
It’s true! Promo code below.
Thanks for being a paid subscriber to Roast! West Coast. Through January 2023 all paid subscribers get 20% off on R!WC merch and coffee journals. More products will be added this month as our little shop grows in partnership with One Wild Life Co.

Until next year.
Jing Lin shares her path into entrepreneurship and coffee shop ownership with Coffee People. We discuss how her career climb in the film industry wasn't getting her to the more engaged, creative mountaintop she strived to stand on, and how the Covid-19 pandemic jumpstarted her foray into business.
Will Reif shares his path into enrepreneurship with Coffee People. We discuss how some post collegiate exploration led him home to Wausau to launch Roastar, a coffee packaging and manufacturing company.
This is a Bonus Coffee People Coffee With episode featuring Emily Lavalier. She is the Owner and Artist behind EmLavArt, and trip leader at Hammer Travel, where she and a team guide adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities on fun-filled vacation adventures.
Arda Barlas shares his path into specialty coffee with Coffee People, the impact of political action and protest on his Downtown LA roaster cafe, the historical culture of coffee in Turkey, and much more.