EPISODE 1 — I LOVED COFFEE BEFORE I UNDERSTOOD IT

I LOVED COFFEE BEFORE I UNDERSTOOD IT I fell in love with coffee long before 2020. Like many people, I loved its aroma, its energy, and the quiet moments it created. Coffee was part of my everyday life—and I believed I understood it. But loving coffee and truly understanding coffee are not the same thing. Then COVID arrived, and the world slowed down. During that uncertain time, I began looking more deeply into something I had loved for years. In 2020, I officially opened iO Coffee and started studying specialty coffee seriously. Slowly, the knowledge I had once felt proud of began to fall apart. I realized how little I knew about where coffee came from—how it was cultivated, harvested, and processed, or how roasting, storage, water, grinding, and brewing could transform the final cup. For years, I had enjoyed coffee without truly seeing the people, science, craftsmanship, and supply chain behind it. That realization was uncomfortable—but it was also liberating. It taught me that misunderstanding is not failure, if we are willing to question what we believe and remain open to learning. I loved coffee before I understood it. And the more I began to understand, the more I knew I didn’t know. That was not the end of my confidence. It was the beginning of my curiosity—and the beginning of my real coffee journey.