Cultivating Change with Martin Mayorga

I speak on the phone with my friend, James Sturgis, who I met when he was with the supplier diversity program at Ahold.  We discuss the elements of a good supplier diversity program as well as both good and bad first-hand experiences.  I hope you enjoy it!

Nicky and I chat with Andy Ascencio, our Wholesale Production Manager at our Maryland facility.   I've known him since he was a 2 year old kid who would come to the facility with his dad, Alfredo who has worked with Mayorga for over 20 years.    Please provide feedback to Martin@MayorgaOrganics.com.

I chat with my friend and fellow business owner, Scott Nash, the Founder of MOMs Organic Market, a mid-Atlantic organic grocery chain with 19 locations...and growing. We talk about our like-minded philosophies, our observations on the psychological impact of COVID-19, date coding on food, and how we run our businesses in a manner that is different than traditional entrepreneurs. As you'll gather from the conversation, Scott and I are good friends, do some business together, and are very like-minded.

I hope you enjoy this podcast and would love any feedback or comments: Martin@MayorgaOrganics.com

We pulled some of the questions/comments that we've received from listeners and Mayorga customers.  Some are informative, like "What process do you use to decaffeinate your coffee?" or an inquiry about blockchain.  Some are asking about my business philosophies.  Others are just mean :)

Enjoy the episode and please tell your friends about it.  We'll be posting new ones every Wednesday night!

The past few weeks have made us all look at our own priorities and have exposed some major shortcomings in society and business.  Let's stay aware and conscientious about these realities and work toward building a better, more inclusive and balanced future in the business world and society as a whole.

The past few weeks have been dynamic to say the least. Today's episode is a recap of what's been going on at Mayorga, along with my observations on the impact on coffee farming communities and other industry insights. I always welcome feedback and episode suggestions. Please feel free to email me at Martin@MayorgaOrganics.com

We're continuing our series focusing on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on coffee producers and their communities. In this episode, we have a phone call IN SPANISH with Max Perez from the La Hermosa Cooperative in Guatemala. He gives us a good first-hand insight into the immediate impact as well as the challenges faced when working to support rural producers. I hope episodes like this are informative and of interest.

After speaking at length with some producer partners in Latin America I realized that it was important for consumers to hear about the realities of what's happening in coffee farm communities. This episode focuses on my conversation with Omar Rodriguez, the Manager of the Capucas Cooperative in Honduras.  We've worked closely with them for about 10 years.

We're living through uncharted territory. It's an odd time to bring the podcast back, but I feel strongly that communication is more important than ever right now.  Please email me any comments or suggestions for the next episode.  Martin@MayorgaOrganics.com

Within two and a half years Erin has grown from managing the company's roadshows to now being President of Mayorga Organics.  In this episode, you'll hear her management philosophies and mindset that propelled her exponential growth within Mayorga.

Please feel free to email martin@mayorgaorganics.com with any questions, comments, or episode suggestions. 

Enjoy!

I sit down with Juan Cruz and speak with him IN SPANISH about his role managing our operations and export company in Nicaragua.  Please email me feedback or questions at martin@mayorgaorganics.com.  Thanks for listening!

I attended the World Coffee Producers Forum in Campinas Brazil on July 10th and 11th.  According to the website, the WCP is "an environment for discussions with an agenda prepared by coffee growers aiming to reach more sustainable ways for global coffee activity".  

There were a lot of brilliant people there and engaged in the conversations.  I break down the main proposed points and give my opinion on them from the perspective of a medium-sized speciality roaster who is doing his best to support the ignored farmers in our supply chain.

Then I try to embarrass Nicky :)

Enjoy the episode and feel free to email me at Martin@MayorgaOrganics.com

This was a very impromptu episode with Nicholas and Brianna.  I knew that the only way to get Brianna on the podcast was to guilt her into doing it on Fathers Day :)

I love any opportunity to hang out and chat with my awesome kids, so this was a lot of fun for me.  I hope you enjoy it.

In February I was on the Executive Leaders Radio show, which focuses on interviewing leaders and CEO's of companies in the Washington, DC area.  This is a brief interview with rapid-fire types of questions and some quick answers with the hopes of getting insight into what makes leaders "tick" based on their early life experiences.   I hope you enjoy it!

This is the first ever episode in Spanish.  I sit down with Oscar and Francisca Chacón from Finca Las Lajas in Costa Rica.  They produce about 33% of all organic coffee grown in Costa Rica (which isn't a lot).  We talk about the importance of relationships in this industry and the challenges specific to them as proponents of organic coffee production in a country with some of the highest production costs in Latin America.    

Una conversación con Oscar y Francisca Chacón de Finca Las Lajas en Costa Rica.  Ellos producen un 33% de todo el cafe organico producido en Costa Rica (lo cual no es mucho).  Hablamos de la importancia de relaciones directas en la industria y de los retos específicos que ellos encuentran siendo una minoría en la producción de cafe organico en un país que tiene uno de los costos de producción mas altos en Latinoamerica. 

The commodity coffee market is at a 13 year low--at levels below the cost of production for many farmers.  There has been a lot of talk about this issue in the coffee industry as well as the media.   It's not a simple issue nor is it, in my opinion, being addressed appropriately by the industry.

In this episode I give my opinions on this current coffee market "crisis" and talk about what Mayorga has always done to help producers lessen their dependence on the commodity coffee market.

Melanie is Mayorga Organics' Food Safety Compliance Manager.  She's a food scientist whose focus is to ensure that our product quality is of the highest standards while also ensuring that we are in compliance with all requisite and elective auditing bodies.   She's highly skilled and trained in sensory analysis and product development and is a certified Q Grader.   I sat down with her to discuss what it's like to have such highly technical role within a company that's so purpose driven.   Spoiler alert: you'll learn that food safety and compliance can be fun!  Please provide feedback or ask any questions via email to martin@mayorgaorganics.com

Eduardo has been working with Mayorga Organics for almost two years.  His family is from Mexico and he lived in California before moving to the East coast a few years ago.  He manages our chia partnership in Mexico and oversees the specialty/local roasting operation and retail cafe at our Maryland facility.  He also happens to be one of the best roasters in the United States, having  placed 8th at the US Coffee Championship's coffee roasting competition.  Yeah, that's a thing!

I hope you enjoy this episode and welcome any feedback at martin@mayorgaorganics.com

Henry Wilson is the founder of Perfect Daily Grind, a cross-platform, global network which distributes coffee content to a worldwide audience.  It's the go-to source for specialty coffee news internationally.    

Henry has spent extensive time in Latin America, taking the time to get to know producers on a personal level.  Though this time spent learning first-hand in coffee communities, he's developed a strong understanding of the real challenges that producers and communities that rely on coffee cultivation face.  He took time from the SCA show to sit down and have a chat with me about the industry and what PDG is doing within it through education and engagement.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

In this episode Nicholas and I discuss some of the reasons for the choice to home school him.  We also talk about how we go about integrating it into our lives, what his social life looks like, and other common questions people ask us when we tell people he's home schooled.   

Please feel free to ask question or send comments to martin@mayorgaorganics.com

I'm publishing this podcast to provide further insight about who I am and the company I've built.   Hugh is a great interviewer and I feel more comfortable talking about myself in an interview environment, so this will be the episode that provides a deeper insight into my background and Mayorga Organics.