Coffee Made Me Do It

Hosted by Bluebird Coffee Roastery

Business Entrepreneurship

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Sep 2026

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About the show

Coffee made me do it, what made you do it? Sprudgie Nominated: Best Coffee Podcast 2024. Please vote here: https://sprudge.com/vote When Dario started Bluebird Coffee Roastery, he was driven by two motivations: to explore the quality potential of specialty coffee and to have a go at building a brand. This podcast is about passion, coffee, business and culture. "I know what made me do it, what made/makes you do what you do?"

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26 recent

September 25, 2026Episode 61 hr 3 min

Episode 026: Tim Wendelboe

After a 30 year career in specialty coffee, Tim has some thoughts and reflections that he shares with Dario. Tim has pioneered transparent trade, producer development, consistent roasting and has always championed clean, washed coffees. He has set the gold standard for well traded, high quality green coffee programs for countless roasteries and continues to innovate in this space. Tim's roastery, Tim Wendelboe, is based in Norway. He is the Head of quality, green coffee buying and coffee expertise. Enjoy this fascinating insight into one of the most revered coffee businesses in the world.

September 11, 2026Episode 41 hr 14 min

Episode 025: Scott Rao

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.

September 4, 2026Episode 31 hr 37 min

Episode 024: Sweet Spot Kaffee || Markus Pyttel on brewing water and 7 years of business ownership

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!

August 27, 2026Episode 21 hr 20 min

Episode 023: Dak Coffee Roasters || Louis-Philippe

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.

August 21, 2026Episode 11 hr 7 min

Episode 022: Luhle Mnyandu || Competition, Spoiler = We're Out

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.

February 7, 202555 min

Episode 021: The Dream Team || ‘25 expectation’s

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.

December 20, 2024Episode 652 min

Episode 020: Max Lundin, BlueWater Group

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.

November 15, 20241 hr 56 min

Episode 019: Ian Kissick || Formative Coffee and WBC Finalist

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!

November 1, 20241 hr 30 min

Episode 018: Dark Arts Coffee || The genius of Brad Morrison

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 🍻) and talk about the why. It’s a good one! Available on all podcast streaming platforms now. https://www.instagram.com/ftwcoffee/ https://www.instagram.com/darkartscoffee/ https://www.instagram.com/bluebirdcoffeeroastery/ https://www.instagram.com/dariodoingthings/

October 18, 202439 min

Episode 017: Motors Coffee Paris || Thomas and Lola and one of Europe's best

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/