The Sprudge Report - Brews You Can Use
Mi amore, mi amore, espresso macchiato macchiato macchiato, por favore.
Espresso Macchiato goes to Eurovision
Last year, the song of the summer was unquestionably Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter. But this year, another artist is trying to make their mark (get it?) with another coffee bop. Estonian rapper and artist Tommy Cash will represent his country at Eurovision 2025 with his new hit Espresso Macchiato. It’s an ear worm of the highest order. Only listen to it if you are prepared to hear it in your head on repeat.
The Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide
The topic du jour in the coffee world is price. In the last week alone, we’ve seen record prices at both ends of the coffee spectrum. But there is a vast world of coffee between these two polls, and this is where the majority of the specialty coffee we all consume comes from. What is the price for those coffees? Enter the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide, a new report compiling large swaths of green coffee sales data from roasters, importers/exporters, and coops to give a more transparent picture of coffee prices in 2024.
Can coffee grounds provide an alternative to Styrofoam?
When it comes to shipping, Styrofoam a necessary evil. It’s landfill fodder. But researchers may have found an eco-alternative in coffee. By combining used coffee grounds with mushroom spores, they made a paste that can be used to 3D print packing materials that are completely compostable.
Brewing up something special in Durham
The US Brewers Cup is taking place right this very second in Durham, North Carolina. Now, most folks won’t get to experience all the exceptional coffees that are going to be brewing on the competition stage, but at Cocoa Cinnamon nearby, they can experience something pretty close. The retail arm of Little Waves Coffee is rolling out a special US Coffee Championships Pour-Over menu this weekend and it features seven extremely rare coffees, the sort that normally used in competition (and often win).
From the press release
This week, Bellwether announced the new Electric Shop roaster as well as the expansion into 12 different countries. Read more about it at the Press Releases desk.
A coffee guide to Queens
Continuing our borough by borough crawl of the sprawling New York City coffee scene, our next stop takes us to Queens. The largest borough of them all, Queens is not short of great places to grab coffee, and as she has done twice already, Sprudge editor and NYC resident Liz Clayton takes us on a tour of some of the best coffee in this sliver of New York.
Roaster’s Village
We’re highlighting outstanding coffees from some of our favorite roasting partners each week here in the newsletter. This week’s selection of tasty coffees are…
Olympia Coffee—San Sebastian Reserva
Our San Sebastian Reserva, sourced from producers in San Sebastian De La Plata, Huila, features the highest-scoring lots of the season grown at lofty elevations over 1,700 meters.
Passenger Coffee & Tea—Bhadra
The most recent addition to our Foundational Menu, this delightfully sweet and approachable coffee comes from producers Pranoy and Ajoy Thipaiah of Kerehaklu Estate. Kerehaklu is one of a small group of family-run coffee farms that together make up the Bhadra partnership. All of these estates are located near the Bhadra Tiger Reserve, in the historically significant coffee-growing region of Chikmagalur, India. Notes of citrus, black tea, stone fruit
PERC—Mexico San Alfonso
We love this coffee’s round body and brown-sugary sweetness. It also has a subtle citrusy acidity. Think tangerine, lemon zest, and the slightest floral note in the finish. We’ve been putting out some face melters, so having a solid coffee like this one is nice when you want a great cup. Enjoy y’all, what a treat.
Klatch Coffee—Panama Abu Gesha Duo
Sample two incredible Geshas from Panama’s award-winning Abu Coffee Farm. “Abu” is short for “abuelo,” Spanish for “grandfather.” Today, the descendants of José Guillermo Luttrell Tedman continue to pursue his vision – Geshas raised with the highest standards of quality – at their farm Cañas Verdes, Boquete, Panama. We’ve created a one-time Gesha Duo to contrast the distinctions between the washed and anaerobic natural processing methods. This special Gesha Duo is offered in a single roast on Monday, Feb. 24th – order now to reserve yours and 15% on a per-gram basis compared with purchasing individually.
Dune Coffee Roasters —Honduras Urpania Guzman
Urpania’s coffee this year is sweet like orange and brown sugar, with a botanical quality that to us is so characteristic of the coffees grown on the Santa Bárbara mountain.
Phil & Sebastian—Bekele Yutute Natural
The Bekele Yutute Natural, newly arrived on our shelves, is bursting with fruity flavor. Coffees from the small region of Bensa are grown at a whopping altitude of 2300 meters and are winning nearly every competition in Ethiopia—it’s not hard to see why. This coffee is clean, intense, fruity, and embodies everything we love about Naturals.
Mr. Espresso—Java Gunung Tikukur, Washed Process
Part of Mr. Espresso’s limited-edition Collezione di Caffè, this washed micro-lot comes from West Java’s Cipaganti Village. Collected directly from small farmers, coffee varietals include Catimor, Tim Tim, Typica, and Gayo II. The Mr. Espresso sourcing team was exceptionally impressed by this coffee’s vibrancy, showcased by the region’s traditional processing method. Java Gunung Tikukur offers a complex cup, with flavors such as peach, toasted almond, and basil.
Equator Coffees—Rwanda Nyampinga
A single origin favorite at Equator Coffees for over a decade, this light roast coffee features a delicious selection from Nyampinga: a buttery & sweet coffee with notes of plum and black tea. Now Fair Trade certified, Nyampinga is an all-women’s cooperative located in Southern Rwanda near the country’s border with Burundi, producing delicious & nuanced coffees with high cup quality.
HE BARN—Doi Saket
We are excited to share coffee from Doi Saket for the second season, grown in the beautiful Chiang Mai region of Thailand. With an embrace of modern specialty methods, producers Nui and Aoy Jaisooksern are taking Thai coffee to inspiring new places. This Anaerobic lot is a delicious addition to our portfolio, with complex character that is uniquely Thai. Expect notes of rhubarb, stone fruit, and white chocolate.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters —Papua New Guinea Besser
In Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands, coffee producer Sero Bebes has cultivated more than coffee – he’s built a legacy. A testament to his dedication of producing the very best, this exceptional coffee blends sweet notes of fresh honeycrisp apple, toffee structure, and lingering red currant finish.
Partners Coffee—Suke Quto Secret Process
This tiny lot comes to us from Suke Quto, our longest running farm relationship in Ethiopia. Tesfaye Bekele has been a champion of sustainable agroforestry in Guji, growing coffee under native forest spared from wildfires. For years we’ve heard rumors of a Suke Quto “secret process,” seemingly an adaptation of natural processing. Now available to us for the first time, we’re tasting flavors of wild cherry and concord grape, white peach, pineapple candy, passionfruit, and root beer.
Night Swim Coffee—Guiben – Natural
We’re excited to welcome back some of our favorite coffees from 2024 as part of our ongoing effort to highlight underrepresented coffee regions in our world. Say hello once again to Kaku and Guiben—two exceptional washed and natural coffees from the Yunnan Coffee Project in Yunnan, China. The work being done by the Yunnan Coffee Project is nothing short of inspiring. Guiben, a naturally processed coffee, bursts with candy-like fruit notes and has a wonderfully syrupy, sweet body. This year, Guiben is tasting even sweeter, fruitier, and more shareable than ever. We invite you to experience the distinct flavors of this remarkable coffee-growing region! We’re Tasting: Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Candy, Chocolate Malt
Madcap Coffee—Nelson Moreno
Nelson Moreno inherited his first piece of land, 3 acres at about 1600 meters, from his father Orlando when he was only 16. In the Santa Barbara region, the surname Moreno and quality go hand-in-hand. Generations of Morenos’ work together harvesting each other’s coffee, as well as processing all of their lots together. Their collective effort is what sets the Moreno’s level of quality apart from the rest, and they have the Cup of Excellence awards to prove it. Specialty coffee enthusiasts recognize Santa Barbara, Honduras, as one of the most unique coffee micro-terroirs in all of Central America. This Pacas variety is processed anaerobically, or without oxygen. This innovative processing technique results in a vibrant and expressive cup, with notes of honeydew, lychee, and hibiscus.
Verve Coffee Roasters—Gura AA
Juicy, jammy and expressive, this year’s AA lot from Gura is nothing short of delicious. Tropical guava notes greet your palate with the first sip, followed by a sweet strawberry and fudge finish.
Portland Coffee Roasters—Bridge Blend
The Ethiopia component comes from Mustefa Abakeno – a smallholder producer growing coffee varieties from the nearby Jimma Research Center. This coffee is from the Beshasha mill, which specializes in washed processing utilizing good agricultural practices (GAP). The other half of Bridge Blend is from Peru. This particular coffee is from the umbrella Norandino cooperative – who ensure meticulous traceability and quality control throughout post-harvest processing. It is fully washed and dried in the sun – preserving natural tasting notes of green grapes and apple blossoms.
La Barba Coffee—Guatemala | La Senda Arnoldo & Eugenia
This delightfully sweet anaerobic natural from José Arnoldo Perez & Maria Eugenia Escobar is full of tropical fruit notes along with delicate florals and subtle stone fruit (nectarine). The sweetness of this coffee persists from when it’s hot through as it cools, making you want a refill as soon as you finish the cup.
Floral – Passionfruit – Nectarine
Sightglass Coffee—Winter Solstice
Returning for the fifth year, we’re excited to release something exceptional for the holiday season: our Winter Solstice Blend. Named for the longest night and shortest day of the year, Winter Solstice is the perfect accompaniment to cool weather and changing seasons. A time when we crave comfort, warmth, the familiar, and the surprising. For Winter Solstice, we combine two amazing coffees from Kenya and Colombia to evoke flavors of chocolate truffle, marzipan, and blackberry.
Onyx Coffee Lab—Colombia Tio Conejo Gesha Natural
In the high mountains of Caldas, Colombia, Tío Conejo cultivates coffee with a commitment to tradition, community, and resilience. Nestled at 2,000 MASL on rich volcanic soil, their farm’s high altitude and meticulous practices yield exceptional quality. That quality shows in the cup with pungent fruit characteristics throughout the drinking experience, culminating in pink guava and watermelon candy.
Joe Coffee —Rubí Sisters Catuaí
Perched between the Sierra La Esperanza and Santa Bárbara mountains in Las Vegas, Honduras, lies Finca Ruland 2—a specialty coffee farm as beautiful as it is biodiverse, owned and operated by the Rubí-Landaverde family. Notes of Candied Lemon, Almond Paste, Cinnamon.
Pachamama Coffee Farmers—Guatemala
Grown on the volcanic shores of Lago Atitlán, this is an exceptional single origin medium roast coffee from the Manos Campesinas coop in Guatemala.
CXFFEEBLACK—Fruit Of Our Labor
A HIGA JUNT -NATURAL RWANDA KILIMBI STATION, 1650-1850 MASL
TASTING NOTES: Strawberry, Dark Chocolate, and Passionfruit
New job listings from Sprudge Jobs
Baristas - Honolulu, HI
Atelier Arianna - Barista - Brooklyn, NY
Bear Lake Coffee Co - Assistant Store Manager - Barronett, WI
Partners Coffee Roasters - Coffee Roaster, Large Batch - Brooklyn, NY
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