The Sprudge Report - Cucamonga, Dude
The 2024 US Coffee Championships are happening this very moment
The 2024 US Coffee Championships
The 2024 US Coffee Championships are underway this weekend at the Klatch Coffee lab and roastery in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and Sprudge is live on the scene bringing you all the latest news as it happens. It kicked off yesterday with the first round of the US Barista Championship and US Brewers Cup, and today will see the Semi-Finals for both events as well as the start of the US Cup Tasters. We’ll be live-blogging and ‘Gramming the whole kit and kaboodle, so make you are staying tuned all weekend long.
A coffee guide to Luang Prabang, Laos
Best known as a UNESCO heritage site, Luang Prabang in Northern Laos just so happens to also be home to a coffee scene that punches well above its weight class. It’s a blend of new and old, of quick and casual and slow and experiential. To learn more, contributor Zinara Rathnayake takes us on a tour of what is exciting in Luang Prabang coffee here in 2024.
NKG Pace announces 2024-25 class
Now in its third year, NKG Pace provides hands-on experience to Black coffee professionals wanting to start a career in the green coffee trade. Back in October, they began collecting applications for their latest class to undergo their year-long paid program. And after a rigorous interview process, we now know will be joining them and where.
California hates decaf?
California is at it again. Their lawmakers are anyway. A new bill has been introduced that would ban decaf coffees made using methylene chloride, otherwise known as the European process. The National Coffee Association has responded, calling it a ban on decaf and defying science.
Cxffeeblack enters Phase Two of the Barista Exchange Program
After taking four Black American coffee professionals to coffee farms in Africa, Cxffeeblack’s ambitious Barista Exchange Program is entering its second phase. With a Memphis brick-and-mortar cafe just over the horizon, Cxffeeblack will host African coffee professionals to come Stateside in order to study the craft. And the Barista Exchange Program scholarship recipients have been officially announced.
Coffee and the Internet of Things
La Marzocco’s Accademia del Caffé Espresso has teamed up with Pnat and Cisco for an expansive new project collecting data to combat climate change on coffee farms. Called Consenso, the project takes place on the Utengule Coffee Farm in Mbeya, Tanzania and features over 50 sensors relying on IoT technology to better understand how Arabica plants are responding to increased temperatures, and how to safeguard them in the future.
A new look Equator
The Bay Area’s Equator Coffees unveiled a brand new design for their coffee packaging that “not only pays homage to Equator’s rich legacy but also sets the stage for a future filled with optimism, action, and a renewed commitment to excellence.”
Coffee as medicine
In a lot of way, the western world has long viewed coffee as a sort of medicine, but more in the stimulant sort of way. But for centuries, coffee has been used by cultures around the world for its healing properties. In her lates piece, Sprudge Editor at Large Jenn Chen takes a look at the history of coffee as medicine.
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…
Amavida Coffee Roasters: Honey Comsa —This medium roast Honduran coffee from COMSA Cooperative has a mild, berry-like acidity and a full body. It features pronounced dried fruit notes in the aroma followed by prominent flavors of raisin, fig, and molasses. Certified Organic & Fair Trade Coffee.
Cxffeeblack : Congo Free—Guji Mane Diaspora Collection // CONGO FREE: CONGO WASHED PROCESS /// a mighty peace junt- A portion of the proceeds goes to support Congolese liberation and the farmers who produce this African fruit.
Equator Coffees: Costa Rica Los Angeles SL28 Yellow Honey—Coffee producer Rircardo Calderón broke away from his local co-op to establish his own mill: Beneficio Los Ángeles. Today, this mill is the force behind some of our favorite innovative coffees coming from Costa Rica! Here, Ricardo combines SL28 variety coffee with the yellow honey-process to strike a perfect balance of fruity, floral, and sweet with flavors of hibiscus, white grape, and caramel apple.
Greater Goods Roasting: Santa Gema —Last year, we had the privilege of visiting some incredible farms in Nicaragua, including Santa Gema. At Santa Gema, Mario Vilchez produces a remarkable maracaturra coffee with flavor notes of cherry cordial, tea rose, and tamarind. We’re proud to say that this coffee qualified for Nationals at the US Brewer’s Cup competition, a testament to its exceptional quality.
Joe Coffee: The Village — Currently, The Village comes from the Rubí sisters’ farm Finca Ruland 2, in Las Vegas, Honduras. Andrea and her sisters’ skill and diligence shine through this lot of washed and natural coffees. Expect a complex balance of layered acidity and structured sweetness. Beginning with notes of deep citrus and stone fruit, flavors arc towards ripe cherry as the coffee cools, leaving us with a final, soft note of spice and caramel.
Madcap Coffee Company: Irvin Izaguirre—Upon visiting longtime partner Juan Angel’s farms in Honduras in 2022, we learned that he passed along his highest elevation property, La Montaña, to his son Irvin to care for. Madcap has partnered with Juan’s family since 2014, and we’ve watched his sons become more involved with the coffee growing process. This coffee is marked with soft notes of red berries like raspberry, as well as cane sugar and rose.
Monogram Coffee: Vistacion Munoz —The Parainema variety is a super interesting variety, and one of the most unique flavour profiles that we have ever tried. Genetically, it is a Sarchimor, which means that it has Timor heritage, which has roots with Robusta species. The benefit of this variety is its disease resistance, but people have started to discover that Parainema also have sought after flavour profiles which adds a lot of value to this variety in the specialty market for roasters and cafes like us.
Night Swim Coffee: Aquiares – Red Honey—Aquiares is an example of innovation and perseverance whose benefits extend beyond the farm and workers and serve as a model for sustainable, equitable production for the broader coffee industry. Centroamericano H1 is an F1 hybrid variety generated by crossing the Sarchimor T-5296 and a wild Rume Sudan variety.
Olympia Coffee: Peru, Lito Cubas Olivera Gesha —Lito Cubas has his roots in legacy, coming from a family of coffee producers in Cutervo, Peru. This world-exclusive lot features his prized Gesha, one of the most covetable varietals in production. Flavors of lemon, floral, and Earl Grey.
Onyx Coffee Lab : Doyenne—One 10oz Box of the World’s Best Female-Produced Coffee Once a Month + Roasted and shipped the first Wednesday of every month. Doyenne seeks to identify and amplify the stories of woman achieving incredible marks in coffee. The selections are curated by Andrea Allen, co-founder of Onyx Coffee Lab and 2020 US Barista Champion. The heart is for women to collaborate and to boost each other’s work and achievement through stories.
Partners Coffee: Zulieth Sancho Masabuel – Colombia—Zulieth is the daughter of Luz Mila Masabuel, another eminent coffee farmer from Inzá, Cauca, in southwestern Colombia. Following in her mother’s path, Zulieth cultivates a two hectare plot of mostly castillo and delivers her coffee to Pergamino’s collection point nearby. This is a lovely expression of Cauca’s classic washed profile, pairing crisp red apple with warm cherry, caramel, milk chocolate, and subtle citrus.
PERC: El Salvador Delagua Pacamara—We knew we had to bring it in as soon as we tasted this coffee. It reminds us of freshly picked strawberries, oranges, and maple syrup. Pacamaras are giant beans that yield big, juicy flavors with lots of sweetness, and Delagua delivers on that reputation in spades. Now, we can fit these beans in the dang bag.
Portland Coffee Roasters: Bridge Blend—This Limited Release is a blend of coffees from Guatemala and Peru. The Guatemala is from Maya Ixil, and the Peru is from the Pueblo Libre and Mamahuaca communities. When we cup this coffee it is floral and herbal, with hints of sugar cane and chocolate.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Rwanda Huye Mountain—Rwanda Huye Mountain is a combination of top-scoring lots selected through Huye David Rubanzangabo’s meticulous quality control process. The result is a coffee—and a partnership—that’s been keeping us coming back for more since 2012. One taste will envelop you in all the grace and elegance of what an exceptional coffee tastes like—with notes of ripe pear, tart citrus, and fragrant vanilla.
Verve Coffee Roasters: Colombia Gabriel Castaño Pink Bourbon Single Origin Espresso—Decadent notes of fudge and molasses melt throughout Gabriel Castaño’s anaerobic-washed Colombia Pink Bourbon, rounded out by hints of strawberry as a sweet treat.
New job listings from Sprudge Jobs
Marco Beverage Systems - Customer Service Specialists - Seattle, WA
Keffa Coffee - Sales Representative - Baltimore, MD
La Colombe - NY Account Manager - New York City metro area
Sweet Maria’s Coffee Inc - Marketing Coordinator - Oakland, CA
Portland Coffee Roasters - Green Coffee Sourcing & Quality Manager - Portland, OR
Sisters Coffee Company - Coffee Service Technician - Sisters, OR
New cafes on Sprudge Maps
Here are new cafes discoverable on our global cafe portal Sprudge Maps. Register your cafe for free—thanks to the support of La Marzocco and Pacific Barista Series.
Do you have a news tip? Feedback? A funny joke? Send us an e-mail, use the contact form on Sprudge, leave a message at 1-888-55-SPRUDGE, or send us a letter at P.O. Box 3943 Portland, OR 97218.