The Sprudge Report - It's Cat Week
Plus old men behaving badly
The Build-Meowts of Coffee
In a somewhat unexpected but altogether delightful turn, this week ended up being Cat Week in for the Build-Outs of Coffee. We featured three, count ‘em, three cafes named after our feline friends. We started at Three Legged Cat in Brooklyn, followed by a check in with Catzen Coffee Bar & Den in St. Paul, before finally stopping by Laughing Cat in Reno.
A coffee guide to Lisbon
If there’s one city we get more coffee guide requests than any other, it’s Lisbon, and it’s pretty easy to imagine why. I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend a holiday taking in the history and luxuriating on the beaches? But the Portugal capital city also has quite the exciting coffee scene to offer visitors and locals alike. And if you didn’t already have it, our new Lisbon coffee guide will give you a bad case of the wanderlust.
Synesthetes rejoice!
What does music taste like? Well, if it’s the song of the summer it may just taste like coffee ice cream. At least, that’s what Sabrina Carpenter’s smash hit Espresso would taste like. Or does. Carpenter has teamed up with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream to release a limited-edition Espresso Ice Cream.
No coffee for old men
It wasn’t a great week for old dudes on the internet. First it was Howard Schultz, the on-again-off-again CEO of Starbucks, who stated stated in a three-hour-long podcast interview that he introduced the latte to America and regrets not trademarking it. Which is just woof. Then, in a story that just won’t seem to go away, Rudy Giuliani. He owes $148 million after a defamation lawsuit and is currently in bankruptcy court. And it turns out, Burke Brands, the roasting operation behind his coffee company, Rudy’s Coffee, is also bankrupt.
The stunning carbon cost of competitive coffee
I love coffee competitions. It’s a weird subset of the coffee world, and I know it’s weird, but I love them anyway. But they are expensive. The monetary and time investments required to compete at the highest levels are fairly well understood, but what of the ecological cost? In an eye-opening study, German/Swiss roaster Kaffeemacher quantified the carbon output they created by sending a competitor to this year’s World Barista Championship in Busan, South Korea. They found that those “15 minutes of Busan” produced more carbon than their entire roasting operation in 2022.
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: Burundi Nemba—This beautiful lot represents the unique flavors available in coffees from the region. It comes from the Nemba washing station in the Hills of Kayanza in Burundi. It’s sugary aroma is reminiscent of ginger, molasses and red fruit. Unique flavors of gingersnap cookies, apricot and molasses are balanced by a pleasantly citric cup.
The Barn Coffee Roasters Berlin: Huey Mountain Natural—Rwanda is the land of 1000 hills and it has great growing conditions: High altitude, regular rainfall, rich soil and people working with passion. We have been buying coffee from Huye Mountain for over ten years now. Both the quality and cup profile have been very consistent over this whole period. Our natural processed lot has intense flavours of cherry, chocolate, and marzipan.
Cxffeeblack: Ubudasa—Ubudasa is a Kinyarwandan word loosely translated to mean the uniqueness of something or how something just hits different. In partnership with Higa coffee, a natural anaerobic from Businide station in the Kayanza district in Burundi. You already know, All-Black supply chain. Notes of grape Jolly Rancher, mango Jumex, and cinnamon. Proceeds from the sale of this coffee go to support Phase 2 of the Black Barista Exchange Program.
Equator Coffees: Colombia Cerro Azul Enano—A returning single origin favorite, Cerro Azul Enano is a complex Colombian coffee featuring the mysterious “Enano” coffee variety from our quality-obsessed friends at Granja La Esperanza.We love this coffee so much that we bought their entire harvest! This Equator Coffees exclusive is delicate, floral, and complex with flavors of jasmine, pink grapefruit, and creamsicle.
Greater Goods Coffee Roasters: Basha Bekele—Our latest release from Ethiopia is a juicy fruit bomb from the Sidama region. Grown at the mid-bending altitude of 2000 plus meters above sea level, this coffee is a great example of how clean and beautiful extremely highgrown coffee can be. In the cup we got mouth-watering notes of dried strawberry, grape candy, and star jasmine.
Joe Coffee: Lincoln Center—Summertime in New York City is an especially celebratory time. Designed to capture the unique spirit of the season, Lincoln Center is a juicy, dynamic coffee, perfect for summertime sipping. Especially delicious on ice, Lincoln Center is a washed lot from the Turihamwe women’s group in Ngozi, Burundi. As you sip, it blossoms into something greater than the sum of its parts, with notes of ripe peach, tart tangerine, raspberry jam, and a grounding black tea bitterness to make the sweetness even more dynamic and memorable.
Madcap Coffee Company: Reko—One of Madcap’s most well-known single origin offerings gets its namesake from the Reko mountain and the Reko coffee washing station. The coffee here is marked by its floral, tea-like, and complex quality. Even among world-class coffees, Reko is the sparkling gem of washed Ethiopian flavor. 2024 marks our eleventh year purchasing Reko, with this season’s lot gifting us notes of lemon candy, juicy peach, and turbinado sugar.
Monogram Coffee: Don Isaias, Huila, Colombia—This Pink Bourbon from Don Isaias is a testament of hard work and striving to always improve. Don Isaias and local workers ferment the cherry for three days after harvest then dry for ten to fourteen days. The cup is well balanced with chocolate and fruit notes.
Mr. Espresso: Italian Espresso Trio—A Trio of Italian Classics. Return to the place where espresso began with Mr. Espresso’s trio of regionally inspired blends from Tuscany, Trieste and Naples. The elegant medium-roast Tuscan offers sweet chocolate and butterscotch notes; the light-roast Triestino has complexity of nut and fruit; and the company’s medium-dark signature Neapolitan delivers dark chocolate, hazelnut and caramel.
Night Swim Coffee: Las Guacamayas – Natural—This 100% Yellow Bourbon lot from Nehemias Pimentel and Hugo Pineda is a sundried, anaerobically fermented coffee. The result on this lot from Jutiapa is a sweet, fruity, and syrupy coffee that reminds us of tropical fruits and caramel cream.
Olympia Coffee: Sweeetheart, Brazil Serra Dos Ciganos Natural—We obsess over perfecting Sweetheart’s roast profile, creating a sweet, balanced coffee with beautiful flavor clarity. The region of Mogiana is known for exceptional quality and community strength. We sourced this lot from small farms in partnership with FAF, a supplier committed to environmentally and economically sustainable coffee.
Onyx Coffee Lab : Unnecessarily Soulful — Lamps x Onyx Collaboration. This limited offering was created in celebration of the release of Jon Lampley’s debut album, Night Service: Live at LunÀtico. Lampley has been a major contributor to some of the most versatile, hardest-grooving ensembles currently at work, including The Late Show Band (of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), O.A.R., and Huntertones. Brew yourself a cup, and sit back and enjoy an album that pulls from Jon’s strongest inspirations, evoking a positivity that will leave you feeling delightfully and even unnecessarily soulful.
Partners Coffee: Block Party—Returning to our menu for its second year, Block Party is a celebration of the sunny days ahead. Designed to be enjoyed hot, iced, or cold brewed, it has a refreshing flavor profile perfect for summer. In a range of brewing methods you’ll find notes of strawberry, blueberry, watermelon, and pink lady apple bathing in rich caramelized sugars.
PERC Coffee: Honduras La Esmeralda—We’re back with another coffee from our pals at La Esmeralda in Honduras. This lot is naturally processed, which contributes to its fruitier flavors in the cup. The first thing you’ll notice about La Esmerelda is the aroma. It has a strawberry candy-like scent (think Twizzlers.) In the cup, you get tons of sweetness with flavors that remind us of red fruit, marshmallows, and cacao, and a sweet finish that will have you coming back for refills all day.
Portland Coffee Roasters: Anniversary Roast—Dedicated to our customers who’ve supported us since we began in 1996: this Limited Release is a blend of coffees from Colombia and Costa Rica. The Colombia is from Finca Palmichal, and the Costa Rica is from Finca La Hilda. This coffee has a nice acidity and body, with some citrus fruit, plum, and chocolate notes.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Ecuador Rancho Carmen—This coffee is a combination of small lots from a group of 35 producers in Ecuador’s southernmost province. Rancho Carmen has a lush ganache body elevating notes of raspberry jam and brown sugar in a vibrant cup.
Verve Coffee Roasters : Limoncillo Farmlevel Reserve—This very rare mutated yellow Pacamara from El Limoncillo has a beautiful spiced and citric profile. Those who enjoy herbal and complex coffees will find this limited batch delightful.
New job listings from Sprudge Jobs
Joe Coffee - Parallel Coffee Services, Service Technician - New York, NY
Stumptown Coffee Roasters - Barista - Portland, OR
La Marzocco USA - Inventory Auditor - Seattle, WA
Purity Coffee - Customer Support Representative - Remote/Greenville,SC
Better Brands Co. - Director of Service Department - Los Angeles, CA
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.
Wildwood - Stoughton, WI
Cup of Joe - Portland, OR
Original Coffee - København, Denmark
PT’s Coffee - Kansas City, MO
Torque Coffee - San Diego, CA
Secret Coffee - Brooklyn, NY
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.