The Sprudge Report - Jack Simpson Everyone
Australia takes it home once again.
Jack Simpson wins the 2025 World Barista Championship
Third time is a charm for Jack Simpson. After a 3rd place finish in 2023 and a 2nd in 2024, Australia’s Simpson took the next logical step and won the whole dang thing. The Finals was chock full of multi-time national champions, which is becoming more and more rare in the increasing competitive world of barista championships. Still it was Simpson who took the day.
World of Coffee Bogota
Speaking of World Coffee Championships, this week the Specialty Coffee Association in collaboration with the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation announced Bogota as the host city for the 2027 World of Coffee. Along with bringing the trade show to one of the leading producing countries, it will also be the home for the 2027 World Brewers Cup.
More tariffs on the horizon?
There is still a 50% tariff on all goods coming from Brazil, including coffee. Now, the president has threatened to increase tariffs on the other country America gets all its coffee from: Colombia. The tariffs have nothing to do with economics or trade imbalances, though the cumulative effect of additional costs on roughly 60% of all coffee brought into the country would certainly be devastating economically for the industry.
Yimara Martinez Agudelo: The Sprudge Twenty Interview
Yimara Martinez Agudelo is the daughter of smallholder coffee farmers in Cauca, Colombia and currently works as the manager of The Coffee Quality Institute’s Post-Harvest Processing Program. She’s one of the leading young voices for coffee producers and we had the chance to interview her as part of The 2025 Sprudge Twenty.
The North Face & Biatletti make a Moka Pot
Outdoor brand The North Face has teamed up with Biatetti to create a limited-edition Moka Pot. The set makes claims about being for the outdoors and portable, though it’s hard to see how exactly it is any more portable than a traditional Moka Pot. Nonetheless, it is incredibly good looking and I’d buy the whole thing simply for the spoons.
Tributo Cafe
This week on the Sprudge Special Projects Desk, contributor Rafael Tonon takes a deep dive on Tributo Cafe and their work to reintroduce the world to Venezuelan coffee. Now primarily associated with oil, Venezuela has a proud coffee history and was once a much-coveted producing origin. Turmoil and economic instability all but eradicated coffee production there, but it’s been quietly making a comeback, and Tributo is here to herald it.
The Milan mop-up
In case you were unaware, Milan was the center of the coffee universe over the weekend. Host Milan, where Simpson won the WBC, and Out of the Box both occurred in the Italian city. And there was a lot to cover. First up, it was Out of the Box, La Marzocco’s premier event series. We had boots on the ground to take in all the scenes, activations, and a whole lot of coffee. Then at Host, there was new gear galore. The two big showstoppers in the coffee arena were the all-new Modbar Tea, a smart steeping-focused portafilter that allows tea preparation to seamlessly integrate into a barista workflow on the Modbar. Then it was Mahlkönig’s turn to make waves by hopping into the commercial espresso machine market. Their new Xenia is a dual-boiler single-group espresso machine with built-in Grind By Sync capabilities, further blurring the lines between home and commercial equipment.
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…
La Barba – Colombia Diego Bermudez Castillo Y-05
Mr. Espresso – Kenya Rung’eto Kii, Washed Process
Equator Coffees – Ethiopia Bench Maji Natural Single Origin Espresso
Madcap Coffee – Ethiopia Tamrat Alemayew
Stumptown Coffee Roasters – Founders Blend
Onyx Coffee Lab – Ethiopia Gera Estate Anaerobic
Heartwood Coffee – Ethiopia Yabitu Koba
Night Swim Coffee – Costa Rica La Hacienda F1
Klatch Coffee – El Salvador Las Mercedes Pepinal 1
Presta Coffee Roasters – Colombia Juicy Strawberry Co-ferment
Olympia Coffee – El Salvador Las Tres Estaciones – 1st Place Competition Lot
Partners Coffee – Mexico Sierra Mágica
Portland Coffee Roasters – Organic Ethiopia
Blueprint Coffee – Turaco, Burundi
PERC – Colombia Diego Bermudez M-03
Caffé Umbria – Naturale Blend
Verve Coffee Roasters – Morning Brew Blend
Coffee Gear!
A bi-weekly selection of coffee gear from some of the best manufacturers in the industry, both big and small. This week’s selection is…
Slow Pour Supply Apax Lab — Water Minerals
TIMEMORE x Millab M01 Grinder Black Edition — Manual Grinder
Flair Espresso Flair 58 Plus 2 — Manual Espresso Machine
DiFluid OmniFlux — Roast Tracker
MiiR Pourigami — Coffee Brewer
Acaia Umbra Lunar – Digital Scale
Dwell Dripper by Verve Coffee — Coffee Brewer
La Marzocco Home Linea Micra — Home Espresso Machine
Ceado Hoop Brewer — Coffee Brewer
New job listings from Sprudge Jobs
Linea Caffe - Customer Service Representative - San Francisco, CA
Olympia Coffee - Director of Coffee, Puget Sound Region - Olympia, WA
Counter Culture Coffee - Roaster - Emeryville, CA
Partners Coffee Roasters - Coffee Roaster (Seasonal) - 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.