The Sprudge Report - There's A New EK In Town
Plus, there's still time to nominate for the Sprudge Design Awards.
Introducing the Mahlkönig EK Omnia
Mahlkönig, the king of grinders, has announced an all-new addition to the iconic EK lineup. The just-announced Omnia has all the brawn users have come to expect with the EK grinders, but Mahlkönig has added to it a whole lot of brains. The company is still playing this one close to the chest, but check out our article to find out everything we know about the Omnia.
And while we are talking about Mahlkönig, the brand also announced the Sync System, a new collaborative effort with La Marzocco that allows the brands’ grinders and espresso machines to connect to one another and make real-time, automatic grind updates based on how the shots are pulling.
Alaska Airlines to serve Stumptown Coffee on all flights
Coffee on airplanes is generally pretty bad, but it is also one of life’s little joys. Starting this fall, that little joy gets a little bit bigger on Alaska Airlines, as they will begin serving Stumptown Coffee. Stumptown has created a custom blend for the airline that will be the exclusive coffee served on any and all Alaska flights.
Bean Voyage!
Bean Voyage is an ever-developing nonprofit organization that provides education in the coffee-producing world. The team’s work includes increasing acc
ess to training, finance, and markets for smallholder women coffee farmers, based in Costa Rica and Mexico. We sat down with Bean Voyage co-founders Abhinav Khanal and Sunghee Tark to learn more.
Roaster Spotlight: Craftsman & Wolves
What does it mean to be a contemporary bakery and patisserie? And how does roasting coffee play into it? As part of our Roaster Spotlight series, we spoke with Lawrence Lai, the founder of San Francisco’s Craftsman & Wolves to find out the answers to these questions and more.
This is Major Tom
Ground Control, the maker of the award-winning Cyclops batch brewers, is about to release an all-new brewing system. Demoed at this year’s Expo event in Portland, the new Ground Control system has some major improvements over its predecessor, and it’s one pre-order now.
Greater Goods and Valtteri Bottas collab
Formula 1 is coming back to the United States next week in Austin. To celebrate, Greater Goods is teaming up with Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas and his coffee company, Kahiwa Coffee Roasters in Finland, for a collab bundle. The Howdy Bundle has coffee, all sorts of fun goodies, and a chance to win a Comandante hand grinder autographed by Bottas.
Coffee design
One thing we’ve learned since launching the Sprudge Design Awards is that great coffee design is evident everywhere you look: in roasted whole bean offerings, on-demand coffee, ready-to-drink coffee, jute bags, cleaning products, everything! Something we haven’t quite covered before is great design in small-format green coffee bags. That’s exactly what Green Coffee Co. is doing with a new line of packaging, offering whole-bean unroasted coffee in 1lb, 2lb, 4lb, and 10lb sizes.
Sprudge Design Awards nomination period extended
We’ve been blown away by the number of entries we have received for the inaugural Sprudge Design Awards, and to make sure every vote is cast, we’re extending the nomination period! Entries will now close on Thursday, October 19th at midnight Pacific Standard Time.
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: Natural Bolvia AIPEP—This limited release offering is from the primary-level producer association AIPEP, located in the Yungas mountains of Bolivia. We found this natural processed coffee to be pleasantly dense, with notes of blueberry, grape and black tea in the cup.
Camber Coffee: Struttura—Struttura (meaning “structure”) is a sweet, weighty, and structured blend with notes of dark chocolate, molasses, and plum. It was carefully crafted to produce syrupy, dimensional, full-bodied espresso shots, while also brewing a vibrant, balanced cup of drip. We can’t wait for you to try this truly luxurious blend.
CXFFEEBLACK: OG Guji Mane—Brought to you by an all black supply chain. Grown by black farmers in the town of Uraga in the Guji Zone of Oromia in Ethiopia, exported by Black community leaders Ture Waji, aka the “King Of Guji”and the big homie Mike Mamo of Bmore. It was imported through the homies at Equatorial Coffee Consultants and roasted by Renata Henderson and Sydni Barnes.
Equator Coffees: Guatemala El Injerto Ethiopia Landrace Natural—Reviewed by Coffee Review in September 2023, this coffee scored an incredible 94 point review! Experience the sweet and complex flavors of Guatemala El Injerto Ethiopia Landrace Natural. This rare lot of coffee is a Landrace variety from Ethiopia processed using the natural, or dry method, which locks in its unique flavors and sweetness. We love the intense fruit-forward notes this coffee is renowned for.
Intelligentsia Coffee: Otoño Blend—Fall is here, and with it, the next release in our seasonal blend lineup. Otoño is inspired by the reflection that autumn brings, when nature reveals its texture and each step outdoors is a chance to slow down and observe a beautiful transition unfold. It features three In-Season lots from our single-origin menu: our Ethiopia Washed Alaka, Kenya Kamviu, and Guatemala La Florida.
Joe Coffee: Colombia La Familia Guarnizo—This coffee comes to us through a strong relationship between Joe Coffee and the El Paraiso growers’ association in Huila, Colombia. This bright and light-bodied selection was grown by a special group of El Paraiso’s member farmers: the Guarnizo family. Featuring notes of stone fruit and almonds with a medium acidity, this coffee is a customer favorite.
Madcap Coffee Company: Luis Reinoso—Luis Reinoso grows coffee in Tolima, Colombia, with his wife Yenni. Though this coffee bears his name, Luis is the first to emphasize that it’s an equal partnership between Yenni and himself. In this balanced cup of the Caturra and Bourbon varieties, expect notes of cherry, red apple, and nougat.
Monogram Coffee: Floripondio—Floripondio is an ideal farm for experimenting with growing different varieties of coffee. It is a breathtaking farm, growing incredible coffees, and under the guidance of the Rodriguez family the coffees are grown, harvested and processed with close attention to detail every step of the way. Floripondio is a batian coco natural that has super clean and juicy flavours of plum and nougat with a creamy body.
Night Swim Coffee: Rosalio Gutierrez – Natural—Rosalio is a young producer from the Valle Inca cooperative, only 38 years old. He and his wife Gladys cultivate the 10 hectares they share, only 2.75 of which are dedicated to coffee production. This sun-dried, bourbon varietal comes to us from Cusco, Peru and the Valle Inca cooperative. Where, at first, Valle Inca yielded small quantities that struggled to make the grade quality-wise, they’re now one of their biggest vendors in all of Peru, producing enviable quality.
Olympia Coffee Roasters: Ethiopia Desta Gola—Flavors of berry jam, peach, and jasmine
Onyx Coffee Lab: Panama Creativa Giovana Boutet Anaerobic—This anaerobic natural processed by our friends at Creativa Coffee District checks all the boxes we love about anaerobic processing. Layered, complex, and immensely sweet, this Catuai reminds us of ripe mangos and chocolate truffle, with the complexity and tactile of a cabernet.
Partners Coffee: Honduras San Francisco—Roger Domínguez produces some of our favorite natural process coffees. This lot, a selection of entirely red bourbon, comes from his farm Finca San Francisco in Marcala, Honduras. With the most exacting standards of picking and processing Roger has delivered an exceptional coffee, dominated by jammy red fruits and intense dark chocolate. We taste strawberry and raspberry jam, spiced cranberries, pomegranate, candied orange, very dark chocolate, and cognac.
PERC Coffee: Colombia La Primavera Pink Bourbon—This coffee is a collaboration between producer Freddy Correa and our friends at Forest Coffee. Freddy Correa grew this fantastic coffee on his farm, La Primavera. This is the first pink bourbon we’ve sourced at PERC. Pink Bourbon is a mutation of the Bourbon variety and is highly regarded for its exceptional cup profile. When the cherries ripen, they turn a vibrant shade of pink (hence the name). This variety is known for its sweet, fruity, and floral flavors, and La Primavera does a great job hitting all of them!
Stumptown Coffee: Guatemala Semillero—Semillero was the first plot of land Luis Pedro Zelaya bought after graduating as an agronomist. It produces some of the highest quality lots seen in the Zelaya family operation. This year’s lot is a round cup combining notes of creamy vanilla, nectarine, and plum, and it’s available exclusively to Stumptown’s Roaster’s Pick coffee subscribers.
Verve Coffee: Costa Rica Sumava Lactico Natural—Sweet Magnolia florals greet the nose at the first sip, complemented by the soft touch of White Peach. Concord Grape is woven throughout with a similar profile to natural wine, finishing the cup with a sparkling mouthfeel. Francisco Mena’s coffee has been sprinkled throughout our menu year after year, and he is someone that we are proud to partner with.
New job listings from Sprudge Jobs
San Cristobal Coffee Importer - Origin Specialty Coffee Production Internship - Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico
Coava Coffee Roasters - Roastery Retail Barista - Portland, OR
Coava Coffee Roasters - Fulfillment Operations Tech - Portland, OR
Malongo Coffee of Paris Gourmet - Coffee Specialist - New York Metro area
Cafe DeMi - Lead Barista - Teaneck, NJ