The Sprudge Report - What We're Buzzing About
The Sprudge Report - What We're Buzzing About
Competitions, noble gases, beans, brews, and interviews.
Here’s Everyone Competing In Denver This Weekend
Right now, at this very moment, coffee professionals from across the country are in Denver competing in the second Qualifying Event for the 2023 US Coffee Championships. Who will be moving onto Nationals in Portland? We’ll find out Sunday night, so stay tuned!
Big basketball man releases big bag of beans for Bosnia
The Portland Trail Blazer center Jusuf Nurkić has teamed up with Portland Coffee Roasters for Bosnian Beans, a 2lb custom blend from the near-seven-footer. $3 from every bag sold go to the Jusuf Nurkić Foundation, which supports women, children, and the community in his home country of Bosnia.
Coffee around the globe
From a five-seat cafe in Detroit to an expansive second location for a coffee shop in Osaka to the triumphant return of the “biggest coffee festival in Scotland,” this week we highlighted cool coffee happenings on three different continents.
Robusta? Robusta!
Robusta is good, y’all. If you need proof, look no further than this anaerobic-fermented, natural processed Vietnamese robusta from Nguyen Coffee Supply. It’s so good, in fact, that it earned Maya Crowley a spot in the 2023 US Barista Championship. Ahead of the limited release, we spoke with Crowley about the coffee and if there’s a place for robusta in the specialty coffee landscape (hint: there very much is).
The luminous beam
Is there anything more Americana-romantic than the soft glow of a neon sign, lighting the way to a nearby diner and a much-needed hot cup of coffee? The history of neon signs and coffee goes back 100 years, and Sprudge Editor at Large Jenn Chen takes us on a deep dive of how the noble gas became such an indelible part of American coffee history.
Non-alcoholic pre-workout coffee beer
It may sound like a beverage-themed madlib, but it’s a real thing. It exists. Athletic Brewing Company, an n/a beer brand, has teamed up with RTD makers Super Coffee for Suped Up, a “full-bodied… rich, Extra Dark brew.” A CrossFit gym somewhere just flipped a giant tire with excitement.
An interview with Andriana Gnap, singer/songwriter behind “Coffee Dream”
Longtime readers of Sprudge will no doubt recognize Andriana Gnap and her earworm “Coffee Dream.” Released in 2007, during the fledgling stages of the world’s most popular coffee website, “Coffee Dream” came into our lives, and it’s safe to say that it had an outsized impact on everyone here at Sprudge. Now, 15 years later, we had the privilege of speaking with Gnap about the song and to find out if she does still, in fact, start her day with a cafe au lait.
New job listings from Sprudge Jobs
Espresso Parts - Marketing Director - Lacey, WA
Proud Mary Coffee - Head Roaster - Portland, 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.
Chazzano Coffee Roasters - Berkley, MI
Larakin - Atlanta, GA
Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters - Aberfeldy, Scotland
Unkompress - Berlin, Germany
Suedseite Coffee - Heidelberg, Germany
Abyss Coffee Roasters - Barcelona, Spain
Jola Coffee - North Caldwell, NJ
Bona Coffee Roasters - Boulder, CO
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.