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The Barista Championship Qualifiers in Nashville in January was characterized by cool, collected baristas delivering academic routines and meaningful conversations (revisit all the action on Sprudge Live here and here). But in an afternoon of weighty work, a barista named Sarah Gill—owner of Mama Mocha’s in Auburn, Alabama—stepped up to the stage and delivered a perfomance full of life and self.

“Most people call me Mama Mocha,” she started, then delivered a performance so full of infectious laughter and Southern charm that the crowd erupted into delighted cheers every time she addressed them. When the lid to her ice cream popped off and unexpectedly hit a judge, she turned to make a joke out of it with the crowd, encouraging everyone (including the judge) to laugh about it with her. If you missed her performance, you really owe it to yourself to go back and watch—it’s available here. (Start at 6:44:19)

Gill ended up officially disqualified from the competition due to time, but did so with such grace, humor, and charm that she walked away a deserving crowd favorite. There is no “People’s Choice” honorarium in the USBC circuit; perhaps there should be.

I caught up Sarah Gill by phone a week later to talk about all things Southern, being a mama and entrepreneur, and what competing in Nashville meant to her.

This interview has been condensed for clarity.

Introduce us to your work as Mama Mocha.

I’m a mama to one rambunctious son. Our family is the most important thing, and that means doing business the old fashioned way. He comes with me to work, and someday he’ll help out in the shop. I started Mama Mocha’s Coffee Emporium about 10 years ago. We were born in a tiny 11 ft x 16 ft room in the back of Newsroom, a used book store where all the baristas went to hang out in Auburn, Alabama. The store was doing a tiny espresso bar with pour-overs, no batch brewing at all. Everyone was like, “What is this?” It was very new for people then.

When I bought the bar and started Mama Mocha’s, I wanted to do it without the trendiness, which I think has been to my benefit. I was able to make my own flavor, my own style of how I roast and brew. We aren’t the million-dollar white box that is trendy other places. Where I am it’s a bunch of thrift store velvet couches with classic darker roasts in mismatched cups. Our location in Opelika has a covered front porch and a bodega where people walk up. It’s the South: We still love biscuits and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but we’re drinking specialty coffee.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Gill.

How did you get into coffee in Alabama? How did you get into roasting?

I was working at a Starbucks, and they wanted to make me a GM at 19. But I saw the hard lines on all of the managers faces around me, saw my future in that, and thought, “Hell no.” So I moved to Auburn and started working in independent coffee. In 2009, I went to the SCAA conference and realized, “Oh, I can open a roasting company.”

I learned roasting all my dang self. Auburn was very much an island. I didn’t have anywhere to go to learn coffee. I talked to people in Atlanta, I went to SCAA conferences, I read everything I could online, I got books. When I bought a tiny three kilo roaster, I didn’t know anything about anything. I roasted 14 hours a day over and over again until I liked what I was making. It was hard, but I didn’t have any choice but to make it work. It was bootstrapping times 10.

What is it like running an independent specialty shop in a small town?

Today, we have a full roastery in the Lebanon Art District of Opelika, Alabama. Opelika doesn’t allow corporations in; there’s only small businesses, families supporting families. So we bootstrapped again and opened in an old warehouse there, where the streets are rough and it’s just gritty enough to be cool. My husband (Taylor Gill, but everyone calls him Papa Mocha) did all the construction to make it work for us. Now there’s a bodega in the front, and a sensory lab in the back where we cup all our coffee. We use language that mimics the Sensory Lexicon. Our baristas are all career baristas, they’re the shining light of Mama Mocha’s.

We’re not in a giant metropolis. I’m happy in my small community, roasting for shops close enough to personally deliver to. We love supporting local, and supporting women-owned businesses. I am all about community over competition and supporting other cafes in my neighborhood. I feel sad that I have to say this, but we’re a safe space. I’m a cisgendered straight married white woman, but I’m progressive and an LGBTQ ally. I’m a Christian but Mama Mocha’s is not a Christian company. Christianity and coffee are real close in the South, but one of our only rules is no proselytization in the cafe. I want anyone to come in and not feel like there’s an agenda against them.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Gill.

How did competing in Nashville feel to you?

The other people in this competition are totally unlike me, a different breed of barista. They are like mixologists and I’m not doing that. When I was training, it was on a $1,000 espresso machine and a KitchenAid burr grinder. When I got there, I thought I was going to be nervous, but it was really easy to hold my head up high because I’ve already built my legacy. I’m not trying to prove myself. Even though it was the most glorious display of crash and burn I’ve ever done [Gill went more than a minute over time and didn’t finish her signature beverage] it felt awesome to tell my story and let go of the point system.

As soon as I let go, I could feel the audience’s sense of relief. It was an energy shift that erupted into laughter and cheers. They knew I didn’t give a shit, that I wasn’t restricted by the same scripts and cadence that’s been done in the past. I wasn’t trying to make a mockery of the point system and everything US Coffee Champs has built—but there’s more to being a barista than just those parameters. The process was so good for me. Developing the routine got me back to my roots, it developed a fire behind me that I haven’t had for a while. I left Nashville with such a great feeling of accomplishment.

Talk us through the signature beverage you made.

I was originally going to do a play on the beverage-that-shall-not-be-named, a dark brown sugar quad latte over tapioca pearls, but was told I couldn’t because it had to be drinkable. I watched videos of people smoking stuff and adding two grams of God-knows-what and thought, “This is so extra.” I wanted to honor what Mama Mocha’s coffee style and come up with a compromise between what I know and love as Southern coffee culture and what I saw in the videos, so I came up with something similar to a classic espresso affogato.

But I can’t make ice cream! My ice cream would be awful. I love Häagen-Dazs, so I used their vanilla. I muddled it because when you just pour espresso over ice cream it doesn’t drink well. So it was essentially a hand-muddled espresso milkshake. Monin makes this dope line of concentrated flavors, so I added their basil concentrate, as well as a wreath of rosemary around the bottom of the glass for extra olfactory herbal play. I smoked the glasses using a pecan log. On stage in Nashville I was behind, so I cut this out, but the drink was supposed to include smoking satsuma peels with the log, then I was going to rim the glass with the peel and use dragonfruit as an accoutrement to mimic the juiciness of the espresso. I call it The Bougie Bouquet, and it’s delicious.

Sara Frinak cheering on Gill.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

Sara Frinak, who manages Brewers Cup, was one of the starting baristas at Newsroom. She grew up in Auburn, she was a roaster and manager for me for a long time, and now she works for Ally, one of my importers. She was the one who came to me and said, “Mama, you need to be a competitor.” She encouraged me to go to preliminaries, and then she came and helped me piece together a routine and play mad scientist.

And of course I have to thank my sweet husband Papa Gill, my entire staff who are the heart beat of Mama Mocha’s, my mom and dad who always have my back, and God.

Valorie Clark (@TheValorieClark) is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. Read more Valorie Clark on Sprudge.

All photos by Charlie Burt for the Sprudge Media Network unless otherwise noted.

The post Sarah Gill Of Mama Mocha’s: The Sprudge Interview appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Hate to say we told ya so, but we definitely don’t hate it at all, so here goes… WE TOLD YOU SO. The Howard Schultz 2020 campaign has just been upgraded from “possibly maybe” to “definitely maybe” thanks to a tweet from the former Starbucks CEO. The Twitter announcement about the potential for Schultz to possible consider maybe running for president came out two days ago, January 27^th, and well, it’s never a good sign when your announcement about maybe there being an announcement gets ratioed to high hell.

I love our country, and I am seriously considering running for president as a centrist independent.

— Howard Schultz (@HowardSchultz) January 28, 2019

Schultz states that were he to run, it would be as a “centrist independent,” which has left many on Twitter to worry that this would split the Democratic vote, allowing for four more years of what the hell it is we currently have going on in the White House.

I’m an American political historian and I can assure you that the only thing you’ll accomplish by running for president as a centrist independent is helping re-elect Donald Trump.

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) January 28, 2019

Howard, I like your coffee, but please don’t do this. You’re not going to win. You’re just going to make it easier for @realDonaldTrump to win.

— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) January 28, 2019

Others have offered Schultz, who stated in the original article that serving his country didn’t necessarily mean a run for office, alternative ways to help.

Or how about tackling a problem like clean water in Flint? Or helping to rebuild Puerto Rico? Do something that has a tangible effect instead of spending however long your campaign lasts to muck up the process. You still have time to redirect here.

— Charlotte Clymer (@cmclymer) January 28, 2019

Literally just get up tomorrow morning and match Bill Gates contributions to vaccines and you'll do more for the world than this entire vanity project.

— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) January 28, 2019

Then this nitwit had an opinion on a thing.

Howard Schultz doesn’t have the “guts” to run for President! Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the “smartest person.” Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2019

And there’s American Treasure Michale McKean.

Sir, this is a Peet's.

— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) January 28, 2019

Bless you, Doug Forcett. You just earned so many points.

Schultz has made no official announcement, but assuming he takes the time to glance at how well this whole “maybe I’ll run” thing has been going thus far, he may reconsider. And who knows, maybe he would be a good president? We have literally never had a successful businessperson in charge of the country before.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

The post Howard Schultz Is “Seriously Considering” Running For President appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Step into the posh, pastel entry to Felix Roasting Co. and you might forget for a moment (or for several moments, what’s the hurry for?) you’re on New York City’s Park Avenue South. You might be in New Orleans, Paris, Miami Beach, or perhaps some strange hybrid of the three.

Felix—which comprises three spacious rooms at street level and will soon boast a large coffee lab and tasting room in the basement—is decidedly unique for its environs. Beyond the decor, it’s a place that evokes a slower pace than the bustling streets outside. In fact, says Reagan Petrehn, Felix’s head of brand and “coffee stuff” guy, the goal is to pull you off the streets of Manhattan both figuratively and literally.

Reagan Petrehn

Kansas City native Petrehn plays the classic coffee-wunderkind-amidst-splashy-investment role here, and his hospitality and warmth are as infectious as his talking points are down pat. As he guides me through the front of the cafe—which he says they call “The Hall”—towards a stunning round coffee bar beneath a domed ceiling (which the team earnestly calls “The Sanctuary”), he points out the intention behind each element of the space. The Park Avenue South facing side of the curved copper-topped bar serves as the fast bar, Petrehn explains, with a “G&B-style pre-dosing experience” for speed. Service is anchored by a La Marzocco Linea PB and twin Malkhönig EK43s, alongside a suite of opulent copper-plated toys like a Mazzer Kold grinder, Modbar AV-ABR modules, and Marco MIX water boiler. The fast bar focus is primarily on espresso service, and no pour-over is offered.

In an expression of expansive interstate commerce, the beans themselves, while roasted under the Felix banner, are done so with remote consultation in faraway Houston, Texas. “Our logistics are so efficient with the roastery being located in Houston that it’s hard to justify the rent in NYC for the small gain in convenience,” explains Petrehn as we advance towards the back of the space, known as “The Lounge.” The Lounge is similar to “The Hall” but with less natural light, and I’m assured laptop use and hanging out is encouraged. It’s here I meet founder Matt Moinian, hotelier-investor who is in fact, using his laptop and hanging out. Along with Moinian, the operation is steered by design partner Ken Fulk and a handful of other busy crew, ever milling about behind the bar making sure everything seems perfect, and supervising the build-out of a downstairs tasting lab geared towards wholesale, education, and events. (I’m told it will look like an Italian wine cellar, and I don’t doubt this.)

Tea and pastries are currently the only outsourced elements here. The former comes from Spirit Tea, while the latter come from the Lower East Side’s Supermoon Bakehouse, with doughy selections ranging from classics to vibrantly colored croissants. Alternative milks, such as oat and almond, are produced in-house.

It’s hard to call out any one favorite element of Fulk’s eye-catching interior concept: the starburst blush-and-teal terrazzo floor radiating enthusiastically outward from the bar, the basketweave detailing on the sanctuary ceiling, the variations of Arabica blossom wallpaper throughout the space. Indeed, clever touches—whether coffee-focused or design-focused—dominate here, from the condiment bar with chilled lines drawing the house-milked almond milk and its friends up from the basement, to the four different designs of to-go cups, to the coffee-botanical-design-adorned custom hand towels (yes) in the bathroom. It’s all a part of what Petrehn says is drawn from “many different time periods and aesthetics”—a goal of making you a little lost in space and time, not sure of where you might be at all, except for here, very specifically inside Felix.

And of course, a place with such aspirations of grandeur would be remiss without a performative slow bar. Seasonal drinks rotate here, like a campfire-experience-inspired s’mores latte, or a deconstructed espresso tonic served up in a snifter with fresh basil, Campari reduction, and a rosewater spritz. “We have a few people that come back every day for one,” says Petrehn of the signature drinks with prices well above $10.

We are, after all—as much as the owners might like you to forget it—still in Midtown Manhattan.

Liz Clayton is the associate editor at Sprudge Media Network and the co-author of Where to Drink Coffee. Read more Liz Clayton on Sprudge.

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Source: Coffee News

Coffee is the next frontier for entrepreneurial technologists looking to make an impact on a budding industry. Just have a look around Kickstarter and you’ll find all manner of coffee inventions, re-inventions, and re-inventions that are actually no different than the original product they are supposedly revolutionizing; not all ideas are good ones (or new ones). But now, the next frontier is heading to the final frontier: space, as two entrepreneurs are going to roast coffee in space “to produce perfectly roasted coffee beans.”

According to The Guardian, Space Roasters is the brainchild of Anders Cavallini and Hatem Alkhafaji. The Dubai pair’s plan is to shoot a pressurized tank filled with 300kg of green coffee into space—around 200km, or 124 miles, in height (for reference, the ozone is around 30km from the earth)—and then let the heat from re-entry do all the roasting. Their theory is essentially that gravity accounts for the flaws in coffee roasting: “beans tumble around, break apart, and are scorched by contact with the hot surfaces of the roaster,” per the article. But in space, where no one can hear your beans go to first crack, “if gravity is removed, the beans float around in a heated oven, giving them 360 degrees of evenly distributed heat and roasting to near perfection.”

According to The Guardian, the temperature inside the capsule will be held at around 200°C (392°F) for the entirety of the 20-minute plummet back to earth. Cavallini and Alkhafaji are unsure yet how much they will charge per cup of their space coffee, but seeing how it will be sold in Dubai, it’s safe to say it will fall in the “fuckton of dirhams” range. According to their website, a pre-sale starts in four weeks, where the price will presumably be revealed.

The real question is—other than the very obvious, “Why?! Why are you doing this!?!—will the coffee be any good? 20 minutes is a pretty long roast time, at least by terrestrial standards, but 200°C is a very low temperature. Like, “may not make it to first crack” low. I’m no roaster or anything, but that doesn’t quite sound like a recipe for success. Or good coffee. Though, Cavallini has “over five years experience, roasting, brewing, tasting coffee from around the world,” according to a very ambiguous statement on the company’s about the duo’s coffee bona fides, so maybe they know what they’re doing?

But what is progress and innovation without a few over-engineered misfires? And who knows, maybe this one isn’t a stinker. Maybe this sous-vide free fall through space is how all coffee will be roasted in the future. I have my doubts, but I’m willing to be proven wrong if Cavallini and Alkhafaji want to send me some coffee to try, ideally by not targeting a plummeting coffee rocket ship at my house.

Hopefully the coffee won’t collide with the La Colombe Draft Latte Todd Carmichael shot into space (if he did in fact send one to space, though we have our doubts).

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

The post So We’re Shooting Coffee Into Space To Roast It Now, Huh appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Kuala Lumpur, or more simply referred to by locals as KL, is a vibrant city with an eclectic mix of cultures. The city’s diversity is magnified quickly after the sun sets, when the pasar malams, or night markets, emerge and showcase a convergence of Malay, Chinese, and Indian cuisines. At the end of the day, you can feel as if you’ve visited multiple countries within the city.

And in a city where the new, old, modern, and traditional blend into a cohesive colorful mosaic, you can expect a coffee experience well worth exploring. The coffee movement in KL is thriving, emerging beyond the traditional kopitiam mornings consisting of the usual mug of dark-roasted jet black coffee (still a treat while in the city!) into a stage run by folks eager to create and perfect the coffee experience. From a cafe that takes you back in time to cozy quirky nooks, Kuala Lumpur is sure to overdose you with caffeine.

Piu Piu Piu

Just the name is enough to evoke nostalgia of childhood—of the summer days when the battle with heat came in the form of colorful plastic water pistols. Piu Piu Piu is probably one of KL’s most hidden coffee shops, tucked away on the second level of a newly renovated arts center not too far from the heart of Chinatown. If you find yourself at the end of a street with plenty of obscure shophouses, don’t be alarmed. You’ve come to the right place.

Piu Piu Piu is cozy, playful, and full of quirky knick knacks. Unagi, the barista-owner, runs a one-man show behind the counter, offering a limited but carefully crafted espresso-based menu with beans sourced from local Malaysian roasters such as Aim Coffee. Choose a latte with coconut oil for a unique taste and wash it down with his house-made signature lemon sour, a refreshing blend of preserved lemons steeped in homemade soda. Pair your drink with a homemade pastry—the burnt cheesecake is a must. Seating is limited but you’ll want to hang by the counter, where Unagi is sure to chat you up on KL’s coffee scene.

Artelier Coffee x Kitchen

Kuala Lumpur is full of malls. While I don’t consider myself much of a shopping fanatic, I inevitably found myself at Pavilion KL, one of the biggest in the city. Little did I know that tucked inside the array of high-end boutiques was a place with a big heart for coffee. Located on the 2nd floor is Artelier Coffee x Kitchen.

Masahiro Aoki, or Masa-san, is a master barista trainer who brings Japanese influences to this open cafe and coffee bar. He sources single-origin beans from local roasters such as The Hub and highlights occasional guest roasters, with a focus on Japanese roasters such as Tokyo-based Glitch Coffee and Unlimited Coffee. On the black countertop is a sleek silver Victoria Arduino Black Eagle, almost dull in comparison to the two trophies displayed proudly by its side. Staffed with a knowledgeable and friendly crew of baristas including dynamic sibling duo, Rain and Alan Lee, two finalists at the 2017 Malaysia Barista Championships, Artelier is set to impress with precise pour-overs and beautifully poured latte art. An ample selection of cakes include options such as kuro goma, tofu yogurt, matcha, and sweet potato—consider it a challenge to choose just one.

PULP by Papa Palheta

Located in Bangsar, PULP by Papa Palheta is the Malaysian flagship store of Singaporean specialty coffee roaster Papa Palheta. The shop resides in the repurposed Art Printing Works (APW) factory complex and its name PULP is a tribute to the origins of its former paper-cutting space.

Inside is a coffee playground and exploratorium. The mostly-glass walls provide beautiful natural light and highlight the industrial dark wooden panels that cover the interior. Upon approaching the counter, you pass by a modular bar where you can see baristas in action preparing coffee with a variety of brew methods, from V60 to Chemex to French press. A rotating selection of beans is available to choose from with seasonal specials ranging between 18-55 MR. The hand brews come with a card of coffee facts detailing origin, process, and expected tasting notes. While there is certainly a focus on single-origin beans, drinks such as a nitro-infused coffee named “Black Matter” and bottled cold brew are also available.

The space comes equipped with a cupping room and workshop and with a variety of whole bean bags ready to be brought home, PULP covers all bases for your coffee needs.

Jao Tim

Just a hop and skip away from Chinatown’s iconic lively Petaling Street is Jao Tim. I’ll be honest—finding Jao Tim was more difficult than I had expected. After all, this cafe is nestled on a busy road jam-packed with businesses and no obvious sign. If you find yourself lost looking down on your phone, you’ll likely miss it. You’ll need to look up, because this cafe is housed on the top floor.

Through the golden doors and up a flight of stairs, you’ll find yourself taken back in time. The first thing you see is a walnut concierge desk with brass accents, indicative of its previous existence as a hotel in the early 19th century (Jao Tim in Cantonese means “hotel”). The exposed brick walls and art deco furniture add to its pre-war era charm. Jao Tim offers your standard beverage menu alongside more creative drinks such as “Joe Roots,” a double-shot espresso drink mixed with root beer. Though the combination sounds odd, you’ll have to take my word. No drink could have been more refreshing to unwind during a humid afternoon away from the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. Tea, beer, and food options are also available.

Bean Brothers

As one of KL’s most uniquely designed coffee shops, Bean Brothers is worth the drive from the city center. Originating in Korea, Bean Brothers brings the trendy industrialized look to a secluded street in the Sunway Damansara neighborhood in the outskirts of the city. With cement floors, high ceilings, hanging lights, and a spacious second floor seating area that overlooks the coffee station, this former warehouse space is indeed turned into a visual stunner. Bean Brothers offers a wide selection of single origin coffee roasted at their Seoul locations as well as the classics. With offerings such as salted egg pasta and avocado croissant, be prepared to unknowingly let the hours pass by inside the cafe.

Jessica Hernandez is a freelance journalist. This is Jessica Hernandez’s first feature for Sprudge.

The post Where To Drink Coffee In Kuala Lumpur appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Chelsey Walker Watson of Atlas Coffee Importers (Photo by Elizabeth Chai)

We’re back in Nashville for part two of our special Coffee Sprudgecast series. We take you live on the event floor at the 2019 US Coffee Champs Qualifying Event in Nashville, Tennesee. There we join multimedia director Elizabeth Chai, who—in addition to helming our must-follow Instagram coverage of the event—taped a series of original interviews for this week’s episode of the podcast.

Check out The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes or download the episode here. The Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by  Oxo, Urnex Brands, Hario, IKAWA Sample Roasters and Swiss Water Decaf. 

In this episode, Chai talks to barista competitor Anthony Ragler of Counter Culture Coffee. Ragler placed 10th in the competition and will advance to the national stage in Kansas City. Ragler is one of six coffee competitors in Nashville that trained at the Glitter Cat Barista Bootcamp.

Chai interviews Chelsea Walker Watson of Atlas Coffee Importers in Seattle, Washington. Watson competed in the Brewers Cup, placing ninth and will advance to the national competition in March.

Sign up now as a subscriber to the Coffee Sprudgecast and never miss an episode. 

Listen, subscribe and review The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes.

Download the episode here.

Sprudge Media Network’s coverage of the 2019 US Coffee Champs is made possible by Joe Glo and Mahlkönig. All of SprudgeLive’s 2019 competition coverage is made possible by Acaia, Baratza, Faema, Cafe Imports, and Wilbur Curtis.

Sprudge is an official media partner of US Coffee Championships.

Follow @SprudgeLive on Twitter and never miss a moment from the shows, and cruise over to SprudgeLive.com to read routine recaps, enjoy dynamic full-color photos, and check in on all the advancing competitors from Nashville.

2019 Sprudge Live coverage is produced by Zac Cadwalader. Our lead photographer is Charlie Burt. Multimedia direction by Elizabeth Chai.

See y’all in Kansas City!

The post Coffee Sprudgecast Episode 66: Live From US Coffee Champs Nashville Part Two appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

The spectacle known as the Super Bowl will soon find its way onto every working television set in the United States. This year’s clash of the titans boldly pits the team with the worst fans against a team with no fans. It is the event around which all other TV viewing during that three-to-four hour time slot revolves: you’re either watching the game—some for the sport and some for the $5 million-a-pop 30-second ads taking place in between the times when there are sport—or you’re watching the Puppy/Kitten Bowl as a not-so-quiet protestation to the game.

As it has done in the past, coffee is getting in on the football action. Only this time, it’s bringing its good friend CBD along for the ride. According to Forbes, the brand Baristas Coffee Company will place ads inside the stadium at Super Bowl LII for EnrichaRoast CBD Coffee.

CBD coffee is pretty much everywhere these days (mostly in my inbox with every PR blurb about someone “disrupting” the industry by combining the two), and though Baristas Coffee Company’s big activation is not actually a TV commerical, the adverts will be visible to attendees at the big game. It should be noted that while some CBD is cannabis-adjacent, it is a perfectly legal substance that lacks the psychoactive THC found in marijuana, and can be made from a wide variety of plants, including tree bark etc. Neither the coffee nor the ads will get you feeling all wavy gravy.

But what the ads will do is allow you to send any message you want to Maroon 5, so long as it fits within the 120 character limit. That’s a weird sentence, I know. As per Forbes, each ad “includes a special offer to send a 120-character message to Maroon 5, the halftime show headliner, via a digital platform attendees can access on their phones.”

ANY MESSAGE YOU WANT. If you’d like to tell them to give James Blunt his sound back, you can. If you want to let them know that there may be five maroons, there is only one James Blunt, that’s also totally fine. If you want to ask the band why this CBD coffee schtick is the only coffee ad we’re seeing at the Super Bowl, that too would be a legitimate question. Literally any comment—be it coffee or James Blunt-based—is allowed and indeed encouraged, so long as they are only 120 characters in length.

So keep an eye out for those Baristas’ EnrichaRoast CBD Coffee ads floating around and behind the 300+ lb men colliding into one another at 20 miles per hour. Maroon 5 depends on it. They’ll be bored and lonely without your messages.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via YouTube

The post There Will Be An Ad At The Super Bowl For CBD Coffee appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Many interesting and important things have been put into boxes over the years. Textiles, other boxes, and even children’s candy. Perhaps the most important thing that has gone into boxes is coffee. But how do you make a box really pop? Maybe start with a box that has an Epic Black Classic Crest Eggshell Finish and add a flourish of glossy embossed flames (on the interior and exterior). You can finish it with a customizable letterpress printed, foil stamped label that can be customized in-house. That’s what our friends at Sweetleaf Coffee Roasters did, anyway, and we think it looks fabulous. We spoke with them electronically to learn more.

Tell us a bit about your company

I began Sweetleaf back in 2008 with our first location in Long Island City, Queens. Being born and raised in Queens myself, I’ve always seen Sweetleaf as a Queens-based company, even though we’re now roasting just across the Pulaski Bridge in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I named Sweetleaf after the Black Sabbath song—that should tell you all you need to know about me.

It wasn’t until 2014 that we began roasting with other like-minded people in Brooklyn and shortly after, opened the doors on our own roastery.

Now we’ve come one step further and updated the look and feel of our boxes to coincide with the launch of our new website and online store.

When did the coffee package design debut?

Our new packaging started making its appearance in our cafes in Greenpoint and Long Island City (and to a few beloved wholesale customers) in September last year but now it’s available to anyone with an Internet connection.

Who designed the package?

We worked with the crew at Topos Designs, in collaboration with Studio on Fire. Studio on Fire had the job of bringing to life the vision of the crew at Topos Designs.

It was great to be able to work with Topos because they do such amazing work for so many New York institutions, including MoMA PS1, which is right down the road from our original location in Long Island City, Queens. Keeping ties with our roots is always important to us.

Studio on Fire also do incredible work that I’ve always admired so having both teams contribute so much to us was a dream come true.

What coffee information do you share on the package?

We share the location, varietal, altitude, and tasting notes.

What’s the motivation behind that?

We wanted to keep it simple as there is already so much going on with the packaging.

Why are aesthetics in coffee packaging so important?

For us, it was important to have an aesthetic that tells the story of where we’ve come from and where we’re going. When we began in 2008, Queens was a very different place, even then. When I look at the box design, I can feel the grittiness of that time but also feel some maturity in how far we’ve come since then. Hopefully, our long-time regulars will feel the same way.

Where is the packaging manufactured?

It’s printed at Studio on Fire in Minneapolis and then lovingly assembled at our roastery.

Is the package recyclable/compostable?

The box is 100% recyclable and compostable. It’s FSC certified, which means it meets the mark of responsible forestry.

It’s also manufactured using 100% renewable electricity and is Carbon Neutral Plus, meaning the manufacturer has made a commitment to reduce carbon emissions and conserve natural resource and wildlife habitats.

On top of all this, it’s Green Seal Certified, meaning the stock is manufactured with a minimum of 30% post-consumer fiber (which is fancy-talk for “it’s made from 30% other peoples’ garbage”—it’s clean, we swear!) and meets federal procurement guidelines.

Where is it currently available?

If you’re in New York, come by to our locations and pick up a box. Or if you’re too far away (or in New York but too lazy) you can order online here.

Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.

The post Coffee Design: Sweetleaf Coffee Roasters In Brooklyn, NY appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Who’s ready for some raucous coffee good times? After a successful run in The States, the Barista League is heading back home to Scandinavia for the 2019 season, with the inaugural event taking place Satuday, January 26^th at Koppi in Helsingborg, Sweden. For this season, the Barista League has turned an eye toward social and environmental accountability, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be any less of a wild coffee party.

Like with previous events, Barista League Helsingborg will feature teams of two being put through the veritable coffee ringer, duking it out across three events: “a drink menu challenge on the brand new Rancilio Specialty machine using Oatly’s iKaffe, a sensory round of matching coffees, and a mystery round that is so secret the only thing we can say is that it features Baratza grinders.” The twelve duos will be scrutinized under the watchful eyes of judges 2016 World Brewers Cup runner-up Mikaela Gervard (The Coffee Collective), Icelandic Latte Art and Coffee in Good Spirits champion Vala Stefansdottir (Kaffi Kvörn), and Kore Directive founder Sierra Burgess-Yeo (featured here on Sprudge). The winning team at all of this year’s events will take home a yet-unnamed grand prize that the Barista League promises to be pretty wild. This is from the event series that sent the US winners to origin last year, so when they say the prize is going to be something special, I’m inclined to believe them.

Newish for this year—it was demoed in Oslo last year—is the Barista League brew bar, where the expected “200+ partying coffee professionals” in attendance will have the chance to hop behind the counter to test drive all the competition machines and test their skills at the gauntlet of challenges awaiting the competitors.

In an effort to have a positive impact on the coffee community globally as well as hold themselves accountable, the Barista League has implemented a few key functional changes for 2019. According to the press release, all ticket proceeds from the Helsingborg even will go to Grounds for Health, a non-profit organization working to reduce incidents of cervical cancer in coffee producing countries. Additionally, the Barista League is taking the rather unheard of step (at least as far as coffee events go) of publishing environmental impact reports from all the 2019 events “in an effort to focus more attention on how we consume materials at events.”

Tickets for the Barista League Helsingborg event are 80.00 KR ($8.80 USD) and are available for purchase here. It all gets started at 5:30pm at Koppi. For more information, visit the Barista League’s official website. Coffee party GO!

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via the Barista League

The post The Barista League Returns To Scandinavia This Weekend appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Being a barista is cool, sure, but it’s also an incredibly physical profession that takes a toll on your body. Being on your feet all day can lead to back problems, the potential for a slip and fall from wet floors is ever-present, and there are any number of machines (and their many surfaces) pumping out boiling-to-near-boiling water to leave all manner of fun shaped burn marks on your hands and arms. It’s dangerous on the that side of the counter.

And a new report from AmTrust confirms just how dangerous the barista profession is. According to the report, coffee shops and cafes have the most time lost due to injury out of all restaurant types, and the leading cause of café-based injury? Barista Wrist.

In their first ever Restaurant Risk Report, AmTrust Financial Services—a US-based workers compensation insurer—surveyed over 84,000 restaurant claims made being 2013 and 2017 that resulted in loss payments. They found that in terms of time lost, cafes are the most dangerous places to work in the restaurant industry, with 45% more time lost than other areas.

The leading cause of this time lost is Barista Wrist (or Bawrister, as I presume the Australians call it). A repetitive motion injury, Barista Wrist is the result of tamping—the thing baristas do hundreds of times a day—using an unnatural, not ergonomic wrist position. And according to the Restaurant Risk Report, Barista Wrist injuries are associated with an “average of 366 days to return to work,” almost three times that of the next largest class of injury, “struck or injured by” with 130.7.

To help reduce incidents of Barista Wrist, the report make the following suggestions: work in a neutral posture, reduce excessive force, keep everything within easy reach, work at a proper counter height, reduce excessive motions, minimize pressure points, move, exercise, and stretch, and maintain an all-around comfortable environment.

So while you may romanticize pouring pretty pictures with milk for the handsome artist or connecting with a regular by poring over every nuance both in the taste and production of a single origin brew, being a coffee professional isn’t always the bohemian dream job. It’s also labor, and it can take its toll.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via AmTrust

The post Barista Wrist Leads All Restaurant-Related Injuries In Time Lost appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News