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It’s official. The field for the 2019 US Coffee Championships is set. After learning the first 62 competitors to punch their tickets at last month’s Denver Qualifying Event, we now know the other 70 coffee professionals to round out the field for the national stage of competition, taking place in just a few short months in Kansas City, Missouri.

From a list of 200 coffee professionals spread across five competitions—Barista Championship, Brewers Cup, Coffee in Goods Spirits, Cup Tasters, and Roasters Championship—the field was winnowed down by nearly two-thirds to a tight 70. There were names new and old—both in terms of competitor and coffee company represented—but as they so often do, the familiar veteran names often found their way to the tops of the list.

That’s not to say that the first-timers didn’t make a splash in Nashville. There were more than a handful of those new to competition who walked away with some wooden hardware, poised to take their rightful place as one of the wily vets in the 2020 season and beyond.

We’re still two months away from the US Coffee Championships storming the Kansas City Convention Center in March, and you can expect the 130+ coffee professionals making the trip will use those 58 days to ramp up their practice time and fine tune their performances. We’ve witnessed a lot of coffee competition already, but we haven’t seen anything yet. Now is when it gets really real.

But before all the really really realness, let’s take a few minutes to enjoy what transpired over the weekend. Let’s look back at the US Coffee Championships Qualifying Even in Nashville, Tennessee.

SprudgeLive’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.

Barista Championship

A common thread throughout most of the 10-minute routines at the Barista Championship was a general sense of cool collectedness. Participants stayed within themselves even in the face of the oppressive time constrictions. Even though the competition was split pretty evenly between veterans and rookies, the overarching zeitgeist was one of, “we’ve been here before.” The event felt more academic than ecstatic.

Until it didn’t. Competitors like Adam JacksonBey, Rodrigo Vargas, Anthony Ragler, and the undeniable crowd favorite Sara Gill—”you can call me Mama Mocha”—blew the roof off the Track One events space. Their energy was infectious, riling up the otherwise polite crowd into a frenzy of full-throated yowls and even the occasional post-routine interview bum-rush for a 20+ person 4:20 selfie.

Juan Diaz of Deeply Coffee Co.

Amid all the excitement, after the dust settled there was one clear winner: La Palma y El Tucan. The esteemed Colombian farm produced the coffees used by the top three finalists (who all just so happened to go back-to-back-to-back at the end of Day Two). The only other two competitors to use La Palma in the Nashville Barista competition, Juan Diaz and Shane Hess, also found their way to nationals by taking 14th and 16th, respectively.

It’s about as close to a clean sweep as you can expect from a single producer. But the question remains: can they finish the fight or will they lose out to other competition heavyweights like Hacienda La Papaya and Finca Nuguo, the coffees used by the last three years’ winners? We’ll just have to wait until March to find out.

1. Dylan Siemens, Onyx Coffee Lab
2. Samantha Spillman, Dillanos Coffee Roasters
3. T. Ben Fischer, Elixr Coffee Roasters
4. Jenna Gotthelf, Counter Culture Coffe
5. Rodrigo Vargas, Rival Bros Coffee Roasters
6. Isaiah Sheese, Archetype Coffee
7. Elisabeth Johnson, Venture Coffee Co
8. Gisel Alvarez, Monarch
9. Ryan Wojton, Madcap Coffee Co
10. Anthony Ragler, Counter Culture Coffee
11. Kay Cheon, Dune Coffee Roasters
12. Cris Mendoza, Saint Frank Coffee
13. Samuel Schaefer, Stovetop Roasters
14. Juan Diaz, Deeply Coffee Co
15. Ali Abderrahman, State Street Coffee/La Reunion
16. Shane Hess, Jubala Coffee
17. Ben Vollmar, Flatlands Coffee
18. Rachel Diaz, Flatlands Coffee

Brewers Cup

Much of the talk around Track One (and even extending to Twitter) stemmed from the Brewers Cup, where innovative new brewing techniques found their way onto the stage and into the national round of competition in Kansas City. Most notably, 2017 US Brewers Cup runner-up Chelsea Walker-Watson had the people buzzing with her use of a sous vide bath to help keep her brew at a precise temperature.

Not to be out-innovated, Dune Coffee’s Felix Felix came with his own custom-design brewing device that he made using a 3D printer.

Even amongst the progressive takes on brewing, perhaps the most impressive feet was that of Grace McCutchan, a competitor unknown to the national stage of competition but still able to best seasoned vets Jennifer Hwang, Tyler Duncan, and 2018 US Cup Tasters Champion Ken Selby. She’s become one to watch. Will we have back-to-back newcomers taking it all down at the US Brewers Cup? McCutchan is making an argument.

1. Grace McCutchan, Red Rooster Coffee Roaster
2. Jennifer Hwang, Klatch Coffee
3. Tyler Duncan, Topeca Coffee Roasters
4. John Kruegler, Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co
5. Ben Martin, Madcap Coffee Co
6. Kenneth Selby, Vashon Coffee Co
7. Cody Barnhart, Vienna Coffee Co
8. Gunnar Lagenhuizen, Dune Coffee Roasters
9. Chelsey Walker-Watson, Atlas Coffee Importers
10. Elika Liftee, Onyx Coffee Lab
11. Skyler Richter, LAMILL
12. Felix Felix, Dune Coffee Roasters

Coffee In Good Spirits

After a slow start in Denver, the Coffee in Good Spirits competition found stronger footing in Nashville, where the number of competitors over quadrupled. The competition really ramped up for the second leg of the Qualifying Event stage. Fire, smoke, ice, the drinks here in Nashville looked as tasty as they did dramatic.

Though only in its first year on American soil, if Nashville is any indication, Coffee in Good Spirits is going to be around for the long haul.

1. Kris Wood, Black Fox Coffee Co
2. Nathanael Mehrens, Stay Golden
3. Matt Foster, Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co
4. Leo-Charles Salerno, Greater Goods Coffee Roasters
5. Brodie Lewis, Madcap Coffee Co
6. Rachel Huffman, Dose Nashville
7. John Martin, LAMILL
8. Jen McElroy, Klatch Coffee
9. Brian Beyke, Quills Coffee
10. Koji Daremo, The Ruin Daily
11. Dan Hilburn, Backyard Beans Coffee Co
12. Joel Cronenberg, Provision Coffee
13. Lindy Schubring, Greyhouse Coffee & Supply Co

Cup Tasters

In case you needed any convincing that Onyx Coffee Lab is really, really good at coffee competition (and, y’know, their Roasters title, Brewers Cup title, and multiple consecutive Finals appearances in the Barista Championship aren’t enough for you), look no further than the Cup Tasters competition in Nashville. Fielding three Tasters—roughly 1/16th of the total competitors—Onyx nonetheless found all three of those competitors moving on, one in five.

But it would be foolish to make any future predictions at this point. With five competitors correctly identifying all six sets and perpetual finalist Samuel Demisse lurking in the field, this is one is still anyone’s to claim.

1. Matthew McDaniel, Summit Coffee
2. Summer Zhang, Onyx Coffee Lab
3. Aaron Lerner, SkyTop Coffee
4. Sarah Lambeth, Congregation Coffee Roasters
5. Brandon Hutchingson, Mission Coffee
6. Rachel Stanich, Red Fox Coffee Merchants
7. Bear Soliven, Onyx Coffee Lab
8. Samuel Demisse, Keffa Coffee Importers
9. Elisabeth Johnson, Venture Coffee Co
10. Hyoung Wuk Jung, Loit Café
11. Jeff Mooney, Folly Coffee Roasters
12. Jarrett Johnson, Lineage Roasting
13. Cameron Metzinger, Backyard Beans Coffee Co
14. Joshua Edens, Onyx Coffee Lab
15. Helen Choi, Luce Ave Coffee Roasters

Roasters Championship

Roasters Championship competitors found themselves with a unique challenge: how to roast a coffee without knowing a thing about it. That coffee, it turned out, was a natural processed Myanmar, which many competitors found to be quite the sticky wicket. How do you ramp up the sweetness and soften the nuttiness?

Ultimately, it was a nut that the roasters (first) cracked. Having personally tasted multiple roasters’ takes on the coffee—thanks in no small part to the Sprudge Live desk being very, very close to the Roasters Village—I can say that many roasters found that balance. The cups were sweet, not overly heavy, with little to no hint of ferment.

If these coffees are any indication of what’s to come in Kansas City, attendees are in for LOTS of really good coffee.

1. Amanda Hagenbuch, Rival Bros Coffee Roasters
2. Jeremy Moore, Bonlife Coffee Roasters
3. Steve Cuevas, Black Oak Coffee Roasters
4. Eduardo Choza, Mayorga Organics
5. José René Martínez, J.René Coffee Roasters
6. Kenneth Thomas, Umble Coffee Co
7. Anthony Greatorex, Red Rooster Coffee Roaster
8. Jason Burkum, Archetype Coffee
9. Matthew Delarosa, Ironsmith Coffee Roasters
10. Evan Pollitt, Summitt Coffee
11. Aaron MacDougall, Broadsheet Coffee Roasters
12. Eric Stone, Mudhouse Coffee Roasters

Photos for Sprudge and Sprudge Live by Elizabeth Chai and Charlie Burt.

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 Looking Back At The US Coffee Championships Nashville Qualifying Event appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

In Bonython, a suburb of Australia’s capital city, Canberra, coffee is reaching all new heights with bevvies going airborne and being delivered by drone.

Drone delivery has been teased for years but Alphabet, Google’s parent company, have finally made the future a reality with their delivery test they’re calling, Project Wing. And in true Aussie fashion, these tests are flying long blacks and cappuccinos (with chocolate dusting, of course) around town and successfully dropping them on people’s doorsteps while they’re still hot. Folks in the Canberra area can order coffee through an app and it’ll be sent to local drive-thru shop, Kickstart Espresso.

In a video posted by Wall Street Journal, Bonython residents show excitement, disbelief, and annoyance with this new way of receiving their daily coffee. Convenience and less emissions from driving are pros for drone coffee delivery, but there are still some concerns from the community and safety’s not one of them.

Neighborhood group, Bonython Against Drones or BAD’s number one complaint is the noise, likening it to an F1 Formula race car. Unfortunately, I live near the Grand Prix racetrack in Albert Park, Melbourne and yes, the noise is BAD. But they’re driving in circles and not delivering lattes, so the drones win this one.

Project Wing is working on making quieter drones, but in the mean time will continue to test and improve the systems already in place. Australia is clearly living in 3019 while the rest us are stuck in archaic times making our coffee at home or even worse, going to a coffee shop and talking to actual people(!!!).

I’ll take a flying filter coffee any day. The higher elevation is sure to add some sweetness to the final cup. (I’m sorry. This is Adam’s fault.)

Michelle Johnson is a news contributor at Sprudge Media Network, and the founder and publisher of The Chocolate Barista. Read more Michelle Johnson on Sprudge.

The post In Australia, The Coffee Drones We’re Looking For Are Here appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

To Whom This May Concern—a special podcast presentation of the Daniel G. mystery—is back! In episode three, we try to make contact. Catch up on the whole sordid saga here.

Listen below:

What people are saying:

“Damn, Daniel, get in touch. We’re dying to know what’s up.” — Vice

“I’m awaiting the dramatic conclusion to this story as I brew another pour-over.”  — The Takeout

“When is the next ‘To Whom This May Concern’?” — James Hoffmann

Do you have information about Daniel G? Do you have theories/ideas/leads? Leave us a message at 1-888-55-SPRUDGE, send us a letter at SPRUDGE PO BOX 3943 Portland, Oregon 97208 or contact us digitally here.

Subscribe to our podcasts via iTunes!

The post To Whom This May Concern Episode 3 Out Now appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Who doesn’t love a nicely improved piece of coffee kit?

You’ve seen gear from Aram—a Brazilian design company focused on non-electric coffee brewers—previously here at Sprudge Now the owner, Maycon Aram, has now launched a new crowdfunding campaign to help dramatically improve production fabrication and tooling for his disruptive portable coffee maker, greatly improving the device’s overall price and production time. This crowdfunding campaign includes a spiffy new array of colorways for pre-purchase here.

The Aram Coffee Maker does not require a power source—you need only supply hot water and a grinder. It has a thread-controlled pressure instead of a lever mechanism, and the pressure applied to the coffee bed is manual, meaning that each extraction is totally unique, tailored by whoever is handling the coffee maker. It’s rather simple to use and depending on the grinding and the pressure applied, you can make different types of coffee extractions, from espresso to tea. (You read that right, tea—the 2.0 version of the device now includes a pre-infusion feature.)



It’s a nice—and beautiful—tool to have at home or take with you on camping trips, and it looks great on Instagram, which is important these days. I’ve personally tried some very respectably extracted espressos from an Aram in a variety of different circumstances across Brazil, and I can’t wait to see an improved version of this handy device come to life. The project is now live on a crowdfunding page through February 1st, shipping worldwide.

Juliana Ganan is a Brazilian coffee professional and journalist. Read more Juliana Ganan on Sprudge.

All media via Aram

The post Kickstart Your Weekend With This Brazilian Crowdfunded Coffeemaker appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

The coffee roasting company Tocaya Torradores de Café in Itajubá, Minas Gerais serves single-origin specialty coffee from Brazil. The majority of the coffee comes from the Mantiqueira de Minas region and the founder Juliana Ganan maintains relationships with many of the producers they source from. The packaged debuted on July 4th, 2018 as a total rebrand with help from three of Juliana’s friends. We spoke with Ganan to learn more.

Tell us a bit about your company.

Tocaya Torradores de Café is a small coffee roastery located in Itajubá, Minas Gerais (in the Mantiqueira de Minas microregion). I’m actually located in the building right next to the one that used to house my father’s roastery. He roasted commercial-grade coffee produced on our farm until the year he passed away in 2000. Many people still knock on the door because of the smell thinking we are the same company, then I’ll go and explain that I’m his daughter and this roastery only roasts specialty coffee and so on.

Who designed the package?

The package was designed by three friends I made when we did a creative entrepreneurship course together in São Paulo, back in 2015: André Abe, Cristiane Calegaro, and Katia Oliveira. They each work individually as freelance designers but they got together as a collective to create my brand from scratch. Since they already knew me and the previous brand, it only made sense they were the ones responsible for the new packages. Abe is our web designer as well.

What coffee information do you share on the package? 

In the front, we have varying colored labels (following Fabiana Carvalho‘s research mentions on the relationship between color-expectation of taste) showing the farm name, city/state, producer name, variety, elevation, drying process, and roast date. In the back, we share a little bit of our story and encourage customers to pay more attention to coffee quality.

We wanted to show the origin and processing information to the customers. Although we live in a producing country, it’s still somewhat unusual to actually know where your coffee came from. Sometimes they will say the region/state, but it won’t be so accurate as to determine the farm/producer. We are a part of a small group of roasters that want to change that perception. In the back we make a plea: “wherever this coffee takes you, may the efforts of its producing chain be properly acknowledged.”

Why are aesthetics in coffee packaging so important?

Because it’s the first thing you pay attention to. When we participate in events to the general public, sometimes people approach us for the packages, then they get to know what’s inside. In my opinion, aesthetics are a way of honoring what is inside, too.

Where is it currently available?

All our current coffees are available online here.

Thank you!

Disclosure: Juliana Ganan is a contributor for the Sprudge Media Network.

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

The post Coffee Design: Tocaya Torradores De Café In Minas Gerais appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Photo courtesy of Alicia Cho

Blink as you drive by and you might miss it—hit the United Oil station and you’ve gone too far—but tucked onto a corner of Sunset Boulevard as it winds its way through Echo Park is Konbi, an extraordinary new Japanese sandwich and coffee shop. This part of the city is no stranger to good coffee; the original LA location of Intelligentsia is just down the way, and within a few miles either direction there are spots like Dinosaur Coffee, Winsome, Eightfold, Triniti, Dayglow, Woodcat, FrankieLucy Bakeshop, and many more, not to mention the Go Get Em Tiger on Hollywood, just past where Sunset curves west. And yet here, in this tiny little narrow room that feels flown in wholesale from Japan, owners Akira Akuto and Nick Montgomery have created a unique concept that’s already doing the rarest thing in spoilt-for-choice Los Angeles: drawing a crowd.

The first thing one notices walking in is the size. Much like the famous konbinis of Japan this cafe is long and narrow, pleasantly streamlined to keep the focus on the meal. Guests sit at a low lunch counter, facing into a long galley kitchen where the food is prepared. Coffee service at the front window is achieved in an incredibly efficient space. Their under-counter Mavam Espresso machine, Mahlkönig EK43 grinder, and Curtis brewer are all perfectly staged to minimize movement for the barista and keep the focus on customer needs as well as barista comfort. It’s like a tiny, efficient little miracle that this place works at all—and yet it does.

After the design, the second thing one notices is how quiet Konbi is. Even during the lunch rush, refrigerator doors don’t slam, kitchen wares don’t bang together, voices stay pleasant, and the atmosphere remains tranquil. This is all borne of intentional practice that is reflected in every corner of the restaurant—the walls are white, light wood abounds, and the space uses only natural colors.

Photo courtesy of Alicia Cho

Photo by Alicia Cho.

The menu at Konbi is tautly focused. Sandwiches take center stage, including the rightly lauded (and heavily Instagram’d) pork katsu sandwich, which pairs perfectly with a small cup of miso soup. I actually preferred the egg salad sandwich—fluffy, ethereal, served on perfectly light bread from Bub and Grandma’s. Williamsburg Japanese tea stars Kettl Tea provides the shop’s range of tea offerings, including iced sencha and a stand-out houjicha latte, a tea-based steamed milk drink which lands somewhere in the realm of a chai latte, albeit less sweet and more roundly complex, with earthy, toasty notes.

Coffee service at Konbi comes courtesy of Camber Coffee, a boutique roaster based in Bellingham, WA and featured previously on Sprudge. Beverage Director Jacqueline Vaca (Intelligentsia, DTLA Cheese) vows to only serve coffees that are approachable—high quality drinks with accessibility at the forefront. Currently, Konbi is the only Camber-exclusive account in LA, but don’t come looking for retail whole bean sales just yet. “Where would we put it?” Vaca laughs—the restaurant is just that small. Each cup sparkles, brewed with the kind of conscientious precision that can only come from expertise and careful attention. Vaca wants every level of coffee and tea consumer to feel welcome at Konbi, and so each interaction is intentional, focused on helping the customer get the drink they want with a personal and intimate service style that’s a perfect match for Konbi’s intentional, seasonal food and traditional pastries.

Photo by Alicia Cho.

Akuto and Montgomery both have strong restaurant backgrounds. They’ve worked as chefs in both LA and New York (including at Momofuku), but neither had worked in specialty coffee. Nevertheless, they intended to hold the beverage program to the same standards of excellence and knew they needed someone from the industry to helm it. They brought on Vaca as their Beverage Director, who first learned coffee in Melbourne 10 years ago. Today, there are only three full-time baristas on staff, and together they have an astounding 30+ years combined experience serving coffee, but they aren’t resting on their laurels. If someone is interested, Vaca has an open door policy about coffee education for everyone on the team. They’re all happy to pass along the wealth of knowledge that comes with such a remarkable level of experience.

Nick Montgomery and Akira Akuto.

Photo by Alicia Cho.

Akuto and Montgomery believe a “staff-focused” approach is part of what makes Konbi special. “This is an egoless environment,” Akuto tells me—a tiny boat the team is all on together, where anyone is free to make suggestions. “Our motto is to make Konbi better every day,” Akuto adds. So far it’s working.

After a wildly busy fall opening (the restaurant literally ran out of food), today the neighborhood has settled in around the shop, albeit with a firmly Echo Park vibe. Regulars have long since become friends, but you never know who is next though the door. The nomadic foodie crowd has officially discovered Konbi, and people come from all over the world now, sometimes with their luggage in tow, each one finding their place in the narrow little room to eat delicious daytime foods, take in the calm, intentional vibe, and drink great coffee.

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

All photos by Alicia Cho.

The post Konbi: The Next Great LA Cafe Is A Japanese Lunch Counter appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Australia, I love you, you know I love you, but some of y’all need to be on a daily regimen of high-dose chill pills.

Case in point: a recent article in The Guardian examines how World Coffee Research is planting 35 different coffee varieties in 23 countries to see how they perform in different climates. WCR’s goal, according to the article, is to find potentially suitable new coffeelands to meet a growing demand all the while climate change shifts where coffee can be produced. Now, one of these 23 countries is Australia. So what’s the headline for this article? “The end of coffee: could Australia save the world’s beans?” And the lede line? “Climate change may devastate the globe’s major coffee-growing regions through extreme weather events – but Australia could be the solution.”

Wut?

If that makes you not want to read the article, I get it, I’m right there with you. But I did anyway because, y’know, it’s my job. The article includes such very Australian assertions like how this trial may be “Australia’s most significant contribution to coffee since the flat white” (a drink created in New Zealand). But it does somehow keep from patting itself on the back for coming up with the American invention of avocado toast, which I guess counts as restraint these days.

The article’s argument in favor of Australia’s coffee savio(u)rdom points specifically to two things that the country lacks: coffee leaf rust and coffee cherry borers, two scourges to coffee in already established producing countries. Which is true, these things don’t exist in Australia, a country that doesn’t currently produce in any marked quantities the thing these two blights feed upon.

But what of the 50 or so farmers in Australia currently growing coffee? Surely, they will be some sort of bellwether for this great white hype. One grower, Zeta Greely, describes the “increasingly difficult” conditions she is facing.

“In the past we had fabulous conditions, a lovely microclimate for coffee,” she says. “It used to look rainforest-y around here, now it’s very sparse. It has been a gradual change – where once we’d be getting two metres of rainfall, [across 2018] we had less than one.

“Our crop actually didn’t happen this time, we had overripe cherries and completely green cherries, flowers on the tree – not what we want. So we decided to strip the trees and get them ready for next year.”

It’s almost as if Australia will face all the same problems with climate change that the rest of the world is poised to undergo.

Now, I’m not wishing any sort of ill on any Australian coffee farmers nor am I saying that we shouldn’t be exploring potentially new areas for production. In fact, I hope that coffee trees take in Australia and it becomes a thriving new origin. I also hope the coffee plants do well in the 22 other countries the WCR is currently researching, the ones that aren’t talking about saving coffee.

Australia, you have some of the best coffee cities in the entire world, it’s an undeniable fact and anyone who says otherwise is either delusional or bitter. A lot of what you do trickles out to the rest of the world and makes all of our coffee scenes better places. I’ve got nothing but love for you (and maybe a smarmy tone from time to time). All I’m saying is, just relax. The rumors of you saving coffee have been greatly exaggerated.

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 Take It Down A Notch, Australia appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Barbecue joints, honky-tonks, and line dancing often come to mind when thinking of Nashville, but that’s changing. The past five years have seen unprecedented growth. What was once a sleepy town with an electric center is becoming a bustling cityscape, complete with a rising downtown skyline and standstill freeways. Bachelorette parties may now be rivaling country music for our main draw, but the cultural shift has also brought a formidable coffee scene to Music City.

Coffee shops have quickly become popular places to escape shrieking car horns and brake dust. With discerning palates rising in the greater population, Nashville cafes see an increased willingness by the customer to give their barista time to complete a pour-over or assemble an intricate seasonal drink. This has allowed shops to devote attention to drink quality and overall atmosphere.

The following is a list of some of Nashville’s most noteworthy coffee shops, places which provide a menu and an experience unique and carefully tailored to their space. These shops span the length of the city, bringing solid coffee options to a variety of neighborhoods. No matter where you find yourself, a good cup is nearby.

Stay Golden Restaurant & Roastery

Stay Golden Restaurant & Roastery may have opened as recently as August, but its roots in the Nashville coffee scene run deep. Co-founders Jamie Cunningham, Sean Stewart, and Nathanael Mehrens also helped bring another Nashville staple, Steadfast Coffee, to life.

The marble coffee counter greets you as you walk in the door. It leads around the corner to eight stools along the bar with hi-top tables and booths behind. A balcony looms above with more seating. The robin’s-egg-blue accents on the white walls match a La Marzocco Linea PB espresso machine, which sits next to two Nuova Simonelli Mythos One grinders.

Their own Chin Up Blend is a nice mix of Peruvian and Guatemalan beans, which comes through both mellow and sweet in a cappuccino. However, the specialty drinks alone are worth a visit. The team behind Matchless Coffee Soda brings its creativity to a host of “augmented drinks.” These include the Calypso, which is a mix of flash-chilled coffee, falernum, aromatic cream, and pineapple dust, and is downright delicious. The Coffee Mint Julep is a coffee cocktail made with frozen coffee crushed to order with a hammer, brandy, demerara sugar, and is garnished with mint. Each drink is thoughtfully prepped, constructed, and presented—making Stay Golden worth the fanfare.

Sump Coffee

Sump Coffee became a destination for serious coffee drinkers as soon as it opened the doors to its Nashville location in late 2017. The company’s St. Louis location and roastery had already drawn nationwide praise for its attention to detail and flavor profiling.

Sump Nashville is spacious. High ceilings and tall windows blur the lines between the concrete floor of the space and the green field just beyond the patio seating. A couch and coffee table made of reclaimed wood anchors the center of the inside seating area, rounded out with small tables and a few stools along the bar.

Their roasts lean toward the lighter side of the spectrum, to the point of occasionally being referred to as “sushi coffee.” This allows for the skill of the barista and the quality of the coffee bean to show through. We recently sat down with owner Scott Carey to discuss Sump’s first year here, and the lessons Nashville has taught him.

Crema Coffee Roasters

Crema Coffee Roasters sits just beyond screaming distance of downtown Nashville’s famed Broadway Street. The wooden patio out front affords a beautiful view of the Korean Veterans Bridge spanning the Cumberland River.

Inside, you’ll find the counter to your right, a plethora of seating to your left, and the roasting room just beyond. The décor is subtle, with one wall covered in portraits and the opposite housing retail items. The customer’s attention is mostly drawn to gaze out at the beautiful view beyond the patio, through large windows which span an entire wall.

A La Marzocco Linea PB sits atop the counter. The Yachi Kachise espresso from Ethiopia is as smooth as it is sweet. The serving tray is perfectly cut to fit the saucer, demitasse spoon, and glass for sparkling water. The presentation is as deliberate and precise as the coffee.

Crema is the oldest shop on our list and is often credited as the first shop in town to bring a higher level of intentionality to coffee service here in Nashville. A visit, if for no other reason than to show respect, is necessary.

Barista Parlor

The original Barista Parlor (there are now five locations) opened in 2012 in the heart of East Nashville. The repurposed transmission shop is marked with a giant anchor over the garage doors where large, illuminated letters spell the cafe’s name.

Inside, you’ll find giant slabs of reclaimed wood acting as tabletops, and hi-top tables mounted along the walls. Swinging Edison bulbs provide light even when the weather allows the garage doors to be raised.

Barista Parlor’s coffee is roasted at their Golden Sound location, which leaves room here for motorcycles to line the front and a full kitchen hidden behind a half-wall toward the back. Dual wooden countertops in the center of the cafe allow the customer to watch every move as the baristas navigate their stations. A Slayer Espresso V3 sits on one side with two Mazzer Luigi grinders. The opposite counter houses the pour-over station, a FETCO urn, and five Yama cold brew towers. A high standard for drink quality has gained nationwide attention and necessitates a visit when in town.

Disclosure: my workplace, Drug Store Coffee, is affiliated with Barista Parlor.

Retrograde Coffee

Retrograde Coffee is tucked away in the back of the Cleveland Park neighborhood. The empty lot across the street and adjacent auto shops are shadowed by a future condo building, which perfectly symbolizes the direction of the neighborhood.

The shop itself stands out with a vibrant mural facing south. Inside, white walls are accented with dark green to match the cafe’s La Marzocco GB5. A FETCO XTS batch brewer sits beneath shelves of retail and bags of coffee. A white marble countertop separates the baristas from the ample sitting space, where music plays softly over two large, white speakers.

Retrograde is the only multi-roaster on the list, employing Onyx Coffee from Fayetteville, Arkansas for espresso. Quills Coffee from Louisville and Brash Coffee from Atlanta currently hold down the pour-over offerings.

The Kenya Gachata OT-8 espresso from Onyx is smooth and served with crushed dark chocolate and sparkling water on a wooden tray. The Equinox is an espresso-based drink with honey and sweet potato marshmallow and is delightfully balanced.

Josh Rank is a freelance contributor based in Nashville. Read more Josh Rank for Sprudge.

The post The Coffee Lover’s Guide To Nashville appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Carlos José Sánchez Jaramillo, the actor most famously known for playing Juan Valdez, has passed away at age 83. The New York Times reports that the Colombian actor and painter died on December 29th in Medellín.

Confirmed in an email from the Colombia’s National Federation of Coffee Growers, Sánchez’s death comes some 12 years after his retirement from the role of Juan Valdez, a character he donned for almost 40 years. As the NYT notes, the Valdez character—and by extention Sánchez—was “an indefatigable farmer with a warm expression, a lush mustache and a mule named Conchita” that “became an avatar for the farmers who harvested Colombia’s coffee beans and a positive depiction of a country that was often equated with terrorism and drug trafficking.”

“I presented the image of the Colombian coffee grower, an honest man, hard-working, traditional,” Mr. Sánchez told The New York Times in 2001. “Juan Valdez would get up early, pick coffee, and what happened in time is the character became mythologized.”

The character took home multiple advertising awards and was the mascot for multiple cafes in America named after him, according to the article. It was a role that Sánchez defined, and after 36 years playing him, Valdez became part of Sánchez as well. He described the idea of losing the role—which became a very real possibility when coffee prices dropped in the late 90s—as akin to losing a limb.

“I feel like a flag,” he said at a news conference. “I feel like I’ve represented the country.”

Carlos Sánchez is survived by his wife and two children. Though his spirit lives on through actor Carlos Castañeda, who assumed the icon role back in 2006, there will never truly be another Juan Valdez.

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 New York Times

The post Juan Valdez Is Dead appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Welcome to the winners announcement for the 10th Annual Sprudgie Awards presented by Oatly, honoring the very best in coffee.

Nominees for each category were chosen by a worldwide public ballot. Public voting for the Sprudgies took place over several weeks in December 2018, with the ballot box closing at 11:59 PM on Friday, January 4th, 2019.

Thanks to the tens of thousands of voters who helped make this the biggest voting field in Sprudgies history. Congratulations to all the nominees—to us, every single 2018 finalist was a winner.

Here they are: the winners, honorees, and finalists for the 10th Annual Sprudgie Awards, presented by Oatly!

Notable Roaster

Winner: Go Get Em Tiger (Los Angeles, CA)

Honoree: Red Bay Coffee (Oakland, CA)

Finalists: Devoción (Brooklyn), Black & White Coffee Roasters (Wake Forest, NC), Square Mile Coffee (London), Gardelli Coffee (Italy), Sey Coffee (Brooklyn), Coffee Manufactory (San Francisco & Los Angeles).

Best New Cafe

Winner: Dayglow Coffee (Los Angeles, CA)

Honoree: Misión Café (Madrid, Spain)

Finalists: Ladder Coffee (Spokane, WA), Mane Coffee (Boca Raton, FL), Provider (Indianapolis, IN), Rosslyn Coffee (London, UK), Center Coffee Myeongdong (Seoul, South Korea), Stumptown Coffee Cobble Hill (Brooklyn, NY).

Sustainable Cafe

Winner:  Smith Canteen (Brooklyn, NY)

Honoree: Isla Cafe (Berlin, Germany)

Finalists: Casa Quilha (Brasilia, Brazil), Bar Nine (Los Angeles, CA), Madcap Coffee (Grand Rapids, MI), Houndstooth Coffee Walnut Hill (Dallas, TX), Kokako Organic (Auckland, New Zealand), Miir Flagship (Seattle, WA).

Best New Product

Winner:  Modbar AV

Honoree:  Umeshiso Cupping Spoons

Finalists: Minor Figures Oat M*lk, Atmos Vacuum Canister by Fellow Products, Melodrip, Yes Plz Coffee Subscription, DrinkTrade.com, Huskee Cup.

Best Coffee Video/Film

Winner: Gender In Coffee

Honoree: James Hoffmann on YouTube

Finalists: Chris Baca on YouTube, AeroPress Movie, Go Get Em Tiger on YouTube, Cafe Imports Roasting Concepts Series, Flower Of Flowers by Stumptown Coffee, Unpacking Coffee.

Best Coffee Writing

View this post on Instagram

What do you think? ⠀ ⠀ Read our long-form article exploring gendered divisions in specialty coffee in Standart 11. Out now.⠀ ⠀ Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments.⠀ ⠀ #equality #baristajobs #standartmag

A post shared by Standart (@standartmag) on May 18, 2018 at 2:59am PDT

Winner: Sabine Parrish for She’s A Lady (originally appearing in Standart Magazine)

Honoree:  Dear Coffee Buyer by Ryan Brown

Finalists: James Hoffmann for JimSeven.com, Jenn Chen for Newsletter and Collected Works, Ashley Rodriguez for Barista Magazine Online, The Monk Of Mokha by Dave Eggars and Mokhtar Alkhanshali, RJ Joseph for The Knockbox, Phyllis Johnson for Strong Black Coffee (originally appearing in Roast Magazine).

Notable Coffee Producer

Juan Peña (via Cafe Imports)

Winner: Juan Peña, Hacienda La Papaya (Ecuador)

Honoree: Aida Batlle, Aida Batlle Selections (El Salvador)

Finalists: Daterra Coffee (Brazil), Benjamin Paz (Honduras), Long Miles Coffee Project (Burundi), Gesha Village (Ethiopia), La Palma y El Tucan (Colombia), Gilberto Baraona (El Salvador).

Best Coffee Magazine

Winner: Standart (Slovakia)

Honoree: Coffee People Zine (USA)

Finalists: Roast Magazine (USA), Pour Over by Califia Farms (USA), Barista Magazine (USA), Caffeine (UK), Solo Magazine (Spain), Drift Magazine (USA).

Best Design Packaging

Winner: Coffee Manufactory (San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA)

Honoree: Onyx Coffee Lab (Bentonville, AR)

Finalists: Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters (Lakewood, CO), Brandywine Coffee Roasters (Wilmington, DE), Kaffa (Oslo, Norway), Fjord Coffee Roasters (Berlin, Germany), Lüna Coffee (Vancouver, Canada), Friedhats (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

Best Coffee Podcast

Winner: Cat & Cloud

Honoree: Boss Barista

Finalists: Keys To The Shop, The Coffee Podcast, Coffea, Coffee People MX, Coffee With April, SproCast.

Best Instagram or Twitter Account

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Thursday: Goodmorning from @thegoodegg_ in Kingly Court, Soho I’ve ordered the boureka plate and upgraded it with one of their housemade pretzel challah rolls and some extra dips like pumpkin hummus, labneh, whipped green feta and delicious pickles – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – It was this time two years ago that I had my charity brunch with the Good Egg in Stoke Newington to raise money for @cookforsyria and @unicef_uk How time flies by! Maybe we should bring some Cook For Syria events to Shanghai in the new year?? #symmetrybreakfast

A post shared by Michael Zee (@symmetrybreakfast) on Nov 15, 2018 at 1:12am PST

Winner: @symmetrybreakfast

Honoree:@coffeefeedpdx

Finliasts: @umeshiso_, @dapperandwise, @catcloudcoffee, @coffeetablemags, @perfectdailygrind, @fellowproducts.

Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence

Photo by Josh Zloof.

Winner: Umeko Motoyoshi

Honoree: Agnieszka Rojewska

Finalists: Phyllis Johnson, Michelle Johnson, T. Ben Fischer, Adam JacksonBey, Colleen Anunu.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Erna Knutsen

The 10th Annual Sprudgie Awards are presented by Oatly.

See all past winners of the Sprudgie Awards.

The post The Tenth Annual Sprudgie Award Winners—Presented By Oatly appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News