Black Coffee, the new event series from creative director Michelle Johnson (The Chocolate Barista) premiered last week at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon. Hosted by Michelle Johnson, Ian Williams (Deadstock Coffee), and Gio Fillari (Coffee Feed PDX), this event centered the voices and experiences of Black coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike, all with unique perspectives that spanned intersectional identities and roles on the retail end of the value chain.

The guests for the first podcast included D’Onna Stubblefield (Counter Culture Coffee), Ezra Baker (Share Coffee Roasters), Zael Ogwaro (Never Coffee), Adam JacksonBey (The Potter’s House), and Cameron Heath (Revelator Coffee Company), with a live DJ performance by |Fritzwa|.

You can now listen to the podcast! Download it here and subscribe.

Black Coffee PDX was made possible by La Marzocco USA, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Oatly, NXT LVL, and The Ace Hotel Portland. Ticket proceeds are being donated to our charitable partners Sankofa Collective and Brown Girl Rise.

Listen to the podcast now! Video of the event will premiere in the next week. More events are on the horizon in 2018—stay tuned.

During Black Coffee PDX the @Sprudge Instagram account was taken over by Shaunté Glover—in addition to the images above, here’s a few key images live from the event evening.

It’s all family here. The conversation is about to begin. BLACK COFFEE. Who’s ready to listen? TAKEOVER: @shaunte

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Apr 24, 2018 at 6:18pm PDT

It’s getting real Portland! Let’s go! Takeover: @shaunte

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Apr 24, 2018 at 7:24pm PDT

H I S T O R Y. #blackcoffeepdx Takeover: @shaunte

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Apr 24, 2018 at 8:44pm PDT

Thank you to everyone who came out and not only heard but listened to these extraordinarily important stories and perspectives! #blackcoffeepdx Takeover: @shaunte

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Apr 24, 2018 at 9:00pm PDT

All images by Shaunté Glover.

The post Black Coffee: The Live Podcast Is Now Available appeared first on Sprudge.

It’s here! A complete video presentation of Black Coffee, the new event series from creative director Michelle Johnson (The Chocolate Barista), is now available via Sprudge Media Network on YouTube.

For the first Black Coffee event, we’re presenting a video presentation of the show, live and uncut, with all the big moments, ideas, walk-on music, and laughter presented in their full glory. Not everyone could be there, but now’s your chance to listen, learn, and relive an incredible evening at the Clinton Street Theater in SE Portland.

Outside the theater. Photo by Shaunté Glover.

Hosted by Michelle Johnson, Ian Williams (Deadstock Coffee), and Gio Fillari (Coffee Feed PDX), this event centered the voices and experiences of Black coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike. Guests included D’Onna Stubblefield (Counter Culture Coffee), Ezra Baker (Share Coffee Roasters), Zael Ogwaro (Never Coffee), Adam JacksonBey (The Potter’s House), and Cameron Heath (Revelator Coffee Company), with a live DJ performance by |Fritzwa|.

Photo by Shaunté Glover.

Backstage. Photo by Shaunté Glover.

Black Coffee PDX was made possible by La Marzocco USA, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Oatly, NXT LVL, and The Ace Hotel Portland, with ticket sales benefitting Sankofa Collective and Brown Girl Rise.

Thanks so much to everyone who joined us that evening at Clinton Street Theater for a sold out show, and to supporters and allies worldwide who have shared and helped amplify Black Coffee PDX. If you haven’t yet it’s not too late! Info on the next event coming soon, stay tuned!

The post Watch The Black Coffee PDX Video Now appeared first on Sprudge.

Soooooo yesterday we reported to you on a rash of mysterious letters received by coffee roasting companies in and around the city of Portland, including well-known local Oregon roasters like Roseline Coffee, Heart Roasters, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and Dapper & Wise Coffee. We called the story “A Portland Coffee Mystery.”

We were wrong.

In a still-ongoing and frankly captivating torrent of outreach, we have heard from  many dozens of coffee companies nationwide who have received similar or identical letters to the ones first published here on Sprudge. From Alaska to Florida you emailed us, commented on this rollicking Instagram post, and slid into our DMs. In the last 24 hours we’ve received 16 copies of identical or near-identical letters, all sent from the same return address—an apartment complex in Las Vegas—to roasters large and small, new and old, all across the United States.

Below is a collection of these confirmed letters you’ve sent us over the last day. We’re sharing these with usage approved by each individual recipient. At this time we are continuing with our policy of redacting the letter sender’s full name and address.

Clearly this goes far beyond the Willamette Valley and its environs, and is instead a coordinated effort targeting coffee companies nationwide. We’ve received so many contacts and claims of receivership, and we’re working now to track down and confirm these as best we can.

For now, here’s a national map of where we’ve received reports, some of which date back as far as 2016—40 in total so far and counting, which you can peruse geographically in this handy map.

Here’s a quick rundown of what we know so far, or at least what we think we know:

1. Some person or persons has been sending dozens of handwritten letters to coffee roasters across the United States, complaining about “stale” product and requesting “replacement” coffees be sent to an address in Las Vegas.

2. Letters have been received as recently as Monday, July 23rd 2018.

3. The oldest letters received date back as far as 2016, as confirmed by Madcap Coffee Company of Grand Rapids, who also received letters in 2017 and 2018.

4. The letters all bear the same return address in Las Vegas, and are written on behalf of the same name: Daniel G. (we are not releasing Daniel’s last name at this time).

5. The letters all bear identical handwriting, formatting, spelling errors, reiteration of receiver address, demand for a “prompt explanation,” and sign-off as “Sincerely.”

6. The letters are devoid of any kind of electronic footprint and include no email address, social media information, phone number, or other means of contact beyond a return address.

7. All different kinds of roasters have received these letters: established brands as well as newcomers, small town roasters and big city companies, brands with multiple locations as well as owner-operator mom n’ pops, spots we’ve featured on Sprudge a dozen times and folks we’re delighted to be hearing of for the first time this week, in admittedly odd circumstances.

There’s much more going on behind the scenes that we can’t share with you just yet, including several leads we’re following regarding the address and purported letter writer—and let us assure you that the more we learn, the creepier and freakier and less cut and dry this all appears to be. Look for much more from us on this mystery in the coming days, including—by repeat and popular request—a special podcast presentation of the facts and theories and fan cult nicknames surrounding the mysterious case of Daniel G.

In the meantime, if you know anything more about the sending of these letters, please get in touch with us. If you have received a letter nigh-identical to the one above, get in touch with us. And most important: if you work in coffee and have received similar letters over the last decade—handwritten on lined paper but with different messaging, and from a different city in Nevada—please, please reach out as it relates to a major set of clues we’re tracking in this case. Anonymity guaranteed and no sources or images used without express consent.

Of course if you happen to be Daniel G. and you’d like to say hello—please feel free. We want to hear your side of the story and also to better understand what you mean by “stale” coffee, because it is unclear. You have our utmost cooperation.

info@sprudge.com

1-888-55-SPRUDGE

@Sprudge on Instagram 

The post Letters From Daniel: Coffee Scene Investigation appeared first on Sprudge.

From tens of thousands of votes cast all across the world, nominations poured in for the 2017 Sprudgie Awards, honoring the very best in specialty coffee. These votes have now been calculated, and we revealed the noms on Friday the 8th of December via the Coffee Sprudgecast. Here they are in all their glory, awaiting your deciding vote across 12 categories in the Ninth Annual Sprudgie Awards.

Each group of finalists takes into account the popular vote from our public nominations process. Visit Sprudge.com/vote to vote for your favorite finalist across each category. Voting closes at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, December 31st.

Here they are, your 2017 Sprudgie Awards Finalists.

Notable Roaster

Each year our readers nominate outstanding coffee roasters around the world for the Notable Roaster Sprudgie Award. Unlike many of the other categories, Notable Roaster nominees need not be brands or products that debuted in 2016; rather, we look to this award as a way for our readers to honor coffee roasting companies, big and small, that turned in an especially notable year of work. This year’s nominees are: Take Flight Coffee (Los Angeles) Onyx Coffee Lab (Fayetteville, AR) Assembly Coffee (London) Colonna Coffee (Bath, UK) Maquina Coffee Roasters (West Chester, PA) Talor & Jørgen (Oslo)

Best New Cafe

Cafes are the beating heart of coffee culture, and each year we are delighted to see the cafe form grow and morph in new and exciting ways. Our readers have selected a stunning array of new cafes from around the world for this year’s Sprudgie Awards, each of which opened during the past calendar year of 2017. And the nominees are: Narrative Coffee (Everett, WA) Cherry Street Public House (Seattle, WA) Love Supreme Portobello (Dublin) Nemesis Coffee (Vancouver, BC) Center Coffee (Seoul) Catalyst Coffee (Auckland, NZ)

Best New Product

New products drive innovation in the coffee world, for both consumers and professionals alike. This year’s range of new products include gear for coffee professionals, equipment for making coffee in the cafe or at home, and a delightful visual representation of where coffee comes from. The nominees for Best New Product in 2016 are: December Dripper, Kruve Sifter, BRO Coffee Maker, Stagg EKG by Fellow Products, Barista Hustle Tamper, and World Specialty Coffee Map by Cafe Imports.

Best Coffee Video/Film

Coffee is a multimedia platform, inspiring expression across a variety of mediums. Each year we honor an excellent coffee video or film as part of our Sprudgie Awards tradition. This year there was no major full-length coffee film released, and so instead our readers voted in a variety of video efforts, including short form comedy, editorial, product tutorial, and several personality driven YouTube channels. And the nominees are: “The Young And The Spoonless” by Cafe Imports, “I Yelp By The Way” by Dapper & Wise Coffee Roasters, “The Race to Save Coffee” by the Washington Post, RealChrisBaca on Youtube, Clive Coffee on Youtube, and James Hoffmann on Youtube.

Best Coffee Writing

Coffee and writing go hand in hand. This year’s crop of nominees includes several full-length books, wide-ranging editorial work from a digital platform, and writing from some of the top freelancers working in coffee today. And the nominees are: “What I Know About Running Coffee Shops” by Colin Harmon, “New York City Coffee: A Caffeinated History” by Erin Meister, Ashley Rodriguez for Barista Magazine Online, Jenn Chen (collected works), RJ Joseph (collected works), and Kelly Stein (collected works).

Notable Coffee Producer

Without coffee producers, there would be no coffee, making this arguably the most important star award in the Sprudgies constellation. This year’s list of nominees includes individual growers—including a two-time past winner—as well as a collective group whose coffees have garnered recent headlines around the world. The nominees are: Jose Gallardo for Finca Nuguo (Panama), Marta Dalton for Coffee Bird (Guatemala), Aida Batlle for Aida Batlle Selection (El Salvador), The Producers of Port of Mokha (Yemen), La Palma y El Tucan (Colombia), and Ernesto Menendez for Fincas Las Brumas, Alaska, La Ilusion and Los Andes (El Salvador).

Best Coffee Magazine

Old trade favorites, hot young glossies, and our first-ever magazine published in Portuguese—this year’s Best Coffee Magazine vote is going to come down the wire. The nominees are: Standart Magazine, Drift, Roast Magazine, Barista Magazine, Caffeine Magazine, and Revista Espresso.

Best Design Packaging

In just its second year, our award for Best Design Packaging continues to sport a competitive field, fusing the worlds of coffee and design together with equal dexterity. Any one of these designs could win—and they all happen to be from brands putting out delicious coffee. That’s a win-win. The nominees are: Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Methodical Coffee, Brandywine Coffee Roasters, Talor & Jørgen, Thou Mayest, and Little Wolf.

Best Coffee Subscription

From an instant coffee game changer to carefully curated box sets from Europe, to roaster / brand collabs highlighting a single company each month, this year’s field of Best Coffee Subscriptions are as different as they are delicious. The nominees are: Department of Brewology “Sequence”, Barista Hustle “Superlatives“, Sudden Coffee, Compelling Coffee, Angel’s Cup, and The Coffeevine.

Best Coffee Podcast

Podcasts continue their march towards cultural primacy, and this year’s list of Sprudgies noms includes new voices, industry trendsetters, and thought-provoking boundary pushers. The nominees are: The Coffee Podcast (Jesse Hartman), Cat & Cloud (Jared Truby and Chris Baca), Boss Barista (Jasper Wilde and Ashley Rodriguez), Keys to the Shop (Chris Deferio), Tamper Tantrum (Stephen Leighton and Colin Harmon, producer Jenn Rugolo), and Racist Sandwich E26 “Coffee Level Over 9000” featuring Nick Cho (Soleil Ho and Zahir Janmohamed, producers Juan Diego Ramirez and Alan Montecillo).

Best Coffee Instagram or Twitter Account

A new category this season, in which our readers are honoring the social media presences that made us laugh, made us think, and made us glad to be alive. Whether posting the  emoji or leaving us *dead*, these are the best coffee social media accounts of 2017. The nominees are: Coldbrew420 [Twitter / Instagram] Letsbrew.coffee [Instagram] Matt Perger [Twitter / Instagram] 3000 Thieves [Instagram] Jenn Chen [Twitter / Instagram] Michelle Johnson [Twitter / Instagram]

Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence

The most important Sprudgie Award is the hardest to define—this award is given to groups or individuals our readers seek to honor for their contribution to the wider coffee culture. Past awards have gone to remarkable coffee producers, game-changing green buyers, important new voices, and even an entire nation’s coffee growers. This year we’re overjoyed at the nominees you’ve selected for our Outstanding Achievement in The Field of Excellence, which include business leaders, top global competitors, resilient cafe owners, and an individual whose work has helped redefine coffee from his homeland. Your nominees are: Miki Suzuki for 2017 World Barista Championship Finals  Mokhtar Alkhanshali for Port of Mokha Department of Brewology for “Filter Coffee Not People” Pamela Chng for Bettr Barista Academy (Singapore) Abner Roldan & Karla Ly Quiñones García for Café Comunión (Puerto Rico) Cole & Aisha Pew for Dovecote Coffee (Baltimore)

The post Announcing The 2017 Sprudgie Awards Finalists appeared first on Sprudge.

Earlier this week we unveiled the nominees for the Ninth Annual Sprudgie Awards. Voting is now open across a dozen categories, honoring the very best in coffee. Voting ends December 31st, 2017 at 11:59 PM.

In this feature we’re spotlighting the 2017 nominees for Best New Cafe, one of the most coveted of all the Sprudgie Awards. Past winners for Best New Cafe include the La Marzocco Cafe in Seattle (2016), Paramount Coffee Project in Los Angeles (2015), Scandinavian Embassy in Amsterdam (2014), Intelligentsia Logan Square (2013), Pergamino Cafe in Medellin (2012), and Milstead & Co. in Seattle (2011). Prior to 2011 the award was given as simply “Best Cafe,” without an opening date requirement, and was awarded to Tina We Salute You in London (2010) and Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco (2009).

Let’s meet his year’s nominees! They hail from markets big and small all around the world, including our first-ever nominees from Korea, New Zealand, and Ireland.

Vote now for your favorite nominee for Best New Cafe!

Catalyst Coffee—Auckland, New Zealand—Proprietors: Hanna Terramoto and Xin Yi Loke

“Hanna Teramoto and Xin Yi Loke are two enormously accomplished baristas. Both won national barista championships back in 2014—Teramoto representing New Zealand, Xin Yi Loke representing Singapore. They first met in Remini, Italy at the World Barista Championship, when as fate and luck would have it, their backstage preparation tables were right next to each other. From there the destined friendship began, with the duo helping each other polish equipment, taste-test coffees, and bonding over their shared experience at the WBC.

But when the competition came to an end, the friendship didn’t. Xi Yin Loke visited Teramoto in New Zealand in 2015, and the idea to go into business together began to take shape. It was a huge change for the Singaporean champion, to think of leaving the dense city and hot weather of her teeming metropolis for the comparatively mild, sprawling South Seas vibe of Auckland. The name, Catalyst Coffee, was born out of this moment—it means “beginning of changes”, describes the challenges of leaving your home, starting a new business, and developing what the duo hopes is a fresh take on the cafe experience.”

Read the full feature from Diane Wang on Sprudge Media Network, published February 22nd, 2017.

Cherry Street Public House—Seattle, Washington—Proprietors: Laila Ghambari and Ali Ghambari

“Two decades after Ali Ghambari opened his first coffee shop, he and his daughter are opening this all-day cafe and restaurant, serving high-quality coffee, and Persian-inspired breakfast, lunch, and, soon, dinner from the center of Seattle’s Pioneer Square. The cafe anchors the new Weyerhaeuser building and fronts onto Occidental Park.

“It’s my vision, made possible by my father,” says Laila Ghambari, of how Cherry Street Public House evolved. The space came to them through Ali Ghambari’s partner in Cherry Street Coffee House, Greg Smith, who developed the building. Laila Ghambari, a 2014 US Barista Champion who previously had worked for Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Caffe Ladro, took over as director of coffee for Cherry Street Coffee House and upgraded their coffee program in 2014. When this space showed up as an opportunity, Cherry Street already had coffee shops two blocks away in two directions: she knew this was their chance to fulfill a dream by doing something new.”

Read the full feature from Naomi Tomky on Sprudge Media Network, published March 2nd 2017.

Grind with a view.

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Nov 6, 2017 at 6:10pm PST

Center Coffee—Seoul, Korea—Proprietor: Sang-Ho Park

“What are some of the things you’ve learned, overheard, picked up, or will always remember along your coffee career?”

“To be humble, open-minded, honest and not try answering all questions, but rather, to try and question all answers. The quote I go by every day is by Grace Murphy Hopper: “The most damaging phrase is it’s always been done that way.” So I try to question the things I believe I know, and see if there are better ways we can address the answer, and try to find a better way than what we have now.”

From An Interview With Sang Ho Park by Zachary Carlsen for Sprudge Media Network.

Nemesis Coffee—Vancouver, British Columbia—Proprietors: Jess Reno, James Salmon, Michele Zuber, Cole Trepanier, Albert Tang, Josh Shevlin, and Jacob Deacon-Evans

One of Vancouver’s newest multiroasters, Nemesis focuses on bringing in some of the best coffee the world has to offer, such as Five Elephant, Talor & Jørgen, Pilot Coffee Roasters, Colonna, and April. By creating strategic partnerships with international roasters, Nemesis is figuring out new ways to make its coffee better every day. This simple quest is already leading the staff down exciting avenues, such as sharing water samples between the roastery and shop floor, all in an effort to innovate and provide the very best cup possible to their customers.

What began as a few friends kicking around a concept has led to a unique group coming from both competitive and international backgrounds. This diversity of experience creates a wonderful atmosphere of shared ideas and ensures that the highest quality product is being delivered. Nemesis has gone a step further in their learning by training all staff on both the food and coffee programs, regardless of title. This creates transparency between the pillars of their shop and it is evident in the way the staff speaks about every item on the menu.

Read the full feature from Peter de Vooght on Sprudge Media Network, published November 1st 2017.

Lovely in Dublin today

A post shared by Love Supreme (@lovelovesupreme) on Nov 14, 2017 at 7:07am PST

Love Supreme Portobello—Dublin, Ireland—Proprietors: Ken Flood and Katie Flood

“A landmark on the streetscape of Stoneybatter, Love Supreme made the hearts of coffee lovers in Dublin skip a beat when they announced they would open a second spot in the city.

Now open over three months, from their new Portobello location on Lennox Street, the coffee shop quickens the pulse of the beating heart of Dublin 8’s growing cafe culture.

Washed in natural light, the petite cafe is styled in the signature Love Supreme look. Here too, interchangeable lights and hanging flowers break up the rustic, simple design, replicating the feel of the original cafe.”

Feature via The Taste.

Narrative Coffee—Everett, Washington—Proprietors: Maxwell Mooney and Richard Orr

It’s been less than a year since we first profiled Narrative Coffee, the coffee brand from US National Barista competitor and accomplished coffee professional Maxwell Mooney. Last August the project wasn’t much more than a humble little coffee cart in Everett’s Westmore Plaza. But after a lightning quick confluence of circumstances—the right partner, the right building, a build-out process done away from big city glare—Narrative Coffee has come of age in the guise of a brand new, stunningly built 1800 square foot cafe in the heart of downtown Everett.

“So many people are thirsty here for good coffee,” Mooney tells Sprudge, pun surely intended. “They drive to Seattle or Mill Creek in order to get it. This cafe is for them—this city has an incredible music scene, an art gallery scene, and I want to serve those folks, to be an incubator for them, and in a small way help the community here in Everett grow and develop.”

Read the full feature from Jordan Michelman on Sprudge Media Network, published June 10th, 2017.

GO VOTE!

The post Sprudgie Awards Spotlight: The 2017 Nominees For Best New Cafe appeared first on Sprudge.

I believe in the power of cafe walls.

Growing up in Tacoma, Washington, my first exposure to visual art and coffee went hand in hand, at long-departed coffee bars like The Usual and Temple of the Bean, whose interior doubled as a rotating gallery space for local artists. There’s something so obvious and intuitive about it, the non-discursive linearity of sipping a mug of something warm and looking at a canvas of something cool. It felt so natural to teenage me: “I’m at a cafe, the coolest place I can possibly imagine, and there is art, of course, because that is also cool.”

20 years (give or take) and a great many cafe hours later, I feel exactly the same way. Coffee bars can remain as glorious repositories of art and culture; I would argue that, in fact, that coffee bars should exhibit art, if they are so able, as a kind of public expression of the greater good, supporting emerging artists along the way. You might not be a professional art critic, or an art collector, but you can go to a cafe that features rotating artists, and that means something.

Here in Portland, where Sprudge is published, we’ve long cherished the ever-changing collections exhibited at places like The Red E Cafe (1006 N Killingsworth St) and The Red Fox (5128 N Albina Ave), and at May Barruel’s extraordinary Nationale (3360 SE Division St), an art gallery, book and magazine shop in the heart of busy SE Division Street. Nationale carries my favorite magazine, and is kaleidoscopic in the range of artists and voices it exhibits, from sculpture to oil painting to photography. Openings and talks are always free to attend, and those looking to purchase work can do so on a payment plan. Nationale’s manifesto on the meaning of art collection is a must-read, and in it, Barruel writes:

…[it is] important to consider the broader positive effects of collecting art. When you purchase a painting, sculpture, photograph, and so forth, you are supporting ideas and creativity, not just of the individual maker but of a larger circle. Every purchase ricochets, especially in a small community such as Portland, and affects more than just the one artist—it creates a culture of collecting in which art and ideas are valued in a very tangible way.

In late 2017, Stumptown Coffee Roasters hired on May Barruel to curate its newly launched Stumptown Artist Fellowship program, continuing her long-running work with the company (she started there as a barista in 2005). Artists selected for the program receive a $2,000 grant from Stumptown, and have their works exhibited at the newly remodeled Stumptown coffee bar in downtown Portland (128 SW 3rd Ave). The first exhibition launched in December, featuring the works of Wendy Red Star, a Portland-based multimedia artist whose work confronts and subverts popular conceptions of Native American cultural representation. It’s a stunning exhibit, and sets a new standard for the cafe as public art space—photos of the exhibit appear throughout this feature.

Wendy Red Star’s show closes this week, making way for the work of artist Jennifer Brommer, a Portland and Brooklyn based portrait and fashion photographer whose photo installation Memphis explores race and class in the American south. In advance of this launch, and with commentary on the last days of the exhibition from Wendy Red Star, I spoke with May Barruel about her role curating the Artist Fellowship at Stumptown, art’s place in the cafe, and why Wendy Red Star’s work feels so vital right now.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Hello May Barruel, and thank you for speaking with me. Give our readers  a little bit of background on how you came to have your current role with Stumptown.

I started working for Stumptown in the spring of 2005, first as a barista and then as the manager for the Annex.

In 2007, when the art curator position became available I applied for it and was offered the Downtown cafe. I’ve been curating that space ever since.

What do you see as art’s role in the cafe?

It’s interesting to be asked this question right after the recent remodel. When we re-opened in early December, we were waiting for everything to be dried and painted before installing Wendy Red Star’s show, and so the walls were bare for almost a week. Walking in the cafe felt very cold, almost as if there were no life to the space. The baristas were all telling me, “I can’t wait for the art to go up!” And once it did, it was a complete transformation. So with that in mind, I’d say a huge role of art in the cafe is for the space to come alive, to have a soul in a way.

Another important role is that the monthly exhibitions in three of our Portland cafes have, in a way, been supporting artists ever since our beginnings in 1999 by providing them a space to show their work in a professional manner, reach new audiences, and hopefully make some sales to pay for that ever more expensive art studio.

Finally, I’m always thinking about our customers and staff, and hope the art I choose can add something special or unexpected to their day, whether it’s visual or something more existential.

Growing up I can think of a few specific cafes in the Seattle and Tacoma area (where I’m from) that featured rotated art shows. These spaces left an impression on me, and I’m curious if you have similar cafes from yesteryear whose approach to art inspired you?

I grew up in France where, as far as I can remember, cafes don’t really show art being made at that moment. After moving to Portland in 2000, I first started noticing art outside of traditional galleries at places like the Albina Press (curated at the time by Gretchen Vaudt), Valentine’s (curated at the time by Jen Olesen), and Stumptown (curated at the time by Daniel Gonzalez). I also remember big art parties like the Alphabet Dress and the Modern Zoo, which were thrown by artist-run DIY collectives. These very much informed my wanting to be involved in the visual arts scene.

How did you come to work with the artist Wendy Red Star?

When I first met our CEO, Sean Sullivan, we talked about his vision for the Downtown cafe, how art was going to have a greater place in it with the remodeling, and he told me to “aim high.” He asked specifically, “If you could show anyone in Portland, who would it be?”  Wendy was one of the first artists who came to mind. I had seen her work last year at the Portland Art Museum and it had a strong impact on me. I reached out to her and she accepted to be the first artist to show at the cafe after the remodel. We did not tell her about the Stumptown Artist Fellowship until we announced the program in early December and her as the first recipient. I love the fact that after showing in numerous museums and larger institutions, she was excited to show in a coffee shop. When I talked to her about that, she mentioned having always wanted to show in a coffee shop and being somewhat disappointed when she was in college that her friends would get shows and she didn’t. So she said she saw the exhibition as her homecoming and loved the idea of being able to show to a large audience here in Portland where she lives.

Why do you think work like Wendy Red Star’s is so vital to exhibit in a public space?  

First of all, I love that people who either can’t afford to visit museums or don’t have the habit, will get to see her work. There is something very democratic about that.

I think it’s important as well to show work which is not just purely visual or “pretty,” but which also asks the audience to take a moment out of their busy lives to reflect on the past and on the world we live in. The series Wendy is presenting is very subtle but also extremely powerful. We have to look at ourselves while looking at these life size portraits of Crow women. Our environment/world is reflected in the work, you might catch someone in the “background” taking a selfie with their latte art, it is such a shocking and somewhat absurd contrast from the world these women inhabited. I’m also thinking about Wendy’s statement. How she wrote, “Since leaving my reservation at age 18 to attend college I have often felt alone,” and so the idea of these Crow children and women being there is important in that they would make her, and others like her, feel less alone when they visit the space.

Thank you. 

Wendy Red Star’s exhibition at Stumptown’s Downtown Portland closes Wednesday, January 31st. A reception for incoming artist Jennifer Brommer will be held on Wednesday, February 7th from 5-7pm. Attendance is free and open to the public. 

Jordan Michelman is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.

Disclosure: Stumptown Coffee Roasters is an advertising partner on Sprudge Media Network. 

The post Art In The Cafe: A Conversation With May Barruel Of Stumptown Coffee appeared first on Sprudge.

The American economy is doing pretty, pretty, pretty okay right now. Or at least that’s what Bloomberg Markets is saying; I really have no idea. I know the Dow Jones did a thing and the president didn’t tweet about it but everyone thought he did because it seemed like something he would say and what even is reality anymore. And when the economy is humming, Americans are more likely to go out to cafes for their daily coffee, which is a good thing. But as Bloomberg notes, that isn’t necessarily new money coming into the coffee sector, but money that would be spent elsewhere—namely buying coffee at a grocery store—shifting to the cafes.

In 2017, total retail coffee sales is believed to have dropped from 766,000 metric tons to 764,000 and is expected to stay flat through 2022. But in that same timeframe, retail sales in coffee shops and restaurants are expected to increase 1% annually.

Bloomberg notes that this shift in coffee purchasing is likely to benefit “boutique shops such as Intelligentsia Coffee and Stumptown Coffee Roasters.”

So while we as Americans aren’t drinking more coffee, we appear to be more selective in what coffee we drink. With sales moving away from supermarket coffee—dominated by things like Folgers, Maxwell House, and other pre-ground bulk-buy coffees—and to cafes, even if those cafes are Starbucks, the shift seems to be toward specialty coffee. Sure, not all cafes are specialty and there are some coffees sold at supermarkets that would be considered “third-wave,” but nonetheless the move is toward the small and the craft, away from the six-month supply. Maybe the majority of America is starting to come around to the idea that coffee isn’t just coffee after all.

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

The post As Total Retail Coffee Sales Stagnate, Cafe Sales Increase appeared first on Sprudge.

My dear coffee friend, come, sit. It’s time for us to have “the talk.”

It may seem like we’ve had this talk before—the one that involves race and how it intersects with coffee culture, but trust me when I say we’ve barely scratched the surface. We’re living in a time where having difficult conversations about our social climate are becoming unavoidable. They shouldn’t be avoided to begin with; people in the United States and beyond aren’t being afforded the most basic of rights in 2018.

Nearly two years ago, I presented an examination of what this looked like as a barista through my personal lens as a Black woman. Many of the things I experienced still stick with me. Some of them are haunting and others, just pure annoyances.

Since first publishing The Chocolate Barista in 2016, the resulting ripple effect has been mostly positive. I have been able to connect with other Black coffee professionals who knew my experience intimately. They were living it themselves, but many had never vocalized it. There’s now a strong, growing community of us supporting each other through camaraderie and amplification of each other’s ventures. We now have a Black man on the Barista Guild of America Executive Council—an historic first. Groups like I See You and the Boston Intersectional Coffee Collective are hosting events centering coffee professionals of color, driving home the point that we’re still fighting for visibility, representation, and access to opportunities in the industry.

And I put a strong emphasis on still. While there has never been more dialogue surrounding social issues in coffee, race rarely gets much airtime. More often than not, the role of race in coffee culture goes largely ignored. And yet, we have such a rich opportunity right now to change all that. To examine the role that race plays in issues across the coffee industry, from gender discrimination—you can’t ask Black women to pick which identity to fight for over the other—to issues of gentrification, identity, and the creation of global coffee shop culture.

The microphone is far too often passed over us when the opportunity for dialogue comes.  We don’t want to be spoken for—we want to speak.

In a special live podcast event from yours truly, creative director Michelle Johnson (The Chocolate Barista) and produced by Sprudge Media Network, I invite you to come join a conversation about race and coffee culture.  The panel-style discussion will cover a range of topics from workplace dynamics to the Black consumer experience, and also dive into how we make coffee culture all our own, led by us, for us.

This is Black Coffee.

The event takes place on Tuesday, April 24th from 6-9pm at the Clinton Street Theater, a classic cinema and live theater venue in the heart of Southeast Portland, Oregon. Ticket pre-sale is now available. Hosted by Ian Williams (Deadstock Coffee), Gio Fillari (Coffee Feed PDX), and myself, you’ll hear from Black coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike, all with unique perspectives that span intersectional identities and roles on the retail end of the value chain. Special guests include D’Onna Stubblefield (Counter Culture Coffee), O.M. Miles (IKAWA), Zael Ogwaro (Never Coffee), Adam JacksonBey (The Potter’s House), and Cameron Heath (Revelator Coffee Company).

We’re excited to partner up with several sponsors for this event, including La Marzocco USA, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Oatly, and The Ace Hotel Portland. Ticket proceeds will be donated to our charitable partners, Sankofa Collective and Brown Girl Rise.

Black Coffee tickets are $10 pre-sale, $15 at the door. We’re offering a limited number of VIP tickets that include an invite to the after party at Sprudge Studios, and a special “come down” event the following morning.

We hope you can join us April 24th in Portland! This could be the start of something special, and you’ll be able to hear it all in a podcast presentation following the event. Much more details and additional partners to be announced in the coming weeks. Follow Sprudge for more details.

#blackcoffeePDX

Original poster art by Taylor McManus (@tmcmanusillustration) with many thanks. 

Michelle Johnson (@thechocbarista) is the publisher of The Chocolate Barista, and the marketing director at Barista Hustle. Read more Michelle Johnson on Sprudge.

The post Black Coffee: The New Event From Michelle Johnson Premieres April 24th appeared first on Sprudge.

BLACK COFFEE, the new event from creative director Michelle Johnson, debuts in Portland, Oregon on April 24th. This live podcast event draws from the coffee industry’s deep pool of Black intellectual and industry leadership, for a lively two-hour original block of programming presented in a theater format. Tickets are on sale now, and listeners worldwide can join us by subscribing to the Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes.

We’re thrilled today to announce a new partner for the event: NXT LVL, a grassroots collective based in Portland dedicated to “partying for social justice.” Founded in late 2016, NXT LVL’s mission is to “center and amplify WOC/QTPOC/Two Spirit voices and causes.” From dance parties to film screenings, beach vogues to fundraising dinners to epic festivals, NXT LVL has been a guiding force behind some of Portland’s best events of the last two years. BLACK COFFEE is their first event in the coffee space, and we are delighted to welcome the team at NXT LVL as partners on April 24th.

“NXT LVL echoes the need and support for conversations and dialog around these important race issues,” says NXT LVL founding member Connie Wohn. “[NXT LVL] wants to see the community coming together to have in a positive environment.”

NXT LVL joins event partners La Marzocco USA, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Oatly, and The Ace Hotel Portland. Ticket proceeds will be donated to our charitable partners, Sankofa Collective and Brown Girl Rise.

Please watch this space for more announcements about BLACK COFFEE in the coming days, and we hope you can join us April 24th in Portland, Oregon. Buy tickets today. They are going fast!

TICKETS TO BLACK COFFEE APRIL 24TH PDX 

Original poster art by Taylor McManus (@tmcmanusillustration) with many thanks. 

The post NXT LVL Joins Michelle Johnson’s Black Coffee Event On April 24th appeared first on Sprudge.

We’re just a few short days from Black Coffee, a new live podcast event from creative director Michelle Johnson in Portland, Oregon. Tickets are available here, and today we’ve got some exciting additions to the programming to announce!

The event takes place on Tuesday, April 24th from 6-9pm at the Clinton Street Theater, a classic cinema and live theater venue in the heart of Southeast Portland, Oregon. Ticket pre-sale is now available. Hosted by Michelle Johnson, Ian Williams (Deadstock Coffee), and Gio Fillari (Coffee Feed PDX), this event centers the voices and experiences of Black coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike, all with unique perspectives that span intersectional identities and roles on the retail end of the value chain. Special guests include D’Onna Stubblefield (Counter Culture Coffee), JUST ADDED Ezra Baker (Share Coffee Roasters), Zael Ogwaro (Never Coffee), Adam JacksonBey (The Potter’s House), and Cameron Heath (Revelator Coffee Company). The main event at Clinton Street Theater will feature a live DJ performance by |Fritzwa|.

We’re excited to partner up with several sponsors for this event, including La Marzocco USA, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Oatly, and The Ace Hotel Portland. Ticket proceeds will be donated to our charitable partners, Sankofa Collective and Brown Girl Rise. We are thrilled to have this event supported by NXT LVL, Portland’s partiers for social justice—read more about their involvement with the event here.

Black Coffee tickets are $10 pre-sale, $15 at the door. We’re offering a limited number of VIP tickets that include an invite to the after party, and a special “come down” event the following morning. A little update regarding the afterparty: due to demand this event has been moved to the Society Hotel, featuring DJ VNPRT, natural wine selections by Sprudge Wine, and dessert catering from Kee’s Loaded Kitchen.

We hope you can join us April 24th in Portland! But if you can’t make it, don’t worry—we’re planning on creating wall to wall coverage of the event, including a special podcast presentation to follow. Follow Sprudge for more details.

#blackcoffeePDX

Read Michelle Johnson’s statement of intent for the event here. 

Read more about NXT LVL’s partnership with the event here.

Original poster art by Taylor McManus (@tmcmanusillustration)

The post Black Coffee Is Coming April 24th appeared first on Sprudge.

Black Coffee, the new event series from creative director Michelle Johnson (The Chocolate Barista) premiered last week at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon. Hosted by Michelle Johnson, Ian Williams (Deadstock Coffee), and Gio Fillari (Coffee Feed PDX), this event centered the voices and experiences of Black coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike, all with unique perspectives that spanned intersectional identities and roles on the retail end of the value chain.

The guests for the first podcast included D’Onna Stubblefield (Counter Culture Coffee), Ezra Baker (Share Coffee Roasters), Zael Ogwaro (Never Coffee), Adam JacksonBey (The Potter’s House), and Cameron Heath (Revelator Coffee Company), with a live DJ performance by |Fritzwa|.

You can now listen to the podcast! Download it here and subscribe.

Black Coffee PDX was made possible by La Marzocco USA, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Oatly, NXT LVL, and The Ace Hotel Portland. Ticket proceeds are being donated to our charitable partners Sankofa Collective and Brown Girl Rise.

Listen to the podcast now! Video of the event will premiere in the next week. More events are on the horizon in 2018—stay tuned.

During Black Coffee PDX the @Sprudge Instagram account was taken over by Shaunté Glover—in addition to the images above, here’s a few key images live from the event evening.

It’s all family here. The conversation is about to begin. BLACK COFFEE. Who’s ready to listen? TAKEOVER: @shaunte

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Apr 24, 2018 at 6:18pm PDT

It’s getting real Portland! Let’s go! Takeover: @shaunte

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Apr 24, 2018 at 7:24pm PDT

H I S T O R Y. #blackcoffeepdx Takeover: @shaunte

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Apr 24, 2018 at 8:44pm PDT

Thank you to everyone who came out and not only heard but listened to these extraordinarily important stories and perspectives! #blackcoffeepdx Takeover: @shaunte

A post shared by Sprudge (@sprudge) on Apr 24, 2018 at 9:00pm PDT

All images by Shaunté Glover.

The post Black Coffee: The Live Podcast Is Now Available appeared first on Sprudge.

It’s here! A complete video presentation of Black Coffee, the new event series from creative director Michelle Johnson (The Chocolate Barista), is now available via Sprudge Media Network on YouTube.

For the first Black Coffee event, we’re presenting a video presentation of the show, live and uncut, with all the big moments, ideas, walk-on music, and laughter presented in their full glory. Not everyone could be there, but now’s your chance to listen, learn, and relive an incredible evening at the Clinton Street Theater in SE Portland.

Outside the theater. Photo by Shaunté Glover.

Hosted by Michelle Johnson, Ian Williams (Deadstock Coffee), and Gio Fillari (Coffee Feed PDX), this event centered the voices and experiences of Black coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike. Guests included D’Onna Stubblefield (Counter Culture Coffee), Ezra Baker (Share Coffee Roasters), Zael Ogwaro (Never Coffee), Adam JacksonBey (The Potter’s House), and Cameron Heath (Revelator Coffee Company), with a live DJ performance by |Fritzwa|.

Photo by Shaunté Glover.

Backstage. Photo by Shaunté Glover.

Black Coffee PDX was made possible by La Marzocco USA, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Oatly, NXT LVL, and The Ace Hotel Portland, with ticket sales benefitting Sankofa Collective and Brown Girl Rise.

Thanks so much to everyone who joined us that evening at Clinton Street Theater for a sold out show, and to supporters and allies worldwide who have shared and helped amplify Black Coffee PDX. If you haven’t yet it’s not too late! Info on the next event coming soon, stay tuned!

The post Watch The Black Coffee PDX Video Now appeared first on Sprudge.

Soooooo yesterday we reported to you on a rash of mysterious letters received by coffee roasting companies in and around the city of Portland, including well-known local Oregon roasters like Roseline Coffee, Heart Roasters, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and Dapper & Wise Coffee. We called the story “A Portland Coffee Mystery.”

We were wrong.

In a still-ongoing and frankly captivating torrent of outreach, we have heard from  many dozens of coffee companies nationwide who have received similar or identical letters to the ones first published here on Sprudge. From Alaska to Florida you emailed us, commented on this rollicking Instagram post, and slid into our DMs. In the last 24 hours we’ve received 16 copies of identical or near-identical letters, all sent from the same return address—an apartment complex in Las Vegas—to roasters large and small, new and old, all across the United States.

Below is a collection of these confirmed letters you’ve sent us over the last day. We’re sharing these with usage approved by each individual recipient. At this time we are continuing with our policy of redacting the letter sender’s full name and address.

Clearly this goes far beyond the Willamette Valley and its environs, and is instead a coordinated effort targeting coffee companies nationwide. We’ve received so many contacts and claims of receivership, and we’re working now to track down and confirm these as best we can.

For now, here’s a national map of where we’ve received reports, some of which date back as far as 2016—40 in total so far and counting, which you can peruse geographically in this handy map.

Here’s a quick rundown of what we know so far, or at least what we think we know:

1. Some person or persons has been sending dozens of handwritten letters to coffee roasters across the United States, complaining about “stale” product and requesting “replacement” coffees be sent to an address in Las Vegas.

2. Letters have been received as recently as Monday, July 23rd 2018.

3. The oldest letters received date back as far as 2016, as confirmed by Madcap Coffee Company of Grand Rapids, who also received letters in 2017 and 2018.

4. The letters all bear the same return address in Las Vegas, and are written on behalf of the same name: Daniel G. (we are not releasing Daniel’s last name at this time).

5. The letters all bear identical handwriting, formatting, spelling errors, reiteration of receiver address, demand for a “prompt explanation,” and sign-off as “Sincerely.”

6. The letters are devoid of any kind of electronic footprint and include no email address, social media information, phone number, or other means of contact beyond a return address.

7. All different kinds of roasters have received these letters: established brands as well as newcomers, small town roasters and big city companies, brands with multiple locations as well as owner-operator mom n’ pops, spots we’ve featured on Sprudge a dozen times and folks we’re delighted to be hearing of for the first time this week, in admittedly odd circumstances.

There’s much more going on behind the scenes that we can’t share with you just yet, including several leads we’re following regarding the address and purported letter writer—and let us assure you that the more we learn, the creepier and freakier and less cut and dry this all appears to be. Look for much more from us on this mystery in the coming days, including—by repeat and popular request—a special podcast presentation of the facts and theories and fan cult nicknames surrounding the mysterious case of Daniel G.

In the meantime, if you know anything more about the sending of these letters, please get in touch with us. If you have received a letter nigh-identical to the one above, get in touch with us. And most important: if you work in coffee and have received similar letters over the last decade—handwritten on lined paper but with different messaging, and from a different city in Nevada—please, please reach out as it relates to a major set of clues we’re tracking in this case. Anonymity guaranteed and no sources or images used without express consent.

Of course if you happen to be Daniel G. and you’d like to say hello—please feel free. We want to hear your side of the story and also to better understand what you mean by “stale” coffee, because it is unclear. You have our utmost cooperation.

info@sprudge.com

1-888-55-SPRUDGE

@Sprudge on Instagram 

The post Letters From Daniel: Coffee Scene Investigation appeared first on Sprudge.

Tomorrow is April 20th, colloquially known as 420, a holiday you’ve all been waiting for. That’s right, tomorrow is National Cold Brew Day, which definitely started by Stumptown as a joke, but is now being treated as a real thing by thirsty cold brew marketers worldwide. To help slake that thirst, Portland’s Stumptown Coffee Roasters has a special release just for you. For one day only, Stumptown will be selling a new CBD Cold Brew Elixir.

CBD cold brew is hardly a new product. Not a week goes by where I don’t feed the trash folder in my inbox news of some start-up disrupting the cold brew market with a disruptive addition of CBD to a disruptive new cold brew nitro can or whatever. But Stumptown’s take on the form is a lot of fun, and will be appearing in an extremely limited drop timed for 4/20.

Available only in their Portland stores (excluding the airport), Stumptown’s CBD Cold Brew Elixir is a collaborative effort with East Fork Cultivars, “one of Oregon’s leading craft hemp and cannabis farms,” per the press release. The three-ounce drink pairs the coffee company’s original Cold Brew concentrate—which is twice the strength of their regular Cold Brew—with 15mg of USDA organic “water soluble CBD extract.”

CBD Cold Brew Elixir is a 420 exclusive product with an extremely limited run; only 1,000 total bottles are being made available for purchase. Each three-ounce bottle will cost the exact price we all expect it to: $4.20 (which makes you wonder why it isn’t a 4.20 ounce bottle).

So tomorrow if you’re looking to dabble with a doobie or get trippy with a tipple, head on over to any non-airport Portland Stumptown location and get you a mellow high.

For more information, visit Stumptown Coffee‘s official website.

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 Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Disclosure: Stumptown Coffee is an advertising partner with the Sprudge Media Network. 

The post Stumptown To Release CBD Cold Brew Elixir Just In Time For The Holidays appeared first on Sprudge.

What is left to say about Detroit? By now, you’ll have heard the boom and bust stories, the tales of failure and recovery. It’s old (and frankly rather boring) news—let’s just agree that Detroit is back.

Instead, let’s talk about how cool Detroit is. It has famous sons and daughters, from superstars like Madonna and Eminem to, well, Kid Rock. It’s the home of Motown, the birthplace of techno, and the den of oft-beleaguered Tigers and Lions.

And Detroit’s coffee scene is booming. Brand new cafes open seemingly every week, in monied suburbs and trendy urban neighborhoods. Detroit’s sprawling size—San Francisco, Manhattan, and Boston could all fit within the city’s 139 square miles—means there’s plenty of scope for new businesses to begin, expand and grow.

Here are ten of the best, both new and established.



The Red Hook Detroit

Originally based in the suburb of Ferndale, The Red Hook has since expanded to Detroit proper with this charming neighborhood space. The rotating roaster lineup is a mixture of star coffee names such as Parlor Coffee and Stumptown Coffee Roasters, as well as more local representation from Astro Coffee, all made via batch brew, Hario V60, or a white La Marzocco FB80.

In-house baked goods round out the menu, while plants and colorful murals make the cafe feel lively and welcoming. Its location in the heart of West Village makes it a local favorite, as well as a perfect spot for dog-watching if my time spent there is any indication.

Populace Coffee

To downtown now, and Populace’s lobby cafe inside The Siren Hotel on Broadway. I’ve written about this space before, and it bears repeating that the regal opulence of the interior is a sight to see. Heavy curtains, antique furniture, and just so much marble make sitting in the lobby and drinking a latte a distinctly fancy experience.

Populace roasts out of Bay City, Michigan, where its original cafe also resides, but this expansion to Detroit is another sign that the city’s coffee scene is flourishing, and still welcoming new players.

Ashe Supply Company

On the same block of Broadway, a couple of buildings up from Populace, sits Ashe Supply Company, a self-styled “Lifestyle Brand” that combines clothing, artwork, prints, and coffee. Started by two Detroit natives, the cafe features industrial-chic interior design, with a curved bar clad in wood, hand-written signs, and pieces of Detroit ephemera dotted around.

Part of the space is dedicated to coffee roasting, while the rest is filled with community tables and cozy nooks, from which to gaze through the big glass windows at the comings and goings from the Detroit Opera House across the street.

Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters

Another downtown expansion for another Detroit suburb stalwart, Dessert Oasis opened this second location after beginning life 26 miles north in Rochester.

The downtown space is big and softly lit, with high ceilings, exposed ductwork and light fixtures—in fact, if it feels a bit like a music venue then that’s because it sort of is. Dessert Oasis started life as a dessert- and music-focused cafe, before adjusting its focus to include more of the coffee side of the business.

The cafes still host regular gigs, with both local and national acts passing through most weekends.

The big octagonal bar sits in the middle of the space, featuring a pour-over station and Slayer espresso machine, as well as a refrigerated display case for all the house-made cakes (dessert is in the name, after all).

Astro Coffee

Started by a couple who met while working at Monmouth Coffee Company in London, Astro is regarded by many as the center of Detroit’s coffee scene. Since 2011, Astro has offered a distinctive take on specialty coffee alongside an expansive menu of house-made goodies (plus they make their own nut milk, always a bonus).

A rotating selection of US and international guest coffee is available (Heart Roasters from Oregon and Bonanza Coffee Roasters from Germany are two recent offerings), in addition to Astro’s own roasting program, which they set up just last year.

The cafe itself is cozy and welcoming, with mural-covered chalkboard walls, plenty of seating, and a busy, community-minded feel.

Lucky Detroit

A brand new cafe above a barbershop a block down from Astro on Michigan Ave, Lucky has the feel of a laid-back saloon. Interior design is big on dark wood, exposed brick and plenty of antiques (not to mention a moose head on one wall), and a huge three-part mirror behind the reclaimed butcher-block bar.

A La Marzocco Linea Mini serves espresso drinks, while manual and batch brews are also available, all made with coffee from Populace. Lucky is the ideal place to grab a coffee, relax on a comfy sofa while gazing upon the puzzled visage of a flag-draped moose, and await your turn in the barber’s chair.

Anthology Coffee

Previously located within the Pony Ride business incubator in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, Anthology’s roastery and cafe has been a Detroit favorite since 2012. The new space at the Eastern Market retains an open plan and communal feel, with the roastery on one side and a semi-floating coffee bar featuring a striking Mahlkönig EKK43 grinder and full Modbar system on the other. Everything is arranged to give the customer maximum interaction with their coffee as it is roasted and brewed.

Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company

Another of Detroit’s coffee elders, Great Lakes Coffee has been wholesale roasting since 1994 and serving coffee at its flagship location on Woodward Ave in Midtown since 2012. A big, light-filled space, utilizing wood reclaimed from two demolished Hamtramck houses, Great Lakes combines a full coffee service with an extensive alcohol menu and inventive food lineup.

One part of the enormous bar features a La Marzocco GB5, Mazzer grinders, and a Hario V60 pour-over station for all your coffee needs, while another hosts a rotating selection of wines, draught beers, and specialty cocktails. It’s a harmonious blend, keeping the communal tables and bar stools that fill out the rest of the space in constant demand.

Cairo Coffee

On the outskirts of the bustling Eastern Market, tucked discreetly at the back of a retail shop, sits Cairo Coffee, a multi-roaster cafe anchored by North Carolina’s Counter Culture. Whether you happen upon it by chance or hear about it through word of mouth, visiting Cairo feels like visiting the kitchen of an old friend who just happens to have made a pot of coffee.

The cafe might be small, with space for just a few tables, but the coffee experience is taken very seriously, with a La Marzocco GS3 and Mazzer Major taking up most of the counter, and rotating guest coffees supplementing the ever-present Counter Culture (most recently Máquina Coffee Roasters from Pennsylvania).

In a nod to community engagement, the cafe also hosts the Library of Cairo, encouraging visitors to borrow (and hopefully return) a variety of books from the shelves below the counter.

Bikes & Coffee

Another Detroit coffee newbie, having only opened in late October and located across Trumbull Ave from Wayne State University’s athletic complex, Bikes & Coffee focuses on, well, you can probably guess. The bar, big and rectangular, sits in the middle of the space, while the walls showcase bicycle paraphernalia for sale and the back of the space houses the already busy repair shop.

Another multi-roaster setup, Bikes & Coffee features local heroes Anthology as well as Hyperion from down the road in Ypsilanti and, fittingly, bicycle-themed Legal Speed from California.

There seems to be a natural intersection between bicycle people and coffee people, making it the perfect niche for Bikes & Coffee to exploit.

Fionn Pooler is a journalist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the publisher of The Pourover. Read more Fionn Pooler on Sprudge.

The post A Coffee Drinker’s Guide To Detroit appeared first on Sprudge.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters out of Portland, Oregon launches its second film in collaboration with Los Angeles-based film company Farm League this month. The film, Wax & Gold, is a 20-minute short, directed by Britton Caillouette, and filmed in Ethiopia featuring the music of jazz artist Mulatu Astatke. The film is being released alongside whole bean and cold brew offerings of Stumptown Coffee’s Ethiopia Mordecofe, produced by Haile Gebre. Gebre is featured prominently in the film.

Mordecofe has been a longtime whole-bean coffee staple at Stumptown and this year, in celebration of Wax & Gold, has been given a fresh, new look along with a limited run cold brew. Proceeds of coffee sales will benefit Mulatu Astatke’s Jazz School in Addis Ababa.

The bag’s design, inspired by the colors and art of Ethiopia, was created by Stumptown Coffee resident artist Zachary Marvick.

Check out the trailer for Wax & Gold below:

The premiere of the film will be held in Los Angeles with daytime and evening showings on August 24th. You can pick up tickets for these screenings here.

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

Disclosure: Stumptown Coffee is an advertising partner with the Sprudge Media Network.

The post Stumptown Coffee Debuts A New Short Film And A Fresh, New Bag Design appeared first on Sprudge.

The 2019 Los Angeles Coffee Festival is coming! Festivities run from November 8th-10th at Magic Box by The Reef, the global events space in downtown Los Angeles. Tickets are still available! Buy your tickets today.

Sprudge has partnered with the LA Coffee Festival to bring you previews and on-site coverage from the event all weekend long, part of an international partnership that includes coverage of events in New York City and London. (Click here to read our favorite moments from October’s New York Coffee Festival 2019 event.) Be sure to follow us on Instagram for live coverage from the event. Now in its second year, the LA event promises to be chocked full of coffee festival goodness, so let’s dig in to some of what’s got us buzzing going into event weekend.

As we celebrate the city of Los Angeles and its world class coffee scene at LA Coffee Festival, our hearts go out to victims of the wild fires raging acros California. Click here for more information on how to donate to those affected by the fires, and much love to our readers across California. 

The Competitions

The Coffee Masters Tournament is coming to Los Angeles for the very first time, and we could not be more pumped! 16 contenders will compete across seven disciplines in a madcap weekend-long battle of barista skills, walking away with a cash prize and big time prize packages. This year’s tournament is sponsored by Slayer, Mahlkonig, Hario, Straus Family Creamery, and Califia Farms, and features a global cadre of top flight competitive talent. Judges include Anne Lunell, Bronwen Serna, Michelle Johnson, Ben Kaminsky, and David Donde and your MCs through the weekend are Lem Butler and Erika Vonie.

LACF is also home to the incredible Latte Art Live, a weekend-long series of competitions dedicated to the beautiful world of latte art. The stage is sponsored by Mahlkonig, Astoria, Califia Farms, and Straus Family Creamery, and will feature interactive latte art contests, demos, and much more. Don’t miss the chance to learn from accomplished pros like Dylan Siemens (Onyx Coffee Lab), Nicely Abel (Menotti’s), Michelle Johnson and Tricia Lu, and World Latte Art Champion Arnon Thitiprasert.

The Experiences

LACF is about much more than just on-stage action. Attendees can expect a range of unique experiences across three days of showfloor fun, so be sure to see it all. From incredible coffee at the La Marzocco Home Espresso bar, to wide ranging coffee flavor experiences at The Tasting Lab, to a coffee cocktail bar curated by Oban Whisky, Black Cow, and Licor 43, there’s something for everyone at the show. Plus you can expect an epic range of booth exhibitors, featuring top brands like Spirit Tea, Rishi Tea, notNeutral, Oatly, Intelligentsia, Hario, Ikawa, Faema, Coffee Manufactory, and many more.

One of our favorite recurring options at these festivals come in the form of The Lab, a cutting edge quorum of qualified speakers presenting on fascinating coffee topics. This year’s LA edition is packed with stuff you’ll want to see, but we’re especially excited for Friday’s roasters panel featuring Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee (moderator), Edward Cutcliffe of Little Marionette, Sam Sabori of Intelligentsia and Adam Strauss of Unity Coffee; Saturday’s home espresso presentation by known nice guys Ben Blake and Dave Bise of La Marzocco Home; and Sunday’s Women In Coffee panel featuring Erika Vonie (moderator), Maya Albert of Devoción, Debbie Wei Mullen of Copper Cow Coffee, Kristi Persinger of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and Stephanie Alcala and Sarah Dooley of Slayer Espresso.

The Vibe 

LACF is all about the vibe: music, art, street food and much more. Check out what’s happening in The Innovation Zone, sneak a bite at a food demo in The Kitchen, visit the Coffee Art Project for a range of original artworks related to coffee and the coffee shop experience, check out live music at the Coffee Music Project, catch a film at The Movie Room, and that’s just the start. A full list of what’s happening is available at the official Los Angeles Coffee Festival website, and follow @Sprudge on Instagram for coverage all weekend long.

Disclosure: Allegra Events, presenters of the NY Coffee Festival, are an advertising partner on Sprudge Media Network. 

The post Previewing The 2019 LA Coffee Festival appeared first on Sprudge.

Ezra Baker (Photo by Justin Warsh)

We’re back with a new episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast podcast! We chat about our trip to Florence to check out Accademia del Caffé Espresso by La Marzocco and our visits with Ditta Artigianale and new Tuscan roaster Pacamara Coffee Lab. Sprudge’s very own Robyn Brems is back to catch us up with the news of the now and we interview Ezra Baker of Stumptown Coffee Roasters in New York City.

Listen to the full episode right here:

Check out The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes or download the episode here. The Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Urnex Brands, Hario, and Odeko. Special thanks to Stumptown Coffee Roasters for providing their space to record portions of this podcast.

Check out all the Coffee Sprudgecast episodes here.

The post Coffee Sprudgecast Episode 081: The One With Ezra Baker appeared first on Sprudge.

Dandy Anderson

Another week another episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen talk about the Sprudgie Awards Presented by Pacific Barista Series. Preliminary nominations are now open! Vote! A little later in the episode, the hosts interview Dandy Anderson, store manager of the West 8th Stumptown Coffee Roasters in New York City. In the interview, Jordan Michelman takes Anderson through a series of personal questions modeled after the Proust Questionaire we’re calling…the Sproust Questionaire. 

Listen to the full episode right here:

Check out The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes and leave a nice review if you’re so inclined. The Coffee Sprudgecast is available on Spotify, Stitcher, and can be downloaded right here. This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Urnex Brands, Hario, and Odeko. Special thanks to Stumptown Coffee Roasters for providing their space to record portions of this podcast.

Check out all the Coffee Sprudgecast episodes here.