Coffee Sprudgecast

On this episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast we go on decidedly delicious deep dives. It's *all* about proof of taste—and we're here to prove that taste is what matters above nearly all else. Listen in our as intrepid founders glide over the modernity of romance in 2026, subject listeners to an Orwellian abuse of the word "purist", and enjoy Caffe Umbria Bizzarri Blend (how Bizzarri, how Bizzarri) as an espresso. Like the mighty I Ching, like the collected works of Shakespeare, this episode contains multitudes, so please expect all that and truly, so much more.

Hosts Jordan Mi...

The Coffee Sprudgecast celebrates the seventeenth year of Sprudgie Award winners and honorees, presented in partnership with Pacific Barista Series, on this very special episode.

Hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen fuel up before getting into it with the help of Klatch Coffees' Valentine's Day offering Aphrodite Nº 3 and the delightful Garden Lemongrass herbal tisane from DONA. The Aphrodite Nº 3, ground using MiiR's sturdy hand grinder and brewed up on the trusty Ceado Hoop Brewer, offers flavor notes fit for the season: subtle florals (elderflower, rose) and nuanced red berry. The Garden Lemongrass herbal tisane, part of DONA...

In the year brew thousand… in the year brew thousaaaaand! The new year is upon us and, as such, there has never a more relevant time to look into the future. Fueled with pour-overs of Loyal Coffee's Mountain Melody Blend brewed using an appropriately futuristic brewer, Sprudgecast hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen make their startling predictions for 2026.

Did someone say futuristic brewer? Yes, that's right. Live on the show, the hosts try out the Melitta Senz V, a high-tech pour-over brewing kit that pairs with the Wabilogic phone app. The brewer is loaded with sensors (two sc...

We're ready for the World Flairista Championship on this special year-in-rebrew episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. Podcast hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen take the Flair 58+2 for a twirl with the La Prima Espresso Co. Buon Natale holiday blend. Jordan calls Zachary a "confirmed Flairista". Coffee podcast hosts can't live on espresso alone, so they slurped mightily upon a Ceado Hoop brew of New Orleans' own Brassline Coffee Roasters Session Blend.

To smooth out, Michelman rips into some "Honey, Honey" herbal tisane from the Dona Tea Library. To take it up a notch, he adds Coffee Blossom...

It's officially Holiday Blend season here at the Sprudge Headquarters. To celebrate, we conducted an epic coffee cupping with exceptional Holiday Blends from 24 coffee roasters.

Once properly overly caffeinated, Coffee Sprudgecast hosts and Sprudge co-founders Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman hopped on the mics to unpack and share notes. 'Tis the season, so brew up a hot cup of holiday blend, fix yourself a plate of speculoos, and have a listen!

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Breville, Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, La Marzocco, Ghirardelli, and DONA.

On today's episode of The Coffee Sprudgecast, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen drip drop minerals, dish about coffee events and the seventeenth annual Sprudgie Awards (noms open November 10!) Michelman discusses his experience at HOSTMilano, the massive food convention that played host to the 2025 United States Barista Championship, and the La Marzocco Out of the Box Event in Milan: fresh coffee, new gear, hot collabs, and frothy gossip.

On this episode, the hosts were sipping a delicious Ethiopia Koke Honey roasted by Presta Coffee. Thanks, Presta!

Stay tuned to Sprudge and @Sprudge on Instagram for...

Barreling into November—this podcast needs a drink! At the top of the latest episode we rip a generous glug of State Line Distillery's new Coffee Liqueur with coffee from Madison, Wisconsin's Kin-Kin Coffee. The reaction?

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Ohh."

The unique flavor sensations don't end there—hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen Ceado Hoop Brew a special offering from Deadstock Coffee and Portland, Oregon's renowned Haitian restaurant Kann.

To round things out, the hosts taste Partners Coffee's Colombia Chiroso limited release—a beautiful cup to carry them through the episod...

It's busy out there in the world of coffee: national barista champions from across the globe are in Milan for The World Barista Championship at HOST Milano and La Marzocco's Out of the Box. Who will become the 2025 World Barista Champion? Only time will tell! In the meantime, we've got another humdinger of an episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. Much is discussed on this episode but the real meat is in the macchiato. Espresso macchiato? Macchiato latte? Caramel Macchiato? "Traditional" macchiato? What's a real macchiato anyway? After a brush with macchiato clarification at a coffee bar in Portland, host...

The days are getting shorter, the leaves are falling, the pumpkin spice latte recipes are influencing—and for us? It means big European coffee events, awards season, gift guides, and an extra helping of tea in the moody afternoons. Much tea is talked about on the Coffee Sprudgecast thanks to our continuation of the DONA Tea Library deep dive, including a tea sourced from the Wah Estate featured in a recent article from writer Navdeep Kaur.

We always take a moment to cherish coffees from our Roasters Village and on this episode the hosts drink a fine cu...

We're exploring brand new cafes from Seattle, Olympia, Long Beach, and Medellin on another special episode of the Coffee Buildcast on the Coffee Sprudgecast (a coffee podcast). At the top of the show hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen enjoy coffee from Caffe Umbria brewed using the new Timemore Sculptor Series Electric Grinder, Timemore Black Mirror Basic 2 Scale, all brewed with the Ceado Hoop Brewer.

The hosts take a moment of centering and reflection over fine tisanes from DONA's beautiful Tea Library. Jordan enjoys chamomile while Zachary went for a classic tisane blend The Field.

We're in the middle of a very busy Build-Outs of Coffee Summer, that time of year when Sprudge spotlights new and exciting projects from near and far. To celebrate, we chose four to highlight on the newest episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast.

To keep hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen in tip top form, the two sip espresso on the show. It's a little daring, a little different—most shows will find the hosts sippin' drip but this episode needed something a little more robust. Find out how the YesPlz Coffee (release #346—Nice Things Blend) tasted from the...

On this episode, we're taking you on a wild trip, man. Inspired by Verve Coffee's recent collaboration with Grateful Deadand their delicious Morning Brew Blend, hosts Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman weird out on Grateful Dead lore. From favorite eras to favorite albums to tales from the golden road, things get a little heady in an extremely chill way. Later in the episode, Michelman sits down with Verve Coffee Co-Founder Colby Barr to learn more about what it was like working with the Grateful Dead.

Check out the show notes for links out to hear Grateful Dead's...

It's that time of the year again, where the days are long, the coffees are flash chilled, and cafes show up and build-out! On the latest episode the show we explore new cafe build-outs from Bradley Beach, New Jersey, down to Springdale, Arkansas and all the way to Ventura, California. It's all part of our annual Build-Outs of Coffee series, a humdinger of a program focusing on the hard work, dedication, craftsmanship, and the community it takes to build something great.

On the Coffee Sprudgecast this week, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen ring in the summer...

Welcome to the Coffee Sprudgecast. It's not just a coffee podcast, it's a taste experience, where only the strongest endure.

Zachary Carlsen returns from World of Coffee Jakarta on the Coffee Sprudgecast and brings with him delicious coffees, interesting coffees, and coffees he didn't dare dream existed. This includes a Space Roastery coffee that mimics the process of Kopi Luwak (the poop coffee) without using animals. It's a fair and cruelty free Kopi Luwak! No civets were harmed in the making of this coffee. We also try a Vietnam-grown gesha coffee roasted by our reporter Tung Nguyen...

We've got a special bite-sized episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast this week, featuring an interview with 2025 World Roasting Champion Mikaël Portannier. Liz Chai caught Portannier on stage moments after announcements to learn more about his epic win.

Host Zachary Carlsen sips Passenger Coffee's India Bhadra while thumbing through a copy of their 2024 Transparency Report. "In addition to prices paid for every pound of green coffee contracted in the most recent harvest year, and cup quality data," says Passenger, "our 2024 Transparency Report also includes dispatches from our green buying team." It also happens to be beautiful—with ric...

On this special episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen talk about the winners of the 16th Annual Sprudgie Awards. This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by TerraCycle, Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, La Marzocco, Ghirardelli, and DONA.

On this very special episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen list off all the incredible things to see, do, and experience at this weekend's SCA Expo in Houston, Texas. On the show we also try out the new double-the-size AeroPress XL and make not one but TWO delicious YesPlz "Soft Power" Blend coffees in one pump! It's a genuine flavor journey and testament to the size and girth of one of specialty coffee's favorite brew methods.

To celebrate coffee history's final SCA Expo we make ourselves elevated coffees with the convenience of...

It's time again for another rousing episode of the Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen on the Sprudge coffee podcast The Coffee Sprudgecast! Learn about how we curate our popular city guides, find out about the 16th Annual Sprudgie Award Finalists (voting open now!)

On this episode of The Coffee Sprudgecast Michelman and Carlsen wet their whistles with a Chemex brew of Bekele Kachara Natural out of Muraga, Ethiopia roasted by our friends and partners Heartwood Coffee Roasters. "Bekele employs a meticulous approach to coffee farming," Heartwood writes on its website, "using shaded pre-drying beds on-site and nurturing...

On this episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, hosts Michelman and Carlsen drink Partners Coffee's limited-edition Valentine's Day "Be Mine" specialty instant coffee and the 4th Place Guatemala Cup of Excellence coffee—a natural pacamara from the Ponderosa farm roasted by Proud Mary.

It's Sprudgies Season! Lots of discussion is had about the Sixteenth Annual Sprudgie Awards. Nominations are open through the end of Presidents' Day weekend—submit a nomination today!

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, La Marzocco, Ghirardelli, and DONA.

A new year, a new Coffee Sprudgecast. It's 2025 and hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen talk about all of the incredible Sprudge Design Award winners on the latest episode of Sprudge's coffee podcast.

Ceado Hoop Brewers come out to brew up a lovely cup of Verve Coffee's special Green Tip Gesha from Elida Estate in Panama. Before diving into the coffee, the hosts tried a hot Black Scottie Chai out of Snohomish, Washington using hot steamy oat milk. Lots of ginger, lots of spice: a classic coffee house chai.

Check out all of the finalists...

Hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen ring in the holidays with an epic seventeen coffee cupping on the latest episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. So many holiday blends (some not blends at all!) to taste through—and Carlsen and Michelman slurp through them all!

Dune Coffee – Holiday Blend
Equator Coffees – Holiday Blend
Joe Coffee Company – Rockefeller Holiday Coffee
La Barba – Jubilee
Madcap Coffee – Winter Solstice
Mr. Espresso – Caffè Festivo
Night Swim Coffee – The Holiday Blend
Olympia Coffee – Holiday Blend
Partners Coffee – Miracle on North 6th Street
Passenger Coffee – Holiday Coffee
Ph...

Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen return for another rousing episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. Myths are busted, minds are opened, and we have thoughts on special gifts for special friends.

Michelman and Carlsen drink a Chemex of Klatch Coffee's Empire Blend and brew a couple of Ceado Hoop Coffee Brewers of PERC Coffee's box set of Cinnamon and Lychee co-ferments from Colombia.

Michelman and Carlsen discuss their holiday wish list. Vintage mugs, hand grinders, pod machines (and the Nod Pod) all make the cut! Listen in to find out who wants what and who prefers...

On this episode, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen drink coffees from Verve Coffee, Sightglass Coffee, and Dito Coffee powered by Madcap. The Dwell Brewer is used, as well as the Lafeeca DJ electric kettle.

Welcome back to a very, very special new episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, in which hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen make a Chemex of Touchy Coffee while talking about the fifteenth anniversary of Sprudge!

The Touchy Coffee comes courtesy of the Welcome Conference, the annual New York City hospitality symposium, where six roasters served 1,800 guests on eighteen La Marzocco Linea Mini espresso machines. Touchy Coffee joined forces with roasters Onyx Coffee Lab, Counter Culture Coffee, Parlor Coffee, Black Crown Collective, and Driftaway Coffee. Special thanks to Felicity Jones and Mike Romig for the Touchy Coffee and a...

Board game cafes, UK import cafes, colorful cafes, and specialty coffee institution cafes are opening new locations. We cover the gamut during the Build-Outs of Coffee season here at Sprudge. Today, on the Coffee Sprudgecast, our flagship coffee podcast, we wrap up the season with our fourth Coffee Buildcast.

Builds make us thirsty, so we're delighted to drink coffee from our friends and partners at Partners Coffee in Brooklyn, New York! Using the Cerapotta, a new ceramic coffee brewer/filter, hosts Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman drink a limited offering from Partners—the Mexico Hermanos Luna. The ex...

Is it "nat" summer? Co-host of the Coffee Sprudgecast (and Sprudge co-founder) Jordan Michelman certainly thinks so. On Volume 3 of the 2024 Coffee Buildcast—our celebratory summer podcast spectacular celebrating the spectacular Build-Outs Of Coffee season—we feature four incredible builds from Denton, Texas to Bassano Del Grappa, Italy.

But before diving into the thrill of the build, the hosts dip into some terrific new coffee—naturally processed coffee—from our friends at The Barn in Berlin:

Burundi Bumba Hill Lot 2: This superb coffee was naturally processed, with a slow drying stage that brings out a rich, fr...

Today's episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast focuses on builds. That's right, it's the second episode of the 2024 Build-Outs of Coffee Coffee Buildcast podcast series.

Today on the show, we drink coffee from Scandinavian Alps Coffee in Hemsedal, Norway, brewed with the Ceado Hoop Brewer. We met these folks at the 2024 World of Coffee Europe event in Copenhagen, Denmark at the Cafe Imports activation. We love the coffee and the package it comes in!

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, Ghirardelli, and DONA.

In the last episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, the Sprudge coffee podcast co-hosted by co-founders Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen, there was a lot of talk about The World of Coffee Copenhagen and what was to come: world competitions, new products, activations, cardamom buns, outside of the box thinking, professional development. Now, the dust has settled, the World of Coffee swooped into Copenhagen, ate up all the butter and cheese sandwiches, and left. What happened?

Find out on this episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast!

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Ceado, Pacific...

It's a very special episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast! We're hours away from the opening of World of Coffee in Copenhagen—the big Specialty Coffee Association trade show, and with it? Competitions. New products. Exquisite activations. Thinking out of the box. So much to do and then some. It's all our co-hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen can handle to talk about it all.

Read on and listen in for some of our favorite reviewable moments. Along with all the trade show poop, the hosts also get into some sweet treats and delightful coffees on the pod. Ne...

Born to build it out! Hosts Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman are back with another special Coffee Sprudgecast—the first edition of the Coffee Buildcast—celebrating the annual Sprudge Build-Outs of Coffee summer series—in podcast form!

The 2024 Build-Outs of Coffee is presented by Ceado and Dona. The 2024 Build-outs of Coffee is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series, La Marzocco, and Ghirardelli. 

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, Ghirardelli, and DONA.

The Coffee Sprudgecast is back with a fresh, new episode featuring beautiful coffees and teas and an especially beautiful brewer!

The episode starts with a lovely steep of DONA Wah White Peony Tea and segues into a beautiful brew of Sakura Blend with custom neon blue Hario v60SP from our friends at Post Coffee out of Japan.

The fun doesn't end there as hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen drink a special brew from Vietnam with the warm, woody, sweet, smoky essence of agarwood from Nen Coffee.  "The luxurious fragrance of Agarwood (Oud) has b...

On the latest episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, Zachary Carlsen brews BlendIn Coffee Club's Colombia Los Nogales, the winning 2024 US Brewers Cup Championship coffee (which also happens to be their house decaf coffee!) Weihong Zhang of BlendIn Coffee Club in Houston, Texas, your 2024 United States Brewers Cup champion, took top honors in Rancho Cucamonga using a decaf Typica variety from Colombia, with a coffee he serves on bar every day. Pick up a bag of it online or in their cafe year-round. This is exactly what host Jordan Michelman did the evening Zhang was announced the 2024 champion!

...

Hold on to your coffee-loving merchandising trucker hats, because it's time for another action-packed episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. This week, hosts Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman are all abuzz about the imminent Specialty Coffee Association Expo this weekend in Chicago, Illinois. The comps! The booths! The gallons and gallons of alternative milks! We'll be there—with perhaps a special visit from Buzzy the Bean!

Check out the latest show, and read on for show notes, links, and highlights.

Things we're excited for at the Specialty Coffee Association's Expo in Chicago, Illinois

The co...

Our coffee podcast program The Coffee Sprudgecast returns with an episode fresh off the US Coffee Champs première partie at Klatch Coffee in Rancho Cucamonga. Over a sun-soaked Southern California weekend, the 2024 United States Barista Champion, Brewers Cup Champion, and Cup Tasters Champion were crowned. Sprudge co-founders and hosts Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman talk through it with the delicious assist of Klatch Coffee's seasonal Songbird Blend.

Host Zachary Carlsen had a conversation with a coffee enthusiast who held a strong belief that coffee blends were inherently bad. On the show, we discuss how blends like S...

Our coffee podcast The Coffee Sprudgecast is back for another rousing episode where hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen take a shortcut… a tiramisu shortcut? Michelman discusses an epic event held with La Marzocco in Florence to promote But First, Coffee that included a whole tiramisu cupping (three cakes that used three different coffees). Carlsen springs a package of Twinkies and claims to be able to make a quick tiramisu out of it. There's some horror, some shock, followed by some shocking surprises.

There's so much more. Several coffees are had, all brewed with the Ceado Hoop Br...

Breaking! There's a new episode of Sprudge coffee podcast The Coffee Sprudgecast! On the newest episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen talk about the winners of the 15th Annual Sprudgie Awards, all while drinking the newest iteration of the Wilder Blend from Verve Coffee Roasters in California.

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, Pacific Barista Series, Ghirardelli, and DONA.

It's 2024 and time for a new installment of the Coffee Sprudgecast! In this episode, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen sip DONA teas and tisanes, drink espresso-forward beverages with Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, and look ahead at what is shaping up to be a very big year here at Sprudge.

From award programs to the decade-long Build-Outs of Coffee series, the fun just doesn't stop. If you listen deep enough, you'll even hear a podcast listener exclusive scoop! So listen right now!

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, Pacific Barista Series, Gh...

Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen return for another spirited episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. Several beverages were prepared for this episode—including fresh offerings from Madcap Coffee, Greater Goods Coffee Co., PERC Coffee, and Rishi Tea. That's a lot of buzz for one session.

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, Pacific Barista Series, Ghirardelli, and Moccamaster.

Podcast listeners, do we have a surprise for you. That's right, there's a new episode of The Coffee Sprudgecast. Hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen are back with fresh coffee, new gear, and a heck of a lot news and updates.

Nightswim Coffee's Ultraviolet Blend is brewed live on-air using the new award-winning Hoop Brewer from Ceado and the results are surprising! Never one to limit oneself to a single beverage, the hosts also try a new Rishi Tea botanical blend.

This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by The Fargo-Moorehead Caffeinated Crawl, Baratza, P...

The latest episode of the coffee podcast The Coffee Sprudgecast is out! Hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen are back—and they're drinking delicious a new offering from Bellingham, Washington superstars Camber Coffee.

The pair had the La Papaya Anaerobic Typica from legendary Ecuador producer Juan Peña. Brewed in a Chemex, the coffee's flavors of pineapple, milk chocolate, maraschino cherry really shined. While the Ecuador La Papaya Box Set is currently sold out, you can sign up for Camber Coffee Artist Series text alerts to learn about the latest Artist Series drops!

Camber Coffee par...