Welcome to a very special edition of The Sprudge Twenty, presented by Pacific Barista Series. The Sprudge Twenty is our annual initiative honoring and amplifying extraordinary individuals in the global specialty coffee community. Now in its sixth seasonโwith more than 100 outstanding individuals honored since the program launched in 2019โwe’re taking this opportunity to try something a little different, and using our platform to honor one segment of the coffee community that so richly deserves it.
This season, The Sprudge Twenty has a unique format: we’re prioritizing Sprudge Twenty entries for individuals born before the year 1970.
We’re looking for the stories of those who helped build modern coffee culture as we know it today in the 21st century and celebrating leadership legacies in the specialty coffee community that have made a profound impact.
Across the 15 years we’ve published Sprudge, our work, and understanding of the coffee industry has been inestimably improved and formed the work of older siblings, aunties, uncles, foremothers, and fathers, the people whose vision and work have created the coffee cultural milieu in which we now find ourselves. This year for the Sprudge Twenty we’re focusing on the opportunity to honor, highlight, and best of all, extensively interview coffee professionals with long and storied careers, bold and boundless inspirations with so much knowledge and perspective to share.
Now we need your help. Chances are there’s someone in your community who fits this year’s special edition criteria who has made a meaningful impact on your work. Perhaps they’re in your professional community, a mentor or colleague whose career you find inspiring. Or maybe you’ve followed their work closely over your own experience in coffee, and want to use this opportunity to tell others about the impact they’ve had.
It’s time to respect our elders. We know this is an incredibly rich and worthwhile global pool of stories to draw from, and we absolutely cannot wait to pore through this year’s crop of Sprudge Twenty nominees. We thank you in advance for joining us on this journey.
Nominations are now open for this yearโs class of The Sprudge Twenty, dedicated to mentors and leaders, game-changers and inspirations, baristas and coffee producers, traders and teachers, entrepreneurs, leaders, and original voices in the field of coffee.
This is an open call to our global network of readers: nominate worthy individuals in your business or community who exemplify excellence, leadership, and the future of coffee. For this season of the Sprudge Twenty, we are prioritizing nominees born before the year 1970โone’s exact age doesn’t matter, per se, but our focus is on highlighting and honoring the stories of individuals who built modern coffee culture over the past several decades.
Nominations can be submitted in any language, in the form of an original essay, audio nomination, or video recording, so that there is no barrier to submissionโthe entire process is open and free, in partnership with Pacific Barista Series.
See past honorees for theย 2019 Sprudge Twenty class, and 2020 Sprudge Twenty class, 2021 Sprudge Twenty Class, the 2022 Sprudge Twenty Class, and the 2023 Sprudge Twenty Class.ย
