Coffee News & Culture
Two long-time professionals with their own distinct visions for coffee are helping each other realize those visions in a small, bustling coffee bar and roastery in Northeast Seattle. Carlos Salmeron’s Ventoux Coffee takes up the front portion of the shared space; Matt Ehresman’s Hart Roasters fills in the back, where Ehresman roasts for Ventoux and … [Read more...]
Once a year, the Specialty Coffee Association of America gets some of the smartest people in food science, agronomy, and specialty coffee in a room to talk about the state of global coffee. It's designed to get a little heavy, a little personal, and at times even a little uncomfortable. Founded in 2009, the annual Symposium has become home to … [Read more...]
We bring news from the south Puget Sound, where our friends and partners at Olympia Coffee Roasting Company have shared with us their plans for a significant expansion of roasting, retailing, and cold brew production facilities at their downtown Olympia, Washington headquarters. Founded in 2005, Olympia Coffee's flagship space on 4th and Cherry … [Read more...]
The Fifth Anniversary party for Street Bean Espresso went down last Friday in Seattle, complete with fancy coffee drinks, competition baristas, and an appearance by Macklemore to support Street Bean's mission of helping homeless and at-risk youth get off the streets with job training. You can read more about Street Bean and the work they do in our … [Read more...]
Cherry Street Coffee, a twenty-two year veteran of the Seattle coffee landscape, is owned and operated by the Ghambari family—which includes 2014 United States Barista Champion Laila Ghambari. This morning, the Cherry Street team opened its 10th Seattle store at 320 E Pine Street on Capitol Hill. We've covered Laila Ghambari here at Sprudge a … [Read more...]
Street Bean Espresso in Seattle is a non-profit, multi-roaster cafe that provides opportunities for street kids and at-risk youth to get on their feet and learn valuable career skills by working in a specialty coffee environment. For the last five years the cafe has been operating under the umbrella of New Horizons, an organization dedicated to … [Read more...]
Well kiss my grits. Look at this eye-popping custom Victoria Arduino (née Nuova Simonelli) Black Eagle Espresso Machine. It's shipping out from Espresso Parts in Olympia, Washington with a fresh red powder coat and walnut accented everything. It's going home to Whole Foods in Alpharetta, Georgia. That's right, Alpharetta. This machine is going to … [Read more...]
Sam Schroeder, the co-owner and retail director of Olympia Coffee Roasting Company in Olympia, Washington, has won the 2015 NW Regional Barista Competition title. He’ll move on to compete (with a first-round bye) at the 2015 United States Barista Championship next February in Long Beach, California. This is Mr. Schroeders first ever NW Region … [Read more...]
Roland Rodriguez, the owner of newly opened Jibe Espresso Bar in an off-the-bar-and-restaurant-scene path in Ballard, just wanted easier access to high quality coffee. His family is one of the more than 600 who live onboard ships at Shilshole Bay Marina. He, his wife and their children gave up apartment-dwelling three years ago, which is also when … [Read more...]
In April, coffee's brightest minds gathered at one of the biggest international coffee trade shows in Seattle, Washington. The Event kicked off with a two-day seminar called Symposium, an exclusive meeting of the minds that had been closed off to the public until 2013, when Symposium Director Peter Giuliano made the decision to begin releasing … [Read more...]
This is not your average build out. Kelly Nelson fell in love with coffee, and dreamed of one day opening his own cafe in the small city of Richland, Washington. That dream was nearly deferred because of a cancer diagnosis for his daughter, Miette, who loved cool trips and Airstream trailers. Thanks to a donation from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, … [Read more...]
In July of 2013, Sprudge correspondent Hanna Neuschwander visited Spokane, Washington to document the city's burgeoning and quality-focused coffee scene. Her feature focused on 5 of the city's very best cafes, serving top roasters from across the country. Since then, two more Spokane cafes have received considerable media attention - Jitterz Java … [Read more...]
Our dear friend Michael Elvin has been honored with the "2013 Weekly Volcano Best of Olympia" award for "Best Barista". Mr. Elvin operates Bar Francis inside an all-ages music menu in downtown Olympia, serving Four Barrel Coffee from a 2009 WBC Atlanta edition Nuova Simonelli Aurelia II. The Weekly Volcano reports: He tells a group of customers … [Read more...]
Cupcake Royale, a baked goods boutique serving Stumptown Coffee, have donated hundreds of cupcakes to Seattle's City Hall in celebration of Washington's first day of legal gay marriage. They've also donated cake treats to the big Gay Marriage celebration at Q Bar. (Above image via Mayor Mike McGinn's Twitter) Back in June, Cupcake Royale was … [Read more...]
In the United States, Colorado and Washington voters passed legislation legalizing marijuana, ending nine decades of pot prohibition. Although it's anyone's guess if these new laws will be fought in court by the federal government, a group of Washington residents have taken to the blogs to express their love of high grade medical cannabis paired … [Read more...]
Right now the fight is ON in Washington State for some pending gay marriage legislation. And guess who's on board with the moral support? Those big bunch of queens at Starbucks corporate. Here's a quote from Karen Holmes, Starbucks Executive VP: Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State … [Read more...]