The (Incomplete) Unimportance Of Brew Methods: Earlier this week we highlighted a post by John Martin of Intelligentsia called “The Unimportance Of Brew Methods”, and it’s resulted in quite a bit of thoughtful, interesting discussion. Martin argues that all brew methods can yield the same extraction and encourages baristas and customers alike to stop focusing so much on methodology. Everyman Espresso’s Sam Lewontin responds, adding that an overemphasis on methodology by the barista leads to service that can seem unpleasantly didactic and condescending to the customer. Both Martin and Lewontin agree that what matters most is what’s in the cup. We highly recommend you read the full posts and check out the discussion on Sprudge’s comments section — it’s interesting stuff!
Craft Coffee’s Kickstarter Fully Funded: We were happy to see that the monthly coffee subscription service Craft Coffee has reached its Kickstarter goal. These folks feature coffee from some of the best microroasters in North America, blind-taste test all of them, and deliver them to your door. We love what these guys do and look forward to seeing them continue to grow. Click here to sign up.
Let’s Talk Let’s Talk Coffee Recaps: The Let’s Talk Coffee conference in Colombia last weekend was a fantastic, informative, and eye-opening event, attended by producers, importers, finance experts, WalMart marketing staff, Colombian politicians, Sustainable Harvest staff, and assorted roasters from 28 countries on 6 continents. It has completely enhanced our perspective of the coffee world, and we had a blast hosting our late-night talk show (aka our panel interview featuring a handful of specialty coffee experts). Video footage and continued recap coverage from the event will be coming your way soon, and until then, take a peek at the video introductions we put together for our guests.
Divine Providence!: Your tireless Sprudge editors have very little semblance of a work/life balance, and as such they are currently in Providence, RI hosting not one but two panels at the Mid-Atlantic / Northeast Coffee Conference (MANE). The panel topics are “How Did I Get Here?” and “Retail Therapy,” and will involve candid and insightful discussions with a bunch of industry notables/geniuses (click here for the full list of speakers). Check by for tweets, photos, and recaps all weekend long on Sprudge.com! And then they get to go home. For 8 whole days!
Reading Rainbrew: Blue Bottle Coffee’s much-anticipated book, “The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee,” is now available! You can catch James Freeman and company on their book tour in NYC.
SERBC Dates Leaked: It’s officially unofficial! The Southeast Regional Barista Competition, the second event in the 2013 USBC regionals, will be held in Atlanta, Georgia starting Friday, November 30. Regional competitions for the US Cup Tasters Championship and the US Brewers Cup are happening the same weekend, and word on the street’s that Batdorf and Bronson, the event host, will throw a massive party Friday night at their new Ponce City Market Dancing Goats coffee bar. Sprudge will be there to keep you updated, and we can hardly wait!
