We’ve been having a spirited debate here at the Sprudge offices over the past week. Not heated, but spirited. The question at the center doesn’t require much in the way of an introduction. It’s simply this: Who is on your specialty coffee Mount Rushmore?
This is a roundabout way of asking, who are the four most influential figures of third wave coffee?
Very little in the way of consensus has emerged from within Sprudge’s editorial mindsphere over the last week. In fact, the question itself raises questions unto itself. By what metric does one earn their spot as one of the four? And must it be the same metric for all? Do you privilege the old guard, whose impact has had more time to reach its potential? Or is it someone new, maybe someone with millions of surely-real and not remotely faux-bot followers across multiple social media platforms?
And what the hell do you do with Howard Schultz?
The answer may reveal more about when you started your own personal journey into the world of specialty coffee than anything, but still, it is a fascinating question worth considering. And so we want to hear from you. You can pop off on Sprudge’s Instagram and let us know your hot picks. You can contact us directly and make your case. You’re a real reader, not a bot—so make your authentic simulacra-free voice heard at long last!
You want to put the barista who served your first natural processed Ethiopia that tasted like blueberries on the list? We won’t say boo about it. Like coffee preference itself, the decision is deeply personal. We want to know who you’ve got. Who is your specialty coffee Mt. Rushmore?
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
