Episodes
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...
Published 04/24/24
Published 04/24/24
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...
Published 04/11/24
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...
Published 03/26/24
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...
Published 03/03/24
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.
Published 02/15/24
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...
Published 01/11/24
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.
Published 12/06/23
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...
Published 11/09/23
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...
Published 09/29/23
Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen are back for another exciting episode of the coffee podcast The Coffee Sprudgecast. Michelman and Carlsen drink some stunning coffee from Monogram Coffee. The hosts enjoy La Llama from Bolivia and an exceptional offering from Finca Takesi, a small-screen gesha coffee brewed in an automated dripper and a Chemex, respectively. La Llama is part of their Wonder Collection, coffees that exhibit an adventurous quality and is a Coco Natural processed coffee....
Published 08/31/23
Welcome to another episode of the coffee podcast The Coffee Sprudgecast with hosts Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman. In this episode, Michelman and Carlsen drink Block Party, the new limited-release summer blend from Partners Coffee in Brooklyn, New York, with an incredible packaging collaboration with illustrator Sophie (@soupiestudios). Sandwiched by the new summertime hit single "Build It Out," Michelman and Carlsen discuss brand-new cafes in the US, Canada, and UK. These cafes are...
Published 08/03/23
The Coffee Buildcast is back! Featuring Naomi Joe Coffee, Greenstreet Coffee Co., Considered, and Wayward Coffee. This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, Moccamaster, Pacific Barista Series, and Ghirardelli.
Published 07/05/23
This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is all about Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen’s new book But First, Coffee. Michelman and Carlsen take us behind the scenes, talk about the juicy innards, and discuss the process of making the book. But First, Coffee is out 10/10/23 and now available for pre-order everywhere fine books are sold. This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, Moccamaster, Pacific Barista Series, and Ghirardelli.
Published 06/14/23
Reach for the sky and hold your head up high. For tonight and every night? You're a superstar. On the latest episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen are jamming out to Love Inc. and Superstar DJ Keoki while sipping on a honey-processed single-origin Verve Coffee Roasters brewed on a brand new Moccamaster KBGV Select in the Pistachio colorway.  Michelman and Carlsen discuss Sprudge's latest Berlin guide from Tatiana Ernst, a lovely new fashion hub in Portland,...
Published 05/31/23
On the latest episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, guest host and photo journalist Elizabeth Chai reports live from the 2023 United States Barista Championship! Chai had an opportunity to interview competitors Frank La (he/him) of Be Bright Coffee in Los Angeles, California and Gray Kauffman (they/them) of Caffe Vita in Seattle, Washington. Each competitor brought their own unique set of skills to the stage and Chai finds out how they brought it, what they brewed with, and what makes them...
Published 05/18/23
Things are really heating up here at the Coffee Sprudgecast, as your intrepid hosts guard their ears and gird their loins for the impending 2023 SCA Expo, hosted in Portland, Oregon April 20th-23rd. You'll be reading and seeing much more about the show right here on Sprudge, but in the meantime, we taste and sip our way through an eclectic assortment of specialty coffee products, from a very exciting new home brewer with a proud, steady stream to a satchel of evocatively spiced coffee gummies...
Published 04/13/23
What time is it? It's time for another episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. In this stirring episode, Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen take a first-class ticket to Chocolate City. There they'll discuss the benefits of using real chocolate chips in mochas, the oat milk supply chain (Pacific Foods Barista Oat is back, baby!), whether or not you can make a satisfying inexpensive Macguyver mocha using household ingredients, and if Willy Wonka's chocolate factory focused too heavily on novelty...
Published 03/20/23
On the latest episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, Sprudge co-founders Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen drink coffee and eat almond pastry on foggy morning in Portland, Oregon. Not just any coffee, but the first release of Finca el Suelo—an Ethiopia landrace coffee grown in Colombia on a farm owned in part by Sprudge Award winner Tim Wendelboe. The limited release represents the very first harvest, years in the making, and the hosts share their excitement for the farm’s future harvests. ...
Published 02/16/23
Welcome back to the Coffee Sprudgecast! In our very first episode of 2023, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen share the winners, honorees, and finalists of the 14th Annual Sprudgie Awards Presented by Pacific Barista Series. For the full list, visit here. This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Straus Family Creamery, DONA and Pacific Barista Series.
Published 01/12/23
This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is all about flavor. Some might even call it… Proof Of Taste. But how do we get there? By drinking several unique beverages, including coffees from Process in Northern Ireland (via Dayglow Coffee‘s excellent subscription box), some tasty cascara refreshments from Needs & Wants of Raleigh, North Carolina, and a whole mess of non-alcoholic wine-adjacent analog beverages from the company Canadian brand Proxies. This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast...
Published 11/30/22
Coffee, tea, why not both? On the latest episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, hosts and Sprudge co-founders Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen drink an oolong tea from Té Company Te—their Mount Pyrus (Li Shan) from Taiwan AND drink a Caturra/Colombia coffee roasted by Joe Coffee Company from La Familia Guarnizo. Two great tastes that taste great together. Michelman and Carlsen discuss some of the latest stories on Sprudge including our New York Coffee Festival wrap-up from Liz Clayton and...
Published 10/27/22
On this week's episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, Build-Outs of Coffee boosters and Sprudge co-founders Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman sip Yes Plz Coffee while discussing new cafes in London, England; North Canaan, Connecticut; Kalamazoo, MI; and Quito, Ecuador. Build-Outs of Coffee season may be over but you can always register cafes for free at Sprudge Maps! This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series, Oatly, Straus Family Creamery, and DONA. The...
Published 09/30/22
There’s no doubt about it—Build-Outs season is positively in full swing here at Sprudge. Our yearly summertime series celebrates new and remodeled cafes and we couldn’t be more delighted by the sheer amount of exciting builds, fit-outs, and remodels. Build-Outs of Coffee boosters and Sprudge co-founders Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman sip chilled white tea from White2Tea while discussing new cafes in Rome, New York; Orange, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Bogota, Colombia. ...
Published 07/26/22
The celebrations continue for our tenth Build-Outs season (submissions open) on this very special episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast. Hosts and Sprudge co-founders Zachary Carlsen and Jordan Michelman eat a nut butter collaboration that combines Big Spoon Roasters almonds, Equator Coffees Tiger Walk Espresso, and a hint of spices and coconut nectar for a spread so good we ate it with spoons. Well fed, the hosts discuss brand new cafes in France, Colombia, Vietnam, and the western most fleshy...
Published 06/30/22