Thanks to yesterday’s 24 hour time travel home from Australia, Your Sprudge Editors effectively missed being able to report on this story in a timely fashion, so it’s quite likely you’ve already read about the Everyman logo lawsuit drama from one of several reputable news outlets who copy & pasted from the original New York Times story. We’ve known about the impending legal situation with Everyman for around a month, and respected requests from our friends to keep mum so as to not endanger Everyman’s ability to get their saga told by The Paper of Record, who won’t touch a story that Sprudge publishes first.

So now that this unfortunate situation with Everyman’s logo copyright infringement has had its N.Y. / Region section day in the sun, here’s our TL;DR version of the saga, with some information from beyond the NYT’s purview.

* In 2009, a designer from Espresso Parts named Dave White created the now-infamous “I (MUG) NY” logo for the NYC Coffee Peeps Spring Fling, which took place on June 7th 2009 in Brooklyn at Spuyten Duyvil. This event is archived here on Shotzombies, a blog published by longtime NYC coffee professional Mike White (no relation to Dave). The Coffee Peeps, led by Liz Clayton, Ed Kauffman, and the aforementioned Mike White, helped to organize a loose series of social events for the NY coffee community, which at that time was still quite small. The Shotzombies post includes the world’s first image of the “I (MUG) NY” logo, which was designed and used for entirely non-commercial purposes. The Peeps never came within an inch of profiting from its use, but they did give away some cool looking pins.

* Sometime soon after this June 7th event, Everyman Espresso’s new owner, Sam Penix, had Mr. White’s “I (MUG) NY” logo tattooed on his fist. (For a back history on Everyman’s original ownership and development, please read this feature from 2011). The tattoo went iconic in 2010, when Oliver Strand used it as the top image for his somewhat breathless – and surely infuriating to the Ken Nye’s of the world – NYT Dining & Wine feature “New York Is Finally Taking Its Coffee Seriously“, which profiled Mr. Penix’s Everyman as part of the new class of quality-focused NYC cafes.

* Sometime after the Strand feature, Mr. Penix and Co. started using the “I (MUG) NY” logo in the shop’s branding, selling t-shirts and mugs and using a stylized version of the logo as part of the shop’s public iconography. At some point the folks at the NY State Department of Economic Development got wind of this usage, and decided it violated their copyright on Milton Glaser’s “I (HEART) NY” original concept. This is probably kind of a reach by them – the logo is a representation of artwork on Mr. Penix’s body, after all – but copyright law sucks and usually the guy with the bigger team of lawyers and most money to feed them wins.

Now a collector’s item…

But here’s where the story really starts to suck. Everyman has removed all usage of the logo from their stores. You can no longer buy “I (MUG) NY” merchandise. What’s happening now from the NY State Department of Economic Development is about money, pure and simple, and could effectively ruin an otherwise upstanding small business that has helped usher in countless others in New York’s ongoing specialty coffee boom. Shutting down Everyman serves no social purpose; it is simply a cash grab, and a foolish one at that, considering the far deeper pockets out there to target.

Like The New York Times, for example, whose own use of the “I (MUG) NY” logo from Mr. Penix’s fist helped sell countless newspapers driven by untold millions in advertising revenue back in March of 2009, and whose website continues to run the logo in its archives alongside advertisements from clients like Bank of America and Singapore Airlines. “Far deeper pockets” doesn’t even begin to convey the nature of this situation; if you’ve got two companies you feel are profiting from the misappropriation of your imagery, why not sue the much larger of the pair?

This is supposed to be a cash grab, right?

Starting this week and running till August 31st, New York City’s cherished, municipally underappreciated specialty coffee mecca Everyman Espresso are opening their hotly awaited Tiki-themed fancy coffee drink pop-up. It’s located at Bikini Bar ( 148 Duane St in Tribeca, Manhattan) and will offer an impressive slate of tropicalia extravaganza coffee creations from 10-6 Monday through Saturday, all for $7. Sprudge.com attended their stylish opening party last weekend, and what follows is an exclusive look at the sumptuous drink menu they plan to present to the world.

Coffee can be a hard ingredient to mix with– though in low concentration, it is strong and complex as a set of flavors, and espresso in particular has a somewhat disjointed flavor experience that can be exacerbated by dilution and the addition of many other components. At Bikini Bar, Everyman has done the opposite, focusing first and foremost on creating drinks delicious enough to get you downing multiple and leaving high as a kite.

I hope that this is just the first foray into more complex coffee drinks for the Everyman team. For my sake – and yours – let this be the early onset of a “Summer of Sig Drinks”, where delicious and beguiling specialty coffee concoctions help us weather our way through a mid-summer heat that can be proverbially hot as the pot.

Let’s grok the tiki drinks together, shall we?

Shakerato:

1 shot Counter Culture Coffee Honduras Finca El Puente 19g/27g/26s
1 dash Lavender Bitters
1 dash Tiki Bitters
1/4 oz Heavy Simple
Shake, double-strain into chilled coupe, express lemon

Collins:

1 shot Counter Culture Coffee Honduras Finca El Puente 19g/27g/26s
1 oz Cherry
1 bar-spoon Lime
Stir, strain into collins glass over collins ice, top with soda, serve with straw

Swizzle:

5 oz Counter Culture Coffee Ethiopia Banko Gotiti, brewed iced via Aeropress 20g/160g(w)/80g(i)/1:30/0:10/2:30
3/4 oz Peach
1/4 oz Lime
Build over ice in collins glass, swizzle, garnish with mint, serve with straw

Queen Mary:

4 oz Counter Culture Coffee Kenya Ndaroini, brewed via iced Aeropress 18g/160g(w)/80g(i)/1:30/0:10/2:30
1 oz QM Tincture (Basil, Hyssop, Mint, Micro Celery)
1 bar-spoon Tomato Jam
Stir, strain into tiki mug over ice, garnish with fennel, serve with straw.

Original photography by Aaron Frey for Sprudge.com. More of Mr. Frey’s coffee photography and writing is available via FRSHGRND.

Alex Bernson is a staff writer for Sprudge.com.

Since first visiting in January 2011, Manhattan’s Everyman Espresso cafes has held court as one of our very favorite in the world. From their flagship space to their stunning SoHo second home, to their trademark woes and tiki bar larks, one thing’s for certain: If you’re a Sprudge reader, you’re abreast of the Everyman beat.

Today we’re interviewing Everyman’s plural Sams – Sam Penix, owner, and Sam Lewontin, manager – on the redesign of Everyman’s original cafe space, located in the lobby of the Classic Stage Company at 136 East 13th Street. The redesign has been coming for a while, and reflects the space’s unique history; it was originally an outpost of the Ninth Street Espresso cafe chain, before being purchased by Penix and an investor in 2009. It continues to be a hub for the frankly weird and awesome daily denizens of the East Village, including our own Pop Culturalist, Eric J. Grimm, and countless other celebrities both major and minor.

Here, a week on from the public debut of their redesigned 13th Street space, are Everyman’s Sam Penix and Sam Lewontin.

Plural Sams! Everyone is on the edge of their seat about the Everyman’s new look! Can you tell us a little bit about what it used to look like?

When we inherited the space from Ninth Street Espresso it was lackluster to say the least– a very small square bar made of press wood that sagged with the weight of the approximately 1.2 million coffees we’ve served there over the past 6 years. The concrete floors were stained with the masses arriving for theater engagements and morning routines.

In September of 2010 we upgraded from the cold aluminum tables and standing bar that faced customers at a white brick wall, to a wooden bench just high enough for inventive laptop campers to pull up a chair and lead a cavalcade of startup dream chasers to continuously fill the space. At that time I also asked the theater to start keeping the trash outside instead of piled high in the corner of the space haphazardly blocking the exits. The amount of space behind the bar kept baristas just shy of spooning, but turned out to be slightly efficient as everything was within arms reach.

Even though the space had its gaps our vibe has always been the envy of many of our counterparts. There’s always been this special connection between our staff and customers. It’s hard to describe but I’ll try: it was a playful, confident, friendly vibe that emitted from that humble coffee shack, and we hope to maintain that vibe while creating a space more suited to the caliber of our guests and our product.

Construction realness.

What are some of the changes you made to the space?

To start with, we’ve given ourselves a lot more room to breathe! We’ve just about doubled the floor space behind the bar, and significantly increased the amount of counter space we’ve got to work with. This means we can both fit two people behind the bar comfortably (without them having to spoon all the time) and set up our equipment in a way that allows us to give better service, while doing all the things we need to do behind the bar more efficiently.

We’ve taken a lot of the design elements that we loved about the Soho store and incorporated them into the new setup. The bar’s the same height as at Soho, which means we can have conversations over the machine, which is on the front counter now! No more prepping drinks with our backs to our customers. We’re taking orders at the espresso machine, and doing away with the overhead menu and the condiment bar.

We got rid of all the cabinets and refrigerators next to the front door, so despite the fact that the bar itself takes up a lot more room, there’s actually more room and better flow out in the front of the house as well. We’ve also lowered the bench seats a little, to make them more comfortable, and we’re complementing the existing tables and chairs with a bar and some bar stools across the front window. The overall result is that the space feels a lot more open and lively. The improvement is really striking. We’ll obviously have to see how it plays out when it’s full of people, but we feel like we’ve unlocked a lot of the potential of that room.

The new view behind bar.

The original location is deep within the award winning CST. Will the new look still facilitate those balls-to-the-walls busy pre-show slams?

Behind the bar, we’ve set up everything in the service of optimizing work-flow, both for espresso and for filter coffee. Everything’s set up so that the barista shouldn’t have to take more than one step in any direction to get anything they might need. If all goes according to plan, we should be able to crush a line like never before!

We are just OBSESSED with design. Can you tell us a little bit about the furnishings?

We wanted to use a lot of the same mid-century modern visual language that we established at our shop in Soho– lots of clean lines, bold shapes and primary colors– and tailor it to fit in with CSC’s space and aesthetics. So, for instance, the bar at 13th has always been partially an extension of the shape of CSCs box office, and the shape of the new bar makes that connection both more explicit and more interesting to look at. Our palette for the space also draws heavily on CSC’s colors, so where Soho has a lot of oranges, yellows and reds, 13th uses a lot of blue, white and black (with a little yellow thrown in there for some pop and warmth.)

Do you think the die hard regulars will cotton to the new look?

We think the regulars will love it! It’s cleaner, prettier, more comfortable, and easier to interact with. In the end, we’re making all of these changes in order to give them a better experience.

Did a design firm help you with this new look?

We worked with Jane Kim, who designed the Soho store. She’s amazing: quick, thorough, super-knowledgeable, and willing and able to turn our hare-brained schemes into working designs for actual, physical spaces that always manage to be better even than we’d hoped. Having worked with her before, we can’t imagine working with anyone else.

Will there be a dancing bird?

We’ll see.

Everyman Espresso is located at 136 E. 13th Street, in the heart of Manhattan’s East Village. Hours from 7-8 on weekdays, 8-8 on weekends. 

Maybe you spent the last week dialing in your trendy new batch brewer, or maybe you were just trying to figure out why your coffee tasted like spicy tacos. Whatever the case may be, here’s the latest coffee news you missed in the last 7 days —all in one spot. It’s like a week’s worth of Sprudge articles, only with way less reading.

Systems: We took a look at the first Modbar Modular Espresso units we’ve seen out in the wild. You may remember way back in April of this year, Sprudge.com was the first publication on the planet to bring you details, photos, and insight on the Modbar modular espresso system. This is just a first look, with many more expected— Modbar’s spot at the Counter Culture Coffee booth at SCAA fully sold out their available 2013 production run of Modbar products.

Sams: We sat down and chatted with the Sams of NYC’s Everyman Espresso – Sam Penix, owner, and Sam Lewontin, manager and NERBC champion– on the redesign of Everyman’s original cafe space, located in the lobby of the Classic Stage Company at 136 East 13th Street. They went in depth on everything design, and filled us in on the though process behind rethinking one of New York City’s best cafes.

Should-Be’s: As coffee bar menus continue to shrink across the globe we couldn’t help but feel that there are some items that should be added. So, we came up with sixteen coffee drinks that aren’t on menus yet – but should be. Me-ow.

Suggestions: We introduced a new voice to Sprudge.com: D.J. Tanner, an advice specialist who is ready to answer your burning coffee questions. I will reiterate on Sprudge’s behalf that this new columnist is 100% a real person, and bears no relation to the character from “Full House”. This week, the Deej touches on espresso shots, sexy shift baristas, sad assistant managers, and coffee tourists.

Turns out we weren’t the only ones with suggestions…

A suggested production roast for Cafe Imports’ Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Konga natural.

We chatted with the gang at Cafe Imports, who have teamed up with Cropster to add roast profile charts to their “Beanologies” listings for select green coffees. These charts were developed using Cropster’s roasting software, but dialed in and achieved in-house by Cafe Imports roasting guru Joe Marrocco. Most folks on Twitter thought this sounded really cool, but a select few other folks didn’t cotton to the concept. Our guess is that we’ll hear heaps more about it in the coming days, so stay tuned.

Announcement night, with Colectivo’s ownership on stage.

Switcheroos: Sprudge contributor and citizen of the world Liz Clayton was actually there in Milwaukee on behalf of Sprudge when the Colectivo announcement went down. The inside story of how this all happened – how Liz came to be in that private staff meeting, and how Liz & Sprudge fought valiantly against local MKE news outfits with no respect for embargo timing – could make for a juicy column in its own right. But trust us, the subterfuge and info holding was worth it: Liz Clayton produce two awesome features from Milwaukee, one as the name change story was breaking, and another early this week that followed up on the news with context and insight. We’re enormously proud to be home to this feature, that we think is the definitive document on the Alterra name change, Alterra’s curious relationship with Mars, and the future of Colectivo.

“When Alterra Became Colectivo: What Exactly Just Happened Here?

Summer Build-Outs:

We’re continuing our Build-Outs of Summer Series, and this week, we’ve the inside scoop on two new cafes in Waco, Texas and Winnipeg.

Dicohotomy Coffee & Spirits, Waco, TX

Little Sister Coffee Maker, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Shrubbery: The folks over at Oakland’s Coffee Shrub released this definitive guide to the coffees of Rwanda and Burundi. This is highly recommended reading, and we feel the same way about the bulk of resources over at Coffee Shrub’s website. 

Hot on the heels of our coverage from Handsome Coffee Roasters in Los Angeles, it seems Jerry Seinfeld and his “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” program have found yet another excellent specialty coffee bar in which to film. This time it’s in Manhattan, at the iconic original Everyman Espresso location on 13th Avenue.

Jerry was spotted departing the cafe with sneaky-famous comedian Todd Barry, in a photo snapped by Everyman Espresso proprietor Sam Penix:

Toddy Barry, while not exactly “can’t go grocery shopping famous”, has appeared in heaps of great television comedies over the last 10 years, from Home Movies to Bob’s Burgers, Flight Of The Conchords to Wonder Showzen. Mr. Barry has the distinction of having appeared in both Louie –  Louie CK’s acclaimed and remarkable show on FX – and Lucky Louie, Mr. CK’s ill-fated program for HBO back in the mid-2000s. We’re fans.

And we’re even bigger fans of this new trend on “Comedians In Cars”, whose first two seasons focused on neighborhood joints and diners, but is now squarely setting its sets on high end specialty coffee bars. Seinfeld was even spotted with Jay Leno at Jones Coffee in Pasadena, California in October.

Todd Barry is said to be an Everyman regular, and Patton Oswalt is a fixture at Handsome Coffee Roasters, so perhaps by letting the comedians choose their venues, Mr. Seinfeld’s program is being taken to some of America’s best cafes by dint of happy accident. Whatever the reason, we love the outcome, and can’t wait til Season Three begins airing online. Who knows where they’ll film next!

Here’s another vérité snap from Mr. Penix:

Check out our past Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee coverage on Sprudge. 

The Manhattan Christmas is the most idealized holiday experience you could imagine. Kevin McCallister abandoned his family to enjoy it and New York cop John McClane killed ten terrorists because he was forced to spend Christmas in L.A. That old Macy’s escalator, that 76ft Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, and those contentious Salvation Army red kettles are what many people need to feel holiday spirit. One of the most awesome things about New York, however, is that you don’t have to limit yourself to that very specific Manhattan Christmas set of experiences.

Some people like to settle in with ham and Charlie Brown on Christmas Day, but me? I love to go to work.

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For the past five years, I’ve had the pleasure of working at a cafe called Everyman Espresso in the East Village on Christmas Day. I’ve never been forced to work. I grew up working at a movie theater, so I was used to working on Jesus’s birthday. Coming from a broken home, I had no hope for a Christmas experience that wasn’t painfully awkward or highly contentious, so I’ve always enjoyed the distraction.

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Narcissism is definitely a factor. People love you and love to pity you for working on December 25, even if you insist that you’re there of your own will. I like to dress the part. In 2009, I accidentally shrunk a red felt sweater in the dryer. I was bummed that I made such an amateur mistake and I couldn’t bring myself to toss it. Perhaps it would eventually unshrink itself in my closet? When I first asked Sam Penix [Everyman Espresso’s amiable proprietor -Ed.] if I could work on Christmas, I knew I would have to go heavy on holiday joy. What’s the point of being open on Christmas if you’re going to let every customer know how miserable you are to be there? I unearthed the shrunken sweater and donned a matching Santa hat. Any doubt that I was happy to be at work on Christmas went up in chimney smoke. I looked ready to serve.

Cafe music can really set the tone for someone’s day, particularly one as potentially stressful as Christmas.  I carefully constructed a playlist of Christmas favorites, making sure that Mariah Carey’s seasonally ubiquitous “All I Want For Christmas Is You” played every hour on the hour with lesser known yuletide tunes by Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, and Twisted Sister sprinkled throughout. I had a blast the first year. Every customer was so kind and generous and made sure I knew how grateful they were to be served a good cup of coffee on Christmas Day, particularly by Santa’s queerest little helper. I quickly realized that my Manhattan Christmas was special and this would need to be a tradition.

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Over the years, as Everyman Espresso has grown in popularity and Christmas Day has gotten busier, I’ve attempted to add essential elements to the tradition. Some stuck, while others were disasters. I tried baking Christmas cookies one year with one for each frosting letter that would spell out “Merry Christmas Bitches”. I initially intended on baking cookies from scratch, but I succumbed to my own fear of screwing it up and bought pre-made dough. I was six cookies short of what I needed and while I thought about omitting the “Merry” I ended up scratching the “Bitches”. Those “Bitches” got the better end of the deal. The cookies ended up over baked and hideous and I vowed never to try that again.

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Much easier to replicate year after year is the secret stash. For the past three years, I’ve kept brandy and egg nog under the counter for my favorite customers. That seasonal drink tastes so rich and sinful and it contributes to the warmth and decadence we’re supposed to feel on Christmas. Of course, I always need a drink after I hear Phil Spector’s creepy spoken word outro to his otherwise excellent album A Christmas Gift For You. If you find yourself around Everyman this year, I’ll be happy to give you some off-menu joy (provided you say the code-phrase, “Ho Ho Hooch”).

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As the East Village has changed, so has my Christmas tradition. I see more faces, but they’re not always friendly. I still get mostly wonderful regulars who are excited for Christmas coffee, but I also get my fair share of privileged Manhattan snobs who roll their eyes at my unusual attire and take for granted the fact that we are one of the few food or beverage establishments open on Christmas. I wouldn’t treat them any differently than the cheerier customers, but the less pleasant interactions make me nostalgic for those early days.

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This Christmas will be my last working for Everyman Espresso and while I don’t plan on making significant changes to the tradition for a show stopping finale (aside, perhaps, from screaming along to Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” at closing time), I’m hellbent on making it my happiest Christmas yet. It’s simple. Make coffee and be nice. Good customer service is the cheapest and finest gift I can give to the citizens of the best city in the world. If, like me, you find yourself working in a coffee shop – or any shop, for that matter – on Christmas this year, don’t be a Krampus. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to spread holiday joy, and I’ll always look back on these Everyman Christmases as the best ones a New Yorker could have.

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Eric J. Grimm (@EricJGrimm) covers pop culture and life as we know it for Sprudge.com. Enjoy more of his Grimm Realities in our archives.

Top photo courtesy of Everyman Espresso. 

Originally published on April 22nd, 2013. 

Your 2013 United States Barista Championship finalists, featuring original photography by Charlie Burt for Sprudge.com. For a complete look back at the 2013 United States Barista Championship cycle, including photos of every regional competitor, join us on The Road to Melbourne.

Sprudge.com’s coverage of the 2013 United States Barista Championship was made possible by direct support from Counter Culture Coffee and Nuova Simonelli.

Charles Babinski, G&B Coffee, Los Angeles – 2nd Place Overall.

With his second consecutive second place finish on the national stage, it’s tempting to trot out one of those old cliches about bridesmaids and brides, but that sorely misses the point of what Charles Babinski continues to accomplish with his competition routines. If you follow barista competitions, you know – and have known for some time – that Charles Babinski is one of the very best and most respected competitors in the world. It’s the sincere hope of this publication that Mr. Babinski will some day earn the chance to prove this fact on the world stage. It just won’t be this year.

Mr. Babinksi’s began his routine by reciting for the judges a wrote, clinical definition of espresso, and then upending that definition by declaring that  “to me, espresso is any wondrous thing that comes out of that machine over there.” He competed using 49th Parallel’s Colombia El Descanso, a coffee that yielded espressos with notes of “blackberry acidity & sweetness, cane sugar, and honey.” In a unique twist, Charles pre-dosed and pre-ground his espresso during his 15 minutes of prep time, storing the grounds in little silver canisters on stage; this is similar to the style of espresso prep that folks can expect at the new incarnation of G&B Coffee. He made two distinct signature drinks: the first with an uber-luongo 70 grams out shot, paired with orange blossom honey and meant to express “espresso as a canvas” for a beverage’s deliciousness; and the second, a more standard 30 grams out shot mixed with pomegranate juice and sparkling water.

Charles Babinski (LF) year-end stats for the 2013 season: 489 ABs, 119 runs (NL-1st), 159 hits, 33 2B, 4 3B, 21 HR, 65 SB, 97 BB (good eye), .439 OBP (NL-1st), .577 SLG, 1.016 OPS, 189 OPS+, 1st in National League MVP voting.

Trevor Corlett, MadCap Coffee Company, Washington DC – 3rd place overall

Since packing up their lives & families and shipping out for Washington DC in late 2011, the folks at MadCap Coffee DC – Trevor Corlett and Colin Whitcomb – have enjoyed pronounced competition success both regionally and nationally. Let’s review, shall we? In 2012 Mr. Corlett made USBC Semi-Finals; in 2013, Mr. Whitcomb was edged out from winning the SERBC outright by just a half point (by Lem Butler), and both Corlett & Whitcomb made appearances at the Semi-Finals round in Boston. Mr. Corlett advanced on to finals, and wound up placing third nationally in an historically competitive field. Oh, and Trevor was featured by Good Morning America and the New Yorker.

What we’re saying is, success at USBC is measured by a number of metrics, only one of which is points. We were captivated all three times by Mr. Corlett’s finals routine for a variety of reasons, including its exploration of “past crop” and “fresh crop” terminology, his stunningly sparse and mannered stage setting (our Twitter feed called it “Midwestern minimalist”), and Trevor’s ability to compete with a resting heart beat that never rises above a leisurely chat. His routine featured two distinct harvests of MadCap’s Didier Reinoso Colombia, one from July 2012 and another from December of that year. Mr. Corlett’s signature drink layered shots from both harvests with grapefruit, maple syrup & egg whites.

Sam Lewontin, Everyman Espresso, NYC – 4th Place Overall

Now in his third of competition, Sam Lewontin has emerged as one of the major talents on the US Barista Championship circuit. Winning the NERBC will do that for you, especially in this day and age, as New York City continues to establish itself as one of the world’s specialty coffee capitals. But this reality has a quirk; as New York has became a major destination for coffee talent and high-level work, it has remained a real bastion of barista community and closeness within the ebb tide of that massive, anonymous city. Specialty coffee can make strange bedfellows – that’s part of why we love it so much! – but it can also make dear friends, and watching Sam Lewontin carry the cheers and adulation of his peers on stage at USBC was living proof.

Sam Lewontin competed at USBC using Counter Culture Coffee’s Burundi Mpemba – click that link for featured tasting notes written by Mr. Lewontin himself. Sam’s routine included the second appearance of his “choose your own adventure” signature drink, in which his sensory judges were asked to choose flavor notes they might expect from a washed Burundi. These notes were used to tailor a sig drink with more than a dozen possible variations – you can read more about this aspect of Mr. Lewontin’s routine here.

At times a stream of consciousness mumble, or baseball statistics in-joke, or mad reporter dash, every once in a while we get something right in our live barista competition Twitter feed. Of Sam’s finals routine, we wrote, “You are watching just one shining moment in a coffee career so bright, it requires shades.” If you don’t mind us saying so, that’s about exactly right.

Charlie Habegger, Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago – 6th Place Overall

There’s something in the water at Intelligentsia – perhaps added in directly via their filtration systems, who knows – that creates top-flight barista competitors year after year, in regions all across the country. This year was no different, as Chicago’s Charlie Habegger took his automatic Semi-Finals bid from North Centrals all the way to his first-ever appearance on Finals Sunday.

Mr. Habegger’s stage setting was perhaps the most visually striking of any competitor: each judge sat down to gracefully arranged white ceramic fruit bowls, full of vanilla, white chocolate, blackberries, basil, and other flavors found in Mr. Habegger’s coffee, a little number from Huila, Colombia marked by Intelligentsia as Tres Los Santos. His signature drink focused on the “lot building” practice common at origin, where different flavor characteristics are pulled coffees grown in a geographically contiguous set of farms. Charlie pulled different pieces of fruit from his judges’ table setting – a piece of vanilla here, some blackberries there – to visually anchor the flavors and ingredients they’d find in his signature drink, which included espresso shots pulled directly on top of blackberry and basil jam.

Educator at Intelli Broadway, green buyer in charge of Intelligentsia’s purchases in Peru, and now a USBC finalist… Charlie Habegger may well take over the world out from under us all.

Nick Purvis, The French Press, Santa Barbara – 5th Place Overall

Every Finals Sunday has its dark horse, a Cinderella story, a competitor who’s name may not have made the early predictions of competition watchers and bracketologists. This year it was Nick Purvis, representing a two-shop cafe brand in Santa Barbara called The French Press. Prior to USBC 2013, Nick had never advanced in a barista competition, having bowed out in the first round at two consecutive Southwest Regionals. His Semi-Finals appearance was a first, and there was much joy from the Verve Coffee Roasters delegation at USBC when his name was called for Finals Sunday.

Much joy, sure, but not an ounce of shock. We were lucky enough to watch all three of Mr. Purvis’s USBC runs, and he shone brightly all three times with a service that felt educational, comfortable, and tirelessly classy. Like spending a half an hour with your favorite bartender before the room opens, or enjoying a private dinner at the best table in your favorite restaurant, Nick Purvis was able to make his coffee (Verve’s Colombia Los Naranjos) come alive in a routine that focused on customer service itself, and the power baristas wield as public educators. Nick’s signature drink was drool-inducing, a combination of caramelized tangerine juice, red apple juice reduction, and a liquified coffee cheesecake made with cold brew and marscapone. On paper at least, it was probably the tastiest sounding sig drink of USBC finals, because honestly who doesn’t want liquified coffee cheesecake? Let’s be real here.

The thing about dark horses is, next year they come back as 1 seeds. Should he continue pursuing competition – and we sure hope so – Nick Purvis is one to watch in 2014, and his 2013 USBC run is one we’ll remember for a long time to come.

Pete Licata, Parisi Coffee, Kansas City, Missouri – 1st Place Overall

A huge congratulations to Pete Licata, your 2013 United States Barista Champion! A full accounting of his exploits is available in our exhaustive Pete-focused feature here. Learn more about the coffee Pete used to win it all right here!

Cascara–coffee cherry tea, or qishr as it’s called in Yemen–is an herbal tisane made from the dried cherry skins (or husks) of coffee. These skins are a byproduct of the milling process that turns coffee cherries into the evenly dried green beans ready for roasting, and they usually get sent to the compost pile. Which is a shame, because cascara can have a uniquely sweet, floral, fruity flavor.

Drying the skins without spoiling is a difficult process that few coffee producers try, but some of the best in the world succeed in creating this unique and delightful product. Cascara has a cult following among speciality coffee aficionados around the world, and the list of devotees is growing as cascara becomes more widely available, thanks to work of enterprising and detail-oriented coffee growers.

Some say that cascara contains more caffeine than coffee, though this is based purely on anecdotal evidence (London’s Square Mile Coffee had their cascara tisane tested in 2013 at a German decaf factory and turned up very low levels of caffeine.) That being said, there is the possibility that there are other psychoactive alkaloids being extracted beyond the usual caffeine, which could explain reports of a noticeably different “high” from cascara.

Everyman Espresso’s Amanda Whitt at the soda bar.

The folks at Everyman Espresso in New York City source their cascara from Aida Batlle’s Finca Mauritania by way of Counter Culture Coffee. They brew the tisane and do one better – they make it into a light, refreshing soda served alongside their rotating menu of espressos.

“I liked the cascara, but I wanted to lift and separate the flavors in the tea and taste them in a more refreshing way,” says barista Amanda Whitt, who introduced cascara to the soda program at Everyman. “It makes the cascara come alive.”

Make this delicious drink at home!

At Everyman Espresso, they use 1 part syrup to 8 parts soda water. You can add as much or as little to taste – but their ratio makes for a perfect balance of fizz and flavor.

Those who’ve experimented with cascara have made lovely kombucha, beer, liquor infusions, and cocktails. What’s your favorite cascara experiment? Let us know on Twitter, or share your favorite recipe in the comments section below.

Samuel Lewontin of Everyman Espresso in New York City has won the 2015 Northeast Regional Barista Competition, which took place this past weekend in Durham, North Carolina as part of the Big Eastern Coffee Competitions. He’ll move on to compete (with a first-round bye) at the 2015 United States Barista Championship next February in Long Beach, California, and his NE win secures him a spot on Cafe Imports’ 2015 origin trip to Colombia.

This is Mr. Lewontin’s second NE Region win, following his first place finish in the region during the 2013 cycle. He would go on reach finals at the 2013 United States Barista Championship in Boston, placing fourth in a field won by the eventual 2013 World Barista Champion, Pete Licata. Mr. Lewontin’s win this year at regionals is sweetened by the shared success of his colleague at Everyman Espresso, Erika Vonie, who placed 4th in the NE region and is now eligible to compete at the 2015 USBC in Long Beach as well.

Sam Lewontin’s competition coffee was a ringer of sorts, grown by noted Salvadoran coffee producer Aida Batlle at her Finca Los Alpes farm in El Salvador’s volcanic Santa Ana department and roasted by our partners at Counter Culture Coffee. Perhaps the world’s most well-known coffee producer, Aida Batlle’s coffee is the stuff of legend, New Yorker think pieces, and TIME magazine awards. Her coffees are roasted and sold by some of the very best roasters in the world, including Counter Culture, PT’s Coffee, Stumptown Coffee, Blue Bottle Coffee, Dogwood Coffee, Equator Coffees, Square Mile Coffee, and more.

In Mr. Lewontin’s hands, Batlle’s Finca Los Alpes yielded “nectarine and grapefruit” notes as espresso, with a “beautiful sweetness and crisp acidity.” It was a routine that touched frequently on the myriad of ways in which service impacts flavor, from the color of the napkins to the tactile feel of the vessel being served, to the demeanor and verbal choices made by the barista. While clearly a honed and exhaustively practiced 15 minute routine, Lewontin’s script never felt rote or overly performed–this is a barista competition set designed to win, with careful decision making influenced by the rules of the game and confines of the score sheet, influenced by Mr. Lewontin’s previous competition experience, both as a competitor and judge.

“It’s important to know when to step back and let my guests enjoy just a cup of coffee,” Lewontin told the judges, shortly after serving them a signature drink whose ingredients included chrysanthemum flower syrup, white vinegar, and muddled grapefruit peel, served in a lowball cocktail glass with an elegant grapefruit garnish. In that moment you’ve got a dichotomy: a call for simplicity and enjoyment of service, paired with the complex, complicated, and at times beguiling thing that’s actually being served. Coffee is a complicated beverage, but the enjoyment thereof doesn’t have to be. It’s all in the presentation.

All photos by Zachary Carlsen for Sprudge.com. Want more #BigEastern coverage? Dig in at SprudgeLive.com. 

Our Big Eastern coverage sponsored by Wilbur Curtis Company and Counter Culture Coffee, with additional support from our partners at BonaVita. All of our 2015 USBC and WBC barista competition coverage is underwritten in partnership with Square.

We’re proud to serve as official media partners of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

What’s in a name? A spro by any other name would taste just as sweet. In this 4-part series Sprudge staff writer Zac Cadwalader explores the fascinating back story behind some of specialty coffee’s best brand names. Don’t miss an installment, catch up with Part 1 here!

1. Dear Green (Glasgow, Scotland)

(via Dear Green)

“We are named ‘Dear Green’ Coffee Roasters as we are based in Glasgow (or Glasgu) in Scotland. The city’s name is Gaelic for the ‘dear green place.’ When I was setting up Dear Green, there was no specialty coffee culture in Scotland yet. I wanted a name that locals could identify with and be instantly loyal to in order to create a following and introduce a new coffee culture. I was also inspired by the Woolloomooloo blend at Toby’s Estate (where I learned to roast) as well as Square Mile and Stumptown, all geographically-inspired names. And it’s a nod to green coffee.” – Lisa Lawson, owner

2. Everyman Espresso (New York, New York)

NYC: An Interview With Everyman Espresso’s Sam Penix & Sam Lewontin

“The origin of Everyman is derived from the play Everyman. Our original location at 136 E. 13th Street is shared with the Classic Stage Company, an off-Broadway theater that seats 200 people. The play is a medieval story about “the Everyman,” a character that represents all of mankind. The Everyman attempts to bribe death in exchange for everlasting life. Though I didn’t give the shop its name, I feel it is especially intriguing because of my identity as an F to M transsexual. I do find it to be very fitting and I am happy with the discussions it sparks about gender, culture, and life.” – Sam Penix, owner

3. Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors (Austin, Texas)

Openings: Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors In Austin, TX

“Figure 8 is a classic ice skating maneuver. It’s difficult to do, but when mastered, it appears effortless and graceful to the observer. The Italians call it sprezzatura. We called it Figure 8. It is the ability of the barista to display an easy facility in accomplishing a difficult task: crafting the perfect shot of espresso, cappuccino, coffee, etc. The idea behind Figure 8 is essentially a representation of the ritual of coffee. It is a habit, for most it becomes a part of a routine. And come on, Figure 8 is Elliott Smith‘s Abbey Road. What a killer record.” – Ryan Hall & Kathleen Carmichael, owners

4. Five Elephant (Berlin, Germany)

Berlin: Five Elephant Coffee, A Love Story (With Cheesecake)

Owner Kris Schackman may try to tell you a few stories about how he chose the name because of the role “five” has played in music, geometry, religion, etc. And he may even try to convince you that he chose the “elephant” as a nod to Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope, Brooklyn, his former home. But if you press him long enough, Schackman will tell you the real story behind the name:

“One day in Idaho, I couldn’t believe my eyes. An elephant’s tail was flying through the air with an elephant running behind. The tail led him to five continents where he learned to pick coffee, and this is why we call him Five Elephant.”

5. Ipsento Coffee (Chicago, Illinois)

(via Ipsento)

The name “Ipsento” was created by the company’s founders. By combining two Latin root words—“ipse”, meaning “self”, and “sentio”, meaning “to discover”—they wanted to represent the idea of “self-discovery.” Ownership has changed hands since the naming of the shop, and current owner Tim Taylor has his own take on the name. “I view the concept of ‘self-discovery’ as one of ‘journey’.” The coffee getting from a farm on a different continent to a café in Chicago, the progression of a barista in their training and devotion to coffee, the growth and expansion of a shop—all are journeys Taylor mentions when redefining the “ipsento”.

Zac Cadwalader is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in Dallas, Texas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

In October 2015, the Cafe Imports Barista Origin Trip took a half dozen or so lucky competition baristas to Colombia for a whirlwind tour of coffee farms, festivals, and horseback rides. Sprudge embedded reporter Emily McIntyre interviewed each of the champion coffee professionals for a series of exclusive spotlight features.

Some baristas spring from nowhere and win a regional trophy (Radames Roldan, we’re lookin’ at YOU!) but others make themselves, slowly, with countless hours of practice and trial and error like no man’s business. Such a barista is Sam Lewontin, who’s been part of the competition circuit since 2011, winning Northeast regionals in 2013, taking 2014 off to judge, and cruising to fourth place in the US Championships in 2015. Originally from Seattle, Lewontin is half of the “Sams” (with the inimitable Sam Penix) who helm Everyman Espresso in New York City.

Photo by Zachary Carlsen for Sprudge Media Network

We took the chance to ask some questions that had been niggling at us, like what’s the deal with rent in Brooklyn, where to order a mezcal drink on a Friday night, and the impact of origin travel on coffee work.

What makes your work in New York memorable?

The short, trite answer is: the people. It’s highly likely in New York to be serving or dealing with people who are the best in the world at what they do. And that extends to the people you can talk with on a daily basis, often growing into something more personal or collaborative. We become friends with notable actors, musicians, and people involved with interesting projects, and we become their friends by virtue of providing them with hospitality. We are also lucky to serve many chefs, bartenders, and restaurateurs, who have been an amazing resource to us. There are ways we approach operations that would have taken longer to develop in a different atmosphere.

What’s the worst part of running a business in New York?

The rent. New York is a very difficult city in which to run a small business, for a lot of reasons, including that it’s just extremely expensive. Rent’s steep, building a cafe costs a lot of money because materials and labor cost more and taxes are really high. And then, on top of that, regulatory bodies in New York are somewhere between incompetent and draconian most of the time—lots of the parts of the city are looking for ways to fine you to pay their bills.

On top of that, New York as a city is comprised largely of fairly old buildings without a strong infrastructure, so opportunity costs are much higher with hundred-year-old plumbing, etc. My experience of operating a cafe in New York is this: there’s always something. And you get used to it, like every other business. But I’ve managed shops in other places and think it takes a little longer to get on top of that stuff and react fluidly and confidently here.

You have customers from around the world visiting your shops, with all kinds of expectations for what a drink order should mean. When someone orders a “cappuccino”—what do you serve them? When someone orders a “flat white”—what do you serve them?

They’re the same thing here! Like many shops, we have a series of sizes of vessels in which to put milk drinks, and our milk texture doesn’t really change drink to drink. The correct milk texture has a little to do with what we think is best overall [when it comes to] structuring the drink to convey the right flavors. The flip side of this is that what drinks are called is so heavily grounded in cultural expectation and a big part of our job as baristas is just navigating that expectation to give people what they want. The answer to a drink order is always yes, then you figure out what they want and give them that.

Where should one get a cocktail in your neighborhood? What’s a great evening look like?

Hmm… well, you should walk down the street from our 13th street location and put in your name at Momofuku’s Ssäm Bar. If there’s a wait you should walk next door to Booker and Dax for a cocktail. Afterward if you still want a drink, you have a problem because you’re in the East Village and have a million options.

If you want an all-purpose cocktail, go to Pouring Ribbons, which is lovely and hard to describe because it’s a cocktail bar in the same way our Soho store is a coffee shop. It’s a bar that exists as a bartender’s ideal of what they want to see in bars. If you want an agave-based drink, go to Mayahuel. If you want something bracing and complicated and bitter, go to Amor y Amargo. Possibly the best bar in the country.

Lewontin at the 2013 USBC Finals. Photo by Charlie Burt for Sprudge Media Network

How does origin travel impact your work?

Other than obliterating it for ten days? Well, I’m lucky to work with a really extraordinary team who I can walk away from and trust they will represent our shop as well or better than I could, which is a huge stroke of luck. Origin travel impacts my work a lot. Working as a barista and specifically as a manager, the level of detail orientation required to do the job well is extreme, and paying attention to the details for that long tends to blind you to the context of what we’re doing. Which is a problem because one of the beautiful things about this industry is that every step and action has broader implications and helps to tell a story influencing the lives of hundreds of people.

Having the opportunity to come here and see where it all begins, and how the coffee proceeds before it reaches Counter Culture helps to reestablish a sense of perspective as to the actual significance of what we do. Which both gives us a sense of positive perspective and cuts us down to size.

I’ll never forget a moment from this trip, when I stood out of breath with my legs screaming at me on the very top of that steep hill above the house at El Faldon in San Agustin. The world laid out at your feet, and realizing that what you’d just done is the most elemental, banal building block of somebody’s livelihood. This is the environment in which people make their lives and that…is pretty transcendent, at risk of hyperbole.

Emily McIntyre is a Sprudge contributor based in Portland, Oregon. Read more Emily McIntyre on Sprudge. Photos by Emily McIntyre unless otherwise noted.

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There was an impressive turnout at this year’s East Coast Regional AeroPress Championship, which was hosted by Variety Coffee Roasters at their Bushwick shop and roastery. A fridge near the front was stocked with complimentary beer, and tables and chairs were moved aside to form a makeshift arena where a rowdy crowd of roughly 150 people gathered to take part in the evenings festivities.

The original slate of judges included Sam Penix (Everyman Espresso), Carlos J. Morales (Third Rail Coffee), and Kat Odell (Eater). The ECRAC boasted a whopping 32 participants (the competition brackets were capped at 36), making for what felt to many like a never-ending event; in fact, Penix and Odell later succumbed to exhaustion, and were replaced by Brian Gelletly (Joe Coffee) and Maciej Kasperowicz (Gregory’s Coffee) towards the end of the semifinals. “I was the only one who tasted roughly 52 cups of the same coffee—long night,” Morales told me.

First place went to New Jersey-based high school culinary arts teacher, trained opera singer, and home barista Rusty Obra, who will be heading to Atlanta, Georgia, on April 16 to defend his title as 2015 US AeroPress Champion. Joseph Crosthwaite of Manhattan’s O Cafe placed second, and third place went to Jonathan Wilson of Café Grumpy.

All competitors used a Peruvian San Fernando coffee roasted by Variety and a grinder of his or her choice. Below are the winning recipes.

First Place: Rusty Obra, home barista, New Jersey

Recipe

19.7 grams coffee
260 grams water
Total brew time: 2:45

Pour 60 grams of 185 degrees Fahrenheit water into an inverted AeroPress, bloom for 30 seconds. Stir three times, then pour remaining 200 grams of water and steep for 1:30. Add cap, invert, and plunge for 45 seconds. Swirl to aerate, and serve.

Second Place: Joseph Crosthwaite, O Café of New York

Recipe

21.3 grams coffee
243 grams water
Total brew time: 1:50

Pour 70 grams of water and brew for 30 seconds. Add remaining 243 grams of water, steep for another 1:20, add cap, and plunge until 1:50.

Third Place: Jonathan Wilson, Café Grumpy of New York

Recipe

15 grams coffee
230 grams Nice! brand water
2 paper filters
Total brew time: 1:45

Pour 230 grams of 194 degrees Fahrenheit water into an inverted AeroPress. Stir and let sit for 1:15. Stir again and add double-filtered cap. Push all the air out while the AeroPress is still upside down, until beads of coffee start popping through. Flip and press for about 30 seconds.

Joanna Han (@joannakarenina) is a Sprudge.com contributor based in New York City. Read more Joanna Han on Sprudge.

Photos courtesy of Joanna Han and Josh Littlefield.

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Perennial US Barista Championship Finalist Sam Lewontin recently talked to TechInsider about global warming and how it may affect where some of the best coffee in the world is grown. Always thoughtful, Lewontin provides an interesting perspective to how rising temperatures could change the future of coffee.

Coffee is generally produced in what is known as the “Coffee Belt”, an imaginary plane stretching around globe between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn where the temperature is most suitable for growth. But as the article notes:

And as the temperatures climb, ideal coffee growing conditions may start to expand outside of the Coffee Belt.

And hotter temperatures bring on other challenges, like “roya”, or leaf rust, a devastating disease that thrives in hotter temperatures and can wipe out entire crops. The article mentions that many countries are taking steps to combat the issues that come with hotter temperatures, including experimenting with new coffee hybrids. It also posits that some parts of the world that have traditionally grown robusta—including Vietnam, India, and Uganda—may see a push towards growing arabica in the future.

The whole article can be found here and definitely worth a read.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.

*top image via World Resources Institute

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Zachary Carlsen, Liz Clayton, and Jordan Michelman share the stage at Sprudge After Dark (Photo: Sam Penix)

Well, it really happened. Last Sunday night we joined forces with our friends & collaborators at Everyman Espresso in Manhattan to put on a fringe late night talk show dedicated to coffee. We call this format Sprudge After Dark, and it launched at the Classic Stage Company, an esteemed off-broadway playhouse that shares space with Everyman’s iconic East 13th Street cafe location. Today we’re presenting the show as a series of videos, and a condensed version of the interviews on our Coffee Sprudgecast podcast series. 

Sprudge After Dark featured live interviews, performance art, drag queens and standup comedy. Our interviews included candid chats with guests like Oliver Strand (NYT), Matt Buchanan (Eater), Liz Clayton (Sprudge), Sam Lewontin and Sam Penix (Everyman Espresso). Our live performers included Jenna Gotthelf, Mini Horrorwitz, Kimberly Clark, and Janet Konz, whose avant-garde performance art piece “The Life of a Coffee Plant” absolutely slayed our audience in the closing number.

There were full-sized anthropomorphic promotional coffee beans. There were stunning acts of drag, including a heart-rending rendition of The Indigo Girls’ classic “Ghost” as sung by Kimberly Clark. All told it was an evening we’ll never forget, and one of our favorite nights ever in the history of Sprudge. We captured it all for you in video and podcast form so please, give these clips a view, share them widely with your loved ones, and thank you so much for listening to the show.

Please subscribe to the Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes, tell a friend, write a review, and call us up on our toll-free chat line at 1-888-55-Sprudge.

We’d like to thank everyone at Everyman Espresso and the Classic Stage Company but especially our show producer Sam Penix, show runner Eric J. Grimm, stage manager Andrew Oakes, audio producer Allison Carroll, and Everyman’s closing staff Tony Ramo and Roger Peffley. A huge thank you as well to all of our guests and performers.

We’re bringing Sprudge After Dark to Europe for a series of events following the 2016 World Barista Championship and World AeroPress Championship in Dublin, Ireland. Stay tuned for details announced imminently!

Thank you to La Marzocco and KitchenAid Craft Coffee Brewers, our beloved sponsors at the Coffee Sprudgecast. 

The post Sprudge After Dark: Coffee’s Late Night Talk Show Debuts In Manhattan appeared first on Sprudge.

Everyman Espresso, a small, quality-focused coffee bar brand with locations in the East Village and SoHo neighborhoods of Manhattan, have signed a lease for their first official location in Brooklyn. Sprudge Media Network is first to report that Everyman has taken over the space at 162 5th Avenue in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, formerly home to the coffee bar Venticinque.

The new Brooklyn location of Everyman is scheduled to open November 1st, according to Everyman owner Sam Penix. The space, just 400 square feet, is being reimagined by New York architect Jane Kim, whose work on the Counter Culture Coffee NYC Training Center and other Everyman locations has been featured previously on Sprudge. Penix calls the aesthetic vision for his new space “clean but fun,” echoing Park Slope’s family friendly neighborhood vibe.

Everyman CFO and SoHo cafe manager Sam Lewontin, a venerated barista competitor, will take on managerial duties along with Penix at the new Park Slope shop. Expect a focus on tightly dialed batch brew coffees, as opposed to the manual brewing and cocktail-inspired offerings at Everyman’s SoHo space. “We want to have a good time, brew some coffee, and jibe with the neighborhood,” Penix tells Sprudge. “The guy who lives upstairs, the lady down the street—we want to learn what this neighborhood wants by being there, and giving them the best expression of that. Culture is super important to us, along with coffee—you can’t have one without the other.”

The new Everyman is some 20-odd blocks from the Park Slope location of Cafe Grumpy and just five blocks from the original location of Gorilla Coffee. The cafe’s nearest train stop is the R at Union, and it’s just blocks from the major transit hub at Barclay Center.

(via Google)

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It’s that time of the year: there’s a frightful chill in the air, one that cuts to your very bones. And though you may seek solace in the comfort of a warm, delicious cappuccino, to wrap you up like a frothy caffeinated blanket and make you feel safe, there will be no respite. Not when these ghoulish baristas and their scary latte art are afoot.

For 364 days, these groovy ghoulies pour you tulips, hearts, and rosettas to keep your Instagram double-taps churning. But for just one day of the year, as though under a blood moon spell, they etch, color, and free pour to their sinister dark heart’s delight. Ghouls, goblins, jack-o-lanterns, vampires–these underworld class latte artists are conjuring up something a little more macabre for All Hallows’ Day.

And while the laxative properties of coffee are widely known, these 13 frightful works of latte art will no doubt make you poop a little…from fear!

Sam Low, New Zealand Barista Champion (2016) & New Zealand Latte Art Champion (2013, 2015), Code Black Coffee Roasters, Melbourne, Australia, @_sam_low_

Nate Rivera, Mudsmith, Dallas, Tx, @nomed36

Simeon Bricker, US Latte Art Champion (2014), @simbricks

Dylan Siemans, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR, @pouraxial

Sam Penix, Everyman Espresso, New York, NY, @everymanespresso

 John Letoto, Greenway Coffee, Houston, TX, @hermitudinous 

Make up and modeling by James Duncan

Brandon Paul Weaver, Liberty Bar, Seattle, WA, @brandonpaulweaver

Angie Chun, US Latte Art Champion (2015), Coffee Code, Orange County, CA, @angie_chun

Jared Hamilton, Cultivar Coffee, Dallas, TX, @baristajared

Bethany Hargrove, Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, San Francisco, CA, @bethany1.0

Lem Butler, US Barista Champion (2016), Counter Culture Coffee, Durham, NC, @lembutler

Be safe out there y’all, because it’s true what they say: the drinks come out at night!

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.

The post 13 Positively Ghoulish Latte Art Frights appeared first on Sprudge.

The invitation called for “festive evening attire.” What the hell does that even mean? When Sprudge called on me to cover a fancy-seeming dinner at the iconic United Nations building for illy’s first annual Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards ceremony, I thought they surely must have made a mistake. I’m a too-tight-jeans, dad sweater, and sick boots kind of homo and while I keep a few suit jackets and pants in my closet, they’re mainly for funerals. For a free dinner at the UN, however, I could clean up my act a little bit. I could even go all the way with trying to fit in with the UN crowd by looking very dignified and saying things like, “Isn’t Angela Merkel just the most diplomatic?” But “festive evening attire” threw me off. It sounded something like you might wear at a chichi UN party where I clearly don’t belong, but it didn’t indicate formal wear.

A Google search revealed that “festive evening attire” called for color: a suit with a fun tie or dress pants with a nice sweater. I opted for the latter, but found myself in disaster mode trying to assemble my outfit at the last minute. My charming blue merino wool sweater was crumpled up in a corner of my closet. While I carefully steamed it, I yelled at my husband to find his bright yellow tie so I could borrow it for the evening. I then unearthed my navy dress pants, which didn’t need ironing, but, to my horror, did not fit. It appeared I’d been starving myself when I’d bought them for the last funeral because there was no way I could clasp or button them. With no other option, I belted them to my waist, zipped them as high as the zipper would go, and threw on my pointy Fluevog boots with angel buckles.

I picked up my plus-one, my boss and one of my dearest friends, Sam Penix. Sam was even more festive in a blue jacket, tan vest, and pink and green tie. I thought we both looked pretty fly, but I was horribly nervous as we walked to the event from his apartment that we had misinterpreted the dress code and that we’d either be totally out of place or Kofi Annan would appear to shame us and permanently ban us from the UN. These feelings were heightened when we arrived at the UN to find a lot of dudes wearing black suits. I bit my lip and clenched my fists in my pockets as we made our way up to the security check-in, where we would surely be told that our kind wasn’t welcome in these hallowed halls of international accord. Then I looked around and spotted them: a man in a maroon jacket, a woman in a light pink taffeta gown, and some guy in jeans. We didn’t stick out so much at all. If anything, the stuffy suited men were the ones who should be publicly humiliated.

Once we made our way through security and began to gorge ourselves on hors d’oeuvres, Sam looked at me and asked, “So what is this event we’re at right now?” Frankly, I wasn’t entirely sure. I knew it was being thrown by illy, a coffee brand I’d seen in a lot of grocery stores, and that it was to honor their coffee farmers, but I had absorbed no other information from the invitation. I’d resigned myself to an evening of confusion when Sam pointed behind me and said, “Hey! It’s Peter Giuliano!” And indeed, there he was. Papa Pete came out of nowhere as if he knew that we were perplexed and needed major clarification. In true educator fashion, he informed us that the event was to honor the top three growers from the each of the nine countries that contribute to illy’s signature espresso blend. Peter, along with various coffee and culinary luminaries, had judged the top coffees from each country for the grand prize, an enormous gold coffee cup trophy. He had nothing but nice things to say about the experience, praising illy’s internal coffee scoring and referring to them as “the Apple of coffee.” He also praised the company’s other initiatives. “Look over there! They’re very passionate about the arts!” He was pointing at a bizarre scene where a piano player was creating musical portraits of guests by having them sit facing the piano and staring at them intensely as he improvised. Man, the arts are weird. Just minutes after he had arrived to fill us in on the missing details, he pulled a total fairy godmother move and told us he needed to leave to catch a plane.

Armed with information, we found our seating assignments and sat down for dinner. Each table represented a country and was named after a coffee varietal. Ours was “Mundo Novo”, the Brazilian table, where we were welcomed with open arms. Pink taffeta lady sat across from me, looking like the most glamorous coffee professional I’d ever seen. I quickly made friends with the handsome couple who sat next to me. Juliana Armelin and Paolo Siqueria had left jobs in finance to start growing coffee at their farm Terra Alta in Ibia, Brazil just four years ago. We shared laughs and bewilderment at the dinner menu, which promised deconstructed grilled vegetable salad, bistro chicken with crispy skin, and three desserts. The salad came out all too constructed, the chicken’s skin had no such crisp, and we received only two desserts.

The awards ceremony itself was quite brief. Bronze, silver, and gold espresso cup trophies were awarded to growers from each country. The countries represented were Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, and Nicaragua. To our delight, Juliana and Paolo took the gold cup for Brazil. As we deconstructed our salads and chewed on our not-so-crispy chicken skin, we had become invested in our new friends’ success. We wanted them to win the enormous gold coffee cup. Before dessert the announcement was made. The winner was… Ethiopia. As happy as I was for the gentleman from Ethiopia, I couldn’t help but be bummed for Juliana and Paolo, though I still marveled at the fact that their third harvest had put them at the top of the pack in their country. By this time, my three wine glasses had been refilled a bit too much and I struggled to retain information. Andrea Illy explained that Ethiopia won because it had the most variety and I’m pretty sure he said Ethiopian coffee also had the most “Lena Olin”. I’m a huge fan of the Academy Award nominated Swedish actress, so I wasn’t about to argue.*

*Editor’s note: The distinguished Mr. Illy was likely referring to linolenic acids.

The event concluded and I stumbled into a Lyft and, reflecting on what an unexpectedly delightful and not-at-all stuffy evening it had been, mostly thanks to the warm and jovial Brazilians at Mundo Novo. One enthusiastic woman even dubbed us honorary Brazilians as we joined the table. It was true unity between nations at the UN that night. Thanks, Obama.

Eric J. Grimm is a Sprudge contributor based in New York City, writing on pop culture and film. Read more Eric J. Grimm on Sprudge. 

The post Sprudge Goes To The UN For The illy International Coffee Awards appeared first on Sprudge.

The 2017 United States Coffee Championships kick off this weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee with the first of two qualifying events taking place over the next month (the second happening in Austin in February). 2017 is a bit of a transition year for the Coffee Championships structure; the two qualifying event format is the first step toward an eventual three-tiered schedule, with “no fewer than six [micro-regional] events” feeding into the qualifying events as we now know them, which will then decide who makes it to Nationals. Drastic though they may be, these updates are just the start of the changes you can expect to see at this year’s qualifying events.

But one thing remains the same: we’ll be bringing you the best competition coverage in the business over on SprudgeLive, with photos, competitor profiles, and finalist announcements. And make sure you’re following @SprudgeLive as we’ll be live tweeting each barista competitor’s routine to keep you up to the minute on all the action. If you want to know about it as it happens, @SprudgeLive is all you need. Be sure to follow @Sprudge on Instagram and Facebook as well, where we’ll be making finalists announcements and posting photos of all the sights and sounds from Coffee Champs.

The best dang competition coverage of the 2017 US Coffee Champs is made possible by Urnex Brands and Nuova Simonelli.

CH-CH-CHANGES

The changes to this year’s qualifying events are substantive, and frankly, pretty awesome. There are of course the practical modifications—the 10-minute presentation times for the Barista Competition and Brewers Cup as well as the removal of the milk course during Barista qualifying rounds—but there appears to be a focus on the spectator experience this year. While the inclusion of the Cup Tasters and Roaster Championships to the qualifying event are welcome additions from the competitor perspective, they are also two of the more interactive competitions in coffee. Cup Tasters, with its dramatic “red dot or no red dot” cup reveals, has some of the more dramatic and raucous conclusions to on-stage coffee performances, and the added “sensory activity” for Cup Tasters attendees certainly looks enhance engagement. The Roasters Championship allows onlookers to not only taste side-by-side the works of these keepers of the flame, but also have their vote help choose who makes it to nationals.

And there is of course the always spectatable USCC Latte Art Throwdown preliminaries taking place later on off-site at KBrew. Because it just ain’t a throwdown unless there’s alcohol.

But the best change this year and the one that is truly exciting is the addition of “guest judge” spots during the Barista Championships and Brewers Cup. For an additional $15, spectators get to sit alongside the judges during the routines, allowing them a front row seat to the action and best of all, a chance to taste the competitors’ beverages. Guest judges won’t have to do any actual scoring, of course. They just get to sit back and enjoy the experience drinking some of the world’s best coffee served by the some of the country’s best baristas.

SCHEDULES

And the list of competitors heading to Knoxville this year is pretty serious. There are no fewer than 15 baristas to take the stage have made it to nationals previously, including perennial favorites (and previous members of my Barista Fantasy League squadron) Bethany Hargrove of Wrecking Ball Coffee, Sam Lewontin of Everyman Espresso, Cris Mendoza of Saint Frank Coffee, and Cole McBride.

Head over to the SprudgeLive.com for a complete set of schedules for the Barista Competition, and scope a full roster of competitors for each event courtesy of US Coffee Champs (excluding the Latte Art Throwdown).

KNOXVILLE FUN

We consulted with some locals and experts on fun stuff to do in Knoxville, and put together this handy guide for you. Check it and let ’em know Sprudge sent you!

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.

The post The 2017 US Coffee Champs: Knoxville Preview appeared first on Sprudge.

Welcome to a very special episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast! In episode 34, we take you to Knoxville, Tennessee for the US Coffee Champs Qualifying Event. Sprudge Media Network special reporter Liz Chai (@chaiamericano) interviewed five coffee competitors at the event, representing companies from New York City to Spokane, Washington. Let’s meet them!

Check out The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes or download the episode here.

Brian Beyke of Abandon Coffee.

Jenna Gotthelf of Everyman Espresso.

Kyle Ramage of Mahlkonig USA.

Erika Vonie of Variety Coffee.

Aaron Rivkin of Indaba Coffee.

Sign up now as a subscriber to the Coffee Sprudgecast and never miss an episode. The Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored KitchenAid craft coffee equipment and Urnex Brands.

Listen, subscribe and review The Coffee Sprudgecast on iTunes.

Download the episode here.

The post Coffee Sprudgecast Episode 34: The One From Knoxville appeared first on Sprudge.

Update: We now have a complete map of all the participating cafes here. To see a list of companies who are helping match donations from those cafes, please click here. Many of you are joining us from other websites for the first time—welcome to Sprudge. Find out more about who we are here.

Not all heroes wear capes, but all lawyers need coffee.

Sprudge is not a political publication. We did not endorse a 2016 Presidential Candidate, nor have we endorsed past candidates in elections in the United States or elsewhere. Although Sprudge is edited and published in the US, roughly half our daily readers come from outside of this country, as does our worldwide corps of editors, staff writers, and contributors. We don’t typically report on anyone’s local politics—and at some point, it’s all just local politics.

“Stick to coffee, Sprudge!”

We’d love to, but unfortunately, the situation in our country has moved beyond political theater. We believe that the current executive order banning refugees from the United States and immigration from 7 majority Muslim nations is illegal, immoral, and fundamentally un-American. Like a hot mug of drip coffee spilled on a crisp white apron, these actions are a dark stain on our national conscience, and as Americans, we feel compelled to stand up against them.

Fortunately, there are heroes in these dark times. The United States is a nation of laws, not of men, and our government has three branches—Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. It is in this final branch where the battle is now being fought, by the thousands of lawyers organized and funded by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU is America’s non-partisan guardian of liberty, working tirelessly since 1920 to defend the country’s original civic values, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They have no political affiliation or ideological component to their mission. Today they’re defending innocent refugee and immigrant families impacted by the recent executive orders—tomorrow they could be defending you, because they are committed to defending all of us.

So we’re standing with them by organizing a nationwide fundraiser in coffee bars across the country. Next weekend—Friday, February 3rd thru Sunday, February 5th—we’re partnering with coffee companies throughout the United States to raise funds for the ACLU.  You can take part in this fundraiser by patronizing these cafes, or by donating directly to the ACLU Foundation.

Sprudge will match the first $500 per company raised next weekend for the ACLU, in partnership with the following twenty-six launch partner brands across 125 cafes:

All Day, Miami, FL

Blacksmith Coffee, Morningstar & Greenway Coffee, Houston, TX (3 locations)

Blueprint Coffee, St. Louis, MO

Blue Bottle Coffee, Oakland, CA (25 locations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland)

Coffee Manufactory & Tartine Manufactory, San Francisco, CA

Cultivar Coffee, Dallas, TX (3 locations)

Either / Or, Portland, OR

Equator Coffees & Teas, San Rafael, CA (5 locations across the Bay Area)

Everyman Espresso, New York, NY (2 locations in Manhattan)

Fleet Coffee, Austin, TX

G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger, Los Angeles, CA (3 locations)

Huckleberry Coffee Roasters, Denver, CO (2 locations)

Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago, IL (10 locations in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles)

Joe Coffee, New York, NY (15 locations in Manhattan and Philadelphia)

La Colombe Coffee Roasters, Philadelphia, PA (22 locations in New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC and Philadelphia)

Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, Olympia, WA (3 locations)

PT’s Coffee, Topeka, KS (2 locations in Topeka and Kansas City, MO)

Peace Coffee, Minneapolis, MN (Wonderland Park location)

Slate Coffee, Seattle, WA (4 locations)

Spiller Park Coffee, Atlanta, GA

Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR (12 locations in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, and New Orleans)

Tipico Coffee, Buffalo, NY

Ultimo Coffee, Philadelphia, PA (2 locations)

Variety Coffee Roasters, Brooklyn, NY (3 locations)

The Wormhole & Halfwit Coffee Roasters, Chicago, IL

Wrecking Ball Coffee, San Francisco, CA

The Complete List of Supporting Cafes [Updating]

Alabama

Alchemy Lounge, Huntsville, AL

Revelator Coffee, Birmingham, AL (12 locations in Birmingham, New Orleans, Atlanta, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Charleston)

Alaska

Dark Horse Coffee Co., Anchorage, AK

Uncle Leroy’s Coffee, Anchorage, AK

Arizona

Exo Roast, Tuscon, AZ

Late For The Train, Flagstaff, AZ (3 locations)

Presta Coffee Roasters, Tuscon, AZ (2 locations)

Provision Coffee Bar at Palette Collective, Phoenix, AZ

Arkansas

Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters, Fayetteville, AR (4 locations)

(R)evolve Cafe, Oakland, CA

California

Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Francisco, CA

Augie’s Coffee Roasters, Redlands, CA (4 locations)

Awaken Cafe, Oakland, CA

Back To The Grind Coffeehouse, Riverside, CA

Bar Nine, Los Angeles, CA

Barking Dog Roasters, Sonoma, CA

Bartavelle Coffee & Wine Bar, Berkeley, CA

Beacon | Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA

Bean Bar, San Diego, CA

Black Ring Coffee, Long Beach, CA

Blackwood Coffee Bar, Hollywood, CA

Blue Bottle Coffee, Oakland, CA (25 locations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland)

Boba Guys, San Francisco, CA

Bodega, Santa Monica, CA

Bravado Roasting Company, Fullerton, CA

Brew, Santa Rosa, CA

Cafe de Leche, Highland Park, CA (2 locations)

Cafe Rumi, Castro Valley, CA

Cake Bakeshop, Manhattan Beach, CA

Chimney Coffee House, Los Angels, CA

Chromatic Coffee Company, San Jose, CA

Citizen Bean, Oakland, CA

Coffee Manufactory & Tartine Manufactory, San Francisco, CA

Coffeebar, Reno, CA (3 locations in Reno, Truckee, and Squaw Valley)

Coffeeville, Santa Cruz, CA

Cognoscenti Coffee, Los Angeles, CA (3 locations)

Coloso Coffee, Oakland, CA

Coupa Cafe, Palo Alto, CA

Dark Horse Coffee Roasters, San Diego, CA (3 locations)

Demitasse, Los Angeles, CA

Endorffeine Coffee Bar, Los Angeles, CA

Equator Coffees & Teas, San Rafael, CA (5 locations across the Bay Area)

Farley’s Coffee, Oakland, CA (2 locations)

Flying Goat Coffee, Healdsburg, CA (3 locations)

Found Coffee, Los Angeles, CA

Four Barrel Coffee Roasters, San Francisco, CA (3 locations)

FrankieLucy Bakeshop, Los Angeles, CA

G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger, Los Angeles, CA (3 locations)

Greenbox, San Francisco, CA

Groundwork Coffee, Los Angeles, CA (11 locations in California and Oregon)

Hal’s Office, Albany, CA

Hadden Hill Cafe, Oakland, CA

Highwire Coffee Roasters, Oakland, CA (3 locations in Oakland & Berkeley)

Industrial Grind Coffee, San Diego, CA

Ironsmith Coffee Roasters, Encinitas, CA

Joes The Nose, San Diego, CA

Joshua Tree Coffee Company, Joshua Tree, CA

Kean Coffee, Newport Beach, CA (2 locations)

Kindness & Mischief, Los Angeles, CA

Lavender & Honey Espresso Bar, Pasadena, CA

Lord Windsor Coffee, Long Beach, CA

Maru, Los Angeles, CA

Neat Coffee, Costa Mesa, CA

Nourish Cafe, San Francisco, CA

Olive Ave. Market, Redlands, CA

Paramount Coffee Project, Los Angeles, CA

Philz Coffee, San Francisco, CA (39 locations)

Pinhole Coffee, San Francisco, CA

Public Square Coffee House, La Mesa, CA

Ritual Coffee, San Francisco, CA (5 locations)

Roy’s Station Coffee & Tea, San Jose, CA

Saint Frank Coffee, San Francisco, CA

Shreebs Coffee, Los Angeles, CA

Sightglass Coffee Roasters, San Francisco, CA (3 locations)

Smith and Tait, Los Angeles, CA

Stereoscope Coffee Company, Buena Park, CA

Subrosa Coffee, Oakland, CA

Take Flight Coffee at Coffee Hall, Los Angeles, CA

Taylor Made Farms, Sebastopol, CA

The French Press, Santa Barbara, CA

The Wheelhouse, Los Angeles, CA

Two Guns Espresso, Los Angeles, CA

Union Hill Coffee, Sonora, CA

Uplifters, Santa Monica, CA

Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, CA (7 locations)

Warbler Coffee Roasting, Santa Monica, CA

WESCAFE, Alameda, CA

Wrecking Ball Coffee, San Francisco, CA

Zocalo Coffee, San Leandro, CA

Colorado

Amethyst Coffee Company, Denver, CO

Bittersweet, Louisville, CO (2 locations)

Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Boulder, CO (2 locations)

Crema Coffee House, Denver, CO

Demitasse, Los Angeles, CA (3 locations)

Dragonfly Coffee Roasters, Boulder, CO

Huckleberry Coffee Roasters, Denver, CO (2 locations)

Kaladi Coffee Roasters, Denver, CO (2 locations)

Method Roasters, Denver, CO

Moxie Bread Co., Louisville, CO

Novo Coffee, Denver, CO (3 locations)

Snow Street Coffee Company, Laffeyette, CO

Stompin’ Grounds, Beulah, CO

Urban Steam Coffee, Colorado Springs, CO

Connecticut

Fathom Coffee, Virginia Beach, VA

Franklin Street Works, Stamford, CT

Lorca, Stamford, CT

Molten Java, Bethel, CT

So. G Coffee Roasters, South Glastonbury, CT

Source Coffeehouse, Bridgeport, CT

Willoughby’s Coffee & Tea, New Haven, CT (4 locations)

Florida

All Day, Miami, FL

Bandit Coffee Company, St. Petersburg, FL

Black Dog Cafe, Tallahassee, FL (2 locations)

Le’Anns Cheesecakes N More, Tampa Bay, FL

Subculture Coffee, West Palm Beach, FL (2 locations)

The Bikery, Saint Petersburg, FL

Vice City Bean, Miami, FL

Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate, Gainesville, FL

Georgia

1000 Faces Coffee, Athens, GA

Alcove Coffee House At Lake Lucerne, Liburn, GA

Butterfly Cafe, Atlanta, GA

Cakes & Ale Cafe, Decatur, GA

Condesa Coffee, Atlanta, GA (2 locations)

Cool Beans Coffee Roasters, Marietta, GA (3 locations)

Hodgepodge Coffeehouse, Atlanta, GA

Joe’s Coffee EAV, Atlanta, GA

Little Tart @ Krog Street Market, Atlanta, GA

Octane Coffee, Atlanta, GA (6 locations)

ParkGrounds Neighborhood Cafe, Atlanta, GA

Proof Bakeshop, Atlanta, GA

Revolution Doughnuts & Coffee, Decatur, GA (2 locations in Decatur & Atlanta)

Spiller Park Coffee, Atlanta, GA

Hawaii

Brue Bar, Honolulu, HI (2 locations)

The Curb, Kaimuki, HI (2 locations in Kaimuki and Kailua)

Illinois

ArrivaDolce Highland Park, IL

Backlot Coffee, Evanston, IL

Beans & Bagels, Chicago, IL

Big Shoulders Coffee, Chicago, IL

Brew Brew Coffee & Tea, Chicago, IL

Brewpoint Coffee, Elmhurst, IL

Cafe Jumping Bean, Chicago, IL

Caffe ArrivaDolce, Chicago, IL

CC Ferns, Chicago, IL

Counter Coffee, Forest Park, IL

Cup & Spoon, Chicago, IL

Damn Fine Coffee Bar, Chicago, IL

Dollop Coffee, Chicago, IL

Fannie’s, Chicago, IL (2 locations)

Four Letter Word, Chicago, IL

Front Bar: Coffee & Drinks, Chicago, IL

Gaslight Coffee Roasters, Chicago, IL

Grind Cafe, Chicago, IL

Hero Coffee Bar, Chicago, IL

Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago, IL (10 locations in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles)

Kindred Coffee Roasters, West Chicago, IL

Jackalope Coffee & Tea House, Chicago, IL

La Parada En Pilsen, Chicago, IL

Loba Pastry & Coffee, Chicago, IL

Metric Coffee, Chicago, IL

Metropolis Coffee Company, Chicago, IL

Nighthawk Coffee Bar and Tavern, Chicago, IL

Owl and Lark, La Grange, IL

Perkolator Coffee, Chicago, IL

Portage Grounds Coffee & Tea, Chicago, IL

Sawada Coffee, Chicago, IL

Scone City, Chicago, IL

Spoken Cafe, Chicago, IL

Tall Tale Coffee, Chicago, IL

Ten Drops Coffee, Plainfield, IL

The Coffee Studio, Chicago, IL

The Wormhole & Halfwit Coffee Roasters, Chicago, IL

TrueNorth Cafe, Chicago, IL

Two Hearted Queen, Chicago, IL

Indiana

Bee Coffee Roasters, Indianapolis, IN (2 locations)

Calvin Fletcher’s Coffee Company, Indianapolis, IN

Grindhouse Cafe, Griffith, IN

Rabble Coffee, Indianapolis, IN

Iowa

(drips) Coffee, Council Bluffs, Iowa

Java John’s Coffeehouse, Decorah, IA

Kansas

1900 Barker, Lawrence, KS

Arrow Coffee Company, Manhattan, KS (2 locations)

Mojo’s Coffee Bar, North Newton, KS

Reverie Coffee Roasters, Witchita, KS

Kentucky

Highland Coffee Company, Louisville, KY

Third Street Stuff & Coffee, Lexington, KY

Quills Coffee, Louisville, KY, New Albany, IN, Indianapolis, IN (3 locations)

Louisiana

Spitfire Coffee, New Orleans, LA

Maine

44 North Coffee, Deer Isle, ME (2 locations)

Bard Coffee, Portland, Maine

Bold Coast Coffee & Tiller and Rye, Brewer, ME

Coffee By Design, Portland, ME (5 locations)

Hilltop Coffee Shop, Portland, ME

Rock City Coffee, Rockland, ME

Tandem Coffee, Portland, ME (2 locations)

TREATS, Wiscasset, ME

Wicked Joe Organic Coffee, Topsham, Maine

Maryland

Bump n’ Grind, Silver Springs, MD

Gravel and Grind, Frederick, MD

Massachusetts

3 Little Figs, Somerville, MA

1369 Coffeehouse, Cambridge, MA (2 locations)

Bagelsaurus, Cambridge, MA

Bloc Cafe, Somerville, MA

Bourbon Coffee, Cambridge, MA and Washington, DC (2 locations)

Cafe Zing, Cambridge, MA

Chilmark Coffee Company, Martha’s Vineyard, MA

Curio Coffee, Somerville, MA

Diesel Cafe, Somerville, MA

Forge Baking Company, Somerville, MA

George Howell Coffee, Boston, MA (3 locations)

Hi-Rise Bread Company, Cambridge, MA

Home.stead Bakery & Cafe, Dorchester, MA

Kickstand Cafe, Arlington, MA

MEM Tea Imports, Somerville, MA

Pan Y Cafe Chelsea, Chelsea, MA

Render Coffee, Boston, MA (2 locations)

Seta’s Cafe, Belmont, MA (3 locations)

Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, Shelburne, MA (6 locations)

Simon’s Coffee, Cambridge, MA

Snowy Owl Coffee, Brewster, MA

Stanmeyer Gallery & Shaker Dam Coffeehouse, West Stockbridge, MA

Stoughton House of Brews, Stoughton, MA

Union Coffee Roasters, Ayer, MA

Michigan

Bestsellers Books & Coffee Co., Mason, MI

BLK / MRKT, Traverse City, MI

Bloom Coffee Roasters, Lansing, MI

Comet Coffee, Ann Arbor, MI

Cuppa Joe, Traverse City, MI (2 locations)

Fido Motors Cafe, Kalamazoo, MI

Field & Fire, Grand Rapids, MI (2 locations)

Higher Grounds Trading Company, Traverse City, MI

Lantern Coffee Bar and Lounge, Grand Rapids, MI

Madcap Coffee Roasters, Grand Rapids, MI (2 locations)

Roosroast, Ann Arbor, MI (2 locations)

Strange Matte Coffee, Lansing, MI

The Coffee Factory, Muskegon, MI

Uncommon Coffee, Saugatuck, MI

Minnesota

Anelace Coffee, Minneapolis, MN

Duluth Coffee Company, Duluth, MN

Fika Coffee, Lutsen, MN

Spyhouse Coffee Roasters, Minneapolis, MS (4 locations)

T-Rex Cookie Company, Minneapolis, MN

Workhorse Coffee Bar, St. Paul, MN

Missouri

Blueprint Coffee, St. Louis, MO

Broadway Cafe, Kansas City, MO (2 locations)

Comet Coffee, St. Louis, MO

Goat Hill Coffee & Soda, Kansas City, MO

Monarch Coffee Establishment, Kansas City, MO

Rise Coffee, St. Louis, MO

The Coffee Ethic, Springfield, MO

The Mud House, St. Louis, MO

Montana

Le Petit Outre, Missoula, MT

Montana Coffee Traders, Flathead, MT (5 locations)

Wild Joe’s Coffee Spot, Bozeman, MT

Nevada

PublicUs, Las Vegas, NV

Vertical Coffee Roasters, Reno, NV

Vesta Coffee Roasters, Las Vegas, NV

New Hampshire

A&E Coffee & Tea, Amherst, NH (2 locations in Amherst and Manchester)

Prime Roast Coffee Co., Keene, NH

New Mexico

Humble Coffee Company, Albuquerque, NM

Milagro Coffee y Espresso, Las Cruces, NM

New Jersey

Cai’s Cafe, Metuchen, NJ

Harvest Coffee, Medford, NJ

Modcup Coffee Co, Jersey City, NJ (3 locations)

Montclair Bread Company, Montclair, NJ

Rojo’s Roastery, Lambertville, NJ (2 locations in Lambertville and Princeton)

The Able Baker, Maplewood, NJ

New Mexico

The BREW, Albuquerque, NM

Iconik Coffee Roasters, Santa Fe, NM

New York

Baked, New York, NY (2 locations)

Bakeri, Brooklyn, NY (2 locations)

Birch Coffee, New York, NY (7 locations)

Black Fox Coffee, New York, NY

Brooklyn Roasting Company, New York, NY (8 locations)

Cafe Grumpy, New York, NY (8 locations)

Coffee Labs Roasters, Tarrytown, NY

Dot & Line, Brooklyn, NY

Electric City Roasters, Schenectady, NY

Elk Cafe, Brooklyn, NY

Espresso 77, Jackson Heights, NY

Everyman Espresso, New York, NY (2 locations in Manhattan)

Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters, Rochester, NY (3 locations)

First Village Coffee, Ossining, NY

Gimme! Coffee, New York, NY (7 locations in NYC and the Ithica region)

Gotham Coffee Roasters, New York, NY (2 locations)

Grade Coffee, Brooklyn, NY

Hartland On Hudson, Leeds, NY

Irving Farm, New York, NY (8 locations in NYC and Millerton, NY)

Indian Road Cafe, New York, NY

Joe Bean Coffee Roasters, Rochester, NY

Joe Coffee, New York, NY (15 locations in Manhattan and Philadelphia)

Kettle & Thread, Brooklyn, NY

Kos Kaffee, Brooklyn, NY

Kurzhals Coffee, Peekskill, NY

Lagusta’s Luscious Commissary, New Paltz, NY

Lark Cafe, Brooklyn, NY

Little Zelda, Brooklyn, NY

Lunitas Cafe, Brooklyn, NY

Merriweather Coffee + Kitchen, New York, NY

Moto Coffee Machine, Hudson, NY

Muddy Water Coffee & Cafe, Tarrytown, NY

Murray’s Tivoli, Tivoli, NY

Northerly Coffee, New York, NY

Oren’s Daily Roast, New York, NY (8 locations)

Padoca Bakery, New York, NY

Peaks Coffee Co, Cazenovia, NY

Peekskill Coffee House, Peekskill, NY

Plowshares Coffee, New York, NY

PLG Coffee House and Tavern, Brookyln, NY

Prodigy Coffee, New York, NY

Public Espresso + Coffee, Buffalo, NY

Pudge Knuckles Cafe, Brooklyn, NY

Red Eye Coffee, New York, NY

Rubyzaar Baked, Brooklyn, NY

Southside Coffee, Brookyln, NY

Spreadhouse Coffee, New York, NY

Stacks Espresso Bar, Albany, NY (2 locations)

Stand Coffee, New York, NY (2 locations)

Stinky BRKLN, Brooklyn, NY

Subalpine Coffee, Keene Valley, NY

Supercrown Coffee Roasters, Brooklyn, NY

Superior Merchandise Company, Troy, NY

Sweet_ness 7 Cafe, Buffalo, NY

The Black Cow Coffee Company, Pleasantville, NY (3 Locations)

The Chipped Cup, New York, NY

The Krafted Kup, Poughkeepsie, NY

The Pantry, Cold Spring, NY

The Peoples Cauldron, Rosendale, NY

The Pewter Spoon, Cazenovia, NY

Third Rail Coffee, New York, NY

Tinto, Brooklyn, NY

Tipico Coffee, Buffalo, NY

Toby’s Estate Coffee, Brooklyn, NY (5 locations across New York City)

Ugly Duck Coffee, Rochester, NY

Underline Coffee, New York, NY

Variety Coffee Roasters, Brooklyn, NY (3 locations)

North Carolina

42 & Lawrence, Raleigh, NC

BattleCat Coffee Bar, Asheville, NC (2 locations)

Bean Traders, Durham, NC

Breakaway Cafe, Chapel Hill, NC

Caffe Bellezza Mobile Coffee Bar, Durham, NC

Caffe Driade, Chapel Hill, NC

Central Coffee Company, Charolette, NC

Coco Bean Coffee Shop, Chapel Hill, NC

Cocoa Cinnamon, Durham, NC (2 locations)

Coffee Park, Winston-Salem, NC (2 locations)

Edna’s of Asheville, Asheville, NC

Friends Cafe, Chapel Hill, NC

Gray Squirrel Coffee Co., Carrboro, NC

Joe Van Gogh, Durham, NC (4 locations in Durham and Chapel Hill)

Johnny’s Gone Fishing, Carrboro, NC

Looking Glass Cafe, Carrboro, NC

Magnolia Coffee Company, Charlotte, NC

Open Eye Cafe, Carrboro, NC

PennyCup Coffee Company, Asheville, NC (2 locations)

Rude Awakening Coffee House, Fayetteville, NC

Scratch, Durham, NC

Smelly Cat Coffee Roasters, Charlotte, NC

Summit Coffee, Davidson, NC (2 locations)

The Dripolator Coffeehouse, Black Mountain, NC

The Secret Chocolatier, Charlotte, NC (2 locations)

Videri Chocolate Factory, Raleigh, NC

West End Coffeehouse, Winston-Salem, NC

Ohio

Bexley Coffee Shop, Bexley, OH

Black Kite Coffee, Toldeo, OH

Dojo Gelato, Cincinnati, OH (2 locations)

Fox In The Snow, Columbus, OH

Global Gallery, Columbus, OH

Phoenix Coffee, Cleveland, OH

Oklahoma

Cafe Evoke, Edmond, OK

Oregon

Anna Bananas, Portland, OR

Barista, Portland, OR (5 locations)

Blue Kangaroo Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR

Either / Or, Portland, OR

Extracto Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR (2 locations)

First Cup Coffeehouse, Portland, OR

Happyrock Coffee Roasting Company, Gladstone, OR

Heart Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR (2 locations)

Just Bob, Portland, OR

Literary Feast Cafe, Tigard, OR

Marigold Coffee, Portland, OR

Nossa Familia Coffee, Portland, OR

Portland Roasting Coffee, Portland, OR (3 locations at PDX Airport)

Ristretto Roasters, Portland, OR

Rocking Frog Cafe, Portland, OR

Rose City Coffee Co., Portland, OR

Street 14 Cafe, Astoria, OR

Strickly Organic Coffee Co., Bend, OR (2 locations)

Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR (12 locations in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, and New Orleans)

Pennsylvania

21st Street Coffee & Tea, Pittsburgh, PA (2 locations)

Benna’s Cafe, Philadelphia, PA (3 locations)

Bodhi Coffee, Philadelphia, PA (2 locations)

Chhaya Cafe, Philadelphia, PA

Concave Coffee, Philadelphia, PA

Elementary Coffee Co., Harrisburg, PA

Elixr Coffee, Philadelphia, PA (2 locations)

Enrico’s Tazza D’oro, Pittsburgh, PA

Grateful Roast Cafe and Coffee Roaster, Nanicoke, PA

Green Engine, Haverford, PA

Grindcore House, Philadelphia, PA

High Point Cafe and Coffee Roaster, Philadelphia, PA (2 locations)

HubBub Coffee Company, Philadelphia, PA (3 locations)

Joe Coffee, Philadelphia, PA (2 locations)

Little Amps Coffee Roasters, Harrisburg, PA (3 locations)

Menagerie Coffee, Philadelphia, PA

Nook Bakery & Coffee Bar, Philadelphia, PA

Ox Coffee, Philadelphia, PA

Passenger Coffee, Lancaster, PA

Philter Coffee, Kennett Square, PA

Square One Coffee, Lancaster, PA (3 locations)

Rhode Island

Bolt Coffee Company, Providence, RI (2 locations)

Coffee Exchange, Providence, RI

New Harvest Coffee Roasters, Providence, RI

The Queen Bean, Providence, RI

South Carolina

Little River Roasting, Spartanburg, SC (2 locations)

O-CHA Tea Bar, Greenville, SC

The Wired Goat Cafe, Columbia, SC (2 locations)

Welkin Coffee, Charleston, SC

Tennessee

Barista Parlor, Nashville, TN (3 locations)

City & State, Memphis, TN

Southland Books & Cafe, Maryville, TN

Vienna Coffee Company, Maryville, TN

Texas

Atlas Coffee Club, Austin, TX

Blacksmith Coffee, Morningstar & Greenway Coffee, Houston, TX (3 locations)

Cafe Medici, Austin, TX (5 locations)

Cultivar Coffee, Dallas, TX (3 locations)

Electric Coffee, Boerne, TX

Epoch, Austin, TX (2 locations)

Estate Coffee Company, San Antonio, TX

Figure 8, Austin, TX

Fleet Coffee, Austin, TX

Full City Rooster Coffee Roasting Studio, Dallas, TX

Grimpeur Bros. Specialty Coffee, Austin, TX

Houndstooth Coffee / Tweed Coffee Roasters, Dallas, TX (4 locations in Dallas and Austin)

Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters, Dallas, TX

Once Over Coffee Bar, Austin, TX

Southside Espresso, Houston, TX

Texas Coffee Traders, East Austin, TX (5 locations)

The Wild Detectives, Dallas, TX

Toasted Coffee + Kitchen, Dallas, TX

Vintage Heart Coffee, Austin, TX

Wright Bros. Brew & Brew, Austin, TX

Utah

Publik Coffee Roasters, Salt Lake City, UT

Vermont

Speakeasy Cafe, Rutland, VT

Stowe Street Cafe, Waterbury, VT

Virginia

Fathom Coffee / 1701, Virginia Beach, VA

Lamplighter Coffee Roasters, Richmond, VA

Sugar & Twine, Richmond, VA

Red Rooster Coffee, Floyd, VA

Rostov’s Coffee and Tea, Richmond, VA

Washington

Analog Coffee, Seattle, WA

Black Drop Coffeehouse, Bellingham, WA

Bluebeard Coffee, Tacoma, WA

Cloud City Coffee, Seattle, WA

Convoy Coffee, Seattle, WA (2 locations)

El Diablo Coffee Company, Seattle, WA

Elm Coffee Roasters, Seattle, WA

Herkimer Coffee, Seattle, WA

La Marzocco Cafe @ KEXP, Seattle, WA

Little Oddfellows, Seattle, WA

Oddfellows, Seattle, WA

Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, Olympia, WA (3 locations)

Preserve & Gather, Seattle, WA

QED Coffee Roasters, Seattle, WA (2 locations)

Royal Drummer, Seattle, WA

Sound and Fog, Seattle, WA

Squirrel Chops, Seattle, WA

Union Coffee, Seattle, WA

Velocity, Port Townsend, WA

Walnut Street Coffee, Edmonds, WA

Washington, DC

The Coffee Bar, Washington DC (2 locations)

Wisconsin

Anodyne Coffee Roasters, Milwaukee, WI

Hawthorne Coffee Roasters, Milwaukee, WI

Kickapoo Coffee, Milwaukee, WI

Kin Kin Coffee & Johnson Public House, Madison, WI

Rochambo Coffee and Teahouse, Milwaukee, WI

Timshel Cafe, Neenah, WI

International

Cafe Estrusca, Mexico City, Mexico

Qūentin Café, Mexico City, Mexico

Steampunk Coffee, North Berwick, Scotland

We are actively seeking more cafes to join in this effort! If you own or operate a cafe and want to get involved, we welcome you to join us next weekend. Please click here add your name to the list of cafes raising funds next weekend to support the ACLU. We’ll update with more participating cafes throughout the week.

If you own or operate any sort of coffee company—importer, machine manufacturer, products supplier, private citizen or media company—we would love your support in the form of matching sponsorships. Please click here and we will give you all the information you need to join us as a matching fundraiser. We hope to publish a long list of matching companies in the coming days.

If you live beyond easy visitation distance from any of the cafes participating this weekend, or want to just donate without all the rest of it, please consider making your tax deductible donation directly to the ACLU Foundation.

To our readers around the world, let us be clear: Americans of all stripes, all political backgrounds and beliefs, are deeply troubled and shocked by the refugee and immigration orders. This is not a coastal elite issue, or a hardcore liberal issue—it is not a Democrat or Republican issue, nor really even a political issue. This is a human issue, and one on which there can be no equivocation. America is a nation of immigrants and refugees, and whether your family came a year ago or 150 years ago, we are equal. All immigrants and refugees are welcome here no matter their spiritual beliefs, their country of origin, or color of their skin.

Thank you for joining us.

#RefugeesWelcome

#YesEqual

Jordan Michelman, co-founder, Editor

Zachary Carlsen, co-founder, Editor

Zac Cadwalader, News Editor, Staff Writer

Mike Wolf, Features Editor

Max Ortiz, Processing Editor

Robyn Brems, Accounts Manager

Noah Sanders, Staff Writer, SF Bureau Chief

Anna Brones, Staff Writer-At-Large

Daniel Scheffler, Staff Writer-At-Large

Karina Hof, Staff Writer

Tatiana Ernst, Staff Writer

Hengtee Lim, Staff Writer

Charlie Burt, SprudgeLive Lead Photographer, Contributor

Eileen P. Kenny, Contributor

Jenn Chen, Contributor

Lizzie Derksen, Contributor

Evan C. Jones, Contributor

Laura Jaye Cramer, Contributor

Michael Light, Contributor

D. Robert Wolcheck, Contributor

Eric J. Grimm, Contributor

Ximena Rubio, Contributor

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