Zac Cadwalader

Truly we are in the best of times, and the cursed of times. The breadth of human knowledge has never been greater and it has gifted us with near infinite capabilities to better the world around us in whatever way we see fit. And yet, we use it for… whatever this is. A roaster in Finland used artificial intelligence to create a coffee blend.

The field has narrowed and the end is just over the horizon. That can mean only one thing: it’s the Semi-Final round of the 2024 World Barista Championship. From a field of 53, the top 16 have been selected, and they will take the stage once again today in hopes of punching their ticket to the Finals on Saturday.

A little bit of breaking news coming out of Busan, South Korea as it was announced at the completion of competition on Friday that Irish Barista Champion Ian Kissick of Formative Coffee was mistakenly excluded from the Semi-Finals round and would be given the chance to compete.

Queer Coffee Collective: Brews & Brunch takes place Saturday, May 11th at CAMP in Margate, England.

Mikael Jasin of So So Good Coffee Company in Indonesia is your new 2024 World Barista Champion! A huge congratulations to Mike Jason from all of us at Sprudge.

That cold brew is so hot right now. Cold brew. Everyone loves it (except me, I’m on Team Iced Coffee), but not everyone loves making it. While the process is easy, it’s time-consuming, taking 24, sometimes even 48 hours to make. Until now. Researchers have found a way to implement ultrasonic waves to cut that time down to just three minutes. And they did it using an espresso machine of all things.

This is the golden era of coffee research. Whether it be developing newer, more resilient varieties, experimental processing methods, effects on human health, or even novel uses for spent coffee grounds, the science of coffee has become prodigious and multi-disciplinary. And with the official opening of the Coffee Center at the University of California, Davis campus, the academic study of coffee has a new home in the US.

When it comes to your teeth, or more specifically their color, not all coffees are made the same. While coffee has long been known to bring a tinge of brown to those otherwise pearly whites—with dentists even weighing in on when you should brush your teeth vis a vis drinking your daily coffee —different types of brews have different levels of effect. And I’ve got bad news for the Scandinavian-style light roast filter drinkers, darker roasts and cold brew are easier on the chompers.

It’s time to coffee fest, or c’est l’heure du festival du café, as Google Translate no doubt accurately avers. Back for its second year, Café Collectif (not to be confused with Coffee Collectif ) is coming to Montreal for two days of provincial specialty coffee roasters and community in Quebec’s largest city.

The coffee space is growing crowded with celebrities looking to launch their own brand, certain that the mix of coffee’s popularity and their own will surely make money hand over fist. Emma Chamberlain, Robert Downey Jr., even Seth Rogan have all launched coffee brands with varying degrees of sincerity.