Nominations are now open for this year’s edition of The Sprudge Twenty, our annual initiative to honor and empower exceptional figures in the specialty coffee community. Now in its eighth cohort presented in collaboration with Pacific Barista seriesSprudge Twenty is dedicated to mentors and leaders, game changers and inspirations, baristas and farmers, traders and educators, entrepreneurs and original voices in coffee.
Nominations for the Sprudge Twenty class of 2026 are open until April 19. This is an open invitation to join our global network of readers and partners: nominate people from your company or community who exemplify excellence, leadership and the future of coffee. Nominations can be submitted in any language, via an original essay, audio or video nomination, so there are no barriers to submitting – the entire process is open and free, in partnership with Pacific Barista Series.
Every season of Sprudge Twenty is invigorating, and we like to apply nomination moments to look back at some of our favorite interviews from the past. Here are just a few honorable mentions from the incredible Sprudge Twenty class of 2025.
What else surprises you about coffee today or makes you ecstatic?
“These days, I think coffee serves more as a channel for building relationships. There is always more to discover and always something fresh to learn, but what actively brings me joy when I serve coffee are the people I work with and the people I serve it to. I know it seems really cliché to say something like that, but it’s true: I value the people I meet over coffee more than the coffee we drink together. Everyone I love comes to me through coffee.”
Did you experience a life-changing coffee moment early in your career?
“Honestly, I’ve had many life-changing moments around coffee. I grew up around it since both my parents worked in the industry, so it’s always been a part of me. One of the highlights early on was when a regular at my chilly brew stand asked if I wanted to turn it into a real shop. Confirming that led to my two brick-and-mortar locations and my future roastery. Another was the chance to deliver coffee to US research bases in Antarctica, which seemed absolutely surreal. And recently, judging at the US Barista Championships really stood out to me because it allowed me to meet so many passionate people and reminded me why I want to continue building a future in coffee!”
What aspect of the coffee industry has changed the most over the course of your career?
“A lot has changed since I first entered the scene, but one of the clearest threads is around work and equality. When I started, these conversations were just whispers in the backroom. Something that could only be heard in hushed tones among baristas after the change. Now they are top of mind: pay transparency, safer workplaces, and pathways for people who don’t fit the venerable ‘default’ profile of who becomes a barista. It is far from perfect, but the fact is that the dialogue is louder, public and persistent. This is progress.
The same change reverberates throughout the supply chain. Producers demand recognition as equal partners, not just suppliers of raw materials. Nowadays, more and more roasteries list producers on menus, co-create value-added products and recognize that capital does not start in the café, but at the source. When I talk about labor sustainability, I mean both sides of the chain: whether a barista can actually build a life on coffee and whether a farmer can pass on his farm, or whether a picker is paid fairly for his skills. Sustainability only matters when it is holistic.
The industry is finally also taking into account burnout and the costs of sacrifice. When I was younger and in the coffee business, the unspoken expectation was that you would give everything – your nights, weekends, even your sense of self – to work. Manufacturers were also asked to bear all the risk with little stability. There is now a growing awareness that sustainability is not just about carbon footprint or C-market prices; it’s about bodies and spirits, in the bar and on the farms.
And perhaps most strikingly, the narrative opened up. Social media, grassroots projects and community-led competitions have opened doors that gatekeepers once kept behind closed doors. Now you’re seeing more women, queer people, BIPOC leaders, and producers themselves shaping the look and feel of coffee culture. This visibility changes everyone’s sense of possibility.
For me, the biggest change I’ve noticed isn’t any single thing; is a collective shift towards equality, sustainability and inclusion, from the farm to the café. Uneven, imperfect, often frustratingly snail-paced, but true. Every time someone in this industry, whether a farmer, a roaster or a barista, speaks up and demands better, the ground beneath all of us shifts a little more.”
