In 2025 we revealed over 200 information tales right here at Sprudge. 228 to be precise. I ought to know. I wrote them. (It’s me, hello, I’m the issue it’s me.)
2025 was a frankly weird yr for espresso. The most important tales by any goal metric had been the American tariffs pushing all the espresso trade towards a world reorg if not full blown collapse in addition to the continued unionizing efforts sweeping the nation (and the anti-union efforts in response). Sprinkle in some analysis tales in regards to the healthfulness of espresso and information about methods of us try to safeguard the way forward for espresso towards local weather uncertainty, and also you’d have a fairly good image of the state of espresso in 2025.
However these aren’t the tales I care about, at the least so far as a year-end wrap-up goes. The tales I gravitate to precise a unique aspect of specialty espresso. Typically foolish and possibly a bit wheels off, they remind me of a rambunctious time in espresso, earlier than “specialty” turned a typical adjective. Again when specialty espresso felt just like the underdog and we’d all thumb our noses on the institution. A few of these articles keep true to that (Hello, Starbucks, thanks for studying).
The remainder, although, attenuate to the identical frequency however otherwise. These articles are about being a Espresso Individual©. They’re about seeing the bigger insane world by means of the lens of specialty espresso. As a result of that’s what occurs once you love one thing a lot that it bleeds into each a part of your life. That’s what these tales are. They’re about espresso being enjoyable, as a result of espresso is enjoyable. It’s additionally gravely severe and impacts the lives of thousands and thousands, if not billions. However it is usually enjoyable. It may be each.
There will likely be time in 2026 for espresso to get severe once more. I’m sure it is going to whether or not we wish it to or not. However on the finish of 2025, I’m selecting to look again on the tales that made me the happiest. Those that I had essentially the most enjoyable writing and that I hope you loved studying simply as equally.
There will likely be extra like this subsequent yr, as a result of I’m chronically unable to take myself or the issues which have come to outline me too significantly. Listed below are a few of my favourite information tales from 2025.
The Crowka Pot
There was maybe no story extra in style this yr than the Crowka Pot. It’s a moka pot, formed like a crow. It’s a foolish little pun that frankly had no cause to be as huge of successful because it was. Besides that it was flawlessly executed. 2025 was the 12 months of the Moka Pot, and the Crowka Pot was the It Woman.
Serving Espresso Macchiato at Eurovision
Please Pay attention Instantly To “Espresso Macchiato,” Estonia’s Official Entry For Eurovision 2025
As a Espresso Individual, I get excited when espresso phrases get used on a world stage (it’s just about the one cause I wrote about Sabrina Carpenter as many instances as I did). So when Estonian singer and rapper Tommy Money introduced Espresso Macchiato to Eurovision, essentially the most considered non-sporting occasion on the planet, it was a giant deal. It helps that the music is hypnotically weird, with an equally bizarre video in addition.
Espresso on The Bear
“The Bear” Now Options A Espresso Program (And We Have Questions)
Talking of espresso within the bigger zeitgeist. Season 4 of the hit FX sequence The Bear premiered earlier this yr and it discovered Carmie et al attempting to not crumble beneath the burden of working a effective eating institution. One addition to The Bear the restaurant was an espresso machine. And let’s simply say, as a present praised for its real looking portrayal of restaurant life, The Bear completely nails the unevenness of espresso service in effective eating. Whether or not that was intentional or not, who is aware of.
There’s no flawed solution to Fufu
Nékojita FuFu Is Right here To Save You From Too Scorching Espresso
We see lots of foolish espresso devices right here at Sprudge. (See: The Crowka Pot.) And the simplest approach for an arguably pointless invention to catch our consideration is by being supremely cute. Which is what Nékojita Fufu is. Couldn’t I simply blow on my espresso myself if it wanted to be cooled? After all I may, however then I’d have a cute little pal to hold on my cup.
The Starbucksing of Issues
The time period “Columbusing” describes when an individual claims to have found one thing that has existed for years. There’s a espresso variant of Columbusing, when a big company “discovers” one thing and proceeds to make it objectively worse. It’s referred to as Starbucksing. They did it with the cortado, which they are saying is an 8-ounce beverage. They did it with cozy couches and the entire 90’s espresso store vibe, secret menus, and even barista competitions. And this was simply from this yr.
A 101-12 months-Outdated Barista
My two absolute favourite tales of the yr occurred inside two days of one another. The primary was Anna Possi turning 101 years younger. Possi is the proprietor of Bar Centrale within the northern Italian city of Nebbiuno, the place she has labored for the reason that Fifties. She’s nonetheless there pulling photographs with no plans of slowing down anytime quickly. We may all be so fortunate.
Let the Chicken Have a Little Espresso
The opposite story is about this man, a a Yellow-crowned Amazon parrot who allegedly stole espresso from alleged clients at a espresso store in Seoul. Allegedly. There are a handful of questions on how he stole the espresso (allegedly) and what the espresso was, however the largest query is that this: who narced? Thoughts your small business. Let my boy moist his beak.
Tori Amos, Pumpkin Spice Latte Creator?
Did Tori Amos Invent The Pumpkin Spice Latte? An Investigation
I assumed I knew all there was to know in regards to the Pumpkin Spice Latte. As a lot as I wished to know at the least. Then an article from a Seattle alt weekly journal from the 90s reemerged, offering concrete proof that Tori Amos, the singer, was the progenitor of the PSL. Over 10 years earlier than Starbucks launched it (one other Starbucksing).
One Final Time for David Lynch
David Lynch Beloved Espresso, And Espresso Beloved David Lynch
David Lynch handed away initially of the yr. He was an iconic auteur of tv and movie and a espresso fanatic (with not one however two GS3 espresso machines). He was the primary superstar espresso nut, and he left an indelible mark of most of the people on the planet of specialty espresso. There have been lots of articles written about Lynch after his passing, and as an alternative of becoming a member of within the eulogizing, we dug deep into the Sprudge archives for a few of our reporting of him throughout his life. In that approach, we hopefully had been in a position to present how significant Lynch and his work was to these within the espresso world, not simply after his passing however in real-time.
Thanks for tuning in with Sprudge and following together with the tales in espresso massive and small. It was very like the world wherein it occurred: bizarre and unsure and usually chaotic. However hopefully it was additionally at instances enjoyable. We’ll see you in 2026 to maintain reporting on the espresso tales that matter, and hopefully additionally those that don’t. That’s the place the great things is anyway.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Community and a employees author primarily based in Dallas. Learn extra Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
