Journal

For our final Elevated Series release of the year, we asked Reily, Madcap’s Coffee Quality Control Specialist, to explore Francy Castillo and Anayibe Ortiz’s coffees through the lens of tasting and brewing. Below, she shares what makes each coffee distinct, along with her brew guides for bringing those qualities forward in your own cup.Understanding how to go about tasting a coffee is one of my great projects in life. Tasting,...

The final Elevated Series release of the year is on the horizon. Throughout this series, we've had the opportunity to dig a little deeper into some of the most inspiring coffees we have the honor of sourcing—exploring unique varieties, thoughtful processing, and, most importantly, the people and places behind each cup. For our final release of 2026, In Pursuit brings us back to Colombia with two exceptional coffees from two...

The world of brewing extraction begins at origin. Where coffee is grown, there are an infinite number of factors that can change to impact the coffee cherries. Elevation, soil pH, climate, regional biodiversity, intercropping, and farming practices are a few of the factors that make up what we will colloquially call terroir. Along the road to the hands of the brewer, these factors all compound and multiply. Once the cherries are then picked...

With an early start in Garzón, Huila as foggy clouds burned off the surrounding mountain valleys, it was time to navigate a 3 day cupping marathon for Osito’s Copa de Oro to select 15 finalists and a grand champion. Admiring the competition from afar for years, this was our first opportunity to join as an international juror. As the industry continues to saturate with flashes in the pan, competitions that...