Journal

As we continue to draw inspiration for our signature menu from a large scope, events like the United States Barista Championship present us with so much creative opportunity. With the USBC wrapping up last month, our community is digesting this year’s competitors, their routines, and their coffee selections. This year, our Quality Control Specialist, Reily Pond, competed with a Java variety from Juliana Guevara out of Huila, Colombia. With Hopper's...

Released this July 2026, the Lelit MaraX3 brings advanced pressure profiling and real-time extraction control to the home espresso experience. We asked Madcap Coffee Control Specialist Reily Pond to spend time with the machine and share her perspective. From dialing in coffees to exploring how pressure changes shape flavor and texture, here's what stood out to her after pulling shots on the MaraX3. You've spent a lot of time behind...

Last week we had the opportunity to work alongside our partner Breville, captured by Ringo Fire to showcase a few of Madcap’s always-on coffees including Eureka, Bolt, and Placebo. Throughout the day, Trevor Corlett, Founder of Madcap Coffee, walked through building espresso at home using Eureka, our signature espresso blend designed to taste just as good on its own as it does in milk. We also spent time preparing our...

Recently, we welcomed Peter Luong of Song Tea & Ceramics to our Ferndale cafe for a private staff training following his return from origin in Taiwan and China. Song Tea & Ceramics has long been the tea partner across our cafes, and this training gave our team the opportunity to spend time understanding the work, craftsmanship, and decision-making behind the teas we serve every day. Throughout the afternoon, Peter walked...

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...

As we prepare to open our newest cafe in Ferndale this June, we asked Grant Wortley, Brand Designer at Madcap Coffee, to share a few of the details and decisions that helped shape the space. Ferndale feels different... what were some of the small details or design choices that helped shape the personality of this space?We want each cafe to have its own personality. Some of our other cafes are...

At Madcap we have always had something we want to share, a story we want to tell. Whether that be experiences we have at origin, decisions that shape our cafes, or our philosophy as a coffee roaster. We always have something up our sleeve. With a team member of ours now solely dedicated to the growth and development of our cafes, we can begin to tell those stories through the...