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,...

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...

Ever wondered what we mean when we say a coffee is “washed”? What about when a coffee bag label says “Natural Process”?    When we think of items as being processed, we may have ideas of methods or ingredients imparted on those items to make them consumable. Imagine spinach for example. Just like spinach can be consumed as is, spinach can also undergo processing to be sold frozen or canned....

dito (di-dō) gets its name from the latin word meaning “to enrich.” dito’s coffee is sourced, roasted, and packaged by the familiar faces with the same values at Madcap. The price point is more accessible, the coffee is delicious, and the energy is just straight up fun.

The coffee journey starts long before you get your drink at a cafe or brew a cup at home. The behind-the-scenes process is many months long, includes many helping hands, and involves thousands of miles traveled.

We’ve bought coffee from Santa Barbara, Honduras, since 2013, and in the process, we’ve developed close relationships with the producers we work with there: Juan Angel and his son Irvin Izaguirre, Nelson Moreno, and Miguel Ortiz.

At the end of each year, we reflect on the memories made and the highlights that standout. We believe that coffee creates memorable moments in our daily lives. At its core, it’s quite simple. However, the impact a cup of coffee can have is unmeasurable. This was the driving force behind our Best of 2023 set.

Madcap has been participating in the Cup of Excellence since we began. In 2008, Gloria Rodriguez’s coffee, El Porvenir, placed as a top scoring coffee in the El Salvadorian COE. Her coffee and story were truly inspirational, so we were honored to buy her coffee as the first ever coffee purchased by Madcap.