Coffee Sprudgecast

As far as food fads go, protein and the desire for more protein seems to be as enduring as the non-fat craze of the 80s and 90s. Protein injection into familiar foodstuffs and beverages seems to only be getting more pronounced. This also applies to coffee. Protein enhanced coffee beverages, or "proffee", lines RTD shelves in the grocery store and even Starbucks is joining the game with a range of protein infused lattes. Highly addictive and soul draining mobile apps like TikTok and Instagram come out with viral proffee hack each week.
For this episode's Mocha Moment Presented by Ghirardelli, we took the proffee world we're all living in and made something truly delicious on this week on the Coffee Sprudgecast. That's right, it's a count your macros mocha that's as protein-packed as it is rich and decadent.
It's a cottage cheese and milk based beverage we're calling The Mocha Fromage.
Heck, call us proffee purists. And before you wince at the idea of cottage cheese in your coffee, make it yourself! Trust us when we say: cottage cheese milk is going to be huge.
This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, Dripos, DONA, noissue, Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, and La Marzocco.
The Mocha Fromage

Ingredients
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Powder
Double shot of Joe Coffee Waverly Espresso
1. Create the cottage cheese milk base. Place a cup of cottage cheese and a cup of milk in a blender. Pulse until all of the chunks have been blended out. Pour the frothy cheese milk mixture into a vessel and refrigerate for an hour, or until the bubbles have dissipated.
2. Place a heaping tablespoon of Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Powder into a pre-heated 8-10oz vessel.
3. Add espresso to the powder and whisk until combined.
4. Steam and lightly aerate cheese milk to 140-150ºF.
5. Plop a little cheese milk into the espresso/chocolate mix and stir again before pouring the rest of the milk into the mug. Refrigerate remaining cheese milk and use within a day.
6. Sip your Mocha Fromage, perhaps with a piece of funky soft cheese to really kick it up a notch.

The Coffee Sprudgecast is back, it's springtime, the world is buzzing about World of Coffee San Diego, and we're buzzing about The Sprudge Twenty Presented by Pacific Barista Series. Nominations are now open for the eighth annual Sprudge Twenty class, honoring inspiring coffee professionals worldwide.

Perusing the cookbook sections at thrift stores can be a real treat. While digging through well worn copies of Dump Cakes and other Cathy Mitchell classics, we absolutely screamed when we discovered a pristine third edition copy of The Ghirardelli Cookbook (1986). We've worked with Ghirardelli for a number of years, and on the Coffee Sprudgecast here in 2026 we are teaming up to dive deep into the rich and chocolatey world of all things mocha with a segment we're calling Mocha Moments. This forty-year-old cookbook, released in the height of the 1980s San Francisco specialty chocolate boom, is chock full of inspirations for this episode's mocha. We decided to adapt the "California Cappuccino"—a playful mix of chocolate, brandy, and foam—to create something we're calling the California Sober Mocha Cappuccino. By omitting the brandy and subbing out instant coffee with freshly pulled shots of La Barba espresso on our Sprudge HQ Linea Mini, we keep it NA while still leaning in on the psychotropic and mind-altering caffeine buzz, in true California Sober fashion. Before you begin writing your stern letter scolding us for the misnomer, we recognize mocha cappuccino is confusing, redundant, and perhaps, yes, an abuse of the english language. But we're coffee purists, purely having fun with coffee, and to be quite honest, mochas that are one third coffee and chocolate, one third steamed milk, and one third microfoam (the traditional cappuccino rule of 1/3s) is absolutely stunning. Who needs whip when you've got sweet, sweet gently warmed and textured Pacific Barista Series pistachio milk (btw, pistachios sourced from California last time we checked!) Before sliding into our DMs, perhaps give this recipe a shot: The California Sober Mocha Cappuccino Adapted from The Ghirardelli Cookbook by Phyllis Larsen (Third Edition, 1986) 1 heaping tablespoon Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa Powder 2oz La Barba Espresso 4oz frothy Pacific Barista Series Pistachio Milk
Warm a diner mug with hot water to keep things nice and toasty.
Place a heaping tablespoon (Phyllis Larsen insists on heaping and who are we to say no?) of Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa powder in the mug.
Pull a double shot of espresso directly into your mug and mix until the chocolate powder and espresso have combined.
Steam milk, cappuccino levels of froth, so that it almost doubles in volume. No soap sud bubbles, please—we're looking for micro-foam here, people.
Add a bloop of that textured milk in the mug, stir it up, and add the rest. Bonus points if you can make a pattern in the shape of the state of California.
Enjoy!
Show Notes
We talk about the whole dang world of coffee in this episode—guides from across the globe published right here on Sprudge. We also talk about World of Coffee, formerly SCA Expo, taking place next month in sunny San Diego. Check out the articles mentioned below. https://sprudge.com/hey-san-diego-sprudge-wants-to-hear-all-about-your-plans-for-world-of-coffee-2026-777438.html https://sprudge.com/in-hanoi-roaster-retailer-cafes-offer-a-glimpse-into-vietnams-changing-coffee-culture-468966.html https://sprudge.com/the-sprudge-guide-to-coffee-in-kigali-rwanda-378657.html https://sprudge.com/the-sprudge-guide-to-coffee-in-seongsu-dong-seoul-559102.html https://sprudge.com/the-sprudge-guide-to-coffee-in-ipoh-malaysia-457591.html https://sprudge.com/the-sprudge-guide-to-historic-cafes-in-tangier-morocco-489099.html Also worth checking out: Old Town Tequila in San Diego Boom Boom Room in San Diego Listen to the whole episode right here: This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, Dripos, DONA, noissue, Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, and La Marzocco.

In the 175 episodes of the Coffee Sprudgecast, only a few are truly dedicated and earnestly focused on that most imporant of concepts: Proof of Taste. And on the latest episode, we take proof of taste to 100. Only the flavors matter. Only the best brew will do. Are you on the list? Are you ready to prove your taste once and for all??
On this week's episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast, hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen start by brewing coffee using a gorgeous ceramic Vandola that was thrown, glazed, and fired in Costa Rica. Then we dive into the world of Scenery Coffee, the London-based coffee company that just took home top honors in the Notable Roaster category at the 17th Annual Sprudgie Awards. Experimental processing, traditional brewing methods, coffee and coffee gear from near and far: truly this episode has it all…and then some!
A little more on this incredible vessel you see above, courtesy of Coffee Balam, who sent us their beautiful Vandola Coffee Brewer designed by Minor Alfaro Alpízar along with their Alfaro Master Roast coffee blend of Catuai and Caturra grown and processed on Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula. Together they made a gorgeous, smooth, and beautiful brew. Coffee Balam donates five percent of proceeds to support cultural preservation projects in the Chorotega community.
Trying this brewer + roaster combo was a total surprise to us, and we were thrilled to have such a cool concept come in through the general contact form at Sprudge. If you out there in Sprudge land reading this have something incredible you'd like to send our way for future consideration on the pod, get in touch!
Meanwhile, Scenery Coffee took home top honors at our global voted Sprudgie Awards, and were kind enough to send along some coffees to sample at Sprudge HQ, with which everyone on team Sprudge was quite impressed. We brewed two of their lovely coffees on this week's episode—India Ratnagiri Estate LAB-6 and Costa Rica Corazón de Jesús "Los Toños" Java—and spent time learning more about both (Scenery's website is excellent). We brewed those coffees this week with the Miir Coffee Hand Grinder, Miir Pourigami brewer, an Acaia Pearl coffee scale, and enjoyed from Slow Pour Supply 2-Way Cups.
Check out these coffee tools and other coffee gear at our popular gear hub Coffee Gear!
At the end of the day, taste was well and truly proven. Because that's what it's all about. We really can't say it enough. It's all about…proof of taste.

On this episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast we go on decidedly delicious deep dives. It's *all* about proof of taste—and we're here to prove that taste is what matters above nearly all else. Listen in our as intrepid founders glide over the modernity of romance in 2026, subject listeners to an Orwellian abuse of the word "purist", and enjoy Caffe Umbria Bizzarri Blend (how Bizzarri, how Bizzarri) as an espresso. Like the mighty I Ching, like the collected works of Shakespeare, this episode contains multitudes, so please expect all that and truly, so much more.
Hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen, no stranger to drink building as evidenced by their 2023 text But First, Coffee, create a signature drink worthy of a barista competition inspired by Stumptown Coffee's new seasonal Valentines Day offering. It's all part of a new feature Mocha Moments produced in partnership with Ghirardelli. You'll hear us whip it up and go all out on mochas mochas mochas throughout this feature series, so buckle up, chocoholics: you're in for a treat.
It takes a Gear Garden to make a mocha, and this episode's mocha was made with espresso pulled from a Flair Espresso 58 Plus, milk steamed by a La Marzocco Linea Mini, ingredient components weighed using a handy Acaia Lunar scale, and coffee ground using the Baratza Encore ESP Pro.
As promised, we offer to you, the listener, who is us, our very first Mocha Moments recipe so you too can dazzle your sweetheart (or sweethearts!) at home:
Cardamom Rose Dusted Chocolate Covered Strawberry Rhubarb Mocha
1 tbsp Ghirardelli Chocolate & Cocoa Sweet Ground Powder
1 tsp Cardamom Rose Spice Dust from DONA
1 1/2 tsp Oregon Growers Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
2 shots of espresso Caffe Umbria Bizzarri Blend
4-6oz steamed Pacific Barista Series Pistachio Milk
Put the dry ingredients, jam, and espresso at the bottom of your mug. Using the espresso, gently mix all the ingredients together. Pour a bit of steamed (or cold) milk in and stir again to ensure everything is pleasantly blended. Add the rest of the milk to taste and sprinkle with a little more Cardamom Rose Spice Dust.
We mention our mocha mugs are from Miir, a special edition tumbler, and here they are:
ALSO ON THIS EPISODE, Zachary whips up a Lotus Biscoff yogurt "tiramisu" in the style of the popular TikTok trend. Unlike the popular TikTok trend which merely uses any old flavor (or unflavored) yogurt, we kick it up a notch by actually involving coffee in this "tiramisu" using Tillamook Stumptown Cold Brew yogurt. Much munching and tasting ensues and yes, it's actually quite good. 
Special thank you to all of our fabulous podcast listeners, the sponsors that make this all possible, and everyone else out there in Sprudgelandia.
This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, noissue, Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, La Marzocco, and DONA.