Podcast
Equal Parts Coffee Podcast
Hosted by Jack Clark and Nic Bilderback · EN
Industry interviews, gear reviews & education
Hosted by Jack Clark & Nic Bilderback
Named after the cortado. Obviously
equalpartscoffee.com
17episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
We Blind-Tested Batch Espresso. The Results Scared Us. | Ep. 37
2d ago00:38:31Tap to summarizeBatch espresso scares us. Not because it's bad, but because what if it's actually good? When Valor Coffee posted that they were testing batch espresso, it got us thinking about the "shots die" rule and whether any of that actually holds up in a blind taste test.We get into the tradeoffs, the perception problem on the cafe side, and what you're really giving up when you pull the barista further from the drink. What We're Drinking: https://www.mundosroastingco.com/coffee/p/colombia-cesar-ledesma-pink-bourbonSay hi: hello@equalpartscoffee.comequalpartscoffee.com00:00 Intro02:29 What We're Drinking10:14 Valor Coffee11:35 The Batched Espresso Dillemma13:44 Blind taste test16:00 First Attempt20:15 Round 222:52 Results27:31 Batch Espresso vs. Cold Brew Concentrate32:03 Speed, Quality, Perception34:20 The Barista Experience37:39 Wrap Up
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The Espresso Machine That Does Everything (Is It Worth $2000?) | Ep. 36
2w ago00:48:29Tap to summarizeMeraki Gen 2: https://tidd.ly/4ukKTDhPodium Coffee Club: https://tidd.ly/4qo2NCsWe got our hands on the Meraki Gen 2 espresso machine and have been using it daily. Built-in grinder, dual boiler, integrated scales for both grinding and brewing. On paper it has everything. In this episode we share our honest first impressions, break down what makes it stand out, and compare it to other machines in the same price range. Meraki sent us this machine but did not sponsor this video. Full review coming soon.0:00 Intro1:33 Are We Espresso or Milk?6:33 Podium Coffee Club7:07 What We're Drinking8:21 Potato Defect Tangent9:40 Tasting the Coffee10:50 Meraki Gen 213:08 Ease of Use & Build Quality14:02 What's Included in the Box16:06 Meraki vs ES118:10 Built-In Grinder19:35 Integrated Scales25:10 Dual Boiler Benefits29:09 Steam Wand Performance33:10 Temperature Probe & Auto-Stop Feature39:04 Menu Settings & Customization41:51 Pre-Infusion Settings43:39 The Car Analogy: Where Does the Meraki Fit?45:21 Who Is This Machine For?47:04 What's Coming Next
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You’re Not Ready for Coffee Competitions — Here’s Why | Ep. 25
May 500:49:46Tap to summarizeMorgan Eckroth: 2022 US Barista Champion, content creator, and Onyx Coffee Lab team member, sits down with us for an honest conversation about what it takes to compete at the highest level of coffee, how she builds signature drinks from scratch, and why hospitality is the thing she cares about most. Find Morgan at @morgandrinkscoffee on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and on Substack at Coffee for Here.0:31 Introductions1:41 What We're Drinking4:33 Who is Morgan Eckroth?7:40 What is the US Barista Championship?10:03 How Morgan Prepares for Competition12:17 Bringing Competition Drinks to Cafes14:06 Coffee Meets Cocktail Culture16:49 Morgan's Creative Process20:20 Culinary Influences in Coffee21:29 Widening the Lens Beyond Coffee22:44 From Barista to Career24:10 When Coffee Became More Than a Job25:55 Making Competition Accessible27:40 The Power of Coffee Community29:46 Advice for Aspiring Competitors33:39 Defining Your Own Success34:53 Morgan's Favorite Drink37:44 Savory & Umami in Coffee40:31 Fostering Creativity in Your Cafe42:30 Barista League & Lowering Barriers43:47 How to Start Preparing Now45:25 The Future of Specialty Coffee47:18 The Importance of Hospitality49:19 Where to Find Morgan
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The Fellow ES1 Changed How We Think About Home Espresso | Ep. 35
Apr 2100:50:47Tap to summarizeFellow Espresso Series 1: https://fellow.sjv.io/series-1We've had some time with the Fellow ES1. Enough to move past first impressions and actually talk about it. In this episode we get into everyday home use, steaming, shot consistency, the price conversation, and where we think home espresso is heading. ☕️ What We're DrinkingColombia Finca El Chaferote II from Prodigal Coffee RoastersAiden Profile: https://brew.link/p/8jC2Firmware video: https://youtu.be/2CS3TP-9aBE?si=Gv7b46Kch5plRh4c0:00 - Open1:12 - Intro2:53 - What We're Drinking7:24 - Owning the ES18:35 - Milk Steaming10:33 - Full-size steam wand & drip tray thoughts13:04 - Shot-to-shot consistency at home15:18 - Why the ES1?18:43 - App Integration Ideas19:26 - The Bluetooth Lever Tangent22:17 - Rabbit Hole26:16 - Features we want to see fixed/added27:30 - The hidden hot water spout.33:46 - Who should (and shouldn't) buy this machine38:33 - The home espresso grinder gap41:22 - Fellow Opus 2 first thoughts46:03 - Where home espresso is heading49:34 - Outro
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Home Espresso Has Always Been a Compromise. Fellow Changed That | Nick Terzulli | Ep. 34
Mar 2401:08:03Tap to summarizeNick Terzulli didn't set out to reinvent home espresso. He started with a latte at Sightglass, a honeymoon in Barcelona, and a medical engineering background he couldn't stop applying to coffee problems. Now, as VP of R&D at Fellow, he's the person behind one of the most talked-about espresso machines to hit the market in years — the Espresso Series 1.In this episode, Nick breaks down the boosted boiler architecture that makes the Series 1 tick, why shot-to-shot consistency has been the white whale of home espresso, and how building the Aiden brewer laid the foundation for everything that came after. He also gets into burr design, why unimodal isn't always better, and what it actually takes to bring a product from a blank piece of paper to thousands of people's countertops.Find Nick: Instagram: @nicholasnumbers LinkedIn: Nicholas TerzulliEqual Parts Coffee is a podcast about the people, gear, and ideas shaping specialty coffee. New episodes drop every other week. Subscribe so you don't miss one.0:00 Intro0:40 Welcome & Guest Introduction1:14 What Nick Does at Fellow1:53 How Nick Got Into Specialty Coffee3:30 From Coffee Lover to Coffee Engineer8:24 First Espresso Machine9:42 Was Espresso Always in Fellow's Roadmap?17:17 How Aiden Influenced Series 118:40 The Boosted Boiler Explained21:39 The Challenge of 120V Home Espresso22:17 Designing Three Machines24:06 Fellow's Growth as a Company27:22 Series 1 Dev Time34:44 For the Casual Home Barista38:21 Designing for Everyone41:38 Shot-to-Shot Consistency44:40 Reliability & Longevity48:21 Repairability & Refurbishment Facility54:19 Unimodal vs Bimodal Grind Distribution57:41 The Hardest Thing Nick Has Done1:02:08 Rapid Fire1:06:27 Wrap Up & Where to Find Nick
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33 - Matcha Is Everywhere Right Now — But Are Coffee Shops Doing It Wrong?
Mar 901:02:22Tap to summarizeTea in a specialty coffee cafe, should you even bother? In Episode 33, we dig into one of the more overlooked questions in cafe ownership: how (and whether) to build out a tea program without letting it pull focus from the coffee that brought people in the door.We cover matcha: its place on the menu, how to source it, and the case for and against batching. Why a bad tea experience can quietly damage your reputation just as much as a bad espresso.If you're opening a cafe, already running one, or just really passionate about what goes across the bar, this one's for you.We are drinking Colombia Buesaco from Jack's roastery Mundos Coffee - www.mundosroastingco.com00:00 Intro03:00 What We're Drinking07:43 Should Cafes Offer Tea?10:55 Finding Your Cafe's Philosophy13:25 How Mundos Built Its Tea Program18:13 Types of Tea a Cafe Can Offer21:01 Matcha's Place in the Cafe26:08 Getting Creative with Matcha30:07 Choosing the Right Matcha Grade38:46 Batching Matcha: Pros & Cons47:37 The Cold Water Matcha Method52:16 Iced Teas & Seasonal Drinks56:38 Loose Leaf Tea Essentials1:00:34 Wrap-Up & Final Thoughts
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32 - The Coffee Trend Competitions Are Banning
Feb 2300:55:03Tap to summarizePodium Coffee Club - https://tidd.ly/4qo2NCsCo-fermentation has exploded in the coffee industry. Farmers are fermenting coffee with fruits, hops, and exotic yeasts to create wild new flavors. Some see it as innovation that helps farmers add value to their crops. Others see it as a shortcut that's damaging the pursuit of natural coffee excellence.The debate got real when Best of Panama 2024 outright banned all co-fermented and infused coffees from competition. So what's really going on? Is this the future of specialty coffee, or are we losing something important? We break down co-fermentation vs infusion, the farmer economics, competition implications, and our honest take after tasting dozens of these experimental coffees.We're drinking Colombia Galaxy Hops Co-ferment from Freelance Coffee. - freelancecoffeeproject.comWant to experience award-winning coffees like the one we're drinking in this episode? Podium Coffee Club is a monthly subscription that sends you coffees exclusively from roasters who've won championships and competitions. Every coffee has been recognized for excellence, so you're guaranteed something special each month. It's how we discover incredible roasters we might never find otherwise. Sign up using our link and support the podcasthttps://tidd.ly/4qo2NCsLet us know what's your take on co-ferments? Are you team innovation or team purist? 👇0:00 Industry Standards0:31 What We're Drinking3:38 Podium Coffee Club8:04 What Is Co-Fermentation?10:03 Fermentation Refresher21:00 Co-Fermentation vs. Infusion27:37 Pros & Cons38:12 Consumer Perspective & Transparency42:44 Co-Ferments in Competition44:46 Purist Philosophy & Industry Direction53:47 Listener Questions
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31 - We Need to Talk About What's In Your Coffee
Feb 900:46:42Tap to summarizePodium Coffee Club - https://tidd.ly/4qo2NCsWant to experience award-winning coffees like the one we're drinking in this episode? Podium Coffee Club is a monthly subscription that sends you coffees exclusively from roasters who've won championships and competitions. Every coffee has been recognized for excellence, so you're guaranteed something special each month. It's how we discover incredible roasters we might never find otherwise. Sign up using our link and support the podcastCompanies are claiming "mold-free" and "mycotoxin-free" coffee, implying that regular coffee is contaminated with dangerous toxins that survive roasting and are slowly poisoning you. But is any of this actually true?We examined lab tests comparing cheap grocery store coffee, specialty coffee, and "certified mold-free" brands. What we found about mycotoxin levels might surprise you. The question is: should you be worried about what's in your daily brew, or is this just expensive marketing preying on health-conscious consumers?We're drinking: Goshen Coffee Roasters Colombian co-fermented with wine yeast and lycheeThank you to James Hoffmann for conducting the lab testing we reference.Studies Determination of potentially mycotoxigenic fungi in coffee:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6049681/0:00 - Intro1:45 - What We're Drinking2:31 - Co-Fermented Coffee 9:49 - Is Your Coffee Moldy?10:32 - The Mold Marketing Trend13:34 - What Are Mycotoxins?15:41 - Mold Survives Roasting19:02 - James Hoffman's Testing22:28 - Results25:20 - Specialty Coffee Standards28:00 - Coffee Storage & Freshness35:04 - Final Verdict on Mold45:30 - Outro
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30 - The Fourth Wave of Coffee with Ryan Castelaz
Jan 2600:55:05Tap to summarizeIn this special 30th episode, we sit down with Ryan Castelaz, founder of Discourse Coffee and author of "The New Art of Coffee." Ryan shares his unconventional journey from aspiring opera singer to coffee entrepreneur, and reveals how he transformed a tiny shop in a town of 600 people into a thriving hospitality group.Ryan Castelaz is the Founder of Discourse Coffee & The Afterglow Group Author of "The New Art of Coffee"Creator of Agency (Milwaukee's James Beard-nominated hybrid cocktail lounge)Instagram: @ryan.castelazWebsite: discourse.coffee "The New Art of Coffee" - Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, William Sonoma, Onyx Coffee Labs0:00 - Intro0:52 - Building Discourse 2:50 - From Flavor Science to Coffee Innovation3:37 - Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground6:43 - Building Pathways of Trust with Customers8:29 - Why People Will Still Come to Cafes11:41 - From Opera Singer to Espresso 15:32 - Three Essential Rules for Opening a Cafe17:50 - The Crawl, Walk, Run Model23:19 - Inside "The New Art of Coffee"27:32 - The Fourth Wave32:25 - "Your Audience Isn't Ready"34:39 - The Co-Fermented Coffee Debate40:50 - Matrix Reference46:18 - How to Start Creating Drinks50:26 - Ideas Choose You53:15 - Where to Find Ryan
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29 - Our Coffee Goals for 2026
Jan 1201:02:15Tap to summarizeHappy New Year from Equal Parts Coffee! Welcome to 2026! We're kicking off the new year by sharing our coffee goals and aspirations, giving you an honest review of the AeroPress Premium (is it worth $200?), and announcing Mundos first-ever public latte art competition. We're also tasting a wild co-ferment coffee, banana blended with cranberry, and diving deep into how co-fermentation actually works beyond just "adding fruit flavor."Lucha Leche Competition Sign-Up: eventbrite.com/e/lucha-leche-latte-art-competition-registration-1978624731836?aff=oddtdtcreatorJack got the AeroPress Premium for Christmas, and we're breaking down whether the glass and stainless steel upgrade actually makes better coffee than the classic plastic version. We discuss zero bypass brewing, why the AeroPress is one of our essential home brewers, and how it compares to a French press. If you're looking to get into specialty coffee at home, this is a great starting point.0:00 Intro1:54 What We're Drinking7:33 Lucha Leche11:54 AeroPress Premium22:24 French Press25:07 Essential Home Brewing Setup28:05 Is the AeroPress Premium Worth $200?36:08 Developing Your Coffee Palate46:36 Our Coffee Goals for 20261:01:06 Outro
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