The Perfect SOUP Coffee Shot: JOEPRESSO x Prodigal Coffee
- roman rose
- Jan 24
- 4 min read
Bringing the SOUP Revolution to You
At JOEPRESSO, we’ve always believed that you don’t need a $5,000 machine to enjoy an authentic espresso or a world-class SOUP shot. But to get the best out of our gear, you need the best beans on the planet.
We are beyond thrilled to announce our official wholesale partnership with
Prodigal Coffee. Located right here in Boulder, Colorado. Prodigal is not your average roastery. Founded by coffee icon Scott Rao and roasting expert Mark Benedetto, Prodigal has set a new global standard for clarity, sweetness, and consistency. They don’t just "roast" coffee; they curate it.
Their approach is legendary:
Optical Sorting: They use high-tech sensors to remove "quakers" (under-ripe beans) and defects that create bitterness. To ensure every bean in your bag is a winner.
Light-Roast Mastery: Their beans are roasted to maximize sweetness and acidity without any "roasty" or "charred" taints. This roast is ideal for pour over and SOUP.
The Soup Test: Prodigal is one of the few roasteries in the world that actually tests their roasts as SOUP shots. They know exactly which of their coffees will explode as SOUP and we’re delighted to feature their top choices for the JOEPRESSO community.
Prodigal was founded by Scott Rao—the man who wrote the book on modern professional roasting—and Mark Benedetto.
When I first got the coffee itch, I was gifted one of Scott's books. Overwhelmed is an understatement as I had no idea all of the science that was behind the cup. Moving back to the Front Range, I was surprised to learn that the man who's books I devoured at home had a roastery right here in Boulder. I have been hooked ever since. Prodigal Coffee is second to none, the mecca, the pinnacle and we are privileged to have it in our backyard.
When we finally decided to offer coffee for sale, Prodigal was an obvious choice. Their coffees are amazing for our soup shots. I tend to use their coffees for pour overs and AeroPress, but I find some of them really shine as soup.
We are bringing these recommendations directly to you in two tiers:
The "Great" Selection (~$25 / 250g): Impeccable, clean, and vibrant coffees that represent the pinnacle of specialty coffee.
The "Exceptional" Selection (~$40 / 150g): Rare, high-scoring gems (often Geishas or unique anaerobic processes) that offer a flavor experience unlike anything else.
Our first offerings are Las Perlitas and Vinka, learn more about them below.
We want to reiterate - we do not use these beans for our pressurized basket to make 'espresso', these beans are for SOUP. We use our 2 cup non pressurized basket for these shots.
What is "SOUP"?
If you’ve been following the specialty coffee world lately, you’ve heard the buzz about SOUP (Spro Only Un-Pressurized).
While traditional espresso relies on 9 bars of heavy pressure, SOUP is a different beast. It uses a coarser grind, a higher ratio, a shorter extraction time and low-to-no pressure to create a "gush" of flavor. The result is a shot that has the punch of espresso but with fruit and acid forward. You can learn more about SOUP in this blog post, but we'll summarize here.
The Best Part? The JOEPRESSO attachment for the AeroPress is arguably the best tool in the world for brewing SOUP. It allows for the fast flow and gentle extraction that makes these shots sing.
SOUP embraces the juicy and fruity notes of the coffee. Unlike espresso or pour over it does not try to have a maximum or balanced extraction. Espresso uses pressure to increase extraction, pour over-uses time and agitation. SOUP says WHY? The best notes of coffee are easily extracted, everything else can be ignored! Kind of like the 80-20 rule, 80% of the benefits with 20% of the effort, that's SOUP in a nutshell.
The basic SOUP recipe
Use 14g of coffee
Grind size - ½ of pour over grind setting, 3-4 on 1zpresso zp6
For clarity use a 51mm or a 48mm paper filter on the bottom of the non-pressurized basket (optional and coming soon to JOEPRESSO!)
Add the coffee to the basket, level and lightly tamp
To help prevent channeling add a 51mm puck screen or a paper filter on top (optional)
Add the screen with gasket and attach to the AeroPress using the JOEPRESSO adapter
Use a 1:3 to 1:10 coffee to water ratio, we like 1:6 or 84g of water
Lightly press until the puck is saturated and you see drops of coffee
Continue pressing through the hiss for a total of 10 to 20 seconds, depending on the ratio
Stir or swirl and let cool for a few minutes for best taste. We find that SOUP benefits from cooling and breathing a little, unlike traditional espresso that should be consumed as soon as possible.
We've created this SOUP shot bundle below to have everything you need to create these beautiful flavors at home. Let us know how they turn out, and happy pressing.
If you already have the JOEPRESSO, you can get a free 2 cup Non-Pressurized basket with the purchased of Vinka, Cheers!
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