Other
Jordan Michelman
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
National columnist at TASTE since 2022, Jordan Michelman has built his name in coffee journalism and criticism by staying close to the details that shape how taste gets written about. At SPRUDGE, which he co-founded in Portland, Oregon, in 2009, that approach helped form a modern coffee vocabulary: precise, stylish, and attentive to the culture around the cup. An early food memory also sits in the record. At age 10, a ham-and-brie sandwich at the France Pavilion at Epcot World Showcase in Disney World sent him toward food writing; he later said, “It made me think about food in a completely different way, and pushed me forward on the food writer path I’m on today.”
Coming Up
At SPRUDGE, co-founded in 2009, the work has been about more than coverage. Jordan Michelman used the platform to build a lasting editorial voice, one that could handle technical coffee detail without flattening the culture around it. That balance of rigor and personality has been part of the publication’s shape from the start. In 2022, he became national columnist at TASTE, carrying the same sensibility into a broader arena while keeping the same editorial instincts intact. Since 2025, he has also served as Critic-At-Large at Portland Monthly Magazine. The role adds another outlet for the same close reading of food, culture, and criticism. Across these posts, Michelman has remained based in the American Pacific Northwest, with work that moves between coffee, criticism, and food media without losing its footing.
Where They Are Now
The current slate is straightforward: since 2022, Jordan Michelman has been a national columnist at TASTE; since 2025, he has served as Critic-At-Large at Portland Monthly Magazine; and since 2009, he has remained co-founder of SPRUDGE. Together, those roles show a career built on sustained editorial practice rather than a single lane, with each assignment reinforcing the others.
Signature
Jordan's signature dishes include Seltzer Is Over. Mineral Water Is Forever and What If You Solved The Zodiac Killer Mystery And No One Believed You?. Even the titles point to a writer working with wit, provocation, and conceptual framing, with the joke and the argument arriving together.
In Their Words “I am a journalist, critic, author, editor, and publisher based in the American Pacific Northwest.” “I am a Sprudge co-founder, author and James Beard Award winning journalist.”
Honors
Jordan's honors include James Beard Foundation Award (2020), Society of Professional Journalists award (2021), City and Regional Magazine Association Awards, Feature Story category (2021), and Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards, Emerging Wine Writer category (2020). These awards mark a steady record across journalism, criticism, and wine writing, with recognition that tracks the range of the work as much as the voice behind it.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Jordan
What is Jordan Michelman's current role?
As of 2026, Jordan Michelman is National columnist.
What recognition has Jordan Michelman received?
James Beard Foundation Award (2020).
What is Jordan Michelman known for?
Coffee journalism and criticism.
