David Edson is the founder of Licensed Coffee, a specialty coffee shop and vinyl café in Prosperidad, Madrid. SCA-certified barista with over 5 years of experience in specialty coffee, he opened Licensed Coffee in 2025 after switching careers from iOS development.
From iOS to specialty coffee
Before coffee, David spent several years as an iOS developer. The same attention to detail he brought to writing software now goes into dialing in a V60 — gram-precise espresso, daily recipe adjustments, and a curated 100+ vinyl collection played through a Yamaha A-S301 and Klipsch RP-600M hi-fi system.
He follows the same philosophy at the bar that he learned writing code: nothing is accidental, every detail compounds, and good craft requires constant iteration.
Sourcing and standards
At Licensed Coffee, every bean meets the SCA's 80-point specialty grade threshold and is never served more than 30 days post-roast. David sources from a rotating selection of specialty roasters from around the world, and personally adjusts the bar's grind, dose and brew parameters daily for the current bean.
Read more about the sourcing approach on the Our Coffee page.
Expertise
- Specialty coffee sourcing and roaster selection
- Espresso preparation (La Marzocco Linea Classic-S, Mahlkönig grinders)
- Filter brewing — V60 pour-over, batch brew, cold brew
- Vinyl culture and hi-fi listening curation
- iOS development (career background)
