2017 US Barista Championship Schedule, First Round

Hello and welcome! Welcome to the 2017 United States Barista Championship, coming to you live and in full effect from beautiful, complicated Seattle, Washington.

Sprudge Media Network is your home all week long for the best barista competition coverage in coffee, featuring live play by play on Twitter @SprudgeLive, daily recaps right here on SprudgeLive.com, plus much more across social media—follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for all the latest. And we’re not suggesting you gamble, but if you fancy a flutter, cruise over to our exclusive Barista Competition Fantasy League and place your marks.

This year’s competition brings together 36 competitors from two separate regions across the United States, all of whom battled it out to be here at the 2017 USBC Qualifying Events. They’ll compete all weekend long in a points-based tournament of skill and stamina, geared around the art of making delicious espresso beverages.Action begins Friday, April 21st at 9am PST. 6 baristas will advance to Semi-Finals Saturday to meet the 12 highest scoring baristas from the Qualifying Events, and just 6 will move on from there to compete at Finals Sunday.

Let’s meet our competitors, shall we?

9:15am Cris Mendoza, Saint Frank Coffee, San Franciso, CA @crisjmendoza ‏@StFrankCoffee

9:34am Kathie Hilberg, Spyhouse Coffee Roasting Co, Minneapolis, MN @SpyhouseCoffee

9:53am Tyler Hill, Loyal Coffee, Colorado Springs, CO @thuhTYLER

10:12am Steph Caronna, Raleigh Coffee Company, Raleigh, NC @CoffeeSteph8876 @RaleighCoffeeCo

10:31am Nicholas Balcer, Barista, Portland, OR @baristapdx

10:50am Josh Taves, Novo Coffee, Denver, CO @NovoCoffee

11:09am Milo DeGoosh, Bard Coffee, Portland, ME @bardcoffee

11:28am Drew Frohn, Ultimo Coffee, Philadelphia, PA @ultimocoffee

11:54am David Castillo, Joe Coffee Co, New York, NY @JoecoffeeNYC

12:13pm Micah Sherer, Ally Coffee, Greenville, SC @MicahSherer @AllyCoffee_

12:32pm Andrew McCaslin, Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co, St Louis, MO @anmccan @Kaldis_Coffee

12:51pm David Buehrer, Greenway Coffee Co, Houston, TX @greenwaybarista @greenwaycoffee

1:10pm Marcos Iglesias, VP Coffee, Raleigh, NC @MIglesi @VPCoffee

1:29pm Erika Vonie, Variety Coffee Roasters, Brooklyn, NY @OkAn_EerieEvil @VarietyRoasters

1:48pm Amelia Wimmer, Tried & True Coffee Co, Corvalis, OR @TNTCoffeeCo

2:07pm Becky Reeves, Barista, Portland, OR @becksreeves @baristapdx

2:32pm Hannah Craig, Quills Coffee, Louisville, KY @QuillsCoffee

2:51pm Brandon Paul Weaver, Foreigner Coffee, Seattle, WA @coffeeandbookz

3:10pm Reef Bessette, Saint Frank Coffee, San Francisco, CA @StFrankCoffee

3:29pm Sam Schroeder, Olympia Coffee Roasting Co, Olympia, WA @s_schro @OlympiaCoffee

3:48pm T. Ben Fisher, La Colombe, Philadelphia, PA @ScarfNinja1812 @LaColombeCoffee

4:07pm Matthew Gasaway, Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago, IL @Intelligentsia

4:26pm Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee, Everett, WA @MaxwellAMooney @narrativecoffee

4:54pm Eli Ramirez, Halfwit Coffee, Chicago, IL @eli_ramirez237 @HalfWitCoffee

Join us all weekend long and we’ll see you on the floor!

Sprudge’s coverage of the 2017 US Barista Championship is made possible by Cafe Imports, Swiss Water Decaf, Baratza, AeroPress, Hario, and Pacific Natural Foods. All of our 2017 Barista Competition coverage worldwide is supported by Urnex Brands and Nuova Simonelli.