2020 US Coffee Championships Nashville Qualifying Event Rankings

After over 200 competitors graced five different stages, we now know who will be moving on from the 2020 US Coffee Championships Qualifying Event in Nashville, Tennessee.

For the Barista Championship and Brewers Cup competitors, they will be heading to Orange County, California next month to join the other half of the field already decided earlier this year in Sumner. For Coffee in Good Spirits, Cup Tasters, and the Roasters Championships, the competitors will have to wait a little longer, until April, for their national level competition taking place at Expo in Portland. Those moving on in the latter three competitions mark the first entries into the next stage, awaiting the results from the final Qualifying Event running in the OC concurrently with the USBC and USBrC.

It was two long days this weekend at the Track One event center that somehow breezed by and were over in an instant. While some will take home what they learned this year and return a stronger competitor, others get to enjoy a brief moment of joy/relief to celebrate moving on before preparing to tighten up their routines for the US Coffee Championships.

But before we look too far ahead into the future, let’s celebrate everything that happened this weekend. Here is everyone who is moving on from the 2020 US Coffee Championships Qualifying Event in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sprudge Media Network’s coverage of the 2020 US Coffee Championships Nashville Qualifying Event is presented by Cafe Imports, Acaia, IKAWA, Pacific Barista Series, Bellwether, and Baratza. 

Barista Championship

1. Sam Spillman, Dillanos Coffee Roasters
2. Chelsea Kallman, Stay Golden Coffee Co
3. Avery Leith, Huckleberry Roasters
4. Anthony Ragler, Black and White Coffee Roasters
5. Heather McCullough, Novo Coffee
6. Steph Caronna, North Carolina Museum of Art
7. Jason Yeo, Saint Frank Coffee
8. Gisel Alvarez, Monarch Coffee
9. Jenna Gotthelf, Counter Culture Coffee
10. Leah Ritsema, Madcap Coffee Company
11. Kristi Persinger
12. Tyler Montague, Brew Coffee Bar
13. Kylan Reasoner, Sayso Coffee
14. Miranda Haney, Greater Goods Coffee
15. Michelle Johnson, Red Bay Coffee
16. Ryan Moser, Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co
17. Grace Rathbone, Ada’s Discovery Cafe
18. Casey Wilson, Boxcar Coffee Roasters

Brewers Cup

1. Elika Liftee, Onyx Coffee Lab
2. Jennifer Hwang, Klatch Coffee
3. Ben Phillips, Stumptown Coffee
4. Tyler Duncan, Topeca Coffee Roasters
5. Jesus Iniguez, Archetype Coffee
6. Alyssa Bell, Taproom Coffee
7. Austin C Bowers, Third Wave Coffee
8. Kristina Jackson
9. Andres Morales, Coffee Project NY
10. Weihong Zhang, BlendIn Coffee Club
11. Philip Hatter, Vienna Coffee Company
12. Joe Lacey, Boxcar Coffee Roasters
13. Chelsea Dubay, Joe Van Gogh
14. Kyle Knight, Speckled Ax Wood Roasted Coffee
15. Zach Stamey, Hex Coffee

Coffee in Good Spirits

1. Sam Schroeder, Olympia Coffee
2. MiMo, Sey Coffee
3. Jalen Kelly, Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co
4. Matt Foster, Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co
5. Linnea True, Boxcar Coffee Roasters
6. Cyrenthia Ngueya, Onyx Coffee Lab
7. Dan Hilburn, Backyard Beans Coffee Company
8. Christina Lee, Brandywine Coffee Roasters
9. Mika Turbo
10. Beatriz Aguirre, Waterbean Coffee
11. Brandon Lucas
12. Dawn Shanks, Peregrine Espresso

Cup Tasters

1. Chelsea Thoumsin
2. Jeff Mooney, Folly Coffee Roasters
3. Kim Nguyen, Intelligentsia Coffee
4. Jason Burkum, Archetype Coffee
5. Samuel Demisse, Keffa Coffee
6. Kat Adams, La Colombe
7. Adam Walsh, JBC Coffee Roasters
8. Lindsay Rho, Idea Coffee
9. Aaron Lerner, SkyTop Coffee
10. Mehmet Sogan, Memli Coffee Lab
11. Julien Langevin, Bard Coffee
12. Bear Solivan, Onyx Coffee Lab
13. Michael W Burkarski, Salt City Coffee
14. Matthew Gleaves, Spyhouse Coffee Roasters
15. Sarah Hise, Stovetop Roasters
16. Hyoung wuk (Luke) Jung, Ghost Roasters

Roasters Championship

1. Ross Bryant, Boxcar Coffee Roasters
2. Jeremy Moore, Bonlife Coffee Roasters
3. Evan Inatome, Elixr Coffee
4. Eric Stone, Mudhouse Coffee Roasters
5. Nathan Van Dusen, Brio Coffeeworks
6. Jason Burkum, Archetype Coffee
7. Aaron MacDougall, Broadsheet Coffee Roasters
8. Kennth Thomas, Umble Coffee Co
9. Sawyer Beckley, Backyard Beans Coffee Company
10. Eduardo Choza, Mayorga Organics
11. Daniel Whitmore, Speckled Ax Wood Roasted Coffee
12. Hunter Day, Twelve Gate Coffee Co

Photos by Elizabeth Chai for Sprudge