Here Are Your 2019 US Coffee Champions

Put a bow on this one, it’s done. The US Coffee Championships in Kansas City, Missouri have come and gone, leaving in its wake three days of intense coffee competition taking place across five separate stages. Over 100 coffee professionals descended up KCMO this weekend to vie for one of the coveted spots representing America in the World Coffee Championship happening next month in Boston.

Competitions this year included the Barista Championship, Brewers Cup, Cup Tasters, Roasters Championships, and for the first time in America, Coffee in Good Spirits. There are so many stories to unpack from this weekend, from the powerful message returning Brewers Cup champion Rose Woodard used her platform to deliver to the meteoric rise of lactic acid processing (particularly from La Palma y El Tucan in Colombia) in Barista Championship coffee. Many of these stories, along with competitor interviews, will be featured in the coming days and weeks over on Sprudge and on the Coffee Sprudgecast.

But now is not the time for philosophizing. This moment is a bit more immediate, a chance to celebrate the newly crowned US Coffee Champions. Let’s find out who they are, shall we?

SprudgeLive’s coverage of the 2019 US Coffee Champs is made possible by Joe Glo and Mahlkönig. All of SprudgeLive’s 2019 competition coverage is made possible by Acaia, Baratza, Faema, Cafe Imports, and Wilbur Curtis.

Barista Championship

1. Samantha Spillman, Dillanos Coffee Roasters, Seattle, WA
2. Andrea Allen, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR
3. T. Ben Fischer, Elixr Coffee Roasters, Philadelphia, PA
4. Dylan Siemens, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR
5. Sam Neely, Switchback Coffee Roasters, Colorado Springs, CO
6. Emily Orendorff, Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Boulder, CO

Brewers Cup

1. Kaley Gann, Messenger Coffee, Kansas City, MO
2. Justin Goodhart, Sweet Bloom Coffee, Denver, CO
3. Lance Hedrick, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR
4. Jacob White, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, San Diego, CA
5. Jennifer Hwang, Klatch Coffee, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
6. Chelsey Walker-Watson, Atlas Coffee Importers, Seattle, WA

Coffee In Good Spirits

1. Matt Foster, Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co, St. Louis, MO
2. Sam Schroeder, Olympia Coffee, Olympia, WA
3. Brodie Lewis, Madcap Coffee Co, Grand Rapids, CO
4.  Nathanael Mehrens, Stay Golden, Nashville, TN
5. Joel Cronenberg, Provision Coffee, Gilbert, AZ
6. Dakota Graff, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR

Cup Tasters

1. Jen Apodaca, Royal Coffee, Oakland, CA
2. Summer Zhang, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR
3. Samuel Gurel, Sövda Coffee, Portland, OR
4. Helen Choi, Luce Ave Coffee Roasters, Houston, TX
5. Cameron Metzinger, Backyard Beans Coffee Co, Lansdale, PA
6. Roman Deshong, Amethyst Coffee Co, Denver, CO

Roasters Championship

1. Shelby Williamson, Huckleberry Roasters, Denver, CO
2. Hugh Morretta, La Colombe Coffee Roasters, Philadelphia, PA
3. Mark Boccard, Southdown Coffee, Huntington, KY
4. Janine Cundy, Joe Bean Coffee Roasters, Rochester, NY
5. Steve Cuevas, Black Oak Coffee Roasters, Ukiah, CA
6. Eric Stone, Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, Charlottesville, VA