{"id":1552,"date":"2018-12-05T03:00:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/2018\/12\/05\/looking-back-at-the-us-coffee-championships-denver-qualifying-event\/"},"modified":"2018-12-05T03:00:25","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T13:00:25","slug":"looking-back-at-the-us-coffee-championships-denver-qualifying-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/2018\/12\/05\/looking-back-at-the-us-coffee-championships-denver-qualifying-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Back At The US Coffee Championships Denver Qualifying Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

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And just like that, half the field is set for the 2019 US Coffee Championships<\/a> taking place in Kansas City, Missouri next year in March. A total of 192 coffee professionals from around the United States gathered together in Denver, Colorado for the chance to move on to the National stage of coffee competition. Over the course of two days, these nearly 200 competitors took part one of (and sometimes more) the five events going on throughout the weekend: the Barista Championship, Brewers Cup, Cup Tasters, Roasters Championship, and for the first time in the US, the Coffee in Good Spirits. Now there are just 62.<\/p>\n

If there are any large-scale takeaways from this weekend, it would be that, (1) there are a ton of new faces in every competition, and (2) those who have done well in past competitions continue to do well. While the prevalence of newcomers was felt throughout every competition stage\u2014we\u2019re guesstimating around half of the competitors were first timers\u2014the veterans, unsurprisingly, owned the day. Every competition save for Cup Tasters was won, if not completely swept, by former finalists from the national level. Even Coffee in Good Spirits, which is only in its first year, was won by Sam Schroeder, who has previously made the finals of the Barista Championship (multiple times) and Brewers Cup.<\/p>\n

Those moving on must now wait another month to learn who will comprise the other half of the field coming out of the second Qualifying Event, taking place mid-January in Nashville. But until then, let\u2019s take a look back at the road that got these 62 competitors to KC, the weekend that was the 2019 US Coffee Championships Qualifying Event in Denver, Colorado.<\/p>\n

SprudgeLive\u2019s coverage of the 2019 US Coffee Champs is made possible by\u00a0Joe Glo<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mahlk\u00f6nig<\/a>. All of SprudgeLive\u2019s 2019 competition coverage is made possible by\u00a0Acaia<\/a>,\u00a0Baratza<\/a>,\u00a0Faema<\/a>,\u00a0Cafe Imports<\/a>, and\u00a0Wilbur Curtis<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Barista Championship<\/h3>\n

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For the Qualifying Event<\/a>, competitors were given 10 minutes to serve the judges an espresso course as well as a signature beverage course; the milk beverage course, along with an additional five minutes of performance time, won’t be introduced until Kansas City. But even only having to serve two courses, the 10 minute run time proved to not be enough for many competitors; multiple baristas finished north of 11 minutes, some pushing into the 12-minute mark. This wasn’t just first-timers mind you. There were multiple veteran competitors who, while didn’t get the full DQ, had us sweating as precious point deductions continued to tick by.<\/p>\n

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Andrea Allen (Photo by Liz Chai)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

From the field of 60 competitors, two truths crystalized this weekend. First, Andrea Allen remains a favorite. With three consecutive Finals appearances and another strong showing here in Denver, it’s hard to imagine she won’t make it four in a row. And two, Sam Neely is the real deal. If there was any worry that last year’s final appearance was a fluke or that they would suffer a sophomore slump, Neely’s significant 18-point win over Allen put that all to bed. Neely stands poised as the heir-apparent to be the barista that brings home a title for the new generation of competitors.<\/p>\n

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    \n
  1. Sam Neely,\u00a0Switchback Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Andrea Allen,\u00a0Onyx Coffee Lab<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Emily Orendorff,\u00a0Boxcar Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Cassie Ash,\u00a0Small Planes Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Hugo Cano, Independent<\/li>\n
  6. Naida Lindberg,\u00a0Verve Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Reef Bessette,\u00a0The Coffee Movement<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Joel Bigelow,\u00a0Messenger Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Hana Kaneshige,\u00a0Counter Culture Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. Raechel Hurd,\u00a0Epoch Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  11. Milo DeGoosh,\u00a0Bard Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  12. Matthew Barahura,\u00a0Intelligentsia Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  13. Austin Amento,\u00a0Augie\u2019s Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  14. Kristi Persinger,\u00a0Stumptown Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
  15. Meg Skop,\u00a0Equator Coffees & Teas<\/a><\/li>\n
  16. Douglas Park, Independent<\/li>\n
  17. Maxwell Mooney,\u00a0Narrative Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
  18. Morgan Eckroth,\u00a0Tried & True Coffee Co<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Brewers Cup<\/h3>\n
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    Julia Peixoto (Photo by Elizabeth Chai)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    More so than any other competition, including the Barista Championship, the Brewers Cup<\/a> is where previous Finalists loomed largest, taking the top three spots as well as ninth with Blair Smith (and let’s be honest, Smith is one of the most seasoned Brewers Cup competitors in the field, so I wouldn’t bet on her finishing below ninth on the national<\/em> stage).<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Jacob White (Photo by Elizabeth Chai)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    At the same time, the Brewers Cup was the only competition last year where a newcomer won it all. It just goes to show that it is anyone’s game, but expect to see White, Gann, McCormick-Goodhart, and Smith near the top. Maybe this is the year on of them finally breaks through.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Jacob White,\u00a0Bird Rock Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Kaley Gann,\u00a0Messenger Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Justin McCormick-Goodhart,\u00a0Sweet Bloom Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
    4. Lance Hedrick,\u00a0Onyx Coffee Lab<\/a><\/li>\n
    5. Joshua Modisette,\u00a0Narrative Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
    6. Madeleine Longoria-Garcia, Independent<\/li>\n
    7. Augustine Toscano,\u00a0Windmill Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
    8. Avery Leith,\u00a0Elixr Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
    9. Blair Smith,\u00a0Augie\u2019s Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
    10. Stephen White,\u00a0Joe Coffee Co<\/a><\/li>\n
    11. Nicholai Elkins,\u00a0Switchback Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
    12. Kelly Hill,\u00a0Temple Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Coffee in Good Spirits<\/h3>\n
      \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

      Josh Smith (Photo by Elizabeth Chai)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      Coffee in Good Spirits<\/a> has been a staple of the World Coffee Events<\/a> competition roster since 2011, but somehow, it wasn’t until the 2019 season that the United States decided to get involved, with the first appearance of the event on US soil taking place over the weekend.<\/p>\n

      CIGS in America still feels a bit like it is in the beta testing phases; only a total of six competitors decided to give it a go in Denver, but this is surely poised to change. America has some of the best cocktail bars in the entire world as well as an already established mixology competition scene; combine in the fact that many baristas have made the switch from coffee bar to bar-bar and you’ve got a recipe for strong future performances. It’s only a matter of time.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Sam Schroeder,\u00a0Olympia Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
      2. Kimhak Em,\u00a0Peixoto Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
      3. Joshua Smith,\u00a0West Oak Coffee Bar<\/a><\/li>\n
      4. Michael Slomzenski,\u00a0Huckleberry Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
      5. Kasey Headley,\u00a0Trinity Street Coffee Bar<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Cup Tasters<\/h3>\n
        \"\"<\/p>\n

        Noah Goodman (Photo by Elizabeth Chai)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        It doesn’t matter where you are in the building, whenever competitors start raising those cups looking for red dots, you can hear the roars of the crowd. With the immediacy of the scoring\u2014is there a dot or isn’t there\u2014Cup Tasters<\/a> makes for some of the most exciting spectating in all of coffee competition.<\/p>\n

        In Denver, speed was the name of the game. With Sebastian Legner going a perfect six for six and another 10 competitors only missing one, that left only four spots for the 19 competitors that correctly identified four of six cups. Only two seconds separated Jie Jiang and ReAnimator<\/a>‘s Cody McGregor, 2:25 to 2:27, but that was the difference between booking a ticket to KC and a ticket back home.<\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Sebastian Legner,\u00a0Copper Door Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
        2. Chris Kornman,\u00a0Royal Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
        3. Jen Apodaca,\u00a0Royal Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
        4. Chloe O\u2019Connor,\u00a0Everyman Espresso<\/a><\/li>\n
        5. Scott MacBride,\u00a0InterAmerican Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
        6. Roman Deshong,\u00a0Amethyst Coffee Co<\/a><\/li>\n
        7. Kevin Nealon,\u00a0Huckleberry Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
        8. Andy Sprenger,\u00a0Sweet Bloom Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
        9. Jin Chiew,\u00a0Sweet Bloom Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
        10. Austin Amento,\u00a0Augie\u2019s Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
        11. Michael Schroeder,\u00a0Oddly Correct<\/a><\/li>\n
        12. Noah Goodman,\u00a0Faema<\/a><\/li>\n
        13. Khristian Yurchak,\u00a0Sisters Coffee Co<\/a><\/li>\n
        14. Brandon Despain,\u00a0Caffe Ibis<\/a><\/li>\n
        15. Jie Jiang,\u00a0Andante Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Roasters Championship<\/h3>\n

          \"\"<\/p>\n

          For the first time in competition history, the US Roasters Championship<\/a> has a qualifying round. No more sign-up and show up, not that it made much of a difference for Andrew Oberholzer, last year’s sixth place finisher and the winner of the Denver Qualifiers.<\/p>\n

          One of the great features of the Roasters Championship is how it reduces the barrier between competitor and spectator. Unlike any other event, where those in attendance can maybe sometimes get to try a competitor’s coffee or sig bev, for Roasters, spectators not only get to taste the coffees but have a hand in deciding the outcome by voting on their favorite.<\/p>\n

          If there was a single feet at the Denver Qualifying Event that could be considered as the most remarkable, it comes from Roasters (and Cup Tasters) with Jen Apodaca making the podium in both events. If she can repeat this performance in Kansas City, it will undoubtedly be one of the best US Coffee Championship appearances in the history of the competition.<\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Andrew Oberholzer,\u00a0Joe Coffee Co<\/a><\/li>\n
          2. Shelby Williamson,\u00a0Huckleberry Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
          3. Jen Apodaca,\u00a0Royal Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
          4. Leo Sideras, Independent<\/li>\n
          5. Evan Inatome,\u00a0Elixr Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
          6. Aaron Rollins,\u00a0Caffe Ibis<\/a><\/li>\n
          7. Hugh Morretta,\u00a0La Colombe Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
          8. Daniel Mauck,\u00a0Social Hour Coffee Roasters<\/a><\/li>\n
          9. Mark Boccard, Southdown Coffee<\/li>\n
          10. Weston Nawrocki,\u00a0Manzanita Roasting Co<\/a><\/li>\n
          11. Andrew Burgason,\u00a0Windmill Coffee<\/a><\/li>\n
          12. Nathan Van Dusen,\u00a0Brio Coffeeworks<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Photos for Sprudge and Sprudge Live by Elizabeth Chai and Charlie Burt.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Zac Cadwalader<\/a>\u00a0is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas.\u00a0Read more Zac Cadwalader\u00a0on Sprudge<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

            The post Looking Back At The US Coffee Championships Denver Qualifying Event<\/a> appeared first on Sprudge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

            Source: Coffee News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            And just like that, half the field is set for the 2019 US Coffee Championships taking place in Kansas City, Missouri next year in March. A total of 192 coffee…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[26],"tags":[63,27,65,33,61,32,59,31,30],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}