The 2027 US Barista Championship season kicked off over the weekend with the triumphant return of the qualifying event round. Taking place at Roastronix HQ just outside Houston, Texas, the first of two qualifiers read more like a USBC Semi-Finals than a regional event.
There were former champions like Isaiah Sheese (2023 USBC), Elika Liftee (2020 and 2022 USBrC), and Sam Schroeder (2023 USCiGS), Finalists David Buehrer, Anthony Ragler, Ziah Bloom, and Rafael Levy, and Semi-Finalist staples Jake McFarland and Olivia Morris.
It was a stacked field, but in the end, only nine of the 24 could move on to the US Barista Championship taking place at the end of January in Franklin, Tennessee, 20 miles south of Nashville. There they will be joined by the nine winners of the second qualifying event later this month in San Diego.
But first, let’s find out who made it out of Houston. Here are the winners of the first qualifying event for the 2027 US Barista Championship.
Jake McFarland, Black & White Roasters
Isaiah Sheese, Archetype Coffee
Anthony Ragler, Black & White Roasters
Sam Schroeder, Olympia Coffee
Ziah Bloom, Praxis Coffee
Dakota Graff, Onyx Coffee Lab
Maya Nguyen, Uncommon Coffee
Sam Barkley, Verve Coffee
Rafael Levy, Onyx Coffee Lab
Congratulations to everyone moving on!
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
All media via the US Coffee Championships
