On February 11th and 12th of 2017 a legion of baristas descended upon Austin, Texas, with a singular goal: advancing to compete at nationals April 21st-23rd in Seattle. And compete they did. Sprudge’s live coverage team from Austin brought you industry-leading play by play action of the event all weekend long over on SprudgeLive.com, our sister website dedicated to competitive coffee, as well as via the @SprudgeLive Twitter feed and @Sprudge Instagram. Now we’re thrilled to bring you the advancing competitors across four competitions at #CoffeeChamps Austin.
Sprudge Media Network’s coverage of the 2017 US Coffee Champs is made possible by Urnex Brands and Nuova Simonelli. Sprudge is an official media partner of the Specialty Coffee Association and #CoffeeChamps.
So here they are! Let’s meet the coffee competitors moving on from this first round of qualifiers in Austin.
Barista Competition
- Andrea Allen, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR
- Talya Strader, Equator Coffee & Teas, San Francisco, CA
- Devin Chapman, Coffee Manufactory, San Francisco, CA
- Ashley Rodriguez, The CRO Cafe, Oakland, CA
- Isaiah Sheese, Archetype Coffee, Omaha, NE
- Lorenzo Perkins, Fleet Coffee, Austin, TX
- Nicholas Balcer, Barista, Portland, OR
- Matthew Gasaway, Intelligentsia Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
- Sam Schroeder, Olympia Coffee Roasting Co, Olympia, WA
- Andrew Frohn, Ultimo Coffee, Philadelphia, PA
- Becky Reeves, Barista, Portland, OR
- Eliza Lovett, Story Coffee Co, Colorado Springs, CO
- Tyler Hill, Loyal Coffee, Colorado Springs, CO
- Dustin Mattson, Counter Culture Coffee, Atlanta, GA
- David Buehrer, Greenway Coffee Co, Houston, TX
- Milo DeGoosh, Bard Coffee, Portland, ME
- Brandon Paul Weaver, Foreigner, Seattle, WA
- Josh Taves, Novo Coffee, Denver, CO
Brewers Cup
- Tommy Kim, Andante Coffee Roasters, Los Angeles, CA
- Jacob White, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, San Diego, CA
- Alexander Choppin, Baratza, Bellevue, WA
- Chris Garrison, Old World Coffee Co, Reno, NV
- Allie Silvas, Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago, IL
- Michael Schroeder, Oddly Correct, Kansas City, MO
- Dylan Siemens, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR
- Chelsey Walker-Watson, Slate Coffee Roasters, Seattle, WA
- Brian Gelletly, Joe Coffee Co, Philadelphia, PA
- Sam Schroeder, Olympia Coffee Roasting Co, Olympia, WA
- Erich Rosenberg, Novo Coffee, Denver, CO
- Conor Poull, West Oak Coffee Roasters, Denton, TX
Roasters Championship
- Tim Maestas, Augie’s Coffee, Redlands, CA
- Elliot Reinecke, Steady State Roasting, Cardiff, CA
- Taylor Gresham, Evocation Coffee Roasters, Amarillo, TX
- Matthew Toomey, Boomtown Coffee Roasters, Houston, TX
- Mark Michaelson, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR
- Evan Inatome, Elixr Coffee, Philadelphia, PA
Cup Tasters
- Jon Allen, Onyx Coffee Lab, Springdale, AR
- Kevin Rosenkranz, Camber Coffee, Bellingham, WA
- Charles Lambert, Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Denver, CO
- Cody McGregor, Ultimo Coffee, Philadelphia, PA
- Anderson Stockdale, Blacksmith, Houston, TX
- Taylor Sullivan, Olam Specialty Coffee, Healdsburg, CA
- Ryan Smith, Novel Coffee Roasters, Dallas, TX
- Benji Aguilar, XELA Coffee Roasters, Houston, TX
- Anthony Auger, Genuine Origin Project, St. Louis, MO
- Megan O’Connell, Portland, OR
- Marco Carrera, Colectivo Coffee, Milwaukee, WI
- Steve Hyun, Andante Coffee Roasters, Los Angeles, CA
Coverage is produced by Zac Cadwalader. Photos by Charlie Burt and Elizabeth Chai for Sprudge Media Network.