Here’s Everyone Moving On From Knoxville #CoffeeChamps

On January 21st and 22nd of 2017 a legion of baristas descended upon the charming Tennessee college town of Knoxville, each with one goal in mind: to excel on the US Coffee Championships stage, and advance to compete at nationals April 21st-23rd in Seattle. Sprudge’s live coverage team from Knoxville 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 Knoxville.

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 Knoxville.

Barista Competition

1. Samuel Lewontin, Everyman Espresso, New York, NY
2. Cole McBride, Independent, Las Vegas, NV
3. Kyle Ramage, Mahlkonig USA, Raleigh, NC
4. Bethany Hargrove, Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, San Franciso, CA
5. Matthew Barahura, Intelligentsia Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
6. Shane Hess, Jubala Coffee, Raleigh, NC
7. Ben Fisher, La Colombe Coffee Roasters, Philadelphia, PA
8. Micah Sherer, Ally Coffee, Greenville, SC
9. Hannah Craig, Quills Coffee, Louisville, KY
10. Steph Caronna, New World Café, Apex, NC
11. Eli Ramirez, Halfwit Coffee, Chicago, IL
12. Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee, Everett, WA
13. Andrew McCaslin, Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co., St Louis, MO
14. Collin Schneider, Bespoken Coffee Roasters, Corvallis, OR
15. Cris Mendoza, Saint Frank Coffee, San Francisco, CA
16. Reef Bassette, Saint Frank Coffee, San Francisco, CA
17. Amelia Wimmer, Tried & True Coffee Co., Corvalis, OR
18. Marcos Iglesias, VP Coffee, Raleigh, NC

Brewers Cup

1. Jenna Gotthelf, Everyman Espresso, New York, NY
2. Wade Preston, Prevail Coffee Roasters, Auburn, AL
3. Jessica Rodriguez, Klatch Coffee, Ontario, CA
4. Greg Loring-Albright, Little Amps Coffee Roasters, Harrisburg, PA
5. Alex Meece, Steadfast Coffee, Louisville, KY
6. Brian Beyke, Independent, Louisville, KY
7. Adam Hubbell, Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, San Francisco, CA
8. Phillip Hatter, Red Rooster Coffee Roaster, Floyd, VA
9. Ashley Whelan, Keffa Coffee, Baltimore, MD
10. Don Lawrence, Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago, IL
11. Dustin Thomas, Steadfast Coffee, Nashville, TN
12. Kevin Smith, Ultimo Coffee, Philadelphia, PA

Cup Tasters Championship

1. Samuel Demisse, Keffa Coffee, Baltimore, MD
2. Steve Cuevas, Black Oak Coffee Roasters, Ukiah, CA
3. Steve Latham, Everyman Espresso, New York, NY
4. Aaron Lerner, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Manlius, MA
5. Kenny Smith, Sunergos Coffee, Louisville, KY
6. Aaron MacDougall, Broadsheet Coffee Roasters, Cambridge, MA
7. Michael Burkarski, Blue Bottle Coffee, New York, NY
8. Jeremy Moore, Bonlife Coffee Roasters, Cleveland, TN
9. Zayne Dietterick, Keffa Coffee, Baltimore, MD
10. Bryan Belknap, Madcap Coffee, Grand Rapids, MI
11. Adam Snow, Beans and Bagels, Chicago, IL
12. Blake Nail, Seeds Coffee Co, Birmingham, AL

Roaster’s Competition

1. Cameron Heath, Revelator Coffee Company, Birmingham, AL
2. Eric Stone, Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, Charlottesville, VA
3. Hugh Morretta, La Colombe Coffee, Philadelphia, PA
4. Jeremias Paul, Broom Wagon Coffee, Charleston, SC
5. Sam Kayser, Lone Oak Coffee Co, Winchester, VA
6. Christ Vigilante, Vigilante Coffee, Hyattsville, MD

Coverage is produced by Zac Cadwalader. Photos by Charlie Burt and Elizabeth Chai for Sprudge Media Network.