The dust has nigh settled on the New York Coffee Festival and it is already time to hop coasts to gird oneself for the next weekend extravaganza, the Los Angeles Coffee Festival! In less than two weeks, tens of thousands of caffeine-fueled attendees will descend up the Magic Box at the Reef for three days of coffee, booze, food, music, and art. And of course, coffee competition.
For the first time in the competition’s US history, Coffee Masters, the fast-paced multi-disciplinary contest putting all one’s barista skills to the test, is hopping coasts from NYC to LA to catch some more of the sunnier vibes. And hoo buddy do they ever have an all-star roster of contenders for the inaugural LA Coffee Masters. There are more national coffee champions, Coffee Masters alum, and high profile coffee professionals than you can cocktail shake a swizzle at. We’ll leave that to the competitors. So let’s meet them (and their tasty sig bevs), shall we?
Christos Andrews: Ghost Note Coffee
Reef Bessette: The Coffee Movement
Jimmy Dimitrov: Clifton Coffee
Shinsaku Fukayama: St Ali
Jenna Gotthelf: Counter Culture
Elizabeth Johnson: Hagen Coffee Roasters
Diana Johnston Ledezma: Dr. Wakefield
Emily Orendorff: Intelligentsia
Malvina Segura: Cognoscenti Coffee
Dylan Siemens: Onyx Coffee Lab
Blair Smith: Augie’s Coffee
Varvara Stukalo: Coffeemania
Carlos de la Torre: Café con Jiribilla
Cole Torode: Rosso Coffee Roasters
Stephen Welch: Due South Coffee Roasters
Casey Wilson: Boxcar Coffee Roasters
Coffee Masters LA takes place at the Los Angeles Coffee Festival happening November 8-10 at the Magic Box at the Reef. For more information, visit the Los Angeles Coffee Festival’s official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
