So this is it. The last day, Sunday, the Finals of the 2026 US Barista Championship. It took three days and nearly 50 routines but we’ve finally arrived at the last six competitors, each of who will be doing one last run in hopes of being crowned the USBC Champion.
There are so many different storylines woven into this year’s Finals round, like how this has basically turned into a regional battle between three great coffee cities: Austin, San Francisco, and Portland, each of which have two representatives (Seidy Selivanow is in Vancouver, WA, just on the other side of PDX). Or like how there are three returning Finalists looking to make that next step but standing in their way is a former USBC Champion—and maybe favorite to win?—Morgan Eckroth standing in their way. Then Ziah Bloom, a first-year competitor who has made Finals in two separate events this year. What do you even do with that? And what about Seidy Selivanow, who’s looked every bit a Finalist this entire weekend? (She was one of my picks to make Finals. She’s got an air of inevitability this year.)
There’s frankly a little too much intrigue. Luckily we’ve got a whole day’s worth of high-end coffee competition to work our way through it all. So strap in, buckle up, make sure your shoelaces are tied. The action starts now, and when it’s done, we’ll have a new US Barista Champion.
Sprudge Media’s coverage of the 2026 US Barista Championship is sponsored by Pacific Barista Series, Ghirardelli, Swiss Water, Cafe Imports, La Marzocco, and Huckleberry Roasters.
Livestream the 2026 US Barista Championship on YouTube hosted by event sponsor Roastronix.
Jak Michael Ryan (he/him) – Proud Mary – Austin, TX
Our first competitor of the 2026 US Barista Championship Finals is Jak Michael Ryan of Proud Mary Coffee in Austin, Texas. This is Ryan’s second year competing at the USBC and his second Finals appearance. He’ s looking to improve upon last year’s sixth place finish.
A former dancer, Ryan is no stranger to performance and he always fills the stage. Boisterous, animated, very Australian, Ryan is in his element up there and it’s pretty easy to see why he’s a real threat to win it all.
The theme for Ryan is time, particularly how time affects a coffee. Time components of his routine include a metronome (that clicks surprisingly loudly) and an hourglass. His coffee today is a function of time, of slowing it down. Gesha Lot No. 1 was produced by Benjamin Paz at La Salsa in Santa Barbara, Honduras. Grown from Hacienda Esmeralda seed stock, this coffee underwent a darkroom dried natural processing, a new processing method that allows producers to slow down the fermentation process, thus allowing them better control.
As an espresso, which Ryan pulls into frozen cups to trap in the volatile aromatic compounds, the Paz Gesha has notes of raspberry, nectarine, and a long dark chocolate finish, with a medium weight and a silky texture.
The milk course also features a time component, from the freeze-distilling. The freezing then unfreezing of milk to remove the water content is a slow process, often taking 12 hours. Ryan has freeze-distilled a lactose-free milk to 50% of its starting weight, which he has blended 1:1 with a traditional whole milk, the Gesha espresso has new flavors of white chocolate cheesecake, caramel, and spiced malt cookie.
For the signature beverage, the time component is Ryan’s time in Honduars, at La Salsa with Benjamin Paz. He incorporates this via tropical fruits he ate while at origin, creating a tiki-drink-like sig bev. Lacto-fermented passionfruit juice, a clarified solution of plantain and honey, and mango distillate all mix with Gesha for notes of orange blossom, golden raisin, and kiwi.
And Jak Michael Ryan of Proud Mary Coffee calls time at 14:49.
Ziah Bloom (he/him) – Lamppost Coffee – Austin, TX
We’re staying in Austin for our next competitor, Ziah Bloom of Lamppost Coffee. Bloom was shot out of a cannon and into this year’s competition season, his first. Having placed second in this year’s Latte Art Championship, Bloom now finds himself in the Finals of the US Barista Championship. We’ve seen competitors make it this far in their first year, but never in two competitions in the same season.
Bloom competes with a Black Honey thermal shock processed Gesha produced at Campo Hermoso in Quindio, Colombia by Edwin Noreña. Starting off with the milk course, Bloom combines the Black Honey Gesha with a 70/20/10 blend of freeze-distilled lactose-free milk, oat milk, and macadamia nut milk, creating notes of brown butter, Neapolitan ice cream, and honeycomb.
We’re seeing a different Ziah Bloom today than we were first introduced to on Thursday. It took Bloom about 10 minutes to work through the nervous energy in Round One’s performance. But here in Finals, Bloom is in complete control. The energy is still there but Bloom is the one in the driver’s seat.
As an espresso, stirred with frozen spoons to bring them to drinking temperature, Bloom’s Geshas have flavors of grape candy, lemon, black tea, and coconut sugar, with a medium-light body with a lingering citrus finish. “This is the true voice of this coffee.”
For his final course, the signature beverage, Bloom combines a clarified cascara, white cardamom, and yuzu syrup, champagne yeast fermented honey, jasmine, and cascara tea, and fresh red grape juice with hyperchilled Black Honey Gesha. After a nitrogen infusion for texture and then finished off with a lemon oil spritz, giving the drink notes of chamomile tea, caramel, apricot jam, and grapefruit juice.
Ziah Bloom calls time at 14:54. There is a sum total of four seconds separating Bloom’s slowest and fastest routines this weekend. Bloom is dialed.
Meg Skop (she/her) – The Coffee Movement – San Francisco, CA
Through what lens will we be seeing coffee during our next routine? Microscopic? Macroscopic? Nope! We’re going Meg Skop-ic. Up now to the stage is the inimitable Meg Skop of The Coffee Movement in San Francisco.
This is Skop’s third time in the Finals, following a sixth place finish in 2024 and a fourth place finish in 2022. Following a season off, Skop is back and looking to take that next big step.
The Skop-ic topic for her Finals run is Utopia and how it is achievable through collaboration. The collaboration begins with Skop’s coffee. It is a blend consisting of coffees from two highly esteemed produced in Cauca, Colombia who also just so happen to be neighbor. 90% of Skop’s blend is a Gesha variety produced by Diego Bermudez, with the remaining 10% being a Pink Bourbon from Wilton Benitez.
As an espresso, that Skop has vacuum-sealed and blended to remove the CO2, the blend presents flavors of juicy peach, yellow mango, and a pleasantly lingering oolong tea finish.
The level of competition is just so damn high. I don’t really know what else to say. It’s been really, really good and so much fun to watch.
For her milk course, Skop combines non-pasteurized, non-homogenized A2 cream-top whole milk with freeze-dried milk in a 95/5 ratio that then gets vacuum-blended. When combined with her Gesha/Pink Bourbon blend in a 1:2 ratio, it has notes of nougat, buttery shortbread, and peach milk tea.
Is Meg Skop in the pocket of Big Vacuum Blender? These are the questions that must be answered? Concluding with the signature beverage, Skop gives one last spin to the blender, this time to emulsify Jasmine flower and coconut milk, yellow mango olea saccharum, pineapple mango mosto juice syrup, red chili olive oil, and espresso. Served at an ambient temperature, it has cherry blossom and lime zest on the nose, with flavors of cherry, marzipan, and lemon candy, and a warming habanero finish. We got to taste Skop’s sig bev and it was phenomenal. Sweet florals, rounded citrus, like the best fruit tootsie roll you’ve ever had with just enough heat on the back end.
Meg Skop of The Coffee Movement in San Francisco calls time at 14:42.
Jason Yeo (he/him) – Saint Frank Coffee – San Francisco, CA
We’re concluding the San Francisco portion of the US Barista Championship Finals today with Jason Yeo of Saint Frank Coffee. The Bay Area has had a frequent and consistent presence at Finals day, thanks in large part to Saint Frank and The Coffee Movement, and to Yeo and Skop in particular. For his part, Yeo is coming off back-to-back third place finishes at USBC, a feat in and of itself, but one can’t help but imagine Yeo’s sights are set a little beyond third this year.
Benjamin Paz is a name we have heard quite a bit this year at competition, but Yeo and Saint Frank have been working with Paz going all the way back to when owner Kevin Bohlin was competing. In a world where producer names fall in and out of fashion, this commitment to a producer partner, especially at this level of competition, is really something extraordinary. People talk a lot about relationships in coffee. Saint Frank has quietly put those words into action for years now.
There are perks to this sort of commitment of course, and one of those for Yeo and Saint Frank is getting their hands on Paz’s first lot of darkroom-dried natural processed Green Tip Gesha from his Santa Barbara, Honduras farm, La Salsa. As an espresso, pulled today at 20g in to 43g out, it has notes of tangerine, rainier and red cherry, and a black tea finish with a medium weight and soft, round texture.
Moving to the milk course, Yeo has created his own blend of lactose-free and rice milk that he evaporated 30% of the water content from to concentrate the fat and sweetness. When combined with the Green Tip Gesha, it has notes of salted caramel and butter cookie.
10 minutes into his set and Yeo is already building his final course, the signature beverage. Hyperchilled espresso, a freeze-clarified hibiscus, peppercorn, pineapple, cacao fruit, and soursop punch, and a non-alcoholic California dessert wine combined with an elderflower cordial, fructose, and polydextrose are all blended together. Collectively they create flavors of of lime sherbet, peach, lychee, and white grapefruit.
Those drinks are on the table at the 13-minute mark, allowing Yeo ample time for his closing remarks, putting the final bow on his Finals routine.
Jason Yeo calls time at 14:22.
Seidy Selivanow (she/her) – Kafiex Coffee – Vancouver, WA
Our second to last competitor here at the 2026 US Barista Championship Finals is Seidy Selivanow of Kafiex Coffee in Vancouver, Washington. Selivanow has been a model of constant improvement over her tenure as a Barista competitor. Starting with her Semi-Finals finish in 2023, Selivanow posted an 8th place finish in 2024 and a 7th place finish in 2025.
She has already secured her best result to date by making Finals this year, but I don’t think 6th is going to cut it. She’s got a mojo this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the Finalists won but I’d be doubly not surprised if Selivanow jumped the line.
Selivanow starts her routine with the espresso course, utilizing a 48-hour yeast inoculated, wash processed SL28 variety coffee produced by Julio Madrid at Finca La Riviera in Risaralda, Colombia. Pulled at 18g in to 50g out and stirred five times, it has notes of orange blossom, peach, and grape, with an orange sweetness, a medium-light weight, and a lingering peach and floral finish.
For the milk course, Selivanow transitions to a mix of Aji and Sudan Rume varieties that have been processed together as a single lot by Nestor Lasso at Finca El Diviso in Pitalito, Colombia. Pulled at a tight 18g in to 32g out and combined with Selivanow’s 80/20 blend of freeze-distilled lactose free milk and cryosdesiccated Hokkaido milk from Japan, the coffee creates notes of salted caramel, milk chocolate, and hints of stone fruit, like peach cobbler, with a chocolate finish.
Seidy Selivanow is so good at this. She makes it look so easy. Could I ever compete in a Barista Championship? Not in a million years. But has watching Selivanow effortlessly float her way through the 15 minutes make me delusional enough to think that I could too? Absolutely.
For the final course, the signature beverage, Selivanow returns to the SL28. A pink peppercorn and vanilla bean simple syrup, strawberry clarified milk punch, and a mango and cempasúchil water get combined with hyperchilled SL28, creating new flavors of caramel, pineapple, and honeycrisp apple, with a juicy, tropical finish.
Seidy Selivanow calls time at 14:47
Morgan Eckroth (they/she) – Onyx Coffee Lab – Portland, OR
Our final competitor at the 2026 US Barista Championship needs no introduction. Up to the stage now is 2022 US Barista Champion Morgan Eckroth of Portland, Oregon representing Onyx Coffee Lab.
Following her 2022 win (and subsequent Runner-Up finish at the World Barista Championship), Eckroth finished second at USBC in 2023 and 2024, which led to her taking a step back from competition in 2025. But she is back now and looking every bit the heir apparent. If Polymarket got wind of barista competitions, Eckroth versus the field would be a coinflip.
Eckroth’s routine this year revolves around that year off, the burnout that cause it and how she had to rediscover the love of competition that kept her coming back to the stage.
The first coffee for Eckroth today comes from the famed Elida Estate in Boquete, Panama. Produced by the Lamastus family, this Gesha variety has been darkroom dried and natural processed, and pulled over frozen spheres at 20g in to 45g out, as espresso it has notes of raspberry, floral earl grey tea, and a chocolate covered orange finish, with a medium-light weight and a lingering finish.
For the milk beverage, Eckroth transitions to an SL28 variety coffee from Edinson Argote at Quebraditas Coffee Farm in Huila, Colombia. The milk is a 75/25 blend of lactose-free whole milk freeze-distilled to 50% by volume and Pacific Barista Series coconut milk that has been finished with a cryodesiccated lactose-free whole milk powder. Together these two components combine for flavors of milk chocolate, red cherry, and salted caramel.
It feels like this year we’re not seeing the internet celebrity Morgan Eckroth but Morgan Eckroth the coffee professional, the one who’s honesty and passion for coffee earned her the 8 million-plus followers on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
For the final course of this 2026 US Barista Championship, Eckroth incorporates both the SL28 and Gesha coffees from the previous courses, hyperchilling them and adding orange and mango juice, bergamot and panela milk punch, and soy lecithin powder. Combined they all get nitrogen charged and poured over a rose snow, creating flavors of strawberry yogurt, milk chocolate, and orange creamsicle.
Morgan Eckroth calls time on the final 2026 USBC routine at 14:57.
And that’s it! We’ll have winner announcements soon, so stay tuned!
