The 2026 United States Coffee Championships season kicked off over the weekend in Seattle, Washington with the first two events of the year. Taking over Olympia Coffee’s downtown location, the Coffee in Good Spirits and Latte Art Championships brought together over 30 coffee professionals from around the country to compete for spots in Sunday’s Finals rounds.
The events, Coffee in Good Spirits in particular, brought in a host of familiar names for anyone who has been paying attention to the US Barista Championship over the years. Names like Gray Kauffman, Hugo Cano, and Cris Mendoza, all of whom have competed multiple times at the USBC and who now can also call themselves Coffee in Good Spirits Finalists.
It was an exciting weekend of coffee and a heck of a way to kick off the 2026 season. So without further ado, here are the results from the 2026 US Coffee in Good Spirits Championship and US Latte Art Championship.
Latte Art
Champion: Marco Monzon – Mandarin Coffee – Los Angeles, CA
Runner-Up: Ziah Bloom – Lamppost Coffee – Austin, TX
Third: Weian “Andy” Liang – Hedge Coffee – San Francisco, CA
4th: Vasuwit “Dat” Sricumphoti – Coffee Religion – Las Vegas, NV
5th: Hovin He – Coffee Project NY – New York, NY
6th: Kayla Herrera – Iconik Coffee Roasters – Santa Fe, NM
Coffee in Good Spirits
Champion: Hugo Cano – Texture Coffee – Newport Beach, CA
Runner-Up: Richelle Taylor – Olympia Coffee – Tacoma, WA
Third: Gray Kauffman – Seattle, WA
4th: Alexander Bertrand – Goshen Coffee – Glen Carbon, IL
5th: Cris Mendoza – Saint Frank Coffee – San Francisco, CA
6th: Christian Bak – Greenway Coffee – Houston, TX
Congratulations to all the winners and Finalists!
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
Images via US Coffee Championships
