2013 US Barista Championship and Brewers Cup

Today was the final round for the US Barista Championship and the US Brewers Cup. These competitions focus, respectively, on espresso based drinks and hand-crafted brewed coffee. The winners from today will go on to Melbourne later this year to compete in the world championships. I’ve listed the winners and finalists below – keep an eye on them and their companies; if you live nearby, definitely give them a visit!

I really think that anyone who reaches this level of competition is a winner, and if you’re a consumer you should seek out the baristas, cafes, and roasters who are taking the time to compete themselves or to support competitors in raising the bar in the craft of coffee. Congrats to all the winners and the finalists!

US Barista Championship

1. Pete Licata – Parisi Coffee, Kansas City, MO
2. Charles Babinski – G&B Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
3. Trevor Corlett – Madcap Coffee, Grand Rapids, MI
4. Sam Lewontin – Everyman Espresso, New York, NY
5. Nick Purvis – The French Press, Santa Barbara, CA
6. Charlie Habegger – Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Chicago, IL

If you want to watch their presentations, you can check out the archived Livestream videos here.

US Brewers Cup Winners

1. Erin McCarthy – Counter Culture Coffee
2. Jonathan Bonchak – Counter Culture Coffee
3. Sean Stewart – CREMA, Nashville, TN
4. Dean Kallivrousis – Parisi Coffee, Kansas City, MO
5. Phillip Ma – Ma’Velous, San Francisco, CA
6. Brandon Paul Weaver – Slate Coffee Roasters, Seattle, WA

I was lucky enough to try Sam Lewontin’s drinks while acting as a mock judge in one of his practice runs here in New York (pictured below), it was really impressive! The same coffee, a Burundi roasted by Counter Culture Coffee, is probably still available at Everyman Espresso’s Soho shop. In fact, during a coffee crawl with Kalle Freese, Finland’s 2013 Barista Champion, Everyman Espresso produced perhaps the best shots we tried all weekend.  If you’re in New York, do pop over to say congrats – and try some great coffee! If you’re elsewhere in the States, check the list above to see who you’re near :)