The 2023 US Coffee Championships have officially come and gone. After three full days of competition for the entire roster of events—Barista Championship, Brewers Cup, Coffee in Good Spirits, Cup Tasters, Latte Art, and Roasters Championship—we now know who will be representing the United States at the World Coffee Championships later this year in Athens and Taipei.
Nearly 200 coffee professionals from across the country descended upon Portland, Oregon in hopes of winning a national title. It was a hard-fought weekend, especially for those competitors to made it to Sunday and had to perform at a super-high level one last time. But after what preceded it, what’s another 15 more minutes? And compete they did one last time, for the chance to be crown a US Coffee champion. So without further ado, let’s find out who won, shall we? Here are the winners of the 2023 US Coffee Championships.
Barista Championship
Winner: Isaiah Sheese (he/him), Archetype Coffee, Omaha, NE
Runner-Up: Morgan Eckroth (she/they), Onyx Coffee Lab, Portland, OR
3rd Place: Juan Diaz (he/him), KWC, Orlando, FL
4th: Dakota Graff (he/him), Onyx Coffee Lab, Rogers, AR
5th: Reef Bessette (he/him), The Coffee Movement, San Francisco, CA
6th: Frank La (he/him), Be Bright Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
Brewers Cup
Winner: Wenbo Yang (he/him), Independent, Vancouver, WA
Runner-Up: Weihong Zhang (he/him), Blendin Coffee Lab, Houston, TX
3rd Place: Daniel Teplitz (he/him), Klatch Coffee, Los Angeles, CA
4th: Jesus Iniquez (he/him), Archetype Coffee, Omaha, NE
5th: Max Phills (they/them), Loveless Coffee, Brooklyn, NY
6th: Elika Liftee (he/him), Onyx Coffee Lab, Rogers, AR
Coffee in Good Spirits
Winner: Sam Schroeder (he/him), Olympia Coffee, Olympia, WA
Runner-Up: Kyle Hamlin (he/him), Jubala Coffee, Raleigh, NC
3rd Place: Edwin Gorritz (he/him), Barista Squared, Orlando, FL
4th: Linnea True (she/her), Boxcar Coffee Roasters, Arvada, CO
5th: Natasha Solowoniuk (she/her), Caffe Vita, Seattle, WA
6th: Mo Koolphanich (she/her), Slipstream, DC, Arlington, VA
Cup Tasters
Winner: Jake Donaghy (he/him), Olympia Coffee Roasting, Olympia, WA
Runner-Up: Andrew Shelley (he/him), Brio Coffeeworks, Burlington, VT
3rd Place: Andy Sprenger (he/him), Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters, Lakewood, CO
4th: Tom Bomford (he/him), Black Fox Coffee, New York, NY
Latte Art
Winner: Piyapat Lapteerawaut (he/him), Coffee Project NY, New York, NY
Runner-Up: Wenbo Yang (he/him), Artly Coffee, Portland, OR
3rd Place: Truc Ngo (she/her), IO Coffea, Los Angeles, CA
4th: Julie Patadia (she/they), Coffee Project NY, New York, NY
5th: Camilo Sanchez Gomez (he/him), Nativus/Red House, Newark, NJ
6th: Abdul Qader Dali (he/him), Dali Coffee, Arlington, VA
Roasters Championship
Winner: Andrew Coe, Elevator Coffee, Portland, OR
Runner-Up: Steve Cuevas, Black Oak Coffee Roasters, Ukiah, CA
3rd Place: Alex Huang, Aroma Craft Coffee, Walnut, CA
4th: Eduardo Choza, Mayorga Coffee, Rockville, MD
5th: Matthew Selivanow, Kafiex Roasters, Vancouver, WA
6th: Sam Larobardier, Theory Coffee Roasters, Redding, CA
Photos by Liz Chai