Get Ready! USCC Prelims are coming to the LAB: Introducing our Barista Competitors!

In case you missed out on the Brewer’s Cup Post… The U.S. Coffee Championships are a series of three events celebrating specialty coffee: the U.S. CoffeeChamps Preliminaries, the U.S. CoffeeChamps Qualifying Events, and the U.S. Coffee Championships (Produced by the Specialty Coffee Association.) The U.S. Coffee Champions will then move on to the World Coffee Championships in Boston or Berlin later this year.

What are these competitions about?

At the U.S. CoffeeChamps Barista Prelims, competitors will have 7 minutes to make espressos and milk beverages (from a chosen coffee provided by Royal NY) for 2 sensory judges. competitors are judged on not only the taste of their drinks but, the presentation, accuracy of their tasting descriptors and their technical skills as well!

We here at Royal NY are excited to have the opportunity to host one of the 2020 preliminary events and start the journey for a competitor to potentially win the World Championship!

If you are interested in attending, please register via our Lab Calendar.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is f3d5d16977a04cf7ad9675e40150d982.jpeg-1.jpg — **Hi-uh-sinth Rose-uh-leenda Ree-oas**
@hyarista
**Jola Coffee**
“my name is hyacinth-rosalinda rios, and i go by either hya or rosie! i am 23 years old, ecuadorianx and nonbinary. i live in new jersey, where i have an angel cat named lentil and i am the lead barista at a shop i truly believe to be changing the nj specialty coffee scene; jola coffee. keeping true to my name’s floral roots (har har..), i love anything and everything green. notable favorites being the outdoors, green veggies and kermit the frog.”

**Jenna (Je-nuh) Gotthelf**
(like got health but with an f instead of a th)
@Jennahhhhhhhhh
**Counter Culture Coffee**
Why Compete?
“Competition is a great way to both push yourself and the industry forward at the same time. It is a way to represent and share ideas on a stage built for innovating coffee.”

**Felix Torres**
@baristasaurusrex
**Starbucks Reserve Roastery**
Favorite cup of coffee lately:
“Burundi”
Favorite drink that’s not coffee:
“Orange Juice”

**Jinwoo Ahn**
@jinwooahn1246
***Cafe Grumpy***
“I moved to USA when I was 13 years old. After graduating middle school and high school, I entered College for business major however, it didn’t last long. I didn’t have a dream and not know what to do with my life. It was 2 years ago that I got to know Heartbreaker (an espresso blend) from Cafe Grumpy and fell in love with coffee. I immediately joined Cafe Grumpy, since then, I’ve met different kinds of people and coffee. Enjoying my days working in coffee industry”

**Alex**
@neil_peartafilter
**Flux Coffee**
Favorite thing to drink that is not coffee:
“Scotch, Lemon Snapple, Ginger Ale”

Christopher Ortiz
*Modcup*
Favorite Coffee Lately:
“*Colombia Pacamara*“

**Mario Febres**
@mario.febres
**Double Dutch Espresso**
Favorite Cup of Coffee Lately:
*“I recently had a delicious Esmeralda Geisha roasted by George Howell Roasters and it shook me.”*

Barry Taft
Independent
“I’m the current manager at Intelligentsia Coffee’s Watertown, Massachusetts Coffee Bar. In my spare time I enjoy hiking, playing guitar in my metal band, and petting my two cats Winter and Ragnar.”

Ever wonder what goes into competing? or what the competitors drinks taste like? The best first step in getting involved in competition is volunteering! To volunteer please just choose one of the volunteer ticket options and we will follow up with you in terms of availability and qualifications shortly! We appreciate your help regardless of what you feel your skill level is or your availability!