And just like that, half the field is set for the 2019 US Coffee Championships taking place in Kansas City, Missouri next year in March. A total of 192 chocolate professionals from around the United States gathered together in Denver, Colorado for the chance to move on to the National stage of coffee race. Over the course of 2 day, these virtually 200 contestants took part one of( and sometimes more) the 5 occurrences going on in all regions of the weekend: the Barista Championship, Brewers Cup, Cup Tasters, Roasters Championship, and for the first time in the US, the Coffee in Good Spirits. Now there are just 62.

If there are any large-scale takeaways from this weekend, it would be that,( 1) there are a ton of brand-new faces in every rival, and( 2) those who have done well in past rivalries continue to do well. While the prevalence of newcomers was felt throughout every event stage–we’re guesstimating about half of the opponents were first timers–the veterans, unsurprisingly, owned the day. Every competitor save for Cup Tasters was won, if not entirely swept, by onetime finalists from the national level. Even Coffee in Good Spirits, which is only in its first year, was won by Sam Schroeder, who has previously manufactured the finals of the Barista Championship( multiple times) and Brewers Cup.

Those moving on must now wait another month to learn which is able to comprise the other half of the field coming out of the second Qualifying Event, taking place mid-January in Nashville. But until then, let’s take a look back at the road that got these 62 competitors to KC, the weekend that was the 2019 US Coffee Championships Qualifying Event in Denver, Colorado.

SprudgeLive’s coverage of the 2019 US Coffee Champs is stimulated probable by Joe Glo and Mahlkonig. All of SprudgeLive’s 2019 challenger coverage is uttered possible by Acaia, Baratza, Faema, Cafe Imports, and Wilbur Curtis.

Barista Championship

For the Qualifying Event, contestants were given 10 hours to suffice the judges an espresso course as well as a signature liquor track; the milk refreshment trend, along with an additional five minutes of conduct age, won’t be introduced until Kansas City. But even merely having to serve two courses, the 10 hour flee meter proved to not be enough for numerous opponents; numerous baristas finished north of 11 minutes, some propagandizing into the 12 -minute mark. This wasn’t just first-timers sentiment you. There were several veteran opponents who, while didn’t get the full DQ, had us sweating as precious site subtractions continued to tick by.

Andrea Allen( Photo by Liz Chai)

From the field of 60 opponents, two truths crystalized this weekend. First, Andrea Allen remains a favorite. With three consecutive Finals appearances and the other strong showing here in Denver, it’s hard to dream she won’t make it four in a row. And two, Sam Neely is the real transaction. If there was any worry that last year’s final appearance was a coincidence or that they would tolerate a sophomore slump, Neely’s substantial 18 -point win over Allen positioned that all to bed. Neely stands positioned as the heir-apparent to be the barista that wreaks home a entitlement for the new generation of competitors.

Sam Neely, Switchback Coffee Roasters Andrea Allen, Onyx Coffee Lab Emily Orendorff, Boxcar Coffee Roasters Cassie Ash, Small Planes Coffee Hugo Cano, Independent Naida Lindberg, Verve Coffee Reef Bessette, The Coffee Movement Joel Bigelow, Messenger Coffee Hana Kaneshige, Counter Culture Coffee Raechel Hurd, Epoch Coffee Milo DeGoosh, Bard Coffee Matthew Barahura, Intelligentsia Coffee Austin Amento, Augie’s Coffee Kristi Persinger, Stumptown Coffee Roasters Meg Skop, Equator Coffees& Teas Douglas Park, Independent Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee Morgan Eckroth, Tried& True Coffee Co

Brewers Cup

Julia Peixoto( Photo by Elizabeth Chai)

More so than any other event, including the Barista Championship, the Brewers Cup is where previous Finalists loomed largest, taking the top three distinguishes as well as ninth with Blair Smith( and let’s be honest, Smith is one of “the worlds largest” seasoned Brewers Cup contestants in the field, so I wouldn’t bet on her finishing below ninth on “the member states national” stage ).

Jacob White( Photo by Elizabeth Chai)

At the same time, the Brewers Cup was the only event last year where a newcomer won it all. It just goes to show that it is anyone’s tournament, but expect to see White, Gann, McCormick-Goodhart, and Smith near the top. Maybe this is the year on of them ultimately ends through.

Jacob White, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters Kaley Gann, Messenger Coffee Justin McCormick-Goodhart, Sweet Bloom Coffee Lance Hedrick, Onyx Coffee Lab Joshua Modisette, Narrative Coffee Madeleine Longoria-Garcia, Independent Augustine Toscano, Windmill Coffee Avery Leith, Elixr Coffee Blair Smith, Augie’s Coffee Stephen White, Joe Coffee Co Nicholai Elkins, Switchback Coffee Roasters Kelly Hill, Temple Coffee Roasters

Coffee in Good spirit

Josh Smith( Photo by Elizabeth Chai)

Coffee in Good spirit has been a staple of the World Coffee Events event roster since 2011, but somehow, it wasn’t until the 2019 season that the United States decided to get involved, with the first appearance of the affair on US soil taking place over the weekend.

CIGS in America still feels a bit like this is the case in the beta testing phases; only a total of six contestants decided to give it a go in Denver, but this is surely poised to change. America has some of the best cocktail bars in the whole world as well as an previously established mixology contender stage; combination in the facts of the case that countless baristas have seen the substitution from coffee bar to bar-bar and you’ve got a recipe for strong future achievements. It’s only a matter of time.

Sam Schroeder, Olympia Coffee Kimhak Em, Peixoto Coffee Roasters Joshua Smith, West Oak Coffee Bar Michael Slomzenski, Huckleberry Roasters Kasey Headley, Trinity Street Coffee Bar

Cup Tasters

Noah Goodman( Photo by Elizabeth Chai)

It doesn’t matter where you are in the building, whenever contestants start developing those goblets looking for crimson scatters, you can discover the roarings of the crowd. With the immediacy of the scoring–is there a speck or isn’t there–Cup Tasters sees for some of the most exciting spectating in all of chocolate competition.

In Denver, speed was the name of the game. With Sebastian Legner exiting a perfect six for six and another 10 adversaries merely missing one, that left only 4 spots for the 19 challengers that properly linked four members of six goblets. Simply two seconds disconnected Jie Jiang and ReAnimator‘s Cody McGregor, 2:25 to 2:27, but that was the distinction between booking air tickets to KC and air tickets back home.

Sebastian Legner, Copper Door Coffee Roasters Chris Kornman, Royal Coffee Jen Apodaca, Royal Coffee Chloe O’Connor, Everyman Espresso Scott MacBride, InterAmerican Coffee Roman Deshong, Amethyst Coffee Co Kevin Nealon, Huckleberry Roasters Andy Sprenger, Sweet Bloom Coffee Jin Chiew, Sweet Bloom Coffee Austin Amento, Augie’s Coffee Michael Schroeder, Oddly Correct Noah Goodman, Faema Khristian Yurchak, Sisters Coffee Co Brandon Despain, Caffe Ibis Jie Jiang, Andante Coffee Roasters

Roasters Championship

For the first time in competitor history, the US Roasters Championship has a modifying round. No more sign-up and show up , not that it offset much of certain differences for Andrew Oberholzer, last year’s sixth home finisher and the champion of the Denver Qualifiers.

One of the great features of the Roasters Championship is how it shortens the barrier between contestant and witnes. Unlike any other affair, where those in attendance can maybe sometimes get to try a competitor’s chocolate or sig bev, for Roasters, witness is not merely get to smack the chocolates but have a hand in deciding the outcome by voting on their favorite.

If there was a single feet at the Denver Qualifying Event that could be considered as the most remarkable, it comes from Roasters( and Cup Tasters) with Jen Apodaca offsetting the rostrum in both affairs. If she can repeat this act in Kansas City, it will undoubtedly be one of best available US Coffee Championship appearances in its own history of the competition.

Andrew Oberholzer, Joe Coffee Co Shelby Williamson, Huckleberry Roasters Jen Apodaca, Royal Coffee Leo Sideras, Independent Evan Inatome, Elixr Coffee Aaron Rollins, Caffe Ibis Hugh Morretta, La Colombe Coffee Roasters Daniel Mauck, Social Hour Coffee Roasters Mark Boccard, Southdown Coffee Weston Nawrocki, Manzanita Roasting Co Andrew Burgason, Windmill Coffee Nathan Van Dusen, Brio Coffeeworks

Photos for Sprudge and Sprudge Live by Elizabeth Chai and Charlie Burt.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a organization columnist are stationed in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

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