United States Barista Championship

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The United States Barista Championship (USBC), is an annual American coffee-brewing competition designed to evaluate baristas on their skills in espresso-based drink preparation and service. Competitors prepare and serve three courses of espresso-based beverages consisting of straight espressos, milk beverages, and signature drinks. They are then scored on taste, presentation, and technical proficiency. The winner represents the United States in the World Barista Championship.

Contents

Format

Qualifying

All USBC competitors must first qualify at a CoffeeChamps Qualifying Competition, which is an abbreviated version of the USBC. Two Qualifying Competitions are held each year, the top eighteen competitors from each Qualifying Competition move on to USBC. Places 7-18 move into Round One of USBC. The top six from each qualifying competition receive a bye into the semifinal round.

USBC consists of three rounds: Round One, Semi-Finals, and Finals. At the end of the first round, the competitors with the six highest scores advance to the semifinals round and join the twelve competitors who earned a bye from CoffeeChamps. Six competitors qualify for the finals and the champion is determined from this pool. The winner represents the United States in the World Barista Championship.

Presentation rules

Barista Jong Hoon Lee preparing coffee at the 2015 World Barista Championships while several judges are taking notes Wider side view Jong Hoon Lee competing WBC.jpg
Barista Jong Hoon Lee preparing coffee at the 2015 World Barista Championships while several judges are taking notes

At the Qualifying Competitions, baristas serve two courses of espresso-based beverages consisting of espressos and signature drinks for two scoring sensory judges, two non-scoring guest judges or judges-in-training, two technical judges, and a head judge. There is a ten-minute time limit.

At the USBC, competitors must make three courses of beverages within a fifteen-minute time limit and are judged by seven different judges. The judging team consists of four sensory judges, two technical judges, and a head judge. The role of the sensory judge is to score the competitor solely on the quality of the beverage served and customer service. The technical judges are not served drinks, but score the competitor on items ranging from cleanliness to consistency of shot times. Judges undergo a certification process before the competition. [1] [2]

History

The competition started in 2002 and was initially referred to as the North American Barista Competition. [3] [4] The 2021 edition of the competition was cancelled due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. [5]

In 2015, the competition was the subject of the documentary Barista , which followed competitors in the 2013 USBC. [6]

Winners

YearWinner
2002Dismas Smith A [3]
2003Heather Perry [7]
2004Bronwen Serna [8]
2005Phuong Tran [9]
2006Matt Riddle [10]
2007Heather Perry [11]
2008Kyle Glanville [2]
2009 Michael Phillips [12]
2010Michael Phillips [12]
2011Pete Licata [13]
2012Katie Carguilo [14]
2013Pete Licata [1]
2014Laila Ghambari [15]
2015Charles Babinski [16]
2016Lemuel Butler [16]
2017Kyle Ramage [17]
2018Cole McBride [18]
2019Samantha Spillman [19]
2020Andrea Allen [20]
2022 Morgan Eckroth [21]
2023Isaiah Sheese [22]
2024Frank La [23]

^A In its inaugural year the competition was known as the North American Barista Competition. Dismas Smith was the 2002 NABC champion.

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References

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