First reported by Daily Coffee News, the U.S. Roaster Championship results are now final. Finalist roasters at the national competition were required to grade beans, build a roast plan, roast the coffee and serve it to a panel of five expert judges — all in quick succession at the event. Scored on every stage of the process, 24 finalists were whittled down to the top 6 coffee roasters in the US. The best part? You can buy bags from each roaster online.
Shelby Williamson, Huckleberry Roasters
1st Place: Based in Denver, Huckleberry Roasters has grown from a garage roaster to a global micro-farm sourcing powerhouse. Huckleberry offers plenty of single origins, blends and decaf options at varying roast levels — in other words, it doesn’t discriminate against your taste in coffee.
Hugh Moretta, La Colombe Coffee Roasters
2nd Place: Known for a far-reaching and experimental collection of roasts, La Colombe is one of the specialty coffee old guard. What started in the mid-90s as a single shop in Philadelphia is now one café and roasting empire that’s spread to Chicago, New York City, Washington D.C. and more.
Mark Boccard, Southdown Coffe
3rd Place: Native to Huntington, New York with another location in Oyster Bay, Southdown coffee prioritizes flavor clarity and balancing adventurous roasts and origins with more familiar flavors.
Janine Cundy, Joe Bean Coffee Roasters
4th Place: This Rochester, New York roaster is so deep into the coffee thicket it’s making tea out of the dried skins of coffee cherries. They stock the reliably great stuff, too.
Steve Cuevas, Black Oak Coffee Roasters
5th Place: One of NorCal’s finest coffee roasters describes coffee as “practically a religious experience.” They’ve also got a wealth of blended, single origin and even canned coffee to pick from.
Eric Stone, Mudhouse Coffee Roasters
6th Place: Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Mudhouse offers everything from bags of decaf to ultra-premium, naturally processed Geisha varietals.