Day One of the United States Cup Tasters Competition is over—here are the six finalists moving on to compete for the title of the top U.S. Cup Taster.
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of the SCA
The U.S. Cup Tasters Competition at the United States Coffee Championship. is one of the most exciting and riveting competitions, with tasters finding out in real time how well they did, cheered on by host Marcus Boni. Six tasters will move on to the next round of competition, joining the other six semifinalists who received bids into the semifinal round, to take place today, April 21st, starting at 10:20. Here are those six tasters (in no particular order):
- Zayne Dietterick—Keffa Coffee, Baltimore, M.D.
- Sam Demisse—Keffa Coffee, Baltimore, M.D.
- Katie Britt—Dynamite Coffee, Cape Girardeau, M.O.
- Jon Ferguson—Arbor Day Foundation, Lincoln, Neb.
- Spencer Aidukaits—Peixoto Coffee, Tempe, Ariz.
- Ken Selby—Visions Espresso, Seattle, Wash.
Here’s the schedule for competition today:
CUP TASTERS SEMIFINALISTS
Heat 1: 10:20
Adam Snow—Beans and Bagels, Chicago, Ill.
Khanh Trang—Greater Goods Coffee Roasters, Austin, Tex.
Katie Britt—Dynamite Coffee, Cape Girardeau, M.O.
Heat 2: 11:20
Ken Selby—Visions Espresso, Seattle, Wash.
Jon Ferguson—Arbor Day Foundation, Lincoln, Neb.
Sam Demisse—Keffa Coffee, Baltimore, M.D.
Heat 3: 12:20
Tommy Tae U Kim—Barlog Coffee Roastery, Los Angeles, Calif.
James Gibbs—Caravela Coffee, Durham, N.C.
Spencer Aidukaits—Peixoto Coffee, Tempe, Ariz.
Heat 4: 1:20
Jason Burkum—Archetype Coffee, Omaha, Neb.
Eduard Andrusyak—Chocolate Fish Coffee Roastersf, Sacramento, Calif.
Zayne Dietterick—Keffa Coffee, Baltimore, M.D.
