Last month, the United States Coffee Championships took place in Seattle, and we crowned four new champions. Over the next four days, we’ll talk to each champion about their road to victory.
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
This is the last in a four part series. Read our interview of USBC winner Kyle Ramage here, roasting champion Mark Michaelson here, and brewers cup champion Dylan Siemens here.
Ukiah, Calif., is a small city a few hours north of San Francisco. It may not be the place you’d think the reigning United States Cup Tasters champion would reside, but Steve Cuevas—this year’s winner—is the head roaster and jack of all trades for Black Oak Coffee Roasters in Ukiah.
Steve initially didn’t plan on entering Cup Tasters, but after a slot became available in the Knoxville qualifier, he ended up competing and doing well enough to qualify in Seattle. As the head roaster for a bustling roasting company, Steve is cupping all day; instead of relying on an exhaustive training schedule for competition, he was able to draw on his experience tasting hundreds of coffees and trusting his palate. We talk to Steve about his early coffee career, the secrets he won’t tell about tasting coffee, and how his family has supported his dreams.
AR: Tell us about your life pre-coffee. Where are you from and what were you doing before you started making coffee?
SC: I was born in East Los Angeles, but raised in the Inland Empire. I went to Oaks Middle School and played in the school marching band (band nerd/music geek). Amazingly, the two years I attended Oaks, the marching band won every single competition we entered! I also had a great time in high school. I know a lot of people have mixed feelings, but not me! I attended Montclair High School, till I dropped out my senior year. Besides enjoying socializing, I made lifelong friends that I value over anything.
I became heavily drawn to punk music and could be found loitering in Pomona, in front of the Glass House venue, trying to get in for free. At 17 I took over my friend’s apartment on Treasure Island, sandwiched between San Francisco and Oakland. Rent was so cheap I didn’t need to work for 3+ years. It set the pace for my life—slow and relaxing. I spent most of my time in S.F. at ‘Hippy Hill’ or Dolores Park, riding around on my fixed gear bike (but who didn’t). Eventually I moved from Treasure Island to downtown S.F., and I turned 21 while living in the heart of the Tenderloin. I ended up getting my G.E.D. (Good Enough Diploma) as a gift to myself. Some time later I landed in San Leandro (in the East Bay, just south of Oakland) for a good minute, until moving north to Mendocino just to check it out.
AR: What was your first coffee job?
SC: My First legit job was at a small coffee shop in San Leandro called Zocalo Coffee House. I would have been considered a renegade barista, since I tried everything under the sun with the espresso, unknowingly to the previous owners. This was early 2000s (I don’t write dates or keep track of time, so recalling my history is a bit of a fun blur), and at one point a friend, Sara U., was promoted from barista and started training to become the head roaster. The training was super old-school—pen and pad, sight, smell, and color. I would just sit next to them listening, not knowing that a few years later it would help my roasting career. Sara would later go on to become one of the owners of Zocalo with her partner, Dan G.
AR: How did you end up at Black Oak? What’s your position there and what does your day-to-day look like?
SC: I was living in Cloverdale working as the barista trainer for the local coffee shop Plank Coffee & Tea in Sonoma County. I normally do coffee crawls in S.F., but this time I decided to head north 30 minutes just to try out the coffee and espresso. Black Oak had me at the first sip of espresso, beautifully pulled at that time by Michael Miller (the barista trainer … I eventually filled his spot when he went to school in Santa Cruz). Black Oak’s Ethiopian coffee was so good, my first impression was that this place must be slinging flavored coffee, and I was a little bummed at first. Then Michael told me that no, in fact it was just the origin character and processing methods of the coffee. At that point it opened some doors of discovery for me and I thought, “I need to work for this place.”
AR: Have you ever competed in any competition before? What made you decide to compete in Cup Tasters this year?
SC: I’d never seen a legit competition until 2015 where I was bussing for the national championship in Seattle. After starting to roast for Black Oak in 2016, I knew I needed to build my clout and experience, so I turned to the last page of Barista Magazine and told [my bosses] Jon & Keith, “I want to enter everything!” We won in the Golden Bean, did well in America’s Best Espresso, and did OK at the Good Food Awards. I dreamt of winning anything roasting-related. As far as competing, I was hoping to do well in the roasting, but I transferred my Cup Tasters entry to my buddy, since he was a second too late on registration, so honestly I wasn’t even going to compete inCup Tasters. Then I read my email saying the SCA still had spots open in Knoxville [Tenn.] for Cup Tasters. I just lucked out I guess.
AR: You placed second at the Austin qualifying event and then won in Seattle. Did you expect to do that well? What do you think contributed to your success?
SC: I literally cleared my mind and tasted. How I felt wasn’t even a thing. I just did it. I was shocked at how well I did post-competition, but I had no real thought process before the competition. I just didn’t overthink it, although I did get great advice from my Barista Camp instructor three years prior, Todd Goldsworthy from Klatch Coffee, who said: “Taste and eat thoughtfully.” One of the biggest helps was Samuel Demisse (from Keffa Coffee)—not only did Sam give me an amazing Keffa branded spoon that I exclusively use, but he gave me great advice I contribute the win to. At the moment I’m going to keep this secret closely guarded, but I’ll let you know after Budapest (where the World Cup Tasters Championship takes place in June).
AR: Did you have a strategy? How did you approach tasting each coffee?
SC: I think of it as a simple task. I don’t think about country of origin, flavor profile, or anything else. I taste and whatever stands out I take it to the next cup, and that’s all. My speed is reflective of how confident I feel on my choice.
AR: Since Cup Tasters isn’t a competition where you give a presentation or speak to judges, it can be difficult to get to know the competitors or what in coffee motivates them. What would you want to talk about to a larger audience if you had to?
SC: I want to take this all as humbly as I can, because I believe that we are all a collection of other people’s knowledge and experience that we put together and use to our advantage—not one person changed the game, but an ever-growing group of some of the most passionate people I’ve ever met. I take joy in just thinking about what the new generation will be doing, and I can’t wait to learn from them. Much of my motivation and inspiration comes from my parents and Grandfather Ramon, who often said if they had it their way they’d still be working.
Everyone worked hard to give me the opportunity I have now. My family came from Mexico and I’m first-generation Mexican/American, so I can’t even entertain the idea of stopping. As the saying goes: “I’ll quit when I’m dead.” Also, Jon Frech and Keith Feigin (owners of Black Oak Coffee Roasters) motivate me immensely. I know some business owners may have a hard time believing someone is going to change things for the best, but they had faith in me and I appreciate that. I feel that not only do I work for them, but that I work with them.
