The 2026 US Barista Champion Has Been Named

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The United States Barista Championship took place last weekend in Denver, Colorado. Thirty baristas from all around the country converged on Denver’s Huckleberry Roasters headquarters for several days of spirited coffee competition. It was a stacked lineup: Eight of the competitors had competed in previous finals, and three were former US Coffee Champions.

In the end, as Sprudge reports, Jak Michael Ryan of the Austin, Texas-based Proud Mary Coffee took the top spot. Ryan will go on to represent the U.S. at the World Barista Championship during World of Coffee Panama in October. Jason Yeo of San Francisco’s Saint Frank Coffee came second, while Ziah Bloom of Lamppost Coffee, also based in Austin, placed third.

In Panama City, Ryan will compete against Monogram Coffee’s Jill Hoff, among other contestants. Hoff recently won the Canadian Barista Championship, which took place at Monogram’s roastery in Calgary, Alberta. Congratulations to Ryan and Hoff, to all the finalists, and to everyone who competed! 

Read the full story on the US Barista Championship here.

Photo by Enis Yavuz on Unsplash

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Fionn Pooler

Fionn Pooler is a coffee roaster and freelance writer currently based in the Scottish Highlands who has worked in the specialty coffee industry for over a decade. Since 2016 he has written the Pourover, a newsletter and blog that uses interviews and critical analysis to explore coffee’s place in the wider, changing world (and also yell at corporations).

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