Blanchard’s Coffee hosting 2019-2020 U.S. Coffee Championships Preliminaries

U.S. Coffee Championships is a national competition series for coffee professionals competing in one or more of five categories: Barista, Brewers Cup, Roaster, Cup Tasters, and Coffee in Good Spirits. Competitors advance through Preliminaries, Qualifiers, and finally, National Championships to select a National Champion in each category, who will represent the US in World Coffee Championships competition.

Preliminary competitions offer competitors the opportunity to attend regional events and compete for a limited number of guaranteed slots in the Qualifier competition round. Competitors are evaluated and scored by trained judges in each category. Because Preliminaries are community organized events, competition weekends often include auxiliary events and programming to provide entertainment and educational opportunities for competitors during downtime, as well as opportunities for the general public to participate in the event and show off the host city’s coffee community.

Blanchard’s bid to host U.S. Coffee Championships Preliminaries focused on the ideal central location of Richmond, Virginia to the entire Mid-Atlantic and beyond, as well as the vibrant and rapidly growing coffee community of which it has been a part since 2005. With competitors coming from throughout the US, Blanchard’s Coffee is producing a weekend that includes competitions throughout Saturday and Sunday at two locations: Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co. Roast Lab, and Studio Two Three, as well as Latte Art Throwdowns and various other side events designed to showcase Richmond, Virginia’s vibrant coffee scene.

Events are open to the public unless otherwise specified, but attendees are encouraged to sign up for general admission to give the hosts accurate expectations of crowd sizes. Volunteer and Judge slots are still available as well as competition slots. To volunteer, register to judge or compete, or for more information, click here.