Portland Oregon was host to the Specialty Coffee Expo where the 2023 US Coffee Championships were held. 72 Competitors were narrowed down in previous rounds of competition to the nation's 18 best coffee roasters. These top performers went head to head in the US Coffee Roasting Championship final round.
Competitors all received the same coffee when they arrived at the competition; a washed process coffee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Competitors were all required to roast onsite on a stronghold S7 coffee roaster. The Competition is scored using the combined score of the competitors green coffee grading, accuracy of their roasting plan and the quality of their roasted coffee submission.
This was the first time Sam LaRobardiere, owner and head roaster at Redding’s Theory Coffee Roasters, competed in the championship round. Sam was excited to find that his first performance in the championship was enough to land him on the podium among the top competitors in 6th place. Sam’s goal was to represent Theory Coffee Roasters and Redding at the highest levels of coffee roasting. Redding is now home to the 6th best coffee roaster in the US! Sam does plan to take what he learned in this competition and try again for the title of US Coffee Roasting Champion in 2024.
Visit Theory Coffee Roasters at one of their 3 Redding locations. Theory is located at the Mt. Shasta Mall by Sprouts Farmers Market, 1250 California Street, and in the Redding Regional Airport. Theory coffee and coffee subscriptions are also available at theorycoffee.com. Theory’s expertly roasted coffee can be delivered right to your doorstep.
A huge congratulations to all that competed, it was fun sharing the podium with the other top 5 competitors in the competition.
- Andrew Coe, Elevator Coffee⠀ @andrewcoecoffee
- Steve Cuevas, Black Oak Coffee Roasters⠀@dreadfullvegan
- Alex Huang, Aroma Craft Coffee⠀@desolate_alex
- Eduardo Choza, Mayorga Coffee⠀ @pacamara.papi
- Matthew Selivanow, Kafiex Roasters⠀@mselivanow
- Sam LaRobardiere, Theory Coffee Roasters @samlarobardiere @theorycoffeeroasters