Two New US Coffee Champions Crowned in Seattle
The 2026 US Coffee Championships season opened in Seattle last week with two titles decided over four days of competition at Olympia Coffee’s downtown Cedar Hall space. More than 30 baristas from across the country competed in the Latte Art and Coffee in Good Spirits Championships, and the results shook out with two California-based competitors on top.
The Latte Art Crown Goes to Pasadena
Marco Monzon of Mandarin Coffee Stand in Pasadena took the 2026 US Latte Art Championship. He beat out a field of 18 competitors, with Ziah Bloom of Lamppost Coffee in Austin finishing second and Weian “Andy” Liang of Hedge Coffee in San Francisco rounding out the top three.
Mandarin Coffee Stand is a 400-square-foot multiroaster bar in Pasadena’s Burlington Arcade, founded by Sherry Gao — a former barista at Go Get Em Tiger and Intelligentsia who opened the shop in 2022. The café is known for spotlighting Chinese-grown coffees from Yunnan alongside roasters from around the world, and for drinks that weave in ingredients like osmanthus flower and pineapple. Monzon bringing a national title back to a shop this small and this intentional says something about where competitive latte art lives right now: not just at major roasting companies, but at independent bars doing things their own way.
The Latte Art Championship tests competitors on free pour and designer techniques across traditional latte and macchiato drinks. Judges evaluate visual attributes, creativity, contrast, pattern symmetry, and overall performance — all within a timed format that leaves little room for hesitation.
Hugo Cano Takes Coffee in Good Spirits
The Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, which challenges baristas to blend coffee and spirits into something better than either ingredient alone, went to Hugo Cano of Texture Coffee in Newport Beach. Richelle Taylor of Olympia Coffee in Tacoma placed second — a strong showing for the competition’s host roaster — with Gray Kauffman of Seattle taking third.
Cano is a familiar name on the US competition circuit, having competed at multiple US Barista Championships before taking on the spirits side of the game. The Coffee in Good Spirits format rewards mixology skill, flavour balance, and presentation — competitors need to show they understand both extraction science and bartending craft.
Out of the 16 competitors in the field, six spots were reserved for top finishers from the 2024 and 2025 seasons, making the qualifier slots fiercely contested.
What Happens Next
Both champions now carry their titles into the World of Coffee in San Diego this April 10–12, where the World Latte Art Championship celebrates its 20th edition and the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship plays out on the global stage. Monzon will compete against national champions from over 50 countries in the Latte Art event, producing six beverages in 11 minutes — two sets of matching free pours and two sets of matching designer patterns.
The San Diego event, formerly known as the Specialty Coffee Expo, expects more than 15,000 attendees from over 90 countries. For Monzon and Cano, the jump from a downtown Seattle roastery to the San Diego Convention Center will be a different kind of pressure entirely.
Why This Matters
The US Coffee Championships remain the most direct pipeline from local coffee scenes to the world stage. A barista from a 400-square-foot Pasadena shop specialising in Yunnan coffee and a spirits-forward competitor from coastal Orange County both earning national titles illustrates how wide and varied the US specialty coffee talent pool has become. These aren’t just competition results — they’re snapshots of what independent coffee professionals are building across the country, one drink at a time.