Wenbo Yang Takes US Roasting Crown, Completes Triple Championship Sweep
Wenbo Yang now holds national titles in three different coffee disciplines. The Seattle-area competitor won the 2026 US Coffee Roasters Championship at Roastronix headquarters in Missouri City, Texas, adding the roasting crown to his 2023 US Brewers Cup title and 2024 Latte Art championship.
It’s a sweep that spans the craft from extraction to artistry to the roaster itself.
Yang competed for Story Coffee, a Bellevue cafe known for live performances and specialty drinks, while also running Cozy Monster Coffee Roasters, his own micro-roasting operation. The dual affiliation reflects how he’s built his career — community-focused cafe work alongside technical roasting development.
The Competition
Twenty-four competitors arrived in Houston for the three-day event, February 27 through March 1. The format tested green coffee evaluation, sample roasting, cupping, roast curve development, and audience service — a comprehensive examination that rewards both sensory precision and production craft.
Yang prevailed against a field that included some familiar names. Peter Shim of Olympia Coffee Roasters, a Pacific Northwest institution with deep sourcing relationships and an SCA Premier Training Campus, placed second. Desolate Coffee’s Alex Huang took third.
The remaining top six included Steve Cuevas of Freelance Coffee Project (the 2017 US Cup Tasters Champion), Zachary Steele of Talavera Coffee, and Tony Auger of Goshen Coffee.
One Competitor, Three Disciplines
Yang’s triple-discipline achievement is rare. Coffee competitions typically produce specialists — baristas who focus on espresso service, tasters who sharpen sensory acuity, roasters who obsess over development curves. Crossing between disciplines requires different skill sets and training approaches.
Brewing championships reward extraction precision and service presentation. Latte art demands milk texture control and steady-handed pouring. Roasting competitions judge how well a competitor reads green coffee potential and develops it through heat application.
Yang has now won at the national level in all three.
His philosophy, expressed through Cozy Monster’s brand messaging, centres on coffee as connection. “Coffee is much more than a beverage,” he’s written. “It’s a bridge that connects people, cultures, and stories.” The competition success suggests the philosophy hasn’t come at the cost of technical excellence.
What Comes Next
Yang will represent the United States at the World Coffee Roasting Championship in Brussels this June, competing against roasters from coffee-producing and consuming countries across the globe. The event runs June 25-27.
Meanwhile, the US championship calendar continues. The Brewers Cup and Cup Tasters competitions happen next week in Raleigh, with the US Barista Championship following in Denver this June. World of Coffee San Diego in April brings the World Latte Art Championship to American soil.
Yang’s victory adds to a strong year for Pacific Northwest competitors. The region’s concentration of specialty roasters — Olympia Coffee, Victrola, Caffe Vita, Elm Coffee, and dozens of smaller operations — creates a competitive environment where roasters sharpen their skills against serious peers.
For Yang, the national roasting title represents something more than another trophy. It validates what he’s been building through Cozy Monster: meticulous attention to sourcing and roasting, paired with a belief that technical excellence should serve community connection rather than replace it.
Three championships in three years. One competitor.