Santa Barbara barista Kay Cheon brewed up a first place victory at this year’s United States Barista Championship (USBC) in Raleigh, North Carolina, marking a significant milestone for both his career and the local coffee community. The competition, held March 6-9 this year, is renowned in the coffee industry, attracting baristas from across the nation to showcase their skills in drink preparation and presentation.
For Cheon, head of wholesale and education at Dune Coffee Roasters, this was his sixth year competing at the USBC, and his fourth time advancing to the finals. “It’s still all sinking in,” he said about taking home the win this year. During the competition, competitors craft a series of drinks including espresso, milk, and signature drinks. They then deliver a presentation while serving four sensory judges who taste those drinks and assess them on a score sheet.
As part of the competition, baristas get to come up with themes for their presentations. This year, Cheon chose the theme “building blocks” after taking inspiration from his childhood years spent playing with Lego blocks. “The theme is something that I really enjoy coming up with,” Cheon said. “Using the concept of building blocks, but also Lego, as a visual metaphor for the way I was assembling the drinks on stage.”