Blog — coffee championships

Three fast-paced rounds of competition, three info-packed presentations, and five impeccably-crafted coffee cocktails. That's what Olympia Coffee's Reyna Callejo pulled off this past weekend, April 12–14 at the U.S. Coffee in Good Spirits Championship in Chicago, Illinois. With cool composure and a small amount of (actual) fire she crushed the competition, becoming our nation's reigning Coffee in Good Spirits Champion! Reyna takes the torch from our own Sam Schroeder, who stood by as her coach over the course of the weekend. This makes two years in a row that the Olympia Coffee team has claimed the national title for Coffee...

It's a big week for specialty coffee. Specialty Coffee Expo week, to be precise—a multi-day gathering of friends and partners from across the coffee industry. This time around, it's taking place in Chicago, Illinois. Olympia Coffee's sending a crew of fine folks to represent. If you'll be there too, please come say hey! Whether slinging coffee with our pals or stirring up the competition in Coffee in Good Spirits, here's where you can find us all week(end) long: Thursday, April 11: Necessary and Sufficient Coffee, Printer's Row.What: A guided Q&A session with Oliver Stormshak and some of Olympia Coffee's producers...

Winter blues got you down? Why not warm up with a coffee cocktail? We suggest one of Sam Schroeder's Coffee in Good Spirits concoctions—because nothing beats the winter chill like the thrill of mastering a competition-worthy cocktail, right?Meet the Coffee Sherry: a beautifully balanced and stunningly delicious coffee cocktail. Sam served this little number up at the Coffee in Good Spirits Championships. And he recently teamed up with Reyna (who, in 2024, is embarking upon her own Coffee in Good Spirits journey) to whip up a non-alcoholic version to serve at our Columbia City cafe. For a competition-crushing cocktail, it's...

Sam and Reyna have been in Taiwan for a week now: seeing the sights, eating the food (jealous), and drinking the tastiest of drinks (again, jealous). And—most importantly—they've been preparing for Sam's final showdown on the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship stage! Competition officially begins Friday, November 17th and runs through Monday the 20th. It's worth noting that Taiwan is a day ahead of us, time-wise. But we've done the math, and we're ready to share the competition excitement... with you!Please join us on Instagram Live where Reyna will be live-streaming Sam's performances each day. Here's the competition schedule...

This week, we're cheering on our resident cup tasting legend Jake Donaghy as he heads to the World Cup Tasting Championships in Athens, Greece! Jake's journey from Olympia Coffee roaster and green coffee buyer to U.S. Cup Tasting Champion has been a wild and exciting ride for us, to say the least. For those following along, you might be thinking, "Wow, what a pro!" You might also be thinking: "How can I get this kind of tasting experience for myself?" Or, possibly: "What's with all the slurping?" Whatever your questions, Jake's here to help answer them! In this quick video,...