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Portland Barista Zach Perkins Wins 2017 US Aeropress Championship

Competitors at the 2017 World Aeropress Championship in Seattle. All photos courtesy of World Aeropress Championship.

After expanding to to include nine regional qualifying events this year — each with characteristically rad posters — the U.S. Aeropress Championship went down last week at the La Marzocco Cafe and Showroom in Seattle.

Zach Perkins holding his gold Aeropress trophy and a USAC Airlines boarding pass to Seoul.

Portland-based Zach Perkins of Water Avenue Coffee and Transplant Coffee took the top prize, punching a ticket to Seoul in November to represent the U.S. in the World Aeropress Championship. Home baristas Robert Phares and Ihor Yednak took home the silver and bronze Aeropress trophies, respectively, in front of a panel of judges including:

  • Laila Ghambari, Cherry Street Coffee
  • Scott Guglielmino, La Marzocco
  • Ari Fasanella, Cafe Imports
  • Brendan Mullally, Elm Coffee Roasters
  • Ryan Cross, Heart
  • Abby Holden, Counter Culture Coffee

La Marzocco and New Zealand’s Coffee Supreme sponsored the event, where 28 competitors took the plunge this year, including the regional winners along with open entries from professional and hobbyist coffee people alike.

The judges.

Congratulations to all the competitors, organizers and free-wheeling enthusiasts who continue to make Aeropress competitions not only a real thing, but one of the most bizarre, zany and fun-loving event series in the otherwise super-serious world of competitive coffee.

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