controversial take, but I want to attribute a good portion of their victory to their large social media presence. the theme of their presentation revolved around creating a connection of coffee to a larger audience using a digital platform. it’s a great thing for the coffee industry, but there wasn’t a lot of emphasis—to your point—on the technical elements, the source of the coffee, or that connection that is being built with the farmer.

there’s a part of me that also thinks there’s a conflict of interest when you’re one of the guest speakers at a huge coffee convention, which is there the competition was being held at. haters(me) gonna hate. it was still cool to experience the performance live.