COLUMBUS, Ohio, USA – On Tuesday, August 16, over 75 coffee roasters and other coffee professionals from across North America gathered at the Crimson Cup Innovation Lab in Columbus, Ohio, for The Golden Bean Welcome Event. Guests toured Ohio’s only SCA-certified Premier Training Campus at 700 Alum Creek Drive while networking and enjoying finger foods and libations.
The evening kicked off the world’s largest coffee roasting competition, The Golden Bean North America, which drew over 700 entries competing for the overall title of Golden Bean, Chain Store/Franchise Champion, and gold, silver and bronze medals.
“We were thrilled to bring so many coffee pros together for a fun and festive evening,” said Crimson Cup Founder and President Greg Ubert. “Competitions like The Golden Bean showcase the hard work of the farmers who grow the coffee we roast and allow us to compare our sourcing and roasting skills to those of other elite roasters.”
The Golden Bean competition takes place August 17 through 20 at the LIFE Vineyard Church, 620 Alum Creek Drive in Columbus.
“The Golden Bean has been running now for nineteen years in Australia and is in its eighth year in North America,” said Sean Edwards, Golden Bean Founder and Head Bean. “It is one of the key elements in the growth of the coffee industry by way of rewarding the coffee roasters, the vital person in the chain for all coffee businesses.”
The event brings coffee roasters from across North America together to network, enhance their personal development and taste the finest coffees roasted on the continent.
During the competition, judges will use a blind tasting format to evaluate entries in 12 different categories and brew methods. They will award gold, silver and bronze medals in each of the categories.
To compete for the overall Golden Bean award, roasters must enter commercially available coffees in three categories: Espresso, Milk Based and Pour Over Filter. The roaster with the highest aggregate score wins the trophy.
To win the overall Chain Store/Franchise category, roasters must enter three categories: Chain Store/Franchise Espresso, Chain Store/Franchise Milk Based and Chain Store/Franchise Filter. The roaster with the highest aggregate score will be named Chain Store/Franchise champion.
Roasters will receive awards at an 80s-themed awards ceremony on Saturday, August 20.
Due to the pandemic, the Golden Bean North America last took place in 2019. That year, Crimson Cup won the Chain Store/Franchise Championship and brought home eight medals in individual categories.
