Sofia Heuri is the new Swiss Roasting Champion. Raul Rivero is the runner-up. This means our roasting team shines twice over. And that's not all. With Juan Boillat (4th) and Philipp Schallberger (5th), four of the top 5 placements at the Swiss Roasting Championship go to Basel. 3rd place goes to Zurich roaster Dario Stoop (Coffee Architects).
For our team, this multiple triumph is an enormous validation. We have chosen to work in our roastery with few hierarchies and shared responsibility. Everyone on the team roasts, tastes, and learns together. This exchange drives us forward and constantly challenges us to get better.
Sofia's path to the Roasting Championship
Sofia's victory is great, deserved, and logical in many ways. With discipline, precision, and passion, she prepared for the championship just as she worked her way into the craft of roasting. In early 2022, Sofia started with us as a barista at the café in the train station. Course assistant roles in the coffee school and first guest shifts in the roastery were soon added.
A milestone on Sofia's path to becoming a roasting champion was participating in the Coffee Farm Training in Nicaragua in January 2023. "I am ready to take on responsibility and want to help translate the work of coffee producers in the field into the cup.” Sofia said this after the farm training and not only became a central pillar of our roasting team but also began conducting roasting courses.
13 men, 1 roasting champion
Thirteen roasters, one female and twelve male, competed from October 7th to 9th in Cham at the Swiss Roasting Championship. Roasting was done on an electric-powered roaster from the Dutch company Giesen. The Swiss Coffee Roasting Championship is organized by the Specialty Coffee Association. Winning qualifies the participant for the World Coffee Roasting Championship 2025 (WCRC) in Houston, where roasting champions from all over the world demonstrate their skills. During the competition, participants go through several demanding phases: they evaluate green coffee beans, create roasting plans, roast samples, and finally produce single-origin and blend roasts. Each step is meticulously evaluated by an international professional jury.
The roasters must not only show technical skill in handling the roasting machines but also develop a deep understanding of the expected taste. They must precisely predict how their roasts will unfold in the cup. The competition requires the highest level of precision, creativity, and sensory expertise.
Sofia and Raul at the roaster.
Dario Stoop, Coffee Architects (3rd place), Sofia Heuri, Kaffeemacher:innen, (1st place) and Raul Rivero also Kaffeemacher:innen (2nd place)
