Michael Phillips (barista)
Michael Phillips won the U.S. Barista Championship in Portland, Oregon, in March 2009, while working at Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea in Chicago, IL.[1] He also won the 2010 United States Barista Championship, becoming the second of three repeat U.S. champions to date (Heather Perry being the first in 2003 & 2007 and Pete Licata being the third in 2011 & 2013), and he went on to become the first US Barista to win the World Barista Championship crown in London, England, in 2010.[2]
At the March 2011 TED conferences (standing for Technology, Entertainment, Design)[3] in California, Phillips was present at Coffee Common, a new organization with what was called "the unapologetically idealistic purpose to create a community with shared values."[4]
In April 2011, Phillips resigned from his position as director of coffee education at Intelligentsia[5] to help found the Handsome Coffee Roasters[6] in Los Angeles, California, with Tyler Wells and Chris Owens.[7] In 2014, Blue Bottle Coffee Company purchased Handsome Coffee Roasters.[8]
Philips was born in the United States and spent his early life in Royal Oak, Michigan.[1]
References
- Oliver Schwaner-Albright, "Like Mike," New York Times, March 13, 2009
- Championship website Archived 2011-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
- TED website
- Oliver Strand, New York Times, March 3, 2011
- "Shock: World Barista Champion, Top Staff Resign From Intelligentsia," Sprudge.com, April 11, 2011
- Erin Meister, "5 Small-But-Mighty Coffee Roasters to Seek Out," Drinks SeriousEats.comMay 9, 2011
- Handsome Coffee Roasters website Archived 2013-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
- "Blue Bottle Coffee Buys Handsome and Tonx - Sprudge". 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2016-07-12.