Sofia Heuri is the new Swiss Roasting Champion. Raul Rivero becomes Vice Champion. 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 is claimed by Zurich-based roaster Dario Stoop (Coffee Architects).
For our team, this multiple triumph is an enormous affirmation. We have decided to work in our roastery with minimal hierarchies and shared responsibility. Everyone on the team roasts, tastes, and learns together. The exchange pushes us forward and constantly challenges us to improve.
Sofia's Path to Roasting Championship
Sofia's victory is great in every respect, deserved and logical. With discipline, precision, and passion, she prepared for the championship, just as she has worked her way into the roasting craft. In early 2022, Sofia began with us as a barista in the café at the train station. She quickly took on course assistant roles in the coffee school and did her first shifts as a guest in the roastery.
A milestone on Sofia's path to Roasting Champion was her participation 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 became not only a central pillar in our roasting team but also began conducting roasting courses.
13 Men, 1 Roasting Champion
Thirteen roasters and one roasting champion competed from October 7 to 9 in Cham at the Swiss Roasting Championship. Roasting was done on an electrically heated roaster from the Dutch company Giesen. The Swiss Coffee Roasting Championship is conducted by the Specialty Coffee Association. The win qualifies for participation in the World Coffee Roasting Championship 2025 (WCRC) in Houston, where roasting champions from around the world demonstrate their skills. Participants go through several demanding phases in the competition: they evaluate green coffee beans, create roasting plans, roast samples, and finally produce single-origin and blended roasts. Every step is meticulously evaluated by an international professional jury.
Roasters must not only demonstrate technical skill in handling the roasting machines but also develop a deep understanding of the expected flavor. They must accurately predict how their roasts will unfold in the cup. The competition demands 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)
