Kay cheon z Dune Coffee Roasters In Santa, Barbara, California is the champion of the United States barista in 2025. This is his fourth performance in the final in just six years.
We discussed the winning Cheon routine from almost every possible angle. From the live summary of his semi-finals and final routines to the announcement of his great win with a philosophically waxed post-mort. And now we are sitting with the chef to delve into his winning USBC routine, including coffee, a team and a constantly changing milk course. We also had the opportunity to ask Cheon about his preparation for the Barista World Championships and what, if at all, from the Nationals, he expects to move.
Hey kay! First, congratulations because of the great win! Now that you had a week to sit down what it’s like to be a champion?
One day I had a humorous implementation. Usually after the end of USBC I start to get excited about WBC and see what the players will present and share this year, then I realized that I would be one of these competitors!
I had many great experiences and possibilities even since the USBC, but I am still honored that I represent the USA this year and enjoy every step.
Let’s talk to routine. Ombligon. He storms the competition scene. How did you first try, and what made you want to include it in your routine this year?
I think that for the first time I tried the ombligon from El Diviso in 2023, I tried the coffee of Jacek Simpson from WBC in Athens. The following year, Frank La used this coffee to win [the USBC]So this taste profile was always in my head. I was a bit reluctant to serve, perhaps because Frank competed with it a year earlier, but every time I shared it with someone who had not tried this coffee before, their reaction was so positive that I knew he had potential.
One of the things I thought was really wild in your routine was that you also used an experimentally processed green geese with Panama, which some would build the whole set, but you used it only as part of mixed/layered coffee for one course. What was the process to get there?
It was definitely a little process! Along the way, we tried so many different coffees in a wide spectrum of taste profiles. I have to connect with Jamison Savage quite early and start the conversation, so we tried several different profiles that we considered to be service at USBC. Initially, the coffee plan I finished consisted in giving it alone for espresso.
Thanks to the concept of Building, as well as discussing the potential of the mix with the team, I tried to combine ombligon from Gesh and I knew that there was potential for something electrifying. The main reason I went this way was that it allowed me to combine some of the features that I really liked both coffees, so life and fruit from ombibon as well as flowers and touchscraft from geisha.
For the milk course, you did something that you call “Super Milk”, a mixture of dairy products for full cream, cashew milk and pistachio milk, which you then swirled in Roto-Vac to caramelized sugars. The current trend in the dairy course involves increasing the fat content, but you decided to boost sweets. Can you tell us a bit about it?
I almost always start preparing from working on a milk course, partly because I think there is so much space for innovations that can reach retail conditions. I have already seen some people offer great milk in their cafes, which I am really excited!
I have tried many different techniques of milk processing and all kinds of various milk and I think that the fat content is an equivalent act. Cashew and pistachios already have a high fat content, so the apply of Roto-Vac gave me a lot of precision for the resulting milk I gave. The composition of super milk I used with was really engaging at work – it didn’t really work with many coffees, but for ombligon it combined in a really unique way.
The milk course is perhaps the most humorous for me, especially because it is a course that I can share with most people. The high point milk drink is usually a really delicious drink in itself, and the combination of coffee and milk also has such knowledge that it is really straightforward to get quality or clear flavors.
I think that the competition enabling Milks based on plants allows for such great creativity of competitors. Milks based on plants often have a reputation of too much of their own taste or coffee obstacles, but now there is enough space to adopt a unique approach with various miles that match presentation and coffee.
World Barista Championship is in over six months. How will the exemption affect the routine you choose to Milan? Are you planning to create a completely novel one or stick to USBC routine?
Probably somewhere in the middle, but we’ll see! For the United States this year, the time is that there is a lot of time to introduce vast changes in presentations and coffees. My goal is to apply time to connect with many people with whom I was always hoping to cooperate, and really make it the effort of the team as much as possible.
How does your way of thinking change to WBC? Are there any additional considerations that you need to do besides what you did on USBC?
International travel is always a bit unknown, so we want to make sure that we are well prepared when we touch in Italy. As for my way of thinking, I really want to double, enjoying every moment, which I focused on leading to USBC. It is a great honor to represent the United States in WBC and no matter how much we prepare and practice, it is not something I want to lose sight.
One of the features of Kay Cheon routine is the economy of movement and language. Does this type of performance appear naturally or is it practiced?
It’s very nice! My presentations almost always start from over 2,000 words before I start editing, so I really try to make sure that what I do and say is exactly what I want, and nothing more or less. I spend a lot of time on the presentation and what I say on stage, because it is vital to remember how much the judges will be able to follow, if you say too much, but also in the hope that something I do or say, can resonate with someone else, even after the end of the competition, regardless of the results.
Głęboka on Instagram about people in your team and the roles they played, but I would like to know: how was the band built? Were you more managerial or are you a more proverbial spear top and someone else delegates?
Felix and Mal Preheim were part of the team as my colleagues in Dune, and since 2018 we have been competing and practicing together. Over the years, we were able to compete and support many different people, one of which was Gavy Oesmanto in 2024, who competed for the first time. Gavy also trained me in 2023, the first year in which we worked in the competition. Because all four have been working together for so many years, there are not as many delegations as you would think, we just know more how we work best.
In particular this year, I adopted a lot more preparations for myself, so together with Felix, Mal and Gava we were able to try several different approaches to each aspect of the competition. I usually made final decisions, but in cases where I wasn’t so sure or knew someone else in a team, he had a more pronounced perspective, I trusted the team to make these decisions.
Speaking of the team, is there anyone you want to shout?
There are so many people who were part of this process, not only this year, but in previous years. Competition as a team with Felix, Mal and Gava makes the competition so pleasant and of course Julia and Todd in Dune for their support and trust over the years.
Last question. It is so challenging to win a USBC, so when someone often does the end of a competitive career. Was it the last time Kay Cheon competes in USBC?
I really looked at how many former US champions returned the community, only through their presence and support of competitions, judges and competitors. I really can’t wait to do the same and back to the community here in the United States, which has supported so much over the years.
As for whether I will compete in the future, I think many competitors say that they will compete for the last time and then return to the stage. I will just say that I can’t wait for WBC to prepare and everything that is ahead of us!
Thanks Kay!
