In the world of specialty coffee, few names capture both technical mastery and community spirit quite like Eduardo Choza. The 2024 U.S. Roasting Champion didn’t grow up dreaming of coffee competitions. He wasn’t chasing medals or social media stardom. He simply saw a gap that needed filling—and stepped into it.
You can watch the video of our interview at the bottom of this article.
First Flames: Learning the Craft on the SF1
It started in a coffee lab. A colleague at Mayorga Coffee was leaving, and someone needed to take over roasting the lab samples. Eduardo, then managing retail operations, volunteered. “I was curious,” he says. “I wanted to understand what happened between green and brown—how roasting actually shaped flavor.” That curiosity turned into something more. Something defining.
His training ground? A San Franciscan SF1—a small but mighty roaster known for giving new roasters hands-on control and zero shortcuts. Eduardo put in the hours, logging batch after batch, tasting, tweaking, learning. His first solo roast was a coffee from Chiapas, Mexico—his family’s homeland. That roast may not have won any awards, but it left a deep mark. “It was very special,” he says. “There’s a sensory memory that stays with you.”
Finding His Rhythm on the SF25
From there, Eduardo graduated to the SF25, a machine that became, in his words, “my baby.” He dove into production roasting—mastering roast curves, exploring origins and processes, and building a foundation not just in repetition, but in observation. “Everything was manual,” he recalls. “I took notes, tasted the results, and just kept learning. It made me a better roaster—and a more intentional one.”
That intentionality led him to the competitive stage in 2019. On his first outing at the U.S. Roasting Championship Qualifiers in Nashville, Eduardo placed fourth—a remarkable achievement for a newcomer. But the national finals were a humbling experience: he finished second-to-last. For some, that would have been the end of the road. For Eduardo, it was fuel.
Training with Intention
He didn’t quit. He doubled down. He kept experimenting, kept asking questions, and most importantly, kept roasting.
In 2024, he returned—better prepared, more focused, and grounded in both experience and community support. This time, he won.
But Eduardo doesn’t treat the championship as a finish line—it’s a pivot point. Since that win, he’s turned to coaching and consulting, mentoring the next generation of roasting talent. One of his first students? Diego Guartán, who went on to win the 2025 U.S. Roasting Championship on his first attempt.
“Watching Diego win—it felt like I won all over again,” Eduardo says. “Coaching is a whole different kind of reward.”
Passing the Torch: From Competitor to Coach
Today, Eduardo runs Campion Coffee Consultants (named for the Spanish word for “champion”), where he trains roasters, advises startup brands, and helps others reach their full potential. He also co-hosts a podcast called Foos and Coffee, spotlighting roasters and producers from underrepresented backgrounds in the industry.
At every stage of the journey—from that first roast to the national stage to mentoring others—Eduardo’s guiding principle has remained the same: move with purpose.
And if you ask him for advice, he keeps it simple: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Just start. You’ll grow.”
Advice to Roasters: Start, Learn, and Stay Humble
For roasters chasing consistency, trying to scale, or dreaming of competition—there’s something universal in Eduardo’s story. It’s about persistence, humility, and finding your voice. It’s about sharing your knowledge instead of hoarding it.
And most of all, it’s about showing up again and again—until your craft becomes your calling.
Useful Links
Here is the full interview
