As Owner of award-winning Cafe’s in Chapel Hill, NC (USA), along with his wholesale roastery, Carrboro Coffee Roasters; Scott has had many opportunities to travel, teach and learn about coffee production, process, selection, roasting, retail and quality trends for the last 24+ years. He is an active educator in the industry in most all disciplines, and consults for cafes and businesses nationally and around the world for technical skill, knowledge, and competition. He serves as a World Coffee Events Representative and Certified Head Judge for the World Coffee Championships for the last 18 years, and is also an instructor for the WCE Judge Certification program.  Scott sits on multiple WCE and SCA Committees and has been active as a member of the CQI Coffee Corp. He has been involved in the Cup of Excellence Program since 2007 and a Head Judge & SET Instructor since 2015.

Alex started in coffee in 2005, working as a barista in his hometown of Eugene, Oregon. In 2009 he competed in and won the Northwest Regional Barista Competition. Alex has worked guest barista shifts in Iceland and Sweden and has volunteered for numerous national and international coffee events, including the Nordic Barista Cup, as a USBC Judge. In 2012 Alex joined the team at Portland’s Heart Coffee Roasters. Over nearly six years at Heart, Alex directed their training programs, managed quality control, and worked as part of the green buying team.

Alex enjoys travel, Oregon’s incredible natural beauty, and Cats. He is also a pretty good cook.

Rachel Apple is an independent consultant & an esteemed figure in the specialty coffee industry, with over 18 years of comprehensive experience. With a knack for forging impactful relationships and driving operational excellence, Rachel has left an indelible mark on every project she’s touched, from her tenure as Quality Control Manager at George Howell Coffee Company to her instrumental role in building out both green and roasted coffee supply chains and quality systems at Cometeer. She has consistently demonstrated a rare blend of expertise, passion, and dedication, which she has brought to Cup of Excellence since participating in her first International Jury in Mexico 2018. Rachel also serves as a US Barista Championship Head Judge, Sensory Lead, and Committee Member, investing years in volunteer work and leadership in the specialty coffee community. Although Rachel now calls Boston home, she maintains her Oklahoma roots with flair, often spotted donning fringe or her Stetson cowboy hat.

Holding an Economics and Business Administration degree, his coffee life started as Head of Economics Department for the Salvadoran Coffee Council back in 2001. The coffee bug bit him while overseeing several quality and marketing programs. In 2003, he co-coordinated the first CoE program in El Salvador and kept involved until 2009, when he became a coffee grower and started a consulting firm focused on marketing, quality control and fostering relationships between growers and buyers.

He’s been related to Cup of Excellence not only as organizer but as national and international judge, winning CoE grower and now as Head Judge for ACE/CoE since 2021. Luis holds active Q Grader license, Q Processing Professional certificate as well as having a Lecturer certificate for teaching Quality Evaluation and Post Harvesting Processing courses for CQI. He founded the Salvadoran Coffee School and currently acts as president for the Salvadoran Coffee Cuppers Association (ASCAFE).

Armando is a passionate coffee person with over two decades of experience in the coffee business, he has witnessed by firsthand COE contests as a National Jury & International jury in Asia, South & Central America since 2005 thus, he understands in and out the hard work behind producing a good cup of coffee.

Armando started his career as a Food Scientist and got engaged with coffee working in the field as a Quality Control Manager for the largest coffee exporter in Colombia (FNC/ALMACAFE), Master Roaster with Specialty Roasteries (Australia/MECCA), Head of Arabica Project in Asia with major Agri-business Company (Vietnam/OLAM), entrepreneur/importer (Denmark/Star-up), Project Manager (UAE-Dubai/CYPHER), Trader and Green Coffee buyer (Korea/ SPC) and currently Director of Coffee for independent Roastery/MAGMA.