About
The Good Food Awards rely on the expertise of the coffee community to create the tasting, determine judges and set standards for the category. Read on to learn who has been integral to building the category, as well as what the coffee standards are and who will be judging this year.
Committee
Co-ChairsAlex McClean Egan
Director of Coffee, Nirvana Soul Coffee
Alex has worked in coffee since 2013. Starting their career as a barista turned cafe manager, they made the switch to coffee roasting in 2018 and hasn’t looked back since. Currently they work as the Director of Coffee for Nirvana Soul Coffee in San Jose, California. They are a licensed Q-Grader and avid coffee drinker. When not working, Alex spends their time visiting new coffee shops in every city they visit and hanging out with their dog, Bella.
Michelle Fleming
Head Roaster, Equator Coffees
Michelle has been roasting coffee since 2013. Roasting & tasting coffee remains a source of joy in their life. They also love trying new varieties of fruit to expand their pallet. Outside of coffee, Michelle fosters cats for Cat Town Oakland, forages for mushrooms, and cheers on the Valkyries.
Standards
In order to be eligible for a Good Food Award, coffee entries must meet the following standards:
- Roasted in the USA or US territories.
- Traceable back to the producer (or producers) at the farm or cooperative level.
- Sourced in such a way that price premiums meet or exceed Fair Trade minimums relative to the world commodity price, either through direct trade or through publicly stated policies and in-place processes.*
- Sourced from farms or cooperatives where:
- There is an emphasis on pursuing sustainable agricultural practices including water conservation and minimizing or eliminating the use of synthetic inputs.**
- Transparent, documented practices ensure fair and humane work standards for all laborers. **
- Made by a roaster that:
- Prioritizes waste management through water conservation, composting and recycling.
- Regularly checks roasting air quality.
- Promotes a safe and enjoyable work environment by implementing policies and programs such as wage transparency, offering development and learning opportunities to staff and sponsoring or participating in social or environmental projects.***
- Is an upstanding member of the Good Food community, oriented toward growing their business in harmony with a better food system.
Subcategories
Roasters may submit up to two entries in each of the following subcategories:
- Seasonal Offerings: Coffees you sell for a limited time. This may be a single origin coffee that is available until it sells out or a seasonal blend whose flavor profile represents the best of the season.
- Year-Round Offerings: Coffees that are evergreen on your menu. Whether a blend or single origin, the flavor profile should remain relatively consistent (with the understanding that coffee is an agricultural product whose flavor changes from harvest to harvest). We encourage the submission of fan favorites, crowd pleasers, and well-developed roasts.
Brewing Specs
The 2027 Coffee Blind Tasting will take place in March, 2027 in person in the Bay Area. More details to come!
2026 Judges
Hailie Stevens
Associate Coffee Program Manager, Fellow Products
Audrey Parise
Director of Coffee, Thread Coffee Roasters
Kat Natividad
Lead Roaster, Verve Coffee Roasters
LaNisa Williams
Founder/Owner, Barista Life LA
Joel Lohner
Roastery Operations Manager, Bay Area CoRoasters
Taylor Friesen
Head Roaster, Counter Culture Coffee
Francisco Flores
Director of Coffee, Cafe Unido
Madison Leonard
Head of QC and Trading, Onyx Coffee Importers
Olivia Morris
Director of Coffee & Sales, Little Bear Coffee
Brittney Gross
Director of Coffee, Sweetspire Coffee
Marissa Childers
Founder, TANBROWN COFFEE
Michelle Anariba
Quality Control Manager, Covoya Specialty Coffee
Gabriela Correa
Jana Nguyen
Founder, River Phin Coffee Roasters
Kris Carlson
Sourcing Curator, Coffeekris LLC
Julie Housh
Founder, Julie from Coffee
Ming Wood
Founder/Head Roaster, Moonwake Coffee Roasters
Priscilla Chu
Production Manager and Roaster, Nirvana Soul Coffee Purveyors
Christian Martinez
Shift leader, Production Assistant, Resident Q Grader, Ondo Coffee Co.