Caffeinated coffee just became the drink of losers

When Weihong Zhang won this year’s US Brewers’ Cup it was the first time in the competition’s 20-year history that a decaffeinated beverage had taken the title.

Matthew Kronsberg

Apr 11, 2024 – 7.00am

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On a trip to Colombia last year, Weihong Zhang was given a “mysterious bag of coffee” by his friend Francesco Sanapo, a three-time Italian Barista Champion. This was not quite as suspect as it might sound: Weihong is the owner of BlendIn Coffee Club, a roastery with a pair of cafes in Houston. Mysterious bags of coffee are kind of his thing.

Weihong assumed the bag, with its notes of eucalyptus and strawberry, contained expensive beans such as anaerobically fermented Geishas or Sidras. But Sanapo revealed something much more rare for a coffee of this quality.

Bloomberg