A Battle of Profiles: LOT61 Takes 2nd Place at Roast Masters Amsterdam 2023
Posted in Story
Written by Rory Murphy
April 15, 2023
LOT61 Takes Runner-Up at Roast Masters 2023
Posted in Story
by Rory Murphy
The Amsterdam Coffee Festival 2023 played host to one of the most thrilling iterations of the Roast Masters tournament to date. Bringing together 16 of the finest specialty coffee roasters from across Europe, the fast-paced, knockout-style competition pushed contestants to their absolute limits. Ultimately, Amsterdam’s own LOT61 Coffee Roasters delivered a spectacular performance, fighting their way through the brackets to claim the prestigious 2nd Place (Runner-Up) title.
The Gauntlet: How the Competition Works
Roast Masters is designed to test a roasting team's absolute precision, sensory expertise, and commercial viability. The competition is split into two rigorous disciplines evaluated by an esteemed panel of international industry experts, including judges Anne Lunell and Kris Schackman.
The Single Origin Discipline: Roasters are given a mystery green coffee bean just days before the festival. They must use all their technical skill to create a flawless roasting profile, which is then presented to the judges as a filter brew and evaluated blindly.
The Espresso Blend Discipline: Teams must showcase their commercial aptitude by creating a bespoke espresso blend. Not only do they roast it, but they must also present it live on stage, creating a "Signature Drink" that highlights the blend's unique flavor profile under intense time pressure.
LOT61’s Journey to the Grand Finale
Representing the home turf of Amsterdam, the LOT61 roasting team entered the 2023 tournament with a strategy focused on sustainability, clean flavor profiles, and flawless technical execution on the Giesen test roasters.
The Knockout Rounds: Navigating a newly formatted, unforgiving single-elimination bracket, LOT61 went head-to-head against formidable international talent. In the quarter-finals, they knocked out highly regarded contenders—including the UK's Bay Coffee Roasters—by demonstrating superior consistency in their light-to-medium roasting profiles.
The Semis: LOT61 advanced through the sensory evaluation rounds by perfectly identifying and roasting the nuances of the mystery origin bean, earning top marks from the judges for sweetness and clarity.
The Showdown: LOT61 vs. The Village
The tournament culminated in a packed, high-energy Grand Finale on the main festival stage. It was a classic Dutch specialty coffee clash: Amsterdam’s LOT61 vs. Utrecht’s powerhouse, The Village Coffee & Music.
Both teams presented exceptional single-origin roasts, leaving the points incredibly tight going into the final live performance. The championship ultimately came down to the Espresso Blend and Signature Drink discipline. While LOT61 wowed the crowd and the judges with an incredibly balanced espresso, The Village managed a razor-thin victory in the final sensory scoring.
The Aftermath
Taking 2nd place at Roast Masters 2023 solidified LOT61's reputation as more than just a beloved local café chain and certified B Corp—it proved their back-of-house roasting operations operate at a world-class competitive level. By matching the best roasters in the business profile-for-profile, the silver trophy stands as a major milestone in their roasting legacy.
Taking 2nd place at Roast Masters 2023 solidified LOT61's reputation, proving their back-of-house roasting operations operate at a world-class competitive level.
Photo credits to Ram Puranam
https://ramtherocket.substack.com/p/amsterdam-coffee-festival