International Panel Biographies

While our judges finish cupping the third and final round of naturals, let's learn a little more about them.



Oscar Gonzales, Supply Manager, Sustainable Harvest, Lima, Peru
Oscar Gonzales began his career in coffee eleven years ago. He initially started working at national roasting companies, where he established strong relationships with key coffee companies and exporting cooperatives in Peru. Oscar then worked with coffee producing organizations for a private export company, where he gained experience in the area of production, logistics, and quality control.

Oscar has a great understanding of the demands of the specialty coffee industry in regards to quality and production practices. With Sustainable Harvest, Oscar works in supplier relations, helps link new coffee producers to the market, leads training seminars, and oversees cupping training to teach smallholder farmers the language of quality through taste. Recently, Oscar became a licensed Q Grader, a professional accreditation for coffee cuppers. He is the first Peruvian to earn this distinction.
Sustainable Harvest

Darrin Daniel, Allegro Coffee, Thornton, CO
Darrin Daniel is the green coffee buyer for the Colorado based, Allegro Coffee Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Whole Foods Market. Beginning in 1985, Daniel’s has worked in specialty coffee as a trainer, roaster, barista, technician and coffee specialist. He has served as an international judge for Cup of Excellence in Brazil, El Salvador and Honduras, in addition to travelling to numerous coffee farms throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America since 2001. Daniel’s currently serves on the advisory board for Roast Magazine and is a member of the Roaster’s Guild, a branch of the SCAA dedicated to the craft of roasting. In 2008 he became a licensed Q grader by the Coffee Quality Institute and is also Star Cupper certified by the SCAA. In 1991 he received his BA from Naropa University in Literature and Writing with a minor in Anthropology and Religious Studies. Naropa University in Boulder Colorado comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology and religious studies.
Allegro Coffee Company


David Hermann, Bean Machine (Roaster), The Roasterie, Kansas City MO
David has worked in the coffee industry since his college days at Saint Louis University. He enjoys the international flavors that specialy coffee brings to the Kansas City community. A member of the Roasters Guild, and an espresso aficionado, David never stops trying to learn more about our beautiful beans. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, mingling in the thriving Kansas City coffee culture, and traveling throughout the world.
The Roasterie


Andrew Miller, Cafe Imports, Minneapolis, MN
Andrew Miller is the president and founder of Café Imports, a boutique green coffee importing company based in Minneapolis MN. USA He has a degree from the University of Minnesota and twenty years of restaurant experience prior to launching a Specialty Coffee importing business in 1993.

Fourteen years later, he and the Café Imports team are sourcing and selling some of the world’s finest coffees and working with some of the nation’s best roasters to bring a revolutionary coffee experience to the people. They are working with Cup of Excellence coffees, building a state of the art coffee lab and conducting cutting edge green coffee storage experiments to continue the knowledge curve and expand the possibilities of great coffee.
Cafe Imports


Wendy de Jong, Tony's Coffees & Teas, Bellingham WA
Wendy De Jong is the Vice President and Coffee Buyer for Tony’s Coffees and Teas, located in Washington and California. Wendy began her coffee career as a barista in Seattle, and has enjoyed coffee retail management, espresso education and training, equipment repair, roasting and production management. Currently she spends most of her time sourcing great tasting coffees and developing mutually beneficial relationships with coffee producers. She is a frequent volunteer with the Specialty Coffee Association of America, is serving as Secretary/Treasurer for the Roasters Guild Executive Council, and is a licensed Q Grader.
Tony's Coffee & Teas


John Cossette, Royal Coffee Inc., Emeryvill CA
John is a Vice President, Trader, and Green Buyer for Royal Coffee Inc. in Emeryville CA. Fourteen of John's eighteen years in the coffee business have been spent with Royal. John also worked for five years as an Organic Inspector for OCIA and CCOF. John is married with one child and currently resides in Oakland CA.
Royal Coffee


Professor Flávio Meira Borém, Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Flavio has a degree in Agronomy from the Federal University of Viçosa, a PhD in Agricultural Engineering and Plant Production from the Wageningen University - Netherlands (2006), and has done post-doctorate work at the Coffee Lab International (2008). He is the editor of a new book called Post-Harvest Coffee which covers the process and production of post-harvest coffee. Professor Borem is also and expert in the field of Post-Harvest and Quality Coffee with emphasis on metabolomics approach related to the change in quality during processing and drying. He is also professor of drying and storage of coffee in addition to UFLA speaker at various scientific technical events. He has also been a Cupping Judge of the SCAA.
Federal University of Lavras