Nebraska barista among world’s best coffee artists

The National Coffee Association says Americans drink more than 500 million cups of coffee a day, which keeps baristas busy.

But did you know baristas are competing to be known as the world’s best?

The World Coffee Championship starts Wednesday in Athens, Greece, and a barista from Omaha, Nebraska, is gearing up for a shot at the title.

Isaiah Sheese is already the U.S. Barista Champion, and he loves coffee.

He owns Archetype Coffee in Omaha, and he says it’s not just a normal coffee shop because they’re not normal coffee people.

Isaiah goes beyond just pouring your cup of joe. He makes the coffee, can tell you when to drink it, what temperature it should be and what flavors you’ll taste in that first sip.

He loves the art and science that goes into making a cup of coffee.

He says he knows Omaha isn’t the first place you think of when you think of good coffee.

“Omaha, like somewhere in the middle of America, right? It’s not known for coffee. It’s known for Warren Buffett or Union Pacific or the College World Series. So, yeah, I think it probably came out of nowhere for a lot of people,” Sheese said.

Isaiah’s first barista competition was in 2009 in Austin, Texas, and he’s been competing ever since.

He’s been in eight national competitions, winning first place for the first time this year.

Isaiah says he stumbled into the profession. He went to school to be a youth pastor but took a part-time job as a barista at a friend’s shop 19 years ago, and the rest is coffee history.