Michael Phillips won the U.S. Barista Championship in Portland, Oregon, in March 2009, while working at Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea in New York City.[1] He also won the 2010 United States Barista Championship, becoming the only repeat U.S. champion to date, and he went on to become the first American to win the World Barista Championship crown in London, England, in 2010.[2]
At the March 2011 TED conferences (standing for Technology, Entertainment, Design)[3] in California, Phillips was present at Coffee Common, a new organization with what was called "the unapologetically idealistic purpose to create a community with shared values."[4]
In April 2011, Phillips resigned from his position as director of coffee education at Intelligentsia[5] to help found the Handsome Coffee Roasters[6] in Los Angeles, California, with Tyler Curtis and Chris Owens.
Philips was born in the United States and spent his early life in Royal Oak, Michigan.[1]