Professional Education Event Level Up to Rise Again in Minneapolis
Daily Coffee News Staff| August 5, 2026 Photograph by Kaylie Yaceczko at Level Up 2025. Courtesy of Raise the Bar Coffee. Level Up, the noncompetitive barista education and mentorship event launched last year by the nonprofitRaise the Bar Coffee, is returning to Minneapolis this fall with an expanded program and capacity. Taking place Sept. 18-20, the second edition of Level Up will again center on working baristas and early-career coffee professionals, with most programming hosted at theheadquarters of Mill City Roasters. The event is presented by Raise the Bar Coffee, a nonprofit founded by Rachel Apple, Ivana Chan and Sandra Loofbourow with a mission to expand access to professional development in specialty coffee, particularly for people who have been left out of traditional industry education networks. The event was designed as an alternative to coffee competitions and traditional trade-show education, offering a lower-pressure environment in which baristas can build technical skills and peer networks while exploring paths toward long-term careers in coffee. Photograph by Kaylie Yaceczko from “Intro to Cupping” taught by Carly Green at Level Up 2025. Courtesy of Raise the Bar Coffee. “My first decade of working in Coffee was in KC and OKC. There simply weren’t people like me anywhere I could see in the industry, and there were certainly no easily findable or affordable places to go to get education,” Apple said in an announcement shared with DCN. “So we wanted to make it easier for the generation coming up behind us.” The 2026 event has expanded capacity to 100 attendees, with more than 20 educators and mentors. Raise the Bar said it is aiming for 20-25% of attendees to receive scholarships, with scholarship applications open through Sunday, Aug. 9. New this year are optional half-day Deep Dive Workshops on Friday, Sept. 18, focused on sensory
Daily Coffee News Staff| August 5, 2026 Photograph by Kaylie Yaceczko at Level Up 2025.
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