KALVE Coffee Triumphs at Roast Masters 2025 – Wins 1st Place in Prestigious European Competition
From April 3 to 5, during the Amsterdam Coffee Festival, the most prestigious European coffee competition for roasters – Roast Masters 2025 – took place. Over the course of three intense days, overcoming four elimination rounds in eight disciplines, the KALVE Coffee team – co-founder and CGO (Chief Growth Officer) Raimonds Selga and Head of Café Development Jānis Podiņš – earned the highest honour, becoming the champions. This marks a new milestone in the history of the Latvian coffee industry, surpassing the previous achievement of 2nd place at Roast Masters 2019.
Raimonds Selga is a WCC (World Coffee Championships) representative – the only one from the Baltics and one of 15 across Europe regularly involved with competitions worldwide.
Jānis Podiņš has now won three prestigious competition variations – Coffee Masters London 2023, European Barista Cup 2024, and most recently, Roast Masters 2025.
Kalve Coffee entered the competition with three types of coffee beans, all of which will be included in their product range – a single-origin filter coffee (Colombia, La Joya), a single-origin "Red Bourbon" espresso (Rwanda, Shyira), and an espresso blend Marmalade with a renewed composition.
Reflecting on the biggest challenge during the competition, Raimonds noted that several disciplines involved working with previously unknown coffee types:
"I think the biggest challenge is always working with yourself. At times, doubts and thoughts about possible mistakes arise, but each time the results proved the opposite. I had to remind myself to put aside self-doubt, to understand that we have the necessary competence, and to remain consistent in our work. You have to believe in your abilities!”
The competition was fierce, as Roast Masters brought together top roasters and professionals from across Europe. Each roastery brought its own values and approach. Raimonds and Jānis complemented each other’s knowledge perfectly, trusting each other's competencies and collaborating to deliver a performance that was honest, transparent, and aligned with KALVE Coffee’s values.
Commenting on the victory, Jānis Podiņš said:
“This is a huge honour and recognition not only for me personally, but for the entire KALVE team. Our success in this competition is a direct testament to the high level of quality we are able to deliver every day.”
Raimonds Selga added:
“We are very proud of this achievement. These competitions are an excellent platform to showcase the high level of Latvian coffee culture to the world and our commitment to continuous development and growth.”
One of KALVE’s major ambitions is to become one of the top 5 specialty coffee brands in Europe. When asked about sharing their experience with local professionals, both Jānis and Raimonds emphasised the importance of teamwork and believe that this award is a significant milestone for Latvian coffee professionals – proof that we are on par, if not ahead, of other global “coffee capitals.” Raimonds adds:
“I’m always ready to share knowledge. I believe we can transform the coffee industry for the better and demonstrate Latvia’s excellence.”
Kalve Coffee Roasters – a specialty coffee roastery in Latvia and a B Corp certified company founded on responsibility, transparency, and respect for partners. Our goal is to create exceptional coffee while making a positive impact for the future. KALVE operates six café-stores in Riga, with new locations planned soon across the Baltics.
More info: https://kalvecoffee.com/blogs/news/roast-masters-2025-champions
About AS Kalve Coffee
AS Kalve Coffee is a brand created by coffee professionals, aiming to develop and strengthen the culture of specialty coffee roasting, brewing, and appreciation in the Baltic region. Kalve Coffee began operations in early 2019. The core values of KALVE are outstanding coffee and service quality, honesty, excellent product design, and responsible practices in all processes. As we continue to grow, sustainability is key – both through products and services with a positive long-term impact and by caring for environmental quality at every stage of the coffee production chain. As stated in the Company’s unaudited annual report, KALVE's turnover increased by 37% in 2024 compared to the same period last year.
Additional Information
Gatis Zēmanis
Chairman of the Board
+371 27303355
ir@kalvecoffee.com
Certified Advisor:
ZAB Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns SIA
Justīne Ignatavičute
Email: justine.ignatavicute@eversheds-sutherland.lv
Phone: +371 2866506