Calgary’s coffee community received yet another big win over the weekend of June 12 to 14, when Jill Hoff from Monogram Coffee was named the 2026 Canadian National Barista Champion (CNBC).

This is Jill's second victory in the NBC, after becoming the first woman to earn the first-place title back in 2020. It's a triumphant return to the stage, and one that comes after nearly 6 years behind the scenes coaching, judging, and volunteering.

Jill has also been with Monogram Coffee for nearly 12 years, currently working as the Director of Coffee and helming the café's training program. It's no question that Jill is one the busiest people in specialty coffee today, so we're grateful to have sat down with her in-person, asking your questions to find out just what it takes to become a two-time Canadian Barista Champion.

This blog serves as a "highlight reel" to the full video interview. If you want to hear everything Jill had to say about what she's learned, using the Better Vessel in her winning routine, and whether or not she can pour latte art with her non-dominant hand (food for thought), head to our YouTube Channel!

What are your favourite roasters (sourced locally and/or carried by Eight Ounce)?" – Alexandra P.

Because who doesn't want to know what a coffee professional like Jill enjoys brewing, whether it's for a high-stakes set or simply to enjoy a delicious cup?

“I would say one of my favourite roasters would definitely be Coffee Collective. I feel like they’re iconic, and I would love to go there sometime and see their cafés. I really like the way that they approach who they buy from… and, obviously, they do a very good job roasting coffee.”

Jill's second recommendation took us from Denmark all the way back home, with a Canadian shout-out:

“I really like Hatch. They do a really good job."

"Why coffee? What in your former life led you here instead?" — Nelson T.

Like so many people deeply involved in the specialty coffee community, Jill did not expect her love of coffee shops to evolve into a full career.

“I started in coffee almost 12 years ago. I had small kids at home, and I had been working from home teaching voice lessons… I loved going to cafés and being in the environment of a café. I felt like it would be a fun place to start a very low-key job.”

"I slowly learned that there is so much more to coffee from what I knew as a customer… Once I started working in coffee, it was just so fascinating to find out just how complex the industry is and how complex coffee itself is. Why I started was I kind of wanted something fun to do. And here I am 12 years later.”

How do you adjust your training for worlds compared to nationals?" — AJ D.

The 2026 World Barista Championship will be held in Panama City from October 23 to 25. There, Jill will be representing Canada's coffee community on the world stage.

Four months may sound like a lot of time to prepare, yet Jill has already been deep in the planning phase of her routine, visualizing every detail to adapt and elevate for an international audience.

“With Nationals, you want to think about 'can this set or concept be executed at worlds? Is this a world level routine?'”

And according to Jill, when you're planning a competition set for Worlds, you really have to know your audience.

“I do think that – about my set – I will be taking the same theme and likely similar coffees to Worlds. But obviously you need to level it up for Worlds. So, just thinking about 'how can I redesign some of the courses or improve more visuals, certain things that make it more easy to understand?'”

"What did you learn this year (in developing your routine) that you wish you learned earlier?" — AJ D.

Jill responded with a palpable confidence, outlining how she learned to trust herself and her merits.

“The biggest thing I focused on this time was just being me, knowing that I have something good to say, knowing that I have good coffees that I’m proud to serve… letting the outside pressures of where I work or what I’ve done before kind of go away and really focus on being myself.”

When did you first start experimenting with Liberica coffee? What about it made you want to use it in competition? – Colin E. 

Let's talk about Coffea Liberica, a species of coffee bean that is most commonly grown in the Philippines and Malaysia. While Arabica dominates around 70% of worldwide coffee production, Liberica does not share the same global popularity.

The scarcity of Liberica can be chalked up to a combination of particular growing conditions and an eccentric flavour profile, which is often described as tropical and fruity with a rich, syrupy body. In the spirit of discovery, this Jill selected this marvelously unique coffee to feature in both her espresso and milk beverage.  

“I chose Liberica because the set was about DNA…DNA of our industry, my own DNA, so we thought that using coffees that had a very unique DNA would link very well... the coffee that I used had an amazing profile that was super fruity. It was very unique, very different. I was really excited to bring it to the stage because I think not a lot of people have had the chance to taste Liberica.”

“Did your first experiments with the Better Vessel match your expectations?” – Sang T.

The Better Vessel is a post-extraction tool for espresso. The device was first demonstrated in the 2025 World Barista Championships by its co-inventor, Michael Harris, to skim the crema off his espresso before serving it to judges. A year later, it would be used by Jill for her award-winning espresso and milk-beverage courses. Naturally, its reputation garnered some big expectations.

"The crema, as we know, has most of the bitterness in it because of the C02 and carbonic acid… and I fortunately have also tasted a lot of experiments that [Ben Put] has done in the past with carbonic acid and removing that from espresso… so I did have it in my mind of what to expect when using the Better Vessel, and it did meet my expectations of what I thought it would taste like.”

“Are there any trade-offs you've found to using the Better Vessel?” – James M.

Espresso, much like any method of coffee brewing, is wonderfully versatile! Because all of us have unique tastes (and there's no wrong way to enjoy coffee), Jill believes it's best practice to think about the flavours you want before removing the crema.

“One potential trade-off could be the expectation of somebody who is a traditional espresso drinker being able to then try it using the Better Vessel, because it does alter the mouthfeel and the body when removing that crema. It does change the drink from what you expect as a traditional espresso...”
... I would be curious to hear what customers would experience from that. Especially people who are very used to ordering traditional espresso because it definitely does change it from what you’re used to…it almost makes it more of a silky and light beverage.”

”Is there a type of espresso (dark vs. light roast, origin, varietal, etc.) you find benefits most from the Better Vessel?” – James M.

Based on Jill's suggestions, the Better Vessel sounds like a great tool for making espresso out of delicate, floral coffees with flavour profiles that you might assume perform best as pour overs.

“It depends on what your expectations are… if you’re using a very floral or delicate Geisha, or something like that, using the Better Vessel might match the flavour profile and texture that you would expect.”

“What are you excited to experiment with next?” – Luke J.

“I’m excited to experiment with many things over the next four months – not that long before worlds – and experiment with the different blends of the coffees that I’m using. I would like to keep within my theme of coffees that have a unique DNA, and I am pretty confident that I’ll use Liberica as well, but I’m not sure if I’ll use the same coffee… maybe there’s a different coffee that they have that I haven’t tasted yet… so just experimenting with coffees and blends and ways to make the signature drink very delicious and a great course that matches my theme.”

Throughout her interview, Jill spoke with exuberance, anticipating the discovery of that next awe-inspiring competition coffee and signature recipe. Naturally, we couldn't help but share the excitement with her.

Be sure to cheer Jill on as she represents Canada at the 2026 World Barista Championship on October 22 to 25 in Panama! And if you're curious to experience exactly what Jill described regarding the Better Vessel and the difference it made in her espresso, learn more for yourself here!