Imbibe 75 Person to Watch: Morgan Eckroth

When most of the world’s coffee shops shut down in 2020, Portland, Oregon–based barista Morgan Eckroth saw an opportunity to keep café culture alive online. Posting elegant drink recipes and heartwarming barista videos under the handle MorganDrinksCoffee, Eckroth has quickly become Gen Z’s favorite internet barista, with a following of more than 6 million on TikTok alone.

But before becoming a social media sensation, Eckroth was just another college student working at a café between classes. After about a year behind the coffee counter, Eckroth decided to deepen their skill set by signing up for the United States Barista Championship. “I had the very-exciting-but-scary realization that I didn’t ever want to leave that industry post-graduation,” Eckroth says. Despite graduating into a job market that was ravaged by the pandemic, Eckroth continued to train for competition while creating content, workshopping countless cocktail-inspired signature drinks both on and off camera. That dedication finally paid off in 2022, when Eckroth became the USBC champion and World Barista runner-up.

But even as one of the best baristas in the world, Eckroth makes it a point to keep their videos accessible to a wider audience. “While I do work pretty deep in the industry, a lot of my content is geared toward folks who have no knowledge of specialty coffee,” Eckroth says. “I want people to walk away just a little bit more curious about coffee.” This year, Eckroth will be stepping back from competition in order to become a USBC judge and focus on expanding MorganDrinksCoffee.

Click here to read more about some of 2025’s other Imbibe 75 People and Places to Watch.