Homer’s own Fika Coffee Roasters will be competing in a statewide coffee roasting competition this weekend at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. The local roastery got its start at the Homer Farmers Market a few years ago, quickly expanding to fill the need for high-quality, delicious, and creative caffeinated drinks on the lower Kenai Peninsula.

Tyler Moskios-Schlieman, who co-owns Fika with his wife Sierra, got his start in speciality coffee after graduating from college.

“I just always thought that baristas were really cool,” he said in an interview on Monday. “And I was like, I want to be cool like a barista.”

After moving to New York City and working as a roaster for a few years, Moskios-Schlieman made his way to Homer, where he worked as a barista at Kbay Caffe & Roasting Co. with f

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