2023 World Barista Championship Rules Update! WBC Now Allows Plant-Based/Alternative Animal Milks

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Updates to World Coffee Championship Rules

On December 22nd, the Specialty Coffee Association released updated rules and regulations for the 2023 World Barista Championship (WBC), World Brewers Cup (WBrC), World Cup Tasters Championship, and Cezve/Ibrik Championship.

Among these, the updated evaluation criteria for WBrC will refocus the competition on assessing competitors' coffee brewing skills. These changes include expanding the categories evaluated by baristas, decoupling the competition structure from existing SCA cupping forms and protocols, and introducing a new coffee assessment scale.

This scale aligns more explicitly with the ongoing work of the SCA, which involves transforming existing cupping protocols and forms into a coffee value assessment system based on research and sensory science best practices.

Introduction of Semi-Final Format

Additionally, WBrC will introduce a semi-final competition format. All participants will perform their chosen brewing method in the first round, and 12 competitors will be selected to advance to the semi-finals. Then, six contestants will be selected through prescribed brewing to perform their chosen brewing method in the finals, with the prescribed brewing scores from the semi-finals carrying forward.

WBC Updates and Inclusive Changes

In terms of WBC, the competition will introduce two new scoring scales in addition to the traditional 6-point scoring system. These scores will help the competition better align with the development direction of the Specialty Coffee Association's Coffee Value Assessment System. Meanwhile, the weights of different categories have been adjusted to better reflect the competition's skills and focus areas.

Simultaneously, competitors can use plant-based milk or other animal milk to make milk coffee. Regarding this decision, the SCA has seemingly struggled for quite some time. This is because in recent years, some industry professionals and competitors have criticized these competitions for lacking inclusivity and accessibility, stating that the requirement to use only cow's milk is somewhat outdated.

Oatly's Challenge to SCA

In October of this year, the well-known plant-based milk brand Oatly publicly challenged the Specialty Coffee Association on its official website and accounts, stating that as a globally recognized specialty coffee association, the SCA's mission, purpose, and core values include the concept of "sustainability."

Oatly expressed that according to research, oat milk is more environmentally friendly than cow's milk and better aligns with sustainable development. However, the SCA requires participants in the WBC competition to use only cow's milk, which is clearly contradictory. Therefore, they demanded that the SCA immediately change the WBC competition rules to allow contestants to use oat milk.

Industry Response and Debate

However, this challenge was met with opposition from coffee industry netizens. Most netizens still believe that cow's milk is the best choice, whether for coffee competitions or daily coffee shop production! Some netizens also mentioned that oat milk foam is unstable! Moreover, it tends to overpower the coffee's flavor, and the price is not cheap. The quality of products made from these two different materials has no reference or comparability. If oat milk is allowed in the competition, it would be unfair to any contestant.

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Some former WBC participants expressed that if oat milk is allowed in the competition, it might lead to further rule changes. However, modifying existing scoring rules requires significant time and human resources, and the competition would become more complex.

SCA's Compromise and Industry Evolution

But apparently, this time the Specialty Coffee Association compromised and established new scoring rules, allowing all participating contestants to express their ideas more freely without being limited to using cow's milk.

Regarding this decision, some former contestants expressed that this is what the Specialty Coffee Association should be doing. If these competitions, which receive global attention from the coffee industry, cannot reflect the changes in specialty coffee culture, then it's not progress. Currently, plant-based milk has become a flagship product in coffee shops.

Although using cow's milk to make products does indeed taste better and the scoring process would be more fair, this would also prevent people who cannot consume cow's milk from creating and presenting products that might be even more impressive than milk coffee.

Looking Forward

This change will be a good beginning. These world-class competitions often influence the direction of the specialty coffee industry. Whether using plant-based milk or other animal milk, as long as the entire beverage presentation process is professional, it should be considered specialty coffee. This will be an opportunity for specialty coffee culture to expand further.

Image source: Internet

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