What is WBC? What are the categories in world-class coffee competitions? What do the World Coffee Championships consist of?

Just as the film industry has the Oscars, the music world has the Grammys, and sports has the Olympics, the coffee world also has world-class competitions symbolizing the highest honors. These events not only serve as grand stages for coffee professionals from around the globe to showcase their skills and techniques, but also act as trendsetters guiding the specialty coffee scene, while simultaneously driving continuous innovation and progress in the industry.

If you're a coffee lover, you're probably interested in these professional competitions too. FrontStreet Coffee is here today to introduce you to some of the world's most prestigious coffee competitions and what they're all about. Let's go ~

World Barista Championship (WBC)

As the flagship event of the seven major competitions hosted by the World Coffee Championships (WCC), the WBC (World Barista Championship) is known as the "Coffee Olympics" – a coffee-making competition that tests baristas' comprehensive abilities and is internationally recognized. It's also one of the most watched international coffee events.

Since the first WBC was successfully held in Monte Carlo, Morocco in 2000, more than 50 contestants (regional champions) selected from various competition zones worldwide gather on the same international stage each year to compete and exchange knowledge. The WBC aims to discover and guide coffee trends, spread coffee culture, and provide a platform for professional baristas worldwide to perform, compete, and communicate.

Rules: Contestants must prepare 4 espressos, 4 milk coffees, and 4 creative espresso-based signature drinks within 15 minutes, while fluently explaining their creations and concepts. Judges score based on multiple aspects including equipment usage, coffee bean selection, coffee preparation techniques, the taste and appearance of the final products, and the creativity of signature drinks.

World Brewers Championship (WBrC)

The WBrC (World Brewers Championship) is a competition showcasing pour-over coffee extraction techniques. This event aims to bring baristas back to their roots, preparing high-quality black coffee for customers, and is dedicated to elevating the professional standards of manual coffee extraction and service.

Rules: WBrC consists of two parts: compulsory brewing and open brewing. In the compulsory brewing section, contestants use the same specified roasted beans and standardized equipment to prepare three cups of coffee. In the open brewing section, contestants use their own roasted beans and can choose different brewing devices for extraction. The fluency of the entire presentation, brewing, and service process will all be considered in judging.

World Latte Art Championship (WLAC)

Latte art, a coffee-making technique that has captivated countless people, involves baristas using the classic combination of espresso and steamed milk to create various exquisite patterns. The WLAC (World Latte Art Championship) can be considered the most artistic coffee competition, where baristas compete not only in innovative design latte art but also complete specified complex patterns, comprehensively demonstrating professional skills and artistic expression.

Rules: There are three rounds: preliminaries, semi-finals, and finals. In the preliminaries, contestants are required to create one latte art piece within 5 minutes for photography, with judges scoring based on the photos. Then, according to the provided design photos, they must present two identical conventional latte art patterns and two identical design patterns (using etching needles is allowed) within 8 minutes. The semi-finals and finals have similar rules, requiring contestants to prepare 6 latte art beverages within the specified time.

Judges will comprehensively score based on the visual effect of latte art patterns, creative expression, contrast, consistency between each set of patterns and the reference images, and the contestant's overall stage presence. Additionally, to ensure fairness, all equipment and materials used in the competition are provided by the organizers, including espresso machines, grinders, milk, coffee beans, etc.

World Coffee Roasting Championship (WCRC)

FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned several times in articles that appropriate roasting curves can not only maximize the essential flavors of green beans but also avoid undesirable defects, enhancing the extraction process. Therefore, roasting plays a crucial role in the entire coffee chain. Similar to other competitions, the World Coffee Roasting Championship tests contestants' ability to select coffee beans and perfectly present roasting flavors. Participants are typically roasters from around the world or experienced baristas who balance both coffee preparation and roasting.

Rules: WCRC generally consists of three parts: contestants' on-site performance in evaluating green coffee beans, setting optimal roasting curves for specified beans, and the quality of the final roasted beans. It's a comprehensive test of contestants' roasting experience and theoretical knowledge. The roasted beans will be evaluated through blind tasting by professional judges, who will determine the final scores.

World Cup Tasters Championship (WCTC)

Perhaps many people have heard of "cupping," a specialized term in the coffee industry, but don't know that there's actually a global cupping competition held annually in different countries and regions. In the World Cup Tasters Championship, contestants must demonstrate rapid and accurate coffee identification abilities. It tests baristas' speed and skills while distinguishing their accuracy in identifying coffee flavor differences through examination rounds, aiming to select the world's most talented cuppers.

Rules: The cupping competition format involves arranging three cups in a triangular pattern, where two cups contain the same coffee and one cup contains different coffee. Contestants use their sense of smell, taste, observation skills, and experience to quickly identify the different cup. The presentation part also includes flavor descriptions and customer service, resembling a showcase of specialty coffee beans.

Each round consists of 8 sets of coffee. The top eight contestants with the highest accuracy and fastest speed advance to the semi-finals. Finally, the top four from the semi-finals advance to the finals, competing for the World Cup Tasters Championship trophy. FrontStreet Coffee would like to add that when two or more contestants have the same correct answers and scores, the one with the shortest time wins.

World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (WCIGS)

Founded in 2022, the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship is a high-level platform that combines coffee with various spirits using different mixing methods, creating unique and creative beverages.

Rules: The competition also consists of preliminary and final rounds. In the preliminaries, contestants must create two identical signature coffee drinks using spirits randomly selected by the organizers within the specified time. Then, they prepare one cold and one hot specialty drink using the specific spirits provided by the event sponsors, totaling four drinks.

In the finals, contestants must prepare two signature drinks (either cold or hot) based on coffee and spirits, plus two traditional Irish coffees within the same specified time. Irish coffee ingredients can only include coffee, whiskey, sugar, and cream, and contestants must use the Irish coffee glasses provided by the organizers. Finally, judges will score comprehensively based on factors such as the drinks' balance, flavor, commercial value, combined with the contestants' preparation techniques.

World Cezve Championship (TC/IC)

As demonstrated in FrontStreet Coffee's article yesterday, the Turkish coffee pot (Cezve/Ibrik) is a cylindrical vessel specifically designed for brewing traditional Turkish coffee with a long history. Typically made of brass, the long handle is for holding and moving it while heating, the rim design facilitates pouring liquid, and users obtain the brewed coffee through multiple boiling processes.

In the eyes of industry professionals, the World Cezve Championship is a major event that promotes traditional coffee culture through competition format, encouraging baristas to incorporate their own style or elements to showcase ancient coffee preparation methods.

Rules: In the competition, baristas need to prepare 2 basic black coffees (containing only water and coffee powder) and 2 creative Turkish coffees using a Turkish coffee pot within 15 minutes.

In addition to the above competitions hosted by World Coffee Events, there are actually other themed world-class coffee competitions held annually on schedule, allowing skilled baristas to showcase their talents, such as the World Siphonist Championship (WSC) and the World Aeropress Championship (WAC).

- END -

FrontStreet Coffee

No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473