From being a means to build a specialty coffee community and spreading awareness about the craft of being a barista to cut-throat competition driving innovation and setting trends, the barista championships have come a long way.

The first World Barista Championship was held in 2000 in Monaco. Fourteen countries participated and Robert Thoresen from Norway won. Scandinavian countries dominated the initial years of the championships, winning almost every year – Denmark (2001 & 2002), Norway (2004), Denmark (2005 & 2006). The championship was held in Europe or the USA, until 2007 when it was first organized in Tokyo, Japan, and won by the legendary James Hoffman from the UK. In 2011, a contestant from a producer country won for the first time – Alejandro Mendez from El Salvador. 

“My first encounter with a barista competition was in 2008 as a judge in Brazil and in Japan. At that time, barista championships were just a means to create a good specialty coffee community and to spread awareness about a new coffee professional – the barista,” shares Marcia Yoko Shimosaka, quality controller at Um Coffee Co, besides being a coffee buyer, trader, exporter, educator, and more recently the coach for the 2023 World Barista Champion – Boram Um. 

Evolution in Recent Years

In recent years, the Barista Championships have evolved significantly. From turning the spotlight to a wide range of varieties and species to innovative post-harvest processing, and now, an array of alternative milk blends to path-breaking techniques like extract chilling, nitrogen-flush extraction, freeze distillation, etc. Barista Championships are often setting trends for the world to follow.

In 2017, Andre Eiermann, now the Global Marketing Director, Eversys SA, the Swiss Barista Champion became the first barista ever to roast coffee live on the stage at WBC, degassing the coffee with nitrogen, highlighting his concept – “Ultimate Freshness”. In the same year, Kyle Ramage – the US Barista Champion used liquid nitrogen to chill his coffee before grinding, Miki Suzuki – the Japan Barista Champion used double grinding, while Dale Harris, the UK Barista Champion and the 2017 World Barista Champion showcased volatile compound analysis in his coffee. 

With time, the Barista Championship has grown and evolved, going from being a trend-follower to a trend-setter, breeding innovation, and finding new perspectives. In recent years, some interesting trends have emerged.

Evolution of the Milk Beverages

At the WBC 2016 in Dublin, the rules for milk-based beverages changed, shifting away from traditional cappuccinos, replacing them with “milk drink course”. This ushered in the era of innovative milk-based coffee beverages. One such trend was freeze-distilled milk. 

“The idea of freeze-distilled milk, I believe, can be traced back to Ben Putt from Canada. Milk beverages prepared with such milk containing less water will taste like chocolate mousse, melted chocolate ice cream, etc. since these milks will taste much sweeter. Above all, the tactile sensation will be mind-blowing – creamy, fluffy, buttery, and velvety textures. The water reduction has been done with other methods too, like rotary evaporator, cryodesiccation, and vacuum distillation,” says Eiermann. While preparing for his championship routine, he experimented considerably with freeze-distilled milk and alternative milks as well. 

In recent years, serving beautiful desert-like beverages has become quite the trend. Milk-based coffee beverages can be a gateway to new consumers, a concept presented very nicely by Boram Um, the 2023 World Barista Champion from Brazil. The concept was further carried forward by Mikael Jasin, the 2024 World Barista Champion from Indonesia, who presented his milk course as, “a small, desert-like milk beverage.”

The Rise of the Milk Alternatives

On 22 December 2022, the Specialty Coffee Association announced the updated rules and regulations for the 2023 Athens World Coffee Championships. One of these changes allowed competitors to use plant-based milk in the World Barista Championship. Until then, competitors were limited to using only cow’s milk in the barista championships. Competitors were disqualified for using oat milk at the 2022 Frankfurt Coffee Festival. 

“Compared to my 2023 routine, the biggest change you see is the bigger variety of milks being utilized. Baristas now have an arsenal of milks they can use that is bringing new flavors & combinations. Baristas are using three different types of milks, they are mixing dairy and non-dairy, making it a whole signature milk course!” says Boram Um, the 2023 World Barista Champion, founder of Um Coffee Co., and co-founder of Fazenda Um. 

According to the analysis by Eiermann, in 2023, Patrik Rolf was the only finalist to use a dairy milk alternative. However, in 2024 the picture changed significantly. Five out of seven finalists used dairy milk alternatives such as cashew, almond, coconut, rice, and oat milk. While Patrik Rolf had only used 10% coconut milk for his beverage, the Irish Barista Champion – Ian Kissick used 50% oat milk. The Indonesian Barista Champion and the 2024 WBC winner – Mikael Jasin used a blend of 20% cashew milk and 20% oat milk, totaling a 40% blend of milk alternatives. 

“In 2024, for once, the WBC was not setting the trend but following it instead. It is hard to predict what 2025 could bring but I could imagine that even more competitors will experiment with more different milk alternatives, maybe even with higher content,” says Eiermann.

The Winning Tactile Sensations 

While milk-based beverages increasingly lean towards small, desert-like beverages, the tactile sensations lean heavily towards creamy, buttery, silky textures. 

A good body, silky and creamy texture, light peachy or cherry fruitiness, and chocolate or cacao as a melted ice cream, mousse, or truffle have been the winning tactile for the past four years. The trend would likely continue in the coming years, especially since the popularity of reduced water-content milk as well as milk blends continues to stay high.

Colombian Coffee – the Winner’s Choice

When it comes to the coffees that are an extremely popular choice for WBC contenders, Colombian coffees are a clear winner. It has been the favorite origin for the espresso and milk courses for the past few years. Even contestants from producer countries have picked Colombian coffee for at least one of their courses. 

“When choosing coffees for competitions, one important point we consider is aging. Depending on when the competition would be conducted, there are generally a limited number of origins that could provide coffees suitable for use in competition routines. Colombia has a huge advantage to have two harvest seasons,” shares Yoko. 

Colombian coffee producers have access to many different coffee species & varieties. They draw two coffee harvests each year and have a solid knowledge of different post-harvest processing techniques. This makes Colombian coffee a very suitable pick for most WBC competitors. The Finca El Diviso Coffee Farm in Colombia has been one of the favorite producers for most competitors in recent years.

“From Eugenioides to rare and innovative varieties like Sidra, Ombligo, or Aji Colombia grows so many coffees. While I would love to see other origins shine, I believe that Colombia and Panama will continue to score high in championships. But you never know! WBC is about finding the next big thing and not just following trends, so I am looking forward to a fresh look at origins,” shares Eiermann. 

Is it the end of Eugenioides?

In 2021 in Milan, the top three finalists – Diego Campos, Andrea Allen, and Hugh Kelly had all used Eugenioides. But Eugenioides is a very rare coffee species so finding enough for practicing, perfecting, and presenting a competition routine for an increasing number of competitors is challenging. So, competitors began using a little bit to make blends which would be enough to add a sweetness to their espressos. 

Comparatively, Gesha continues to stay popular among competitors. Both Mikael and Boram used Panama Gesha in their espresso course. 

The milk course sees a wider range of varieties in species. 

“We see competitors using various varieties, such as Pink Bourbon, Aji, and even more surprising species or varieties like Liberica (2021), Canephora (2022), Caturra (2023), or Pacamara (2024). The milk course seems to allow competitors to take bigger risks and use coffees that would not be used for the espresso course. I believe this comes due to the intense new flavors coming from the water-reduced milk types as well as the dairy milk alternatives,” shares Eiermann.

The Comeback of the Classics

“While 2017 was the year of taking a scientific approach to espresso extraction, 2018 saw the rise of heavily fermented coffees, a trend that still lingers,” shares Eiermann. 

But the traditional processes are slowly making a comeback too. “I think classic coffees are coming back. After natural, heavily processed, infused, I think the classic, clean well-balanced coffee is coming back,” adds Yoko.

This, in part, can also be attributed to the new scoring sheet. The 2023 WBC introduced two new types of scoring scales alongside the traditional 6-point scores. This was aimed to help competitors align with the new coffee value assessment system introduced by the SCA. 

“There is definitely a shift towards cleaner coffees that are more balanced, more sweet, not too funky for espresso. More baristas are now playing with blends because you can fully design each course now,” says Um. 

Storytellers for the Win

Mikael’s routine in 2024 was a meditation on mindfulness, while Boram’s routine in 2023 revolved around the theme, “Teamwork makes the dream work”. Competition routines are moving away from being just the next big innovation and are focusing on stories and themes that the competitor feels a personal connection to. Routines are not only engaging the judges but also all the viewers who see the routine. 

“When we developed our set for WBC, I wanted to talk about my personal experience being a coffee producer and also a barista, a roaster, and a coffee entrepreneur. This is why we talked about teamwork so we could engage with all the incredible people who are behind a great cup of coffee,” shares Um.

While we often talk about how a competitor offers the judges a unique experience with each course of their set, this experience also includes the story they choose to tell through each course. Establishing a personal connection with the judges through a story or a theme, providing that human touch, and building on that through the courses being served is important. Simply stating the facts and details is no longer enough.

“Every barista has a story and as a coach, we have to find that authentic story that the barista would want to present, and adapt it according to the rules. In the past, the presentation was more about scientific topics, terroir, processing, etc. but nowadays, things are different. We can see the presentations revolve around a message to the community while connecting all the courses – espresso, milk, and signature as well,” adds Yoko.

The Way Forward: 2025 and Beyond

The future is usually hard to predict but some things are very highly likely to occur in WBC 2025.

“I would be surprised not to see plenty of Panama Geshas in the finals as well as some new varieties from Colombia that underwent heavy fermentation processes. We have reached the peak of heavy fermentation for the espresso course. I would be happy to see more super clean, super transparent, and super juicy washed coffees in the finals. For the milk beverage, I am curious to see where we are headed but more alternatives in higher percentages are likely,” shares Eiermann. 

Water-reduced milks have become quite common so the time is ripe for trying out fresher approaches. With desert-like milk courses becoming the new thing, the possibilities are endless. And what about the signature course?

“I would love to see the comeback of a more simple signature beverage made using minimalist super high-end ingredients. Who knows, the concept of ultimate freshness still has the potential to win WBC!” adds Eiermann.

Competition routines are becoming very interesting and engaging, and participants from producer countries are bringing the spotlight onto their home countries, their cultures, and even changing perceptions. The hope is that this trend is just getting started, hopes Um.

“I think it is interesting to see two producer countries win back-to-back. It showcases how producer countries are evolving in terms of coffee consumption and barista skills. This is a great trend that I hope continues at WBC,” says Um.

Barista Championships are slowly expanding to be an event beyond the specialty coffee professionals. The WBC and the environment in a busy, high-volume coffee shop don’t usually have much in common. While outstanding, unique coffees get picked for competition routines, usually coming from the same producers each year, there are lots of outstanding coffees that get produced each year by countless producers who may not be half as famous. Every cup of coffee involves the tireless efforts of countless individuals across the value chain, and slowly the championships are recognizing this, like Boram did with his routine in 2023. It would be interesting to see what the 2025 WBC presents!

Bhavi Patel is a coffee professional from India with a keen interest in sensory science, neurogastronomy, extraction kinetics, proteomics, regenerative agriculture, and circular economy. She has a background in dairy technology and rural management. She has written articles for many renowned international publications. She has been a part of the specialty coffee space since 2018 and is a founding member of the Happy Coffee Network. She is also the India AeroPress Ambassador.