The World Barista Championship (WBC) is the preeminent international coffee competition produced annually by World Coffee Events (WCE).The competition focuses on promoting excellence in coffee, advancing the barista profession, and engaging a worldwide audience with an annual championship event that serves as the culmination of local and regional events around the globe.
Each year, champions representing more than 50 Nations each prepare 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos, and 4 original signature drinks to exacting standards in a 15-minute performance set to music.
WCE Certified Judges from around the world evaluate each performance on the taste of beverages served, cleanliness, creativity, technical skill, and overall presentation. The ever-popular signature beverage allows baristas to stretch their imagination and the judges’ palates to incorporate a wealth of coffee knowledge into an expression of their individual tastes and experiences.
The top 12 competitors from the first round advance to a semifinal round. The top 6 competitors in the semifinal round advance to the finals round, from which one winner is named World Barista Champion!
The birthplace of the coffeehouse was the setting for the 12th World Barista Championship held from 12-15 June 2012. Raul Rodas from Guatemala was crowned the 2012 World Barista Champion. Fifty-four barista champions competed for the title this year, cheered on by a local crowd of more than 4,000 and an online crowd of more than 25,000!
Bogota, Colombia was the location for the first World Barista Championship held in South America, from 2-5 June 2011. Alejandro Mendez from El Salvador was awarded the World Barista Champion title, marking an additional milestone for WBC by becoming the first world champion from a coffee-producing country. He was joined by 53 additional national barista champions for the four-day event.
The week of 23-25 June 2010, London, England was the focus of the eyes of the specialty coffee world, both online and at the host event, Caffe Culture, held in association with the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE).It was another epic event as Mike Phillips of Chicago, USA, walked away with the 2010 crown. 53 national barista champions in total were cheered on by an audience of over one thousand people, with a total internet audience of 29,600 (unique IP address visitors) over the course of the 3-day event via our GoLive streaming video project.
2010 – London, United Kingdom (click on name for video)
1st place: Michael Phillips (United States)
2nd Place: Raul Rodas (Guatemala)
3rd Place: Scottie Callaghan (Australia)
4th Place: Colin Harmon (Ireland)
5th Place: Soren Stiller Markussen (Denmark)
6th Place: Stefanos Domatiotis (Greece)
2009 Atlanta
The event that marked the 10 year celebration of WBC presented in Atlanta, Georgia, April 16-19th. Featuring the first time WBC Espresso Bar with interactive presentations and sampling of competition quality beverages.Over 8000 fans, from the stage audience to the daily online blog and our live-stream followers, were all witness to Gwilym Davies from the United Kingdom, as he claimed the title of 2009 World Barista Champion.
Held in conjunction with "The Event" SCAA 22nd Annual Exposition.
2009 – Atlanta, Georgia, United States (click on name for video)
1st place: Gwilym Davies (United Kingdom)
2nd Place: Sammy Piccolo (Canada)
3rd Place: Mike Phillips (United States)
4th Place: Colin Harmon (Ireland)
5th Place: Lee Jong Hoon (Korea)
6th Place: Attila Molnar (Hungary)
2008 Copenhagen
The world watched, both live and via an internet live web-cast, as Stephen Morrissey of Ireland captured the 2008 World Barista Champion crown. Held in conjunction with the 2008 SCAE Wonderful Coffee event, 51 national barista champions proved that the WBC is truly helping to elevate coffee-making standards around the world.
2008 – Copenhagen, Denmark (click on name for video)
1st place: Stephen Morrissey (Ireland)
2nd Place: David Makin (Australia)
3rd Place: Liesbeth Sleijster (The Netherlands)
4th Place: Daniel Remheden (Sweden)
5th Place: Michael Yung (Canada)
6th Place: Soren Stiller Markussen (Denmark)
2007 Tokyo
In front of a record crowd of over 2000, 45 national barista champions from all over the world converged in Tokyo, Japan, for the first WBC event in Asia. In the end, James Hoffmann, barista champion from the United Kingdom, was crowned the 2007 World Barista Champion. James used two separate single-origin coffees to prepare his three coffee courses, combining the two for his signature drink.
2007 – Tokyo, Japan
1st place: James Hoffmann (United Kingdom)
2nd Place: Heather Perry (USA)
3rd Place: Carl Sara (New Zealand)
2006 Berne
The beautiful city of Berne, Switzerland, was the host of the 7th annual World Barista Championship. 39 nations were battling for the prestigious world title and the level of the competitors has never been higher. A record-breaking amount of spectators were cheering and nearly blowing the roof off the building when Klaus Thomsen from Denmark was awarded the 2006 World Barista Champion title. His spectacular performance was based on what he believed “Speciality coffee can be in the year 2006” and the philosophy behind the presentation was that coffee is like a Symphony, where all “players”, or workers in the coffee chain, has to work together and towards the same goal in order to provide a perfect cup of espresso. His signature drink called “Symphony” was a three-layer drink consisting of coffee – panna cotta, espresso and coffee foam. Klaus is the 4th Danish world barista champion.
2006 – Berne, Switzerland
1st place: Klaus Thomsen (Denmark)
2nd Place: Sammy Piccolo (Canada)
3rd Place: Matthew Riddle (USA)
2005 Seattle
In 2005, Seattle, the USA home of espresso coffee, was the WBC host. Once again the worlds best baristas and coffee enthusiasts gathered to experience the ultimate professional espresso experience. 35 countries competed to find the next champion. Scandinavia was successful again, for the third time a Danish competitor took the crown. Troels Overdall Poulsen was triumphant in the USA coffee capital. ClickHERE to watch the online video.
2005 – Seattle, USA
1st Place: Troels Overdal Poulsen (Denmark)
2nd place: Hiroyuki Kadowaki (Japan)
3rd place: Sammy Piccolo (Canada)
2004 Trieste
In its fifth year the WBC traveled to Trieste, Italy, the home of Italian coffee and quality espresso. A record breaking 34 representatives battled to win the title which for the first time was also accompanied by a competition of a different kind. Judges as well as baristas had to work for a position in the competition. In front of an audience of hundreds Tim Wendelboe of Norway proudly earned the now much sought after title of World Barista Champion.
2004 – Trieste, Italy
1st place: Tim Wendleboe (Norway)
2nd place: Sammy Piccolo (Canada)
3rd place: Klaus Thomsen (Denmark)
2003 Boston
The WBC had now gained such momentum that the competition was broadcast on national morning TV to over 20 million Americans (not to mention the rest of the world!) From a tough pool of 28 baristas the championship was awarded for the first time out side of Scandinavia. Paul Bassett from Australia overwhelmingly took top honours with a convincing and solid performance.
2003 – Boston, USA
1st place: Paul Bassett (Australia)
2nd place: Asa Jelena Petterson (Iceland)
3rd place: Eirik S. Johnsen (Norway)
2002 Oslo
For the third annual World Barista Championship we were back in Europe, as Oslo, Norway and the SCAE hosted the competition for 2002. Once again baristas from across the globe came together to battle for the title. 24 baristas worked tirelessly. Denmark's Fritz Storm blasted home to win.
2002 – Oslo, Norway
1st place: Fritz Storm (Denmark)
2nd place: Tim Wendelboe (Norway)
3rd place: Vikram Kurana (India)
2001 Miami
2001 saw the competition move to the USA, to the hot and steamy beach city of Miami, Florida. This time around 17 baristas came to represent their home countries and once again the winner was plucked from the north – Denmark’s Martin Hildebrandt took home the crown.
2001 – Miami, USA
1st place: Martin Hildebrandt (Denmark)
2nd place: Tim Wendelboe (Norway)
3rd place: Roberto dell Aquilla (Sweden)
2000 Monte Carlo
In 2000 in Monte Carlo, a group of like minded individuals got together and presented the first annual World Barista Championship. Their vision was to create a competition that showcased the best baristas from around the globe. 12 people competed from various nations and the competition was won by Robert Thoresen of Norway.
2000 – Monte Carlo, Monaco
1st place: Robert Thoresen (Norway)
2nd place: Erla Kristisdottir (Iceland)
3rd place: Martin Hildebrandt (Denmark)
WBC2013
2013 World Barista Championship
Melbourne, Australia – 22-26 May 2013
Held in conjuction with the Melbourne International Coffee Expo
主要咖啡協會
世界咖啡協會（WCE）
TheWorld Coffee Events (WCE) is an event management organization registered in Dublin, Ireland and founded by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe and the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
WCE is the premier producer of events for the coffee community worldwide. Our mission is to develop events that engage the specialty coffee community and promote coffee excellence. The current portfolio involves competition events such as the World Barista Championship, the World Cup Tasters Championship, the World Latte Art Championship, the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, the Cezve/Ibrik Championship, and the World Brewers Cup, as well as show features such as the Espresso Bar and the Brew Bar.
美國特種咖啡協會（SCAA）
The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) established in 1982, has inspired specialty coffee professionals in their quest to learn, grow and collaborate for the betterment of the specialty coffee industry for more than a quarter of a century. The association offers its members every opportunity for success through education, training, resources and business services. This focus has enabled the SCAA to grow into the world’s largest coffee trade association, with members representing more than 40 countries and every segment of the specialty coffee industry, from growers to roasters and retailers. The SCAA also founded the Roaster’s Guild of America and Barista’s Guild of America. Annually the SCAA hosts a Symposium & Exposition.
歐洲專業咖啡協會（SCAE）
The Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), founded in 1998, originally developed the concept of the World Barista Championship. With a network of SCAE Chapters around Europe and beyond, the association held the first unique competition in Monte Carlo in 2000. Today, the SCAE produces a number of educational programs with a practical focus on all aspects of the specialty coffee sector, from roasting to running a coffee bar. The SCAE also manages other prestigious World Championships such as; the World Latte Art Championship, the World Cup Taster’s Championship, the World Coffee in Good Spirits, and the World Cezve/Ibrik Championship. These events can be witnessed annually at the SCAE’s Wonderful Coffee Conference & Exhibitions.
