World Barista Championship
The World Barista Championship (WBC) is an annual barista competition operated by World Coffee Events for the title of World Barista Champion. The competition is composed of the winners of the national barista championships, which are operated by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) chapters, or an approved, independent, non-profit national body.
The event is hosted in a different city every year. The next edition will be in Melbourne in November 2020.[1]
History
The barista competition format was formulated in Norway,[2] with the first competition taking place in Monte Carlo in 2000. The WBC was dominated in its early years by Scandinavian baristas[3] and was held in Europe or the United States from its inception until 2007 when it was hosted in Tokyo, Japan.
In 2016, significant changes were made to the competition format: Grinders were now provided by the competition's partner (Mahlkönig), new models of espresso machines were introduced, and the cappuccino was replaced by a "milk drink" component.[4]
In 2018, Agnieszka Rojewska became the first woman to win the World Barista Championship.[5]
Competition format
There are three rounds of judging over two days. The first round included 55 national barista champions in 2018. The top 15 competitors advance to a second (semi-finals) round, plus the addition of a wildcard placing. The final round comprises the top scoring six baristas from the semi-finals round and takes place on the last day of the competition. In each round competitors present a 15 minute routine in which they must prepare and serve a total of 12 drinks: (4) espresso, (4) milk beverages, and (4) ‘signature beverages’ (a non-alcoholic espresso-based cocktail) to each of four sensory judges[6]. Baristas commonly perform the same routine in each of the rounds that they compete.
The four judges award points on a variety of factors including the taste and balance of the barista’s beverages as well as their presentation. A technical judge grades their technique and cleanliness in the national championships and preliminary rounds. The judges’ points are totalled to produce a final score for each barista in each round. The baristas with the highest scores advance from the first and second rounds, and the barista with the greatest score in the final round wins the title.
Organization
The WBC is operated by World Coffee Events (WCE), which was established by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) to run a portfolio of international coffee events. Since the SCAA and SCAE have unified in 2017, WCE is a part of this global organization called the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).
The national barista competitions are each organized by their respective national coffee organizations.
Past Winners
Year | Location | Winner (Country) | Source |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Monte Carlo, |
Robert Thoresen ( |
[7] |
2001 | Miami, |
Martin Hildebrandt ( |
[8] |
2002 | Oslo, |
Fritz Storm ( |
[9] |
2003 | Boston, |
Paul Bassett ( |
[10] |
2004 | Trieste, |
Tim Wendelboe ( |
[11] |
2005 | Seattle, |
Trouls Overdahl Poulsen ( |
[12] |
2006 | Bern, |
Klaus Thomsen ( |
[13] |
2007 | Tokyo, |
James Hoffmann ( |
[14] |
2008 | Copenhagen, |
Stephen Morrissey ( |
[15] |
2009 | Atlanta, |
Gwilym Davies ( |
[16] |
2010 | London, |
Michael Phillips ( |
[17] |
2011 | Bogota, |
Alejandro Mendez ( |
[18] |
2012 | Vienna, |
Raúl Rodas ( |
[19][20] |
2013 | Melbourne, |
Pete Licata ( |
[21][22] |
2014 | Rimini, |
Hidenori Izaki ( |
[23] |
2015 | Seattle, |
Sasa Sestic ( |
(Score: 618 out of 814)[24][25] |
2016 | Dublin, |
Berg Wu ( |
(Score: 583.0 out of 719)[26] |
2017 | Seoul, |
Dale Harris ( |
[27][28] |
2018 | Amsterdam, |
Agnieszka Rojewska ( |
[5][29] |
2019 | Boston, |
Jooyeon Jeon ( |
[30][31] |
References
- "World Barista Championship Returns To Melbourne In May 2020". Sprudge.com. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- Wendelboe, Tim (May 1, 2005) The Future of the World Barista Championship. "CoffeeGeek.com" Retrieved on 2006-oct-25
- WBC WBC History: Previous Years. Retrieved on 2006-oct-25
- Nick Brown (27 March 2015). "Major Changes Coming to the 2016 World Barista Championship". Dailycoffeenews.com. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "Agnieszka Rojewska becomes first female to win the World Barista Championship". Beanscenemag.com. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "Rules & Regulations". World Barista Championship. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- "1st ANNUAL WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP Monte Carlo 2000" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "7th Annual World Barista Championship Miami 2001" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "3RD ANNUAL WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP Oslo 2002" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "4th Annual World Barista Championship Boston 2003" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "5th Annual World Barista Championship Trieste 2004" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "6TH ANNUAL WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP Seattle 2005" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "7th Annual World Barista Championship Berne 2006" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "8TH ANNUAL WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING ORDER" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "9TH ANNUAL WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING ORDER" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "2009 World Barista Championship" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "2010 World Barista Championship RANKING ORDER" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "2011 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP RANKING ORDER" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "Guatemalan winner of the World Barista Championship". Guatemalaontheweb.com. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "2012 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITOR RANKINGS" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "World Barista Championship Finals In Words and Pictures". Sprudge.com. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "2013 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP Competitor Rank and Scores" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "2014 World Barista Championship" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- Gyan Yankovich (13 April 2015). "This Canberra Coffee Guy Just Won The World Barista Championship". Buzzfeed.com. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "2015 World Barista Championship Official Rankings" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "2016 World Barista Championship" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- Karolina Kumstova (14 November 2017). "Dale Harris is the World Barista Champion 2017". Europeancoffeetrip.com. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "2017 World Barista Championship" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- "2018 World Barista Championship" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- Zac Cadwalader (15 April 2019). "Jooyeon Jeon Of South Korea Is The 2019 World Barista Champion". Sprudge.com. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "2019 World Barista Championship" (PDF). worldbaristachampionship.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
External links
- World Barista Championship official site