Why Coffee Competitions Matter

Six reasons they keep our industry alive, curious, and moving forward.

Every year, thousands of baristas step onto competition stages around the world — shaking hands, grinding beans, chasing perfection. It’s easy to think it’s all about the win, but competitions are one of the strongest forces driving specialty coffee forward. They make us better, bolder, and more connected. Here’s why they matter — and why we keep showing up.

1. They Push Flavour Forward

Competitions are where new ideas break through. Wild fermentations, new tools, emerging brewing techniques — many of them appear on stage long before they reach cafés. Competitors become flavour pioneers, chasing clarity, texture, and complexity, and lifting the standard for everyone. What begins as an experiment often becomes tomorrow’s normal.

2. They Build Better Baristas

Training for competition changes the way you think. You taste more intentionally, understand variables more deeply, and sharpen your discipline. That mindset doesn’t just make strong competitors — it creates stronger café teams. Staff who train with purpose serve with purpose, and customers feel the difference.

3. They Put Producers in the Spotlight

Behind every routine is a farmer whose work deserves recognition. Competitions amplify those stories, linking a grower’s craft to the flavour in the cup. Many of the world’s most celebrated coffees were discovered because a barista championed them on stage. That visibility builds relationships, strengthens communities, and helps keep quality farming viable.

4. They Bring the Community Together

Competition weekends carry a special kind of energy. Friends, rivals, mentors — all sharing brews, ideas, and support. It’s a reminder of what drew us to coffee in the first place. We call it competition, but at its core, it’s community.

5. They Inspire the Next Generation

Everyone in coffee can trace their journey to a moment of seeing someone on stage and thinking, I want to do that. Competitions create those sparks. They show what passion and persistence can achieve — bringing new talent into the industry, eager, curious, and ready to learn.

6. They Keep Us Aligned on Quality

Competition isn’t just creativity — it’s calibration. It defines what excellence tastes like, how we measure it, and how we communicate it. That shared language connects cafés, roasters, and producers worldwide. It’s how a roaster in Melbourne and a judge in Colombia can chase the same things: balance, sweetness, clarity, and intent.

The Five Major Competitions

1. World Barista Championship

The World Barista Championship (WBC) is the arena where innovation hits its highest velocity — and is probably the most highly coveted discipline of all the mainstream coffee competitions. World-class espresso, cutting-edge milk techniques, and service philosophy all collide here. More than a trophy, the WBC sets the rhythm for the entire industry — influencing café menus, roasting styles, and even farm-level experimentation.
At Zest, our team has stepped in as judges at the World Barista Championship. It might sound like a free trip to the big show, but trust us — it’s less holiday and more sensory bootcamp. To become a World Barista Championship judge, you must first judge 3 National Barista Championships to even be considered for a world championship. Though, the skills gained in the end are invaluable.

2. World Brewers Cup

If the World Brewer’s Cup Championship (WBrC) pushes creativity, the Brewers Cup pushes purity. It celebrates clarity, transparency, and the art of manual brewing. This is where techniques like bypass brewing, ultra-light roasts, and novel drippers often debut before becoming mainstream. It’s the competition that has shaped the modern filter movement.
At Zest, this is the coffee competition where our team is most active, with the team involved in both judging, coaching, and competing. In fact, we’ve been Australian finalists multiple times, and in just two weeks — our Coffee Training Manager Simon Gautherin will take back to the stage at the ASCA Australian Brewer’s Cup Championship. Should he win, he’ll be competing at the world stage early in 2026!

3. World Cup Tasters Championship

The World Cup Tasters is the purest expression of sensory skill. Speed, accuracy, and palate precision matter more than theatrics. It’s a reminder that behind every great coffee program sits someone who can taste, assess, and make decisions. When sensory ability sharpens, roasters and cafés benefit across the board. At Zest, we’ve had two national finalists competing in the Cup Tasters competition.

4. World Coffee in Good Spirits

World Coffee in Good Spirits (CIGS) – this competition fuses coffee and mixology in a way that transforms both worlds. It pushes flavour layering, extraction timing, and spirit pairing into new territory. Many café cocktail programs, signature drinks, and cold brew innovations trace directly back to this stage.

5. World Latte Art Championship

The World Latte Art Championship showcases skill, consistency, and microfoam mastery — but more importantly, it influences everyday café craft. Better milk, better texture, and better workflow all stem from the techniques developed here. It’s one of the most visible competitions and often the entry point for new baristas inspired by what’s possible.

6. World Coffee Roasting Championship

The World Roasting Championship shines a light on the technical backbone of specialty coffee. Green grading, profiling, consistency, sensory evaluation — it reveals the work that determines flavour long before a barista touches the beans. It shapes how we roast, how we express origin, and how we define quality.

The Zest Takeaway

Competitions show us what coffee can become when curiosity meets craft. They fuel progress, celebrate collaboration, and keep the spirit of specialty alive. At Zest, staying close to the competition world has shaped who we are. Having our team involved as judges and supporters keeps us sharp — it forces us to taste better, think deeper, and stay tuned in to where the industry is heading.
The ideas, techniques, and relationships we bring home from those events ripple through everything we do, from how we roast to how we train. Competition hasn’t just inspired us; it’s helped push the company forward in a way no classroom or cupping lab ever could.
For more great reads on Zest’s involvement in competition, just head to our BLOG section.