Why we’re seeing more custom brewers at competitions

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Key takeaways

• Baristas are designing custom brewers to stand out in competitions.
• Some prototypes reach consumers; others remain competition-only brewers.
• Cup quality and technique still matter more than equipment choice.
• Custom brewing requires 3D printing access and manufacturing know-how.

Manual brewers like the Hario V60, Kalita Wave, Origami, and Orea are often the choice of World Brewers Cup competitors. But in recent years, a small number of baristas have designed their own.

The most obvious recent example is the Binocular Dripper, developed by Mariam Erin, a multi-time UAE Coffee Champion and the 2023 World Cezve/Ibrik Championship bronze medallist. The device uses two tall, narrow cones, each set at a 30° angle, allowing each side to be brewed independently with different coffees, doses, grind sizes, and pour patterns. 

Mariam calls the approach “wet blending”. During her routine, she used the Binocular Dripper to blend a Panama Gesha with a Colombian Gesha, which she said helped balance the florality and red berry notes.

“That’s the beauty of brewing, especially in competitions. It pushes everyone to explore, innovate, and be creative to achieve the best version of the cup,” she says. “At the same time, this doesn’t mean existing drippers don’t work; each one is unique and designed with a specific intention for the cup or a particular coffee.”

As more competitors increasingly gravitate towards similar high-end coffees and extraction tools, custom-designing brewers is a new way to differentiate. These devices also feed into the competition’s storytelling aspect, giving baristas a way to build a recognisable brand beyond the stage.

You may also like our article on the evolution of paper coffee filters.

From competition stage to coffee shop shelves

The Binocular Dripper wasn’t the only custom brewer at the 2025 World Brewers Cup. UK Barista Champion Luca Croce combined an Origami dripper with a Hario Switch valve to create a custom-designed hybrid brewer. During his routine, he said this allowed him to achieve the best results with both flat-bottom brews and full-immersion blooms.

Jackie Tran, the 2024 Czech Republic Brewers Cup Champion, designed the Solo Dripper after competing at the 2024 World Brewers Cup in Chicago. The flat-bottom dripper features a 40° internal angle, a curved base, and precision ribs intended to promote even extraction.

Its impact on competitions and beyond was swift. The following year, George Jinyang Peng used the Solo Dripper to win the 2025 World Brewers Cup in Jakarta, and it’s quickly becoming a fixture in home brewing setups and coffee shop brew bars.

Similarly, the Binocular Dripper is also available on Brewing Gadgets, and launched at World of Coffee Dubai earlier this year. But not every prototype brewer makes it to market.

“The goal isn’t always to bring it to the home consumer. In many cases, the prototype is a proof of concept, helping push boundaries and explore new ways of extraction in a competition setting,” Mariam explains. “But sometimes, if the idea proves valuable and accessible, it can evolve into a product for a broader market.”

Designing a competition-ready brewer, however, requires access to 3D printing, manufacturing partners, or product development experience. 

“Moving from a competition prototype to a commercially available product takes time, testing, and refinement,” Mariam explains. “A prototype is often designed to achieve a very specific goal in the cup, but turning it into a product means making it more consistent, user-friendly, and practical for a wider audience.”

The impact of custom brewers on coffee competitions

For now, large-scale commercially available brewers dominate competitions like the World Brewers Cup. But as it becomes standard for competitors to use cutting-edge extraction tools and exclusive varieties, designing a custom-built brewer could be the new way to stand out on stage and build a more curated personal brand.

Custom brewers give competitors a physical, recognisable product tied directly to their name, and signal intentionality, technical knowledge, and a point of view on extraction. If a prototype makes it to market, the brewer also becomes a commercial product that carries the barista’s brand into coffee shops and home brewing setups around the world.

However, this also raises questions about a level playing field. Could baristas who have access to more resources to design their own brewers have an unfair advantage?

Mariam asserts this isn’t the case. “WBrC rules and regulations already provide a clear framework to ensure fairness. The emphasis remains on sensory quality, consistency, and technique, rather than equipment alone,” she explains. “While innovation is encouraged, the rules ensure that all baristas, regardless of access to custom hardware, are judged primarily on skills, brewing and coffee knowledge, presentation, customer service, and the overall quality of their cup.”

Skill is more important

Mariam emphasises that equipment shouldn’t be the focus of a competitor’s routine. “Creativity comes from how baristas use variables like grind size, pouring technique, water, and recipe to express the coffee. Even with similar brewers, the outcome in the cup can vary widely.”

Whether a competitor opts for a commercially available brewer or designs their own, the most crucial factor is understanding how it influences extraction and flavour.

“Custom brewers are only one small part of the scoring system, and they only matter if they positively impact the sensory experience,” she adds. “The brewer does matter, but it’s only effective if the competitor can clearly explain its purpose and how it improves the cup. In the end, everything has to translate into cup quality, flavour, balance, and overall experience.”

Custom brewers offer another way to experience coffee. For baristas with the resources and inclination to pursue it, designing a brewer is a way to signal expertise, build a brand, and solve extraction problems that existing devices can’t.

But Mariam puts it directly: judges score skill, technique, and cup quality. A well-designed brewer that a competitor can’t clearly explain or translate into flavour is no guarantee of victory.

If you’re interested in increasing your sales & acquiring more leads, check out our sister marketing agency, PDG Media.

Photo credits: Mariam Erin, Brewing Gadgets, Specialty Coffee Association

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