Coffee competitions shouldn’t just focus on baristas

For many of us, competitions are the pinnacle of specialty coffee. The prestige of these events attracts industry professionals from all over the globe to showcase their talents and take a chance at claiming the title of world champion.

When we talk about competitions, one in particular usually springs to mind first: the World Barista Championship. For nearly 25 years, the WBC has represented excellence in specialty coffee, and has pushed the boundaries of creativity and innovation to new heights.

In turn, most of the competition spotlight is on baristas, whose performances often draw the biggest crowds at events and spark some of the most compelling conversations in the wider industry. 

But in recent years, it appears that interest has slowly started to decline. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that competitions are held in more countries, resulting in higher travel costs that many can’t afford.

Perhaps even more importantly, however, is that other competitions don’t receive the same level of recognition – leading some coffee professionals to feel disregarded. As an industry, we have to ask ourselves whether this needs to change.

To explore this issue further, I spoke to Diana Johnston Ledezma, two-time UK Roasting Champion and co-founder of Sense It London, Bob Goldman, senior roaster at Allegro Coffee Company, and Jon Frech, CEO of Black Oak Coffee Roasters.

You may also like our article on whether there is space for new coffee competitions.

Why coffee competitions favour baristas

Of all the competitions in specialty coffee, the World Coffee Championships are the most popular. These include:

• World Barista Championship
• World Brewers Cup (WBrC)
• World Coffee Roasting Championship
• World Cup Tasters Championship
• World Latte Art Championship
• World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship
• World Cezve/Ibrik Championship

But the first two in particular tend to generate the most buzz in the industry, and often help to pioneer new trends and draw attention to “rediscovered” varieties and innovative processing methods.

It’s understandable why this is the case, especially for the World Barista Championship. The high stakes often push competitors to heavily invest in ways to stand out, including more exclusive coffees and expensive equipment.

The allure of barista championships

Bob Goldman has been a senior roaster at Allegro Coffee Company for over 22 years. In his opinion, the hyper focus on barista competitions is because of their marketability.

“Since the beginning, the WBC was the highlight of the World Coffee Championships, and often at the expense of other competitions,” he says. “Every year, the winner is announced to generate as much interest as possible, while the other competitions are mentioned almost as an afterthought.

“I don’t begrudge the organisers,” he adds. “I think they probably made the distinction years ago that the WBC is more flashy, while the other events are less marketable.”

Competitions like the WBC and WBrC will inevitably attract more attention than others. Watching baristas showcase the latest extraction techniques or brewing accessories piques a lot of interest.

Diana Johnston Ledezma is a seasoned coffee competitor, and placed in the top ten at the 2023 World Coffee Roasting Championship.

“The Barista, Brewers Cup, Cezve/Ibrik, Coffee in Good Spirits, and Latte Art Championships are all geared towards baristas and bartenders,” she tells me. “The competitions do help to represent the industry as a whole because there are more baristas than roasters, and baristas act as the ‘face’ of specialty coffee.

“Unfortunately, however, it can mean that the industry forgets to celebrate others, both in a café environment and on the competition stage – leaving many talented people in the dark,” she adds.

Roasters also deserve the spotlight

As Diana points out, competitions tend to target baristas, but many other coffee professionals take part in these events – including roasters.

The World Coffee Roasting Championship (WCRC) highlights the pure skill and expertise needed to roast high-quality coffee. Although the event debuted in 2013, it has yet to gain the level of attention that other competitions receive.

While this isn’t necessarily fair, it’s understandable that the WCRC is considered less “glamorous” than other competitions, as Bob explains.

“All competitors can experience challenges, but there’s much less audience participation and interaction at roasting competitions,” he says. “Some roasters like the spotlight, others not so much. None of us can compete without the other, but it can get frustrating that baristas are put on such a high pedestal.”

But roasters still have to invest money and time into training. Diana explains that many baristas have a “natural” environment (i.e. a coffee shop) where they can refine their brewing techniques and recipes, as well as to hone their presentation skills with customers. 

“Roasters usually have to train more to optimise their workflow and roast profile development,” she says. “And while practising your routine with your machine can be helpful, it doesn’t give you the same feedback as humans.”

Addressing disparities at competitions

So, with competitions placing more emphasis on baristas, how can the wider industry strive to create a more inclusive competitive environment? 

Jon Frech is the CEO of Black Oak Coffee Roasters in California, US. He believes the “glamourisation” of competitions is a more widespread issue.

“The fact that competitors have to include a presentation in their routines is a huge downside,” he tells me. “Organisers should develop more objective ways to assess the quality of coffee that a roaster produces.

“Competitions should focus more on the coffee and the people who grow it rather than the personality of the person who brews and or roasts it,” he adds. “I have never really understood the prominence and structure of the competitions as a way to promote specialty coffee.” 

Bob, meanwhile, says that encouraging interaction between roasters and spectators is likely to help other competitions stand out more.

“Several years ago, roasters had to explain why they developed a specific roast profile and what they did to achieve it – people loved it,” he explains. “I also think it would be valuable if there was a demonstration where a number of different competitors roast batches of their coffee and pass out samples. 

“Competitors could even roast the same coffee and the audience can taste them all and vote for their favourite,” he adds.

What’s the future for roasting championships?

There is plenty of potential to shine more of a spotlight on a more diverse range of coffee professionals at competitions, but it’s ultimately up to organisers to make these decisions.

Diana highlights some recent changes to WCC equipment sponsorship that have had a huge impact on competitors’ performances – and indicate that automation will become an increasingly important part of these events.

“The decision to use Stronghold’s S9X machine moves the World Coffee Roasting Championship in a slightly different direction and raises questions for roasters who are more familiar with drum machines,” she tells me.

“While automation trends influence how the competitions will evolve, everything works in a cycle, so I’m sure we’ll also see more of a focus on the human element in the near future, too,” she concludes.

Competitions will always be relevant to specialty coffee, but it’s clear that they need to represent and celebrate a more diverse range of industry professionals.

By acknowledging excellence across the supply chain, championships can help drive coffee quality even further – and honour the hard work and talent of many people.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how coffee competitions have changed in recent years.

Photo credits: Frank Lin, Bryan Meltz, Specialty Coffee Association

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