MELBOUNE, Australia – The world’s best baristas will descend on Melbourne as the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (Mice) hosts the World Barista Championship (WBC) and World Brewers Cup (WBrC) from 26 to 30 September at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Italy will be represented by Giacomo Vannelli (Brewing), barista and roaster who already competed at the World Barista Championships in Boston and Matteo Pavoni (World Barista), the best Italian barista in charge and owner of the Peacocks Coffee roasting.
The respected competitions will see more than 50 national champions from across the globe go head-to-head for the ultimate glory of being titled “World Champion”.
Melbourne International Coffee Expo
The 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.
In this competition, barista competitors must prepare four espressos, four milk drinks, and four original signature drinks to exacting standards in a 15-minute performance set to music.
WCE Certified Judges from around the world will 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 coffee championships
“The coffee champions are largely referred to as the ‘Olympics of coffee’ because it’s such a wonderful spectacle to see. Crowds, supporters and fans will fill the grandstands as the baristas take to the stage. The world will watch on via Livestream to see how each barista handles the pressure of a world championship event,” says Mice Show Director Lauren Winterbottom.
“Melbourne may have the Australian Rules Football Grand Final to look forward to, but in the world of coffee, this is our very own Grand Final event.”
All eyes will be on Australian representatives Anthony Douglas of Axil Coffee in Melbourne, who won the national barista champion title last month and will carry the nation’s hopes for a home-town win. Harry Ko of green been importer Bennetts in Melbourne will represent Australia in the World Brewers Cup.
The World Brewers Cup competition highlights the craft of filter coffee brewing by hand, promoting manual coffee brewing and service excellence.
In this championship, competitors prepare and serve three individual beverages for a panel of judges. The Championship consists of two rounds: a first round and a finals round.
During the first round competitors complete two coffee services – a compulsory service and an open service. For the compulsory service, competitors prepare three beverages utilising whole bean coffee provided to them by the competition.
For the open service, competitors may utilise any whole bean coffee of their choosing and must also accompany their beverage preparation with a presentation. The six competitors with the highest score from the first round will go on to compete in the finals round.
The competition schedule for the 2022 World Coffee Championships is as follows:
| Tuesday 27 September | ||
| Time | Event | Location |
| 9:00am – 5:30pm | WBC Round 1 Day 1 | WBC stage |
| 9:30am – 2:30pm | WBrC Judges Calibration | World Brewers Cup stage |
| 2:30pm – 6:30pm | WBrC Practical run-through | World Brewers Cup stage |
| Wednesday 28 September | ||
| Time | Event | Location |
| 9:00am – 5:00pm | WBC Round 1 Day 2 | WBC stage |
| 9:30am – 5:30pm | WBrC Compulsory & Open Service | World Brewers Cup stage |
| 5:30pm | WBC Semi-finals announcement | WBC stage |
| Thursday 29 September | ||
| Time | Event | Location |
| 9:00am – 4:00pm | WBC Semi—finals | WBC stage |
| 9:30am – 4:00pm | WBrC Compulsory and Open Service | World Brewers Cup stage |
| 5:00pm | WBC Finals announcement | WBC stage |
| 5:00pm | WBrC Finals announcement | World Brewers Cup stage |
| Friday 30 September | ||
| Time | Event | Location |
| 10:00am – 1:30pm | WBrC Finals | World Brewers Cup stage |
| 10:30am – 2:30pm | WBC Finals | WBC stage |
| 2:30pm | WBrC Winner announcement | World Brewers Cup stage |
| 3:30pm | WBC Winner announcement | WBC stage |
