BUSAN, South Korea – Specialty coffee industry professionals from around the world will gather at BEXCO, Busan, from May 1-4, 2024, for the inaugural World of Coffee in Asia. This event will also feature the 2024 World Barista Championship, bringing together top baristas from across the globe.
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is working with host Busan Metropolitan City and organizer Exporum, with support of the 2024 Portrait Country, Indonesia, to debut World of Coffee in Busan, marking a significant milestone for the Asian coffee community.
World of Coffee is an annual trade show in Europe and Dubai that promotes global coffee industry development and activations in the specialty coffee community.
Over 280 domestic and international exhibitors will showcase their products, technologies, and services at World of Coffee Busan. The show features a Brew Bar, Roaster Village, Cupping Exchange, and lectures offering a wide range of educational presentations by industry experts.
The World Barista Championship (WBC) will return to Korea after seven years, where it was
last held at COEX in Seoul. Barista champions representing over 60 Competition Bodies will
compete for the title of the world’s best over the four days.
This highly-competitive annualevent — one of the seven skill-based World Coffee Championships (WCC) — serves as the culmination of local and regional events around the globe. Competitors demonstrate their expertise in crafting innovative espresso-based drinks across the espresso, milk, and signature beverage courses, with the cutting-edge approaches and tools used on stage having extensive and enduring impacts on the industry.
The Busan WCCs are supported by: Barista Attitude (Qualified Espresso Machine), Momos Coffee (Title Sponsor), Victoria Arduino (Qualified Grinder), BWT water+more (Qualified Water Filtration), Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, MONIN, Scotsman Ice (Gold Sponsors), Brewista (Silver Spnosor), and Puly Caff (Exclusive Cleaning Sponsor).
World of Coffee Busan will also host top-ranking WCC competitors who will offer brewing
demonstrations and coffee tastings at the WCC Experience Bar. The official “barista party”, a beloved post-championship celebration event, is also returning for the occasion.
World of Coffee Busan is projected to generate positive ripple effects not only for the domestic coffee industry but also across various aspects of the Asian coffee industry. It’s anticipated to boost economic value through industry-related content production, activate tourism in Busan, and elevate global recognition of ‘Coffee City, Busan.’
Exporum has a track record of successfully collaborating with the SCA on events such as the 2017 World Barista Championship and hosts the annual Cafe Show Seoul, making them natural leaders to organize World of Coffee Busan and the 2024 World Barista Championship.
Yannis Apostolopoulos, CEO of the SCA, expressed expectations that this event will serve as a pillar for Korea’s coffee industry development and marks a new chapter for World of Coffee in Asia. He affirmed the SCA’s efforts towards the successful hosting of this event in collaboration with Busan Metropolitan City, and Exporum, to shape the cultural and future landscape of the Asian coffee market.
Early bird tickets are available on the World of Coffee Asia official website until April 28th and then will only be available for purchase at the show. For exhibiting and ticket registration click here.
