World of Coffee Brussels - Meet the 2026 World Coffee Champions

Brussels just hosted one of the most significant weekends in the specialty coffee calendar. World of Coffee 2026 concluded on June 29, and alongside a packed trade show floor, three World Coffee Championships ran simultaneously and each produced a new champion. That is a rare concentration of results, and whether you follow competitive coffee closely or are only beginning to learn what this world looks like, the outcomes are worth knowing about.

Here is a breakdown of who won, what each competition is actually about, and why it matters.

What Is World of Coffee?

World of Coffee is one of the flagship events on the Specialty Coffee Association's calendar. It rotates between cities and serves as both a major trade show and a host for World Coffee Championships. Think of it as the meeting point for everyone serious about coffee, from green coffee importers and roaster equipment brands to competing baristas who have spent months preparing their routines.

The Brussels edition hosted three separate world championships simultaneously: the World Brewers Cup, the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, and the World Roasters Championship.

World Brewers Cup 2026: Malaysia Takes the Title

Champion: Nas Jaafar (Malaysia)

Runner-Up: Simon Gautherin (Australia)

3rd: Bavis Kwong (Hong Kong)

The World Brewers Cup is the championship most directly connected to what home brewers do every morning. The competition is focused entirely on manual filter coffee, the kind of brewing you do with a V60, an AeroPress, or any other hand-powered device. No espresso, no automation.

Competitors face two rounds. The first is a compulsory service, where everyone brews from the same coffee provided by the organisers. This levels the playing field and tests pure skill and technique because every competitor is working with identical raw material. The second round is the open service, where competitors choose their own coffee, brew with their preferred equipment, and present a ten-minute explanation of their approach covering the origin, their recipe, and the sensory experience they are aiming to create. Judges evaluate each cup on aroma, flavour, body, balance, and acidity.

Nas Jaafar representing Malaysia taking the title is genuinely exciting. Southeast Asia has been producing increasingly strong competitors across coffee disciplines in recent years, and a Brewers Cup win cements that the region is not just catching up but leading. The runner-up spot going to Simon Gautherin representing Australia is also a result worth noting for Australian coffee fans.

The full top six:

• 1st: Nas Jaafar, Malaysia
• 2nd: Simon Gautherin, Australia
• 3rd: Bavis Kwong, Hong Kong
• 4th: Jackie Tran, Czech Republic
• 5th: Ethan Junseong Park, South Korea
• 6th: Angie Molina, France

World Coffee in Good Spirits 2026: China Claims the Top Spot

Champion: Andy Philein (China)

Runner-Up: Sion Wu (Chinese Taipei)

3rd: Akira Zushi (Japan)

The World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship is a different kind of competition. Competitors here are blending coffee with alcohol to create original beverages, combining barista skill with mixology. The roots of the competition go back to the traditional Irish Coffee, but modern competitors push the format much further, crafting layered drinks that highlight how coffee interacts with spirits. It is a specialised discipline, but it reflects just how broad the sensory world of coffee actually is.

East Asia dominated this year's final. China, Chinese Taipei, and Japan filled the podium, with Australia's Serene Yu finishing fourth.

The full top six:

• 1st: Andy Philein, China
• 2nd: Sion Wu, Chinese Taipei
• 3rd: Akira Zushi, Japan
• 4th: Serene Yu, Australia
• 5th: Dmitrii Shkliarov, Indonesia
• 6th: Ricky Chan, Hong Kong

World Roasters Championship 2026: Belgium Wins on Home Soil

Champion: Benjamin Brassart (Belgium)

Runner-Up: Li Zhong Xiang (China)

3rd: Thanasis Angelopoulos (Greece)

Winning a world roasting championship in your home country, in front of your home crowd, is a rare thing. Benjamin Brassart did exactly that in Brussels. The World Roasters Championship focuses on the craft of transforming green coffee into something worth drinking, judging competitors on their roasting technique, their understanding of the coffee they are working with, and the quality of the final cup. It is a discipline that often gets less public attention than barista or brewing competitions, but roasting is where so much of a coffee's final flavour is actually determined. A great roast can elevate a good coffee significantly, and a poor roast can flatten even exceptional green beans.

The full top six:

• 1st: Benjamin Brassart, Belgium
• 2nd: Li Zhong Xiang, China
• 3rd: Thanasis Angelopoulos, Greece
• 4th: Ashton Huang, Chinese Taipei
• 5th: Andrea Trevisan, Austria
• 6th: Wang JianNing, China

What These Results Tell Us About Where Coffee Is Heading

One of the clearest patterns across all three results is the dominance of Asian competitors. Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia all featured across the podiums, and the strength is spread across different disciplines rather than concentrated in one. This is not a fluke. Asian specialty coffee markets have been developing rapidly over the past decade, with strong barista training cultures, growing competition infrastructure, and enthusiastic communities of home brewers and café regulars.

For home brewers, the Brewers Cup result is the most directly inspiring. The techniques, coffees, and approaches that competitors use at this level do filter down into the broader community. When a world-class competitor like Nas Jaafar takes the title, it often means their recipes, their preferred coffees, and their ideas about extraction start to circulate. That is one of the quiet benefits of competitive coffee at this level: it pushes the conversation forward for everyone.

Congratulations to all three champions and finalists. It was a significant weekend for specialty coffee.