2026 World Brewers Cup

Categorized as World Brewers Cup (WBrC)

The 2026 World Brewers Cup (WBrC) was the 15th edition of the international manual filter-coffee brewing championship, held from June 25–27, 2026, in Brussels, Belgium, as part of the World of Coffee Brussels trade show — the first time the event had been hosted in the country.

Venue and Organizer

The championship took place at Brussels Expo (Place de Belgique 1, 1020 Brussels), alongside the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship and the World Coffee Roasting Championship. The event was produced by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) through its World Coffee Championships (WCC) program, and the World Brewers Cup presented by title sponsor Brewista.

Format and Field

Competitors qualified for the World Brewers Cup by winning their national championship through an affiliated Competition Body, a pathway that in recent editions has drawn participants from roughly 40 countries. Each entrant performed a compulsory service, brewing three beverages from an identical coffee supplied by organizers, followed by an open service, in which competitors chose their own coffee, brewing device, and delivered a ten-minute presentation.

After the first round in Brussels, the field was narrowed to six finalists representing Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong SAR, the Czech Republic, South Korea, and France, who competed for the title on June 27.

Results

2026 World Brewers Cup
PlaceCompetitorCountryScore
🥇 1stNas JaafarMalaysia469
🥈 2ndSimon GautherinAustralia461
🥉 3rdBavis KwongHong Kong SAR459
4thJackie TranCzech Republic—
5thEthan Junseong ParkSouth Korea—
6thAngie MolinaFrance—

Nas Jaafar, a barista from Malaysia, was crowned the 2026 World Brewers Cup Champion, becoming the first Malaysian competitor to win the title. His winning routine used a Panama Finca Nuguo Geisha Anaerobic Natural, brewed using a UFO V3 Dripper paired with a Hario Switch base, combining percolation and immersion techniques. His presentation drew on Darcy’s Law — the physics of fluid flow through porous materials — as a framework connecting his brewing method to personal storytelling.

Runner-up Simon Gautherin of Australia posted the highest open-service score of the finalists (346) before a compulsory-service score of 115 brought his total to 461, finishing eight points behind the champion. Bavis Kwong of Hong Kong SAR rounded out the podium in third place.

As is typical for World Coffee Championships events, the specific value of the champion’s prize package was not publicly disclosed.

Significance

The win marked Malaysia’s first-ever World Brewers Cup title and was seen as part of a broader trend of Southeast and East Asian competitors rising through the World Coffee Championships circuit. The Brussels edition also crowned two other champions on the same stage: Andy Philein of China (World Coffee in Good Spirits) and Benjamin Brassart of Belgium (World Coffee Roasting Championship), the latter winning on home soil.

See Also

References

  1. World Coffee Championships — wcc.coffee/latest-news/wbrc-winners — “Introducing the 2026 World Brewers Cup Champion, Nas Jaafar!” (June 28, 2026)
  2. Barista Magazine — baristamagazine.com/highlights-from-world-of-coffee-brussels-2026-part-two — “Highlights from World of Coffee Brussels 2026: Part Two”
  3. Sprudge — sprudge.com/three-new-world-coffee-champions-were-just-crowned-1101834.html — “Three New World Coffee Champions Were Just Crowned”
  4. BeanScene — beanscenemag.com.au/australian-competitors-shine-at-world-of-coffee-brussels — “Australian competitors shine at World of Coffee Brussels”
  5. Malay Mail — malaymail.com/news/eat-drink/2026/06/28/lord-of-the-beans-nas-jaafar-is-malaysias-first-ever-world-brewers-cup-champion/225537 — “Lord of the Beans: Nas Jaafar is Malaysia’s first-ever World Brewers Cup champion” (June 28, 2026)
  6. Comunicaffe — comunicaffe.com/wcc-in-brussels-china-malaysia-and-belgium-on-top-of-the-world — “World Coffee Championships in Brussels: China, Malaysia and Belgium on top of the world”
  7. Perfect Daily Grind — perfectdailygrind.com/2026/07/barista-competitors-emerging-specialty-coffee-markets — “Competitors are putting emerging specialty coffee markets on the map”
  8. Basic Barista — thebasicbarista.com/en-us/blogs/other/world-of-coffee-brussels-meet-the-2026-world-coffee-champions — “World of Coffee Brussels: Meet the 2026 World Coffee Champions”