The World Coffee Roasting Championship: What competitors need to know
Every year, some of the biggest names in the industry take part in the annual World Coffee Championships. And in recent years, the World Coffee Roasting Championship in particular has caught the attention of specialty coffee.
The 2024 event just took place at World of Coffee Copenhagen in Denmark, where more than 20 competitors vied for the title of world champion.
The competition aims to highlight the most talented professional roasters in the world – scoring them based on their green coffee grading, sample roasting, sensory analysis, production planning, and blending skills.
So to stand a chance at winning, roasters need to fine-tune their theoretical and practical knowledge as much as possible.
To learn more about a competitor’s journey in the World Coffee Roasting Championship, I spoke to Eduardo Choza, Director of Coffee at Mayorga Coffee and the 2024 US Coffee Roasting Champion.
You may also like our article on creating roast profiles for Coffee Roasting Championships.
Understanding the format of the World Coffee Roasting Championship
In simple terms, the World Coffee Roasting Championship is a three-stage event where national roasting champions compete to be crowned the world’s best. Certified judges score roasters based on their ability to assess the quality and characteristics of green coffee, develop a roast profile that best highlights its sensory attributes, and ultimately achieve the highest cup quality.
As Eduardo puts it: “the World Coffee Roasting Championship is the pinnacle of coffee roasting competitions. As a roaster, it’s a huge honour to take part.”
During the event, competitors receive five different coffees: one to sample roast, one single origin, and three other coffees to create a blend. All coffees are arabica sourced from various origins, and can be processed in a number of different ways.
The competition can be broken down into three stages:
- First round: a pre-roasting session where competitors have allocated time to practise and evaluate their green coffee before sample roasting, taking part in an open cupping session, and developing a roast plan
- Second round: for production roasting
- Third round: evaluating and scoring production roasts according to each competitor’s roast plan
The popularity of the World Coffee Roasting Championship is certainly on the rise. For example, at the inaugural World Coffee Roasting Championship in Nice, France in 2013, there were ten competitors, predominantly from Asia and Europe. By this year’s event in Copenhagen, roasters represented 20 different countries across five continents, including five producing countries.
Following a competitor’s journey
The World Coffee Roasting Championship focuses solely on pure skill and knowledge, so proper preparation and training is absolutely essential if competitors want to succeed.
For Eduardo, who is the 2024 US Coffee Roasting Champion and competed in this year’s World Coffee Roasting Championship at World of Coffee Copenhagen from 27 to 29 June, the first step was to become familiar with sponsor equipment.
“The main way I trained was by gaining access to the machinery used at the event, especially the roasters,” he tells me. “I managed to borrow a Link sample roaster from a friend, and Roastronix sent Mayorga Coffee a Stronghold S9X for me to practise with.”
Competition equipment isn’t accessible to everyone, however. Financial resources and geographical location can be limiting, but there are ways to overcome these barriers.
“At the world finals, you have to be the best of the best, so you need to make sure you know a lot about roasting,” Eduardo says. “Solid sensory knowledge is crucial. You need to know how to cup and roast coffee on many machines so that you can adjust a wide range of variables.
“Even when you may not know how to use a specific machine, having the knowledge and skill will help you go a long way in the competition,” he adds. “Green grading is also important. You should be able to know how bean density, origin, and processing method will impact your roast plan.”
Common challenges that roasters face
One of the biggest criticisms of coffee competitions is the lack of inclusivity, diversity, and accessibility. Coffee professionals have to invest a lot of time and money into training and competing, which not all have the luxury to afford. This means that more often than not, we see people from high-income countries like the US, Australia, Japan, and Norway taking part.
“Competing requires substantial resources,” Eduardo says. “Both financial investment and time commitment are crucial. The inability to afford these resources can restrict access and prevent many talented individuals from participating. Only countries that have a national SCA chapter can compete in the World Coffee Championships. But I would love to see more Latin American nations take part.”
In addition to their exclusivity, there is also little information available about roasting competitions – especially compared to other WCC events like the World Barista Championship. Prospective participants can, of course, thoroughly read the rules and regulations, but gaining hands-on expertise is vital for success.
“One of the biggest challenges that I faced was getting to know the machines, and the learning curve that came with that,” Eduardo explains. “The US Roasting Championship took place in April, which left me with just two months to prepare.”
Tips and advice from a roasting champion
As with anything in specialty coffee, but especially competitions, practice makes perfect.
“You have to push yourself to keep developing and testing your skills,” Eduardo says. “I encourage people to compete so that roasting quality in the wider industry can improve, the competitions will become better, and we can see a more diverse range of people represented on stage.”
He also urges competitors to understand why they want to compete – whether it’s to enhance their skills, contribute to advancing specialty coffee, or represent their company and cultural heritage.
“It’s one of the most important things about competing,” Eduardo tells me. “For me, it’s to represent Mayorga Coffee and the human element of coffee with all the hard work we do at origin and the producers that we have close relationships with.
“My culture is also a crucial part of competing, it means a lot to me,” he adds. “I’m really proud to be able to represent not only the United States, but also my Mexican heritage and Latino culture. There are a lot of Latin American nations that aren’t present at competitions, but I’m there to represent them.”
Finding support and encouragement
For some people, especially those with less experience, competing can sound incredibly daunting. But Eduardo emphasises that taking the leap and signing up is a significant first step.
“Even if you think you don’t know enough, it will push you to become better and grow your community,” he says. “It will open more opportunities for you that you didn’t know were possible, especially if you do well. And if you don’t, then you get back up and try again.”
He also points out that if prospective roasters struggle with access to financial resources, support is available from companies and organisations.
“There are coffee bodies that can help alleviate some financial restrictions, but it ultimately depends on your geographical location,” he says.
Taking part in the World Coffee Roasting Championship can be an incredible opportunity to learn more about your craft and hone your skills, but it certainly requires plenty of preparation and training.
That being said, prospective competitors shouldn’t feel deterred from signing up. Representing yourself, your company, or your country is a great way to lift the specialty coffee community and showcase excellence on the global stage.
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how roasters can use blends to drive brand identity.
Photo credits: Mayorga Coffee, Specialty Coffee Association
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Please note: Mayorga Coffee is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.
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