Australian representative Jack Simpson won the World Barista Championship 2025 (WBC 2025), the world's most prestigious barista competition, held in Milan, Italy.

Japan's representative, barista Ito Daiki (Sarutahiko Coffee), also advanced to the finals and achieved the impressive result of placing 5th in the world.

Image source: wcc.coffee

The tournament was held over four days from October 17th to 21st at Host Milano in Milan, Italy, and brought together national champions from over 50 countries around the world.

Jack Simpson, a member of Axil Coffee Roasters in Melbourne, is a three-time Australian Barista Championship winner. He steadily improved at the WBC, coming in third in 2023 and second in 2024, before finally reaching the top of the world this year.

In his post-victory interview, Simpson gave special thanks to coffee growers Jamison Savage (Finca Deborah, Panama) and Jonathan Gasca (Finca Zarza, Colombia), who used two high-quality coffees: Panamanian Geisha and Colombian Pacamara .

In the final, they put in an overwhelming performance, scoring a high score of 643.0 points, beating the runner-up China by about 20 points. This was Australia's fourth WBC victory, following the achievement of Anthony Douglas (also of Axil) in 2022.

The six contestants who advanced to the finals this time were all talented athletes who had won multiple championships in their home countries.

1st place: Jack Simpson (Australia)

2nd place: Simon Sanlei (China)

3rd place: Ben Put (Canada)

4th place: Jason Lu (Malaysia)

5th place: Daiki Ito (Japan)

6th place: Christopher Safjohn Hoff (Denmark)

Runner-up Simon Sanlei is an experienced barista who has won the China Barista Championship three times and also served as coach for the Chinese national team in 2024.

Third place winner Ben Putt is a veteran Canadian barista champion with seven wins. This is his fifth time in the WBC finals, making him a true representative of Canada.

Jason Lu, who came in fourth place, is a four-time Malaysian Barista Champion and was aiming to become Malaysia's first WBC champion.

Christopher Safjord-Hof, ranked 6th, is a member of the Danish national team and this is his first time competing in the WBC.

Sarutahiko Coffee's barista, Daiki Ito, won the Japan Barista Championship (JBC) for the first time in 2024, representing Japan on the world stage for the first time. He made it to the finals and achieved the amazing result of placing 5th in the world.

Image source: Sarutahiko Coffee press release

Barista Ito joined Sarutahiko Coffee in 2016 and is currently the head barista, focusing on developing coffee recipes and training the next generation of baristas as a barista trainer.

Barista Ito has an impressive track record in competitions, particularly in the field of latte art, winning the Japan Latte Art Championship (JLAC) three times in 2019, 2020, and 2023. He placed 7th and advanced to the semi-finals of the World Latte Art Championship (WLAC) in 2022 and 2023, respectively. He also steadily improved his skills in the Barista Championship, placing 5th in 2022 and 3rd in 2023, finally winning the title of Japan's best in 2024.

The World Barista Championship, organized by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), is the world's top barista competition. Competitors serve four espresso shots, four milk beverages, and four original signature beverages within a 15-minute time limit, and compete on criteria such as taste, technique, creativity, cleanliness, and presentation.

Judging will be conducted by judges certified by the World Coffee Championships (WCC), and the contestants will advance from the preliminary round to the semi-finals and finals, ultimately deciding the world's number one "World Barista Champion."

The 2026 World Barista Championship is scheduled to take place in Panama City from October 23rd to 25th in conjunction with the Specialty Coffee Association's World of Coffee Panama trade show.

Furthermore, it has been decided that the 2027 Games will be held in Tokyo.

At this year's competition, baristas from around the world showcased their highest level of skill and creativity, demonstrating new possibilities for specialty coffee. The overwhelming victory of Australian barista Jack Simpson and the remarkable achievement of Japanese barista Ito Daiki, who came in fifth place in the world, were memorable moments for the entire coffee industry. There's no doubt that next year's competition in Panama will be eagerly awaited by the world.