Golden Bean Australasia wraps up 2026 competition – BeanScene

Golden Bean Australasia has wrapped up another successful coffee roasting competition in Brisbane, with a local taking the top spot.

Held over 16 to 20 June at Latitude Coffee Roasters, Golden Bean says this year’s competition saw 752 coffees judged across 12 categories, with more than 100 coffee professionals participating as judges.

The 2026 Golden Bean Australasia Overall Champion was Sam Shi from Espresso Club, Brisbane.

After finishing as a runner-up in previous years, Sam achieved “a well-deserved victory” in this year’s competition.

Golden Bean says that as a contract roaster for smaller brands across Australia, Sam has built a reputation as a flavour specialist and has spent more than a decade studying and refining his competition approach.

The event used a blind-cupping format, with submitted coffees evaluated as espresso, milk-based coffee (latte), and pour-over filter coffee.

The Overall Champion is determined by the highest combined score across all three categories, and Golden Bean Australasia is open to coffee roasters of all sizes in the South East Asian region including New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Taking second place overall was Michael Yeh from O’Gabee Coffee, Brisbane. Michael was present at the awards ceremony and expressed his delight at securing a place near the top of this year’s leaderboard.

The Overall Small Chain Champion was claimed again by Espresso Club, led by Sam Shi.

The Large Chain Champion for 2026 was Grinders Coffee, with Head of Coffee Jonathan Goldthorpe accepted the award on behalf of the company.

Golden Bean says this is the first time Grinders Coffee has won the Large Chain category, which is open to businesses operating 20 or more stores.

This year’s awards night also embraced a fun Viking-themed celebration, with many attendees dressing up and helping create a memorable atmosphere.

Category Gold Medal winners

• Espresso – One of Six Coffee Roasters (Toowoomba)
• Milk-Based Coffee – Espresso Club (Brisbane)
• Pour-Over Filter – Latitude Coffee (Brisbane)
• Alternative Milk – Auro Specialty Coffee (Adelaide)
• Decaf – Yahava KoffeeWorks (Western Australia)
• Elite – White Horse Coffee (Sydney)
• Large Franchise Espresso – Nomad Coffee Group (Melbourne)
• Large Franchise Milk – Omina Coffee (Brisbane)
• Small Chain Espresso – Espresso Club
• Small Chain Milk – Espresso Club

During the awards evening, more than 100 Gold and Silver and Bronze Medals were presented to attending roasters. Medal winners from Golden Bean Australasia will be eligible to advance to the Golden Bean World Series, which will be held in Fiji in February 2027.