Australia's Gabrel Tan advances to World Barista Championship final in Panama – BeanScene

Australian Barista Champion Gabrel Tan has advanced to the final of the 2026 World Barista Championship (WBC) in Panama, putting Australia in contention for back-to-back world titles.

Gabrel, from Veneziano Coffee Roasters in Melbourne, is one of six competitors to progress from the semi-final round and will take the stage in the final on Sunday 25 October at 12.22pm Panama time (4.22am AEDT on Monday 26 October – see the WBC final schedule here).

Joining Gabrel in the final are:

• Frederick Ruben – United Arab Emirates
• Pan Wei – China
• Shing Win – Malaysia
• Jill Hoff – Canada
• Jane Kawinnart – Thailand

Gabrel will now attempt to keep the WBC title in Australian hands, following fellow Australian Jack Simpson’s 2025 World Barista Championship victory. Jack, from Axil Coffee Roasters, has also been working with Gabrel on his competition routine and is in Panama supporting him during the event.

The WBC final will begin at 10.22am Panama time on Sunday 25 October (2.22am AEDT on Monday 26 October), with the competition available to watch via the World Coffee Championships livestream.

The winner will be announced in an awards ceremony from 4:45pm Panama time (8:45am AEDT time, Monday 26 October).

Gabrel reached the final following a semi-final performance that continued the ideas behind his round-one routine, “The Power of Recognition”, while introducing a new coffee for his espresso course.

For the semi-final espresso course, Gabrel presented a washed Geisha from Finca Lérida in Boquete, Panama, produced by Maria Amoruso. Grown at 1700 metres above sea level, the coffee was depulped and washed before being dried in a temperature-controlled room for 30 days.

He presented the coffee with flavour notes of jasmine, yellow peach and orange.

Finca Lérida also has a significant place in Panama’s specialty coffee history, having won the inaugural Best of Panama competition in 2001.

For his milk course, Gabrel again turned to a Kartika from Finca Ali in Semendo, South Sumatra, Indonesia, produced by Raymond Ali. Grown at 1700 metres above sea level and processed as a 48-hour anaerobic natural, the coffee delivered notes of strawberry and 70 per cent dark chocolate.

As he did in the opening round, Gabrel paired the coffee with a blend of 90 per cent full cream milk and 10 per cent cryodesiccated oat milk, designed to increase sweetness and enhance texture.

For his signature drink, Gabrel brought his Panamanian and Indonesian coffees together with ingredients inspired by his visits to both origins.

Koji-fermented tree tomato, also known as tamarillo and a fruit he first experienced on a coffee farm in Panama, was chosen to transform Maria Amoruso’s Finca Lérida coffee’s stone-fruit character into notes of blood orange and pink guava.

His next ingredient, Indonesian cacao husk and cherry-infused water, transformed the cherry notes of the Finca Ali coffee into new flavours of raspberry and rose water.

To give the drink a new identity, Gabrel combined both ingredients, clarified and force-carbonated the mixture to 60 psi, and served it at 10°C for an effervescent texture.

The round of 16 semi final

Featuring alongside Gabrel in the WBC semi-final round of 16 were:

• Michał Ciupiński, Poland
• Jane Kawinnart, Thailand
• Pan Wei, China
• Jill Hoff, Canada
• Federico Pinna, Italy
• Frederick Ruben, United Arab Emirates
• Shing Win, Malaysia
• CP Wong, Hong Kong SAR
• Edilberto Zapata, Mexico
• Jervis Tan, Singapore
• Benjamin Roque, Panama
• Nicolas Vargas, Bolivia
• Nikola Sunko, Ireland
• Keisuke Honma, Japan
• Chiara Nicolini, Peru

The World Barista Championship sees competitors prepare four espressos, four milk beverages and four signature drinks during a 15-minute presentation, with judges assessing areas including taste, technical skill, cleanliness, creativity and presentation. The six highest-ranking baristas from the semi-final advance to the final.

The 2026 World Barista Championship is being held at World of Coffee Panama in Panama City from 22 to 25 October, marking the first time the competition has been staged in Central America.

Readers can follow his WBC 2026 journey on the Veneziano Instagram channel for recaps and updates from Panama, and watch the championships at the World Coffee Championships livestream.