MILKLAB National Barista Battle finalists revealed – BeanScene

The finalists for this year’s MILKLAB National Barista Battle have been announced, with eight competitors from around Australia set to take centre stage on Friday, March 27 at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE).

The final will take place between 2pm and 4pm on the second day of the expo, with the winner announced live in front of what is set to be a strong crowd.

Last year’s national runner-up Ryan Nguyen is back in the field once again representing the ACT, hoping to go one step further than 2025 and reclaim the title he won in 2024. Ryan also finished third in last year’s MILKLAB International Barista Battle.

2026 ASCA National Latte Art third-place finisher Alvin Limbu is representing New South Wales, while Thiam Seng Chew – who finished third in the 2024 MILKLAB National Barista Battle – is back competing for a third straight year.

2023 Barista Battle Champion Muhammad Rizky also returns to the big stage, once again representing Western Australia.

This year’s field of finalists was selected through an online competition, where baristas had to take a video of a latte art pour using any MILKLAB plant-based milk with no cuts or edits.

The MILKLAB International Barista Battle will then take place on Saturday 28 March between 2pm and 4pm.

Last year’s national winner, Ming Wan, was named National Champion before then also winning the International competition.

This year’s national finalists are:

• Truong Thien Phuc (Ryan) Nguyen – ACT
• Avishek (Alvin) Limbu – NSW
• Thiam Seng Chew – NT
• Jiahui (Alex) Huang – QLD
• Tsung Han Lee – SA
• Kael (Ziyi) Zhao – VIC
• Muhammad Rizky Ramadani Meka – WA
• Emma Yu – Wildcard

For more information, visit milklabco.com