The Newest in Coffee Competitions: Introducing World's Best Roaster

From the creators of The Barista League, the global competition will focus on the real-world skills and expertise of the world’s best coffee roasters.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Featured photo by Jon Stanford

Brewing a good cup of coffee is one thing, but do you have what it takes to roast one? If you’re a coffee roaster wanting to put your skills to the test, now’s the time. Ordna Event Agency—the company behind The Barista League and the Nordic Coffee Fest—has introduced the format of a brand new coffee competition: World’s Best Roaster.

The team behind the competition describes it as a “celebration of the hard work and dedication that goes into being one of the world’s best coffee roasters,” focused on the real-world skills of what makes a roaster great.

The competition will be judged by the competitors themselves along with a small panel of experts, through a simple, double-blind evaluation. It will consist of only two rounds: one round with a “mandatory coffee,” in which competitors will all receive the same coffee to roast, and the second with a “sourced coffee,” in which individual competitors will roast a coffee they source themselves.

The Competition Format

Step 1: Application

First, roasters must apply for the competition by submitting a bag of coffee for the selection round.

Step 2: Selection Round

From there, industry experts will blind cup the submitted coffees and select 10 finalists.

Step 3: The Competition

The finalists will roast two coffees, one mandatory coffee and one sourced coffee, in their home roasteries using their own equipment. The sourced coffee will be required to be in accordance with criteria set by the competition, including a price cap as well as specific process and origin requirements.

Step 4: The Finals

Over 1-2 days, the finalists will come together to cup, exchange insights, and take part in workshops alongside nine of their roasting peers from across the region. At the end of this weekend, the points from the cuppings will be tallied and the winner announced.

Learn More + Become a Host

Applications are now open to host a World’s Best Roaster competition in your region, as its own event or as part of an existing festival, trade show, or larger coffee event. Click here to learn more.

Subscribe and More!

As always, you can read Barista Magazine in paper by subscribing or ordering an issue.

Read the October + November 2025 Issue for free with our digital edition. 

For free access to more than five years’ worth of issues, visit our digital edition archives here.