Pan Wei Of China Is The 2026 World Barista Champion

Pan Wei of Parking Coffee in China is the 2026 World Barista Champion. This is Pan Wei’s second time competing at the world level, after winning the 2021 China Barista Championship and placing 27^th in the 2024 World Barista Championship.

China finally won one. A decade ago it seemed like an inevitability, when China’s Jeremy Zhang was a mainstay in the WBC Finals. But then he hung it up and Chinese competitors couldn’t find their way out of the Semifinals until last year when Simon SunLei placed second. But this year it was a new competitor, Pan Wei, making an impressive jump for his rookie season to his second.

He competed with two Geshas, one from Finca El Pergamino in Chiriquí, Panama and the other a mosto fermented from Finca Las Flores in Huila, Colombia. After pulling shots for his signature beverage that he allowed to cool, Pan Wei kicked off his routine with the espresso course. Using the Panama Gesha pulled at 20g in to 50g out—and anyone watching live or on the Livestream got to see real-time stats on each of his shots thanks to Bibe Coffee, which was a cool touch this year—they had notes of orange, peach, and elderflower florality, a green tea finish, with a medium weight and juicy texture.

Each of his shots was created with what he referred to as a “reverse tamping” method. The ground were first stirred and declumped with a WDT then underwent a vibration process that distributed the coffee by particle size, heavier particles on the bottom and lighter on top.

Moving to the milk course, Pan Wei switched to the Colombia Gesha. Pulling at a much tighter 21g to 35g and combining with a custom milk blend consisting of freeze-distilled cow’s milk with 30% of the water content removed and pistachio milk, the 1:3 ratio drink possessed flavors of warming spices like cinnamon, single origin chocolate, and with a blueberry finish.

The final course, the signature beverage, Pan Wei combined elements of the two Geshas for a drink he called “The Family Link.” To the chilled Panama Gesha espresso, he added a coffee cherry honey infusion and mosto, which he then nitrogenated and combined with sparkling water. The result was a beverage similar to sparkling wine, with notes of lemongrass, apricot soda, and coffee blossom, with a lively mouthfeel and grapefruit finish.

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It was a hard fought weekend, not just for Pan Wei but for the entire field of 49 Barista Champions who made the trip to Panama City for the event. And so while we celebrate the historic win for both Pan Wei and China, we also offer heartfelt congratulations to all the Finalists this year, each of whom posted careers bests.

Here are the results of the 2026 World Barista Championship Finals: