The 2026 coffee calendar is already beginning to take shape with not one but two event announcements from the Specialty Coffee Association this week.
First up was the one-two punch news that San Diego, California was going to host the 2026 SCA Expo. Except that that isn’t exactly right. The second part of the announcement was that Expo is rebranding and will now be brought in line with the World of Coffee nomenclature used for the event series everywhere outside of the United States. The Specialty Coffee Expo in Houston later this month will be the last under that moniker.
The larger news came out a day later, on April 9th, that the host cities for two 2026 World Coffee Championship events were set. The inaugural WoC San Diego, taking place April 10th through 12th, will be the home of the World Latte Art Championship. Meanwhile, World of Coffee Panama, the first of the series to take place in Central America, will host the World Barista Championship, which will happen later that year in October.
“Panama is the ideal host for the World Barista Championship, as it sits at the heart of Latin America’s coffee-producing region, home to many of the world’s most award-winning coffees. We invite you to join us at this exceptional event, which will not only showcase the finest barista talent from around the globe but also celebrate the world’s best coffee producers,” said Ricardo Koyner McIntyre, President of the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama.
Start booking your accommodations now. For more information, visit the Specialty Coffee Association’s official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
