We’re not even a month removed from the 2024 World Barista Championship and already the speculation has begun about where the next WBC will be held. Will it return to World of Coffee Asia? It’s heading to Jakarta next year and the sitting World Barista Champion just so happens to be Indonesia’s Mikael Jasin. What about America? It hasn’t been here since Boston in 2019 and the US hosts about once every five or six years.
Well speculate no more, as the Specialty Coffee Association has announced the host location for the 2025 World Barista Championship. Taking place in October of next year, the WBC is heading to Italy to take place at HostMilano.
Made official today, May 21st, the WBC returns to Italy for the fourth time, the second time at Host following 2021. “Given it’s scale and importance, HOSTMilano is the perfect location to hold the World Barista Championship” SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos states in the press release. “As we gather in this iconic city, we not only celebrate the art of coffee-making but also pay homage to the timeless tradition that continues to inspire coffee lovers worldwide.”
HostMilano is one of the world’s largest trade shows in the professional hospitality and food retail sectors, and coffee always has a strong presence on the show floor. As it has in the past, the 44th installation of Host, taking place October 17th through 21st, will have the Salone Internazionale del Caffè (SIC), an entire area of the trade show dedicated to coffee. The “entire value chain” will be represented at SIC, from growers and importers to roasters and cafes, as well as international coffee brands.
And of course the World Barista Championship. The WBC appears to be the only of the World Coffee Championships to take place at HostMilano this year. The host location for the remaining six events—World Brewers Cup, World Cezve/Ibrik, World Coffee in Good Spirits, World Cup Tasters, World Latte Art, and World Roasters Championships—has yet to be made public.
For more information, vist the World Coffee Championships 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.
