The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has officially released the updated rules and regulations for the 2025 World Barista Championship (WBC), set to take place from October 17–21 at HostMilano in Milan, Italy.
This year’s updates focus on harmonizing procedures across all seven World Coffee Championships. Key changes include the standardization of competitor registration and complaint submissions via an online form, an updated definition of espresso to offer greater flexibility, and clarified penalties to ensure consistency in judging.
Additionally, the appeals and complaints process has been streamlined at both the national and world levels to match the new unified protocol for all 2025 championships.
The 2025 edition also marks a major milestone: the 25th anniversary of the WBC. Throughout the competition season, the SCA will celebrate the contributions of the global coffee community that has shaped the WBC into one of the industry’s most prestigious events.
These rule updates were overseen by the WCC Competitions Strategic Committee. The full documents — including rulebooks, change summaries, scoresheets, and appeals forms — are available at: wcc.coffee/rules-regulations
Upcoming World Coffee Championship Events in 2025:
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Houston, USA | April 25–27
World Coffee Roasting Championship at the Specialty Coffee Expo -
Jakarta, Indonesia | May 15–17
World Brewers Cup at World of Coffee Jakarta -
Geneva, Switzerland | June 26–28
World Latte Art, Coffee in Good Spirits, Cup Tasters, and Cezve/Ibrik Championships at World of Coffee Geneva -
Milan, Italy | October 17–21
25th World Barista Championship at HostMilano
Whether attending in person or online, coffee professionals and fans are invited to join the global community in celebrating a quarter-century of barista excellence.