The World Barista Championship is getting closer, with organizers publishing fresh competitor profiles on October 7 ahead of the October 22–25 competition in Panama City. The latest introductions include Klay Wen of Chinese Taipei, Mathieu Theis of Switzerland and Andrés Paparoni of Spain. [1] [5] [6] [7]

The four-day event will take place at the Panama Convention Center. Organizers expect more than 50 national champions and say this will be the championship’s first appearance in Central America. It will run alongside the inaugural World of Coffee Panama, whose trade-show dates are October 23–25. [2] [3]

The competition format makes for a tightly timed test: each barista has 15 minutes to serve four espressos, four milk drinks and four signature beverages. Judges assess qualities including taste, cleanliness, technical execution, creativity and presentation. Six competitors ultimately reach the final. [4]

The newly published profiles offer a glimpse of the people behind those routines. Wen runs a roastery and café in Taiwan and is in his tenth year of competition. Theis, a co-founder of MAME, worked in engineering before moving into coffee. Paparoni is a barista trainer in Barcelona who traces his ambition to compete at the world championship to watching the 2015 event with his father. [5] [6] [7]

For viewers at home, the organizers say a free livestream will be available through the World Coffee Championships website, with performances also available through its YouTube channel. The published schedule places the opening round on October 22–23, the semifinals on October 24 and the final and awards on October 25. [1]