The six finalists of the 2025 World Barista Championship, including Australia’s Jack Simpson (fourth from left). SCA press release photo.
Australia’s Jack Simpson was crowned the 2025 World Barista Champion today, capping a remarkable competition run that included a runner-up WBC finish in 2024 and a third-place finish in 2023.
Held in conjunction with the HostMilano expo in Milan, Italy, the Specialty Coffee Association-sanctioned event brought together 50 national champions for four days of intense competition and judging. (Check out more of DCN’s HostMilano 2025 coverage.)
The final day’s rankings were:
1. Jack Simpson, Australia
2. Simon SunLei, China
3. Ben Put, Canada
4. Jason Loo, Malaysia
5. Hiroki Ito, Japan
6. Christopher Sahyoun Hoff, Denmark
2025 U.S. barista champion Kay Cheon of Dune Coffee placed eighth in the semifinal round. The complete standings can be found on the WBC website. Videos of all the competition routines, including Simpson’s championship routine, are available on YouTube.
A scene from the 2025 World Barista Championship in Milan. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.
Simpson, who has held numerous roles over the past seven years with Melbourne-based Axil Coffee, becomes the 25th World Barista Champion, a title that historically leads to endorsement deals and other professional coffee opportunities on an international scale.
The 2026 World Barista Championship is currently scheduled to take place at the Specialty Coffee Association World of Coffee Panama trade show in Panama City on Oct. 23–25, 2026.
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