New devices, groundbreaking collaborations, and thrilling competitors wins: all of the explanation why WOC Brussels was an occasion to recollect.
BY ISABELLE MANI
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Featured photograph: Nas Jafaar of Malaysia is topped the 2026 World Brewers Cup Champion. Images courtesy of Isabelle Mani until in any other case famous.
The 2026 version of World of Espresso (WOC) Europe, held June 25-27 at Brussels Expo in Belgium, was marked by a convergence of firsts. It was the primary time a World of Espresso occasion occurred in Belgium, bringing the worldwide specialty-coffee neighborhood to Brussels for 3 days of competitions, product launches, lectures, cuppings, awards, and present ground discoveries.
It was additionally a historic version for the World Espresso Championships. Nas Jaafar grew to become the 2026 World Brewers Cup Champion, giving Malaysia its first title within the competitors. Benjamin Brassart gained the 2026 World Espresso Roasting Championship on residence floor for Belgium, whereas Andy Philein of China was topped the 2026 World Espresso in Good Spirits Champion.
One other file got here from the climate. On Friday, June 26, Belgium recorded its hottest day of 2026 up to now at 35.3°C (95.7°F). Inside Brussels Expo, the warmth grew to become a part of almost each dialog.
For a lot of attendees, it additionally raised a well-known query: Why does Europe’s largest espresso occasion proceed to happen throughout more and more intense early-summer heatwaves, particularly in cities and venues not all the time outfitted with ample cooling infrastructure? After Geneva’s 2025 version, the place the venue had no air con and a few inns reportedly didn’t even provide followers, Brussels no less than included a cool-down lounge. Hopefully, in 2027’s Lisbon-based WOC version, individuals will no less than be capable of calm down on the Atlantic coast.
However regardless of the warmth, the weekend proved to be an eventful time—one full of loads of memorable moments. These had been the WOC Brussels 2026 highlights that stayed with me most.
Non-Espresso Drinks Take Middle Stage
This was the clearest market sign I noticed at WOC Brussels: Espresso continues to be espresso, filter, roasting, and brewing. However the development power across the class is more and more transferring via chilly drinks, wellness-coded drinks, customization, tea-based drinks, and menu methods designed for velocity and repetition.
CBI, the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from creating international locations, describes this shift clearly in its 2026 European espresso developments report: Youthful shoppers are consuming espresso otherwise from older generations, with comfort, customization, product innovation, wholesome espresso consumption, and specialty espresso all shaping demand.
Europe stays one of many world’s largest and most mature espresso markets, however the knowledge suggests a transparent division between baseline development and new enlargement classes. Based on Mordor Intelligence, the European espresso market at massive is projected to develop from $55.98 billion USD in 2026 to $73.67 billion by 2031, at a 5.65% CAGR.
Inside that, complete bean espresso—a proxy for freshly brewed espresso tradition—is predicted to develop barely quicker, at 7.28%, whereas specialty espresso strikes quicker nonetheless, with an estimated 8.74% CAGR. Flavored espresso in Europe is projected to develop at 7.64%, whereas Europe’s useful beverage market is forecast to develop at 6.18% via 2031. Chilly brew and oat milk present even sharper development, with projected CAGRs of 18.3% and 17.9%, respectively.
Collectively, these numbers level to the identical menu logic I stored seeing at WOC Brussels: chilly, customizable, wellness-coded, visually interesting drinks designed for repeat consumption.
La Fabrique à Latte, a specialty different latte model created by Paris roastery La Principal Noire, showcased its powdered latte mixes handmade in Paris utilizing herbs and botanicals sourced from totally different areas. Their merchandise match straight into the demand for low-labor, visually interesting, customizable drinks. Its merchandise had been positioned as simple, fast, 100% pure, flavorful, and colourful—precisely the sort of clean-label format that works in a café menu more and more formed by velocity, comfort, and visible enchantment.
Kage Matcha pointed in the identical path from one other angle. Tea was not introduced merely as a aspect class, however as a structural ingredient for advanced café drinks. Matcha, hojicha, and tea-based latte codecs sat nearer to the logic of a contemporary beverage program than to conventional tea service.
The identical shift was seen in merchandise akin to On Lemon’s yerba mate, matcha, iced tea, and lemonade-based bottles, in addition to Gili’s useful glowing drinks, together with flavors positioned round power, immunity, recharge, and hydration. These weren’t espresso merchandise within the strictest sense. However they belonged to the identical menu dialog: chilly, useful, transportable drinks competing for a similar shopper events as espresso.
Improvements in Brewing: Thrilling Devices from the Present Ground
At WOC Brussels, brewing innovation was not solely about extraction high quality. Most of the most attention-grabbing instruments and machines pointed to a wider concern with workflow, repeatability, coaching, service management, and residential brewing. In a market more and more formed by chilly drinks, plant-based milks, useful drinks, and to-go codecs, these particulars have gotten a part of the drink itself. Espresso is now not increasing solely by turning into higher espresso; it’s increasing right into a broader beverage platform.
The LAF Neo
On the Latte Artwork Manufacturing unit (LAF) stand, the LAF Neo made that shift particularly clear. Introduced with a chilly drinks menu that included iced cappuccinos and iced caramel lattes, the machine confirmed how chilly espresso matches into the working logic behind the brand new café menu: quicker service, repeatable recipes, taste customization, and drinks constructed to maneuver.
MHW-3BOMBER’s Digital Temperature Management Pitcher
The MHW-3BOMBER Temperature Pitcher TP1, anticipated to launch in late July 2026, spoke on to the rising demand for milk consistency. Designed as an digital temperature-control pitcher, it displays a café actuality the place texture, temperature, velocity, and management all form the ultimate drink.
Pump My Moka Upgrades the Moka Pot
The identical seek for management appeared in residence brewing. Pump My Moka reimagines the Moka pot—one in every of Europe’s most iconic residence espresso instruments—by separating strain and temperature from the normal stovetop course of. Developed across the traditional Bialetti Moka Categorical, it permits the Moka to perform independently of the range whereas giving customers extra management over extraction.
The Eversys x Modbar Automated Espresso System
The brand new Modbar introduced on the Eversys sales space introduced that dialog into skilled automation. Following the enterprise mixture between Eversys and La Marzocco below the De’Longhi Group, the product appeared to attach two highly effective concepts in espresso gear: the consistency and effectivity of automated methods, and the open, hospitality-driven design language related to Modbar.
The Black Mirror Dot: Timemore’s Sensible Espresso Scale
The Timemore Black Mirror Dot scale was additionally a small object with a robust perspective. Visually, it was a allure, with vibrant coloration choices and a compact 77-gram footprint. However its actual energy was its screen-free design. By transferring the interface to the Timemore app via Bluetooth, the size retains the counter clear whereas providing instruments akin to flow-rate monitoring, extraction curves, and recipe logging for each pour-over and espresso.
Hardtank Rethinks Chilly Brew
Hardtank introduced the chilly brew dialog into manufacturing. Its business chilly brew and nitro chilly brew machines use recirculation know-how as an alternative of passive immersion, transferring water via the espresso grounds to speed up extraction and enhance consistency. The result’s chilly brew made in below an hour, with choices for kegging, nitro service, and larger-scale café or roastery manufacturing.
Collectively, these merchandise confirmed brewing innovation transferring towards higher management: serving to cafés and residential brewers handle extra variables, serve extra diversified drinks, and hold high quality constant throughout more and more advanced espresso menus.
We’ll launch half two of this text tomorrow.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Isabelle Mani (she/her) is a author, journalist, and communicator specializing within the worldwide espresso business. Since 2017, she has centered on writing articles and options for varied worldwide espresso information retailers. Isabelle has traveled to coffee-producing international locations akin to Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda, China, and Brazil to check and analysis espresso. She holds coaching certifications from the Specialty Espresso Affiliation (SCA) and the Espresso High quality Institute (Arabica Q Grading).
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