Right here’s a recap of our favourite sights from the current World of Espresso Jakarta occasion—together with the winners of the 2025 World Brewers Cup.
BY TIGGER CHATURABUL
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Featured picture by Bhavi Patel
What. A. Present. There are numerous distinctions that set World of Espresso Jakarta aside, corresponding to being the primary World of Espresso (WoC) commerce present in a producing nation, the second-ever WoC in an Asian nation, the primary to function a Producer Village, and extra. However on the occasion, which passed off Could 15-17, the function that shined the brightest was Indonesia’s nationwide delight.
Proper from the get-go, the graphic design components of WoC Jakarta highlighted the colourful fantastic thing about Indonesian ikat textile weaving, setting the stage for a wealthy, cultural expertise. Many distributors and attendees alike wore batik clothes, including to the vibrancy of the present flooring.
As quickly as you walked into the principle corridor, you have been greeted by stay jazzy Indonesian tunes and Sumatran folks music from the Roemah Koffie sales space, the smells of espresso and tantalizing Balinese satay from the upstairs meals court docket, and ornamental particulars of vegetation and parasols: a real sensory spectacle.
This occasion was maybe essentially the most packed WoC I’ve ever skilled, with each inch of the 4 massive halls teeming with native and international guests all clamoring to style espresso, speak to distributors, take pictures with espresso superstars, and queue up for hours simply to purchase beans and merchandise. Everybody was continually filming on their telephones, making an attempt to seize the unimaginable vibe, filled with curiosity for what the espresso trade needed to supply.
WoC Jakarta was additionally one of the crucial consumer-friendly commerce exhibits I’ve ever visited, with distributors ready to supply unique or newly launched merchandise on the market proper on the sales space. For sure, I went house with plenty of souvenirs and spent tens of millions of Indonesian rupiah over three days (I’ll fear in regards to the conversion fee later). With their arms laden with procuring luggage, most attendees stored their reusable tasting cups on lanyards round their neck, able to obtain a sip of an anaerobic pure from West Java or a washed Gesha from Panama. The coffees on showcase ranged from instantaneous sachets to Cup of Excellence public sale tons to essentially the most unique nano-lots of excelsa, quite a lot of Coffea liberica.
Was it overwhelming? Very. Was it thrilling? Completely. Indonesia took their duty of being a number nation very critically, and their efforts to showcase their tradition actually stood out, in comparison with my previous WoC experiences. From my conversations with native exhibitors and attendees, the factor they have been collectively most enthusiastic about was the possibility to point out the world what Indonesia needed to supply.
Coming from a blended Western and Southeast Asian background myself, I’ve skilled espresso from totally different angles. The consuming international locations have dominated the dialog for thus lengthy, and I’m delighted that Indonesia pulled out all of the stops to point out simply how a lot this area is able to by way of range, innovation, and group.
Highlights from the Occasion
Producer Village
The brand new Producer Village was a extremely anticipated space, not solely that includes farmers who traveled from varied areas of Indonesia to speak about their work in Jakarta, but in addition an interactive exhibition tunnel with stay espresso seedlings and saplings. Trays of espresso beans, from absolutely dried pure cherries to washed and honey parchment beans, have been laid out for guests to run their arms by means of.
Rainforest Alliance Sales space
The Rainforest Alliance sales space bought additional factors for hauling in a big, six-foot mature espresso tree filled with fruit! Sitting in its personal pot, the tree painted a really clear image of how troublesome it’s to selectively harvest ripe cherries that develop alongside inexperienced and medium-ripe fruits between bushy leaves and branches. The tree can be going house to the very best bidder. Think about trying that in Europe.
World Brewers Cup Competitors
After three days of intense competitors, with a record-breaking 50 nationwide champions and 88 certified judges for the 2025 World Brewers Cup, the highest six have been as follows.
1st place: George Jinyang Peng, Captain George Espresso Roasters, China
2nd place: Bayu Prawiro, Widespread Grounds, Indonesia
third place: Carlos Escobar, Differente Espresso, Colombia
4th place: Elysia Tan, Unbiased, Singapore
fifth place: Andrea Batacchi, Unbiased, Italy
sixth place: Justin Bull, Helm Espresso Roasters, United States
Many congratulations to George for being the second consultant from China to take house the prize, after Jian Ning Du in 2019. Whereas many of the high six finalists showcased espresso from Panama and Colombia onstage, it’s price mentioning that Elysia from Singapore and Bayu from Indonesia each used blends that included liberica and excelsa coffees from Indonesia, making the 2025 World Brewers Cup a validating second for the nation to attain extra acclaim on the world stage whereas on house turf.
A Packed Meals Court docket
The meals court docket was a pleasant contact, with over a dozen stalls providing dumplings, sandwiches, barbecue, dessert, and pastries to hungry, over-caffeinated visitors. It was a flavorful improve from regular conference middle kiosk fare or the emergency banana stash.
Syrups Showcasing Asian Flavors
Taste syrups in varied Asian tastes have been a delight: Suppose pink guava and pandan from Davinci, or mango sticky rice and jasmine flower pulp from Dripp. I had a pink guava and blood orange soda, an oat milk and espresso mocktail, and a mango sticky rice espresso tonic, all of which actually pushed the boundaries of beverage creativity!
Your Favourite Espresso Celebrities
Mikael Jasin, the 2024 World Barista Champion from Indonesia, was on show in every single place. Because the model ambassador and chief of espresso innovation for native espresso chain Fore Espresso, Mikael actually has a life-sized cardboard cutout of himself at many of the model’s 200+ areas across the nation. His face was additionally plastered throughout a number of LED screens and posters asserting his varied visitor shifts all through the World of Espresso expo days. In every single place he went, individuals stopped to ask for pictures and autographs, conveying a stage of celeb that almost all baristas and occasional drinkers can hardly comprehend.
And it wasn’t solely Mikael. Espresso superstars like 2024 World Brewers Cup champion Martin Wölfl from Austria, 2022 champ Sherry Hsu from Taiwan, and 2018 champ Emi Fukahori from Japan continually discovered themselves within the highlight, with a whole lot of followers desperate to lastly see their function fashions in actual life AND get to strive their coffees. It’s at all times enjoyable to see espresso professionals so extremely revered and celebrated for his or her craft.
Kopi Luwak (With out the Luwak)
Heritage met innovation with many native exhibitors excitedly serving Indonesia’s notorious kopi luwak, however with out the luwak. Utilizing enzyme-producing microbes taken from luwak civet poop, then remoted and multiplied in labs, espresso beans and cherries can now be fermented with the identical luwak microbes with out the abuse and exploitation of animals. It’s additionally much more hygienic.
An Omakase-Fashion Espresso Expertise
Final however not least, one in every of my favourite components of WoC Jakarta was the omakase chef’s desk espresso expertise, delivered in impressively constructed non-public rooms in the midst of the busy present flooring. In these intimate 30-minute periods, which held solely 4 to 6 visitors at a time, we have been served a number of programs of espresso and meals pairings: a really distinctive expertise extra akin to a high quality eating than a commerce expo showcase.
At the 32do sales space, we sipped on a Colombian Sudan Rume (a uncommon varietal initially present in Sudan, and now cultivated in Colombia) pourover, and tasted an affogato comprised of freeze-distilled milk and Cerro Azul Gesha espresso, paired with fruits flown in from Japan and South Korea. After six almost full-sized coffees in fast succession, we got here out of the session completely buzzing with caffeine and amazement.
These espresso omakases deserve an article of their very own, but it surely was unimaginable to see the range of espresso experiences accessible to attendees of WoC Jakarta in 2025.
Product Highlights
There have been numerous cool merchandise that caught my eye:
- The MHW-3Bomber Eggonaut Dripper, which is available in its personal crossbody carrying case
- The Consumable Sensory Equipment by Scentible
- The Concord Cup by Origami x Ryan Wibawa
- The Solo Dripper by Mazelab, launched in 2024 and utilized by George Peng successful the 2025 World Brewers Cup.
- The Aeresso Go Tasting Cup by Icosa Brewhouse x Stronghold Roasters
Indonesia within the Highlight
A good looking showcase of Indonesian delight and a shared love for espresso and innovation, WoC Jakarta was a real playground for espresso individuals: a wild trip filled with exhibits, experiences, and flavors that have been nothing in need of magical, elevating the bar for WoC occasions around the globe to come back!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tigger Chaturabul (she/her) tried to be a barista for 2 years till she realized she was higher suited behind the enterprise than behind the bar. She now runs her personal copywriting and design studio, Curious Storm Studio, that serves F&B and different small companies in Hong Kong. Her free-range artistic way of life permits her to spend all her time in espresso outlets in every single place.
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