COMPETITION · WBrC · JAKARTA 2025
World Brewers Cup: George Jinyang Peng and the Quiet Art of Filter Coffee
Two rounds, two coffees, one kettle. The competition that proved filter coffee is a sport.
The World Brewers Cup (WBrC) was launched by the Specialty Coffee Association in 2011 to give non-espresso brewing — pour-over, immersion, batch — its own world title. While the World Barista Championship is loud and theatrical, the Brewers Cup is famously quiet: one barista, one kettle, one dripper, one carefully chosen coffee.
The format
The competition has two rounds:
- Compulsory service — every competitor brews the same mystery coffee, with shared equipment, no scripting. It's a blind tasting calibration: can you make a great cup of something you've never tasted before?
- Open service — 10 minutes to brew three identical cups of a coffee of your choice, with your own recipe, kettle, grinder and dripper, while narrating origin, variety, processing, and intended flavour profile to the judges.
2025: George Jinyang Peng, China
The 2025 final ran during World of Coffee Jakarta in mid-May 2025, with more than 90 judges evaluating 50 competitors over three days.[1] George Jinyang Peng (彭晋阳), representing China, took first place — only the second barista from the Chinese mainland ever to win a Brewers Cup title.[2]
Peng's open-service coffee was a precision-brewed washed lot served at a deliberately low temperature, dialed to bring out stone-fruit clarity over body — a stylistic decision in line with where competition filter coffee has been trending since roughly 2022: lighter roasts, lower brew temperatures, longer blooms.[3]
Why it matters
The Brewers Cup is the competition home of the third-wave filter café. It's where Hario's V60, the Chemex, the Origami, the April brewer and Tetsu Kasuya's 4:6 method have all had their on-stage moments. If you've ever wondered why your favourite café's pour-over recipe changed last year, the answer often traces back to whatever just placed in Brewers Cup finals.
References
- World Coffee Championships, "George Jinyang Peng representing China is the 2025 World Brewers Cup Champion!" (17 May 2025).
- China Daily, "Coffee award was a long time brewing" (28 Jun 2025).
- Sprudge, "George Jinyang Peng Wins The 2025 World Brewers Cup Championship" (May 2025).