WHAT ARE THE AUSTRALIAN COFFEE CHAMPIONSHIPS?
The Australian Coffee Championships are a series of events, operated in different disciplines that showcase some of Australia’s highest calibre coffee professionals.
Australian coffee championships – UPCOMING EVENTS
2026/27 AUSTRALIAN COFFE ROASTING CHAMPIONSHIP– ALL REGIONS
What: This is a three-stage competition built around the full roasting process: green coffee evaluation, roast development, blending, sensory assessment and production roasting.
Who: Competition-ready roasters, not open to the general public for viewing. Please Note: You must compete in the state in which you currently reside, if your state is not listed in the event title you are not eligible to compete without explicit ASCA approval.
QLD/NT
When: 26 to 27 September 2026
Where: ICT Coffee Traders, 78 Abbotsford Road, Bowen Hills QLD 4006
Entries close 20th September.
WA/NT
When: 10 to 11 October 2026
Where: Veneziano, 406 Newcastle Street, West Perth WA
Entries close 1st October.
NSW/ACT
When: 24 to 25 October 2026
Where: InterAmerican Coffee Australia, Unit 11/13 Parsons Street, Rozelle NSW
Entries close 1st October.
SA
When: 31 October 2026
Where: Venue to be confirmed
Please note – if the minimum of 6 competitors is not reached, tickets are refunded or transferred to VIC/WA.
Entries close 1st October.
VIC/TAS
When: 7 to 8 November 2026
Where: C4 Coffee, 15 Graham Road, Clayton South VIC
Entries close 1st October.
WHAT FORMAT WILL THE COMPETITION BE?
Each discipline of the Australian Coffee Championships will operate will operate based around the current year WCC rules. Competition format information will be sent to confirmed competitors once rules and regulations are finalised. For more information about the WCC and format you can view their page here.
The ACC (Australian Coffee Championships) will run in the following disciplines:
EVENTS ANNOUNCED:
2026/27 AUSTRALIAN COFFEE ROASTING CHAMPIONSHIP
The Australian Coffee Roasting Championship (ACRC) recognises excellence in coffee roasting, evaluating competitors on how their coffee expresses itself in the cup, roast profile, blending, and of course roasting skills. In this 3-stage event, competitors are evaluated on their performance evaluating the quality of green coffee (coffee grading), developing a roasting profile that best accentuates the desirable characteristics of that coffee, and on the ultimate cup quality of the coffees roasted.
This year, the competition kicks off with local Preliminary Rounds. You will work with three mystery single-origin green coffees, selected at random from our green coffee sponsors. Evaluate the beans, develop your roast, build your blend and submit your final cup for assessment.
There’s a twist: every competitor is also a judge, blends are presented for evaluation and all roasting is done on-site, in a timed competition format.
All entrants must take part in the cupping adjudication which will be on-site post practice roasting, cupping and competition roasting. This means each competitor will receive direct feedback from your peers in your region, (with copies of all the digital CVA forms that relate to your coffee submission) as well as familiarising yourself with the new CVA Assessment format.
- Three different unspecified single-origin green coffees supplied on the day.
- Up to 500 g of each coffee to split between practice roasting and your competition roast.
- 45 minutes of practice sample roasting.
- 45 minutes of cupping and evaluation.
- 30 minutes of competition roasting.
- Pre-blend or post-blend – your call.
- Use at least 10% of each supplied coffee in your final blend.
- Submit a minimum of 150 g of your final blend.
- Roast on LINK sample roasters set up to World Coffee Roasting Championship specs.
- Judged on the new digital CVA Combined Form.
- Anonymous, double-blind cupping run by the host or an ASCA official judged by all competitors and special guests and sponsors.
Before you compete, you’ll get a practice version of the digital CVA form. You need to complete it so you know exactly how judging works on the day.
The pathway
Win your Preliminary Round and you’re straight into the Semi Finals. After all Preliminary Rounds are done, the rest of the field is assessed using a bell-curve model. Up to 20 competitors in total move through including the regional champions.
Semi Finalists receive 3 kg of green coffee, roast it their way, and send back a 500 g submission plus a completed Roast Plan Scoresheet by the deadline. All competitors will receive copies of the official judges scoresheets post assessment. The top six advance to the Australian Championship Final. The winner earns the chance to represent Australia at the World Coffee Roasting Championships.
Preliminary Round dates and venues
- QLD/NT – 26–27 September 2026 at ICT, 78 Abbotsford Road, Bowen Hills, QLD.
- WA/NT – 10–11 October 2026 at Veneziano, 406 Newcastle Street, West Perth, WA.
- NSW/ACT – 24–25 October 2026 at InterAmerican Coffee Australia, Unit 11/13 Parsons Street, Rozelle, NSW.
- SA – 31 October 2026; venue TBC. Minimum six entries needed to run a SA round. If it doesn’t hit six, SA entrants join WA or VIC or have the ability to refund.
- VIC/TAS – 7–8 November 2026 at C4 Coffee, 15 Graham Road, Clayton South, VIC.
Each Preliminary Round caps at 30 competitors. Minimum 10 entries to run a round (SA is the exception at six).
Green coffee sponsors
Big thanks to our 2026/27 green coffee sponsors along side Nucleus Tools LINK Roasters:
ICT · List + Beisler · InterAmerican Coffee Australia · Southland Merchants · Upstream Coffee Imports · Utopia Coffee · G4 Green
More may be added.
EVENTS TBC:
2026/27 MILKLAB AUSTRALIAN BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP
The Australian Barista Championship proudly celebrates the artistry of coffee excellence and significantly elevates the barista profession on a global scale. Each year talented champions engage in this prestigious competition, where they meticulously craft four espressos, four milk-based drinks, and four unique signature beverages during a highly time-sensitive 15-minute performance. Their skills are rigorously judged based on key criteria that include taste, cleanliness, creativity, technical proficiency, and overall presentation.
A panel of Certified Judges evaluates each performance with keen attention to these important aspects. From the initial round, the qualified competitors, advance to the semifinals, and the top six from that stage earn the opportunity to compete in the finals, all striving for the esteemed title of Australian Barista Champion!
2026/27 RIVERINA FRESH AUSTRALIAN LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP
The Australian Latte Art Championship highlights artistic expression in a competition that challenges the barista in an on-demand performance. Baristas are judged based on visual attributes, creativity, identical patterns in the pairs, contrast in patterns, and overall performance.
For the preliminary round of the championship, competitors have eight minutes to create two identical free-pour lattes and two identical designer pattern lattes (which allow etching and decoration).
The qualified competitors will compete in art bar and stage presentation, with the top 8 competitors advancing to the semi-final round, and the top 6 moving forward towards the finals. The top-scoring competitor in the final round is declared the Australian Latte Art Champion.
2026/27 AUSTRALIAN BREWERS CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
The Australian Brewers Cup (WBrC) is a coffee brewing competition designed to showcase the craft and skill of manual filter coffee brewing.
There are two services in this competition: open and compulsory. For the compulsory service, competitors craft three beverages from the same whole bean provided to them by the competition organizers. These coffees are evaluated by the judges on a standardised numerical scale based on sensory elements such as aroma, flavor, body, balance, and acidity. In the open service, competitor’s creativity is on stage. They can choose their favorite whole bean coffee from the available options and prepare a beverage along with a ten-minute presentation. The competitor’s presentation can include elements such as origin of the bean, preparation method, or tasting notes. A total dissolved solids (TDS) measurement is also taken for each beverage to ensure a maximum TDS of less than or equal to 2% (20,000 parts per million).
2026/27 AUSTRALIAN CUP TASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP
The Australian Cup Tasters Championship awards the professional coffee cupper who demonstrates speed, skill, and accuracy in distinguishing the taste differences in specialty coffees.
Coffees of the world have many distinct taste characteristics and in this competition format the objective is for the cupper to discriminate between the different coffees. Three cups are placed in a triangle, with 2 cups being identical coffees and one cup being a different coffee. Using skills of smell, taste, attention and experience, the cupper will identify the odd cup in the triangle as quickly as they can.
2026/27 MONIN AUSTRALIAN COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPIONSHIP
The Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Championship promotes innovative beverage recipes that showcase coffee and spirits in a competition format. This competition highlights the barista/barkeeper’s mixology skills in a setting where coffee and alcohol go perfectly together. From the traditional Irish Coffee (with whiskey and coffee), to unique cocktail combinations.
The preliminary round takes place on the main competition stage. On the main stage, competitors produce four drinks—two identical hot/warm coffee and alcohol-based drinks, and two identical cold coffee and alcohol-based drinks. The competitors with the highest preliminary round scores will compete in the final round.
The final round requires competitors to produce two Irish Coffees and two coffee-and-alcohol-based designer drinks. The highest-scoring final round competitor will be named the Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Champion.