World Barista Champion is Chinese for the first time

Pan Wei becomes the first World Barista Champion from China, winning the 2026 title in Panama City on October 25 with a routine built on Geisha coffee from Panama and Colombia.

Pan Wei, who competes for Parking Coffee, beat five other finalists at the Panama Convention Center during World of Coffee Panamá 2026. Shing Win of Malaysia placed second and Frederick Ruben of the United Arab Emirates took third.

China's first World Barista Champion

China finally won one — the line specialty coffee media used after years of Chinese near misses.

Forty-nine national Barista Champions competed in Panama City, the first time the competition has been held in the country. Each finalist had 15 minutes to prepare 12 drinks — four espressos, four milk-based drinks and four signature creations — judged on flavour, cleanliness, creativity, technique and presentation.

The win closes a gap that opened a decade ago. Jeremy Zhang was a regular finalist for China in the early 2010s, then retired from competition. No Chinese barista reached the semifinals again until 2025, when Simon SunLei placed second there. Pan Wei went further: in 2024 he finished 27th at the World Barista Championship; in 2026 he won it.

"China finally won one" was the line specialty coffee media used once the result landed, after years of near misses at the semifinal stage.

Geisha coffees from two continents

Pan Wei's espresso course used a Panama Gesha from Finca El Pergamino in Chiriquí, pulled at 20g in and 50g out, with notes of orange, peach and elderflower. His milk course paired a mosto-fermented Colombian Gesha with a custom blend of freeze-distilled cow's milk and pistachio milk.

His signature drink, called "The Family Link," combined chilled Panama Gesha espresso with a coffee cherry honey infusion, nitrogenated and topped with sparkling water. The routine's theme centred on the growers behind each lot and the climate pressure they face holding quality steady.

The Colombian lot's exact farm was not named in the official result. Reports have linked it to Huila-region Geisha production, though organisers did not confirm the producer.

World of Coffee Panamá 2026 ran the World Barista Championship alongside other World Coffee Championships disciplines. The title returns to competition in 2027; China now defends one it spent a decade failing to reach.