Pan Wei Won the 2026 World Barista Championship With Two Geishas and a Reverse-Tamping Device
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Pan Wei, representing the Competition Body of China, won the 26th World Barista Championship in Panama City on 25 October 2026, ahead of Shing Win of Malaysia and Frederick Ruben of the United Arab Emirates. His theme was Families: every cup, he told the judges, comes from a family, and every family is remembered by the decisions it makes.
Recipes
Quotes
Quotes“Every cup of coffee comes from a family.”
“I have come to realize that every family is remembered by the decisions it makes.”
“Because if meaningful action can begin on a farm, why can't it begin in a cafe?”
“I call it reverse tamping.”
“I ask myself 20 years from now, will she still have the opportunity to taste a coffee like this?”
The routine used two Geishas. The espresso was Panama's El Burro estate, farmed by the Lamastus family and picked at 2,200 m after warming pushed plantings uphill from about 1,500 m — washed, slow-dried for 25 days at 50 °C, roasted in 10 minutes with one minute after first crack, and pulled 20 g in to 50 g out. The milk course used Colombia's Finca Las Flores in Huila: 48 hours of mucilage mosto fermentation, 25 days of low-temperature drying, 21 g in to 35 g out, with milk distilled at 30 °C to remove about 30% of its water and cut with 50% pistachio milk, served 1:3 at 55 °C.
The signature, Family Link, added 40 g of coffee-cherry honey infusion, 100 g of UV-sterilised mosto liquid, 10 g of nitrogen and 80 g of sparkling water to chilled espresso. Behind the bar throughout: reverse tamping — needle distribution, then vibration to sort the bed by particle size before tamping.
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