We are less than one month from the 2025 World Barista Championship, taking place at Host Milan. Then it’ll be another year until the WBC heads to Panama City, which will be the first time since Bogota in 2011 that the competition is held in a producing country. But even with so much WBC action already on the docket, the Specialty Coffee Association is ready to reveal the host location for the 2027 World Barista Championship: Tokyo, Japan.
Announced today, September 25th, at the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan’s 2025 World Specialty Coffee Conference, Tokyo will return as host two decades after its last stint—back in 2007 when some guy named James Hoffmann won it all. Per the press release, an agreement between the SCA, SCAJ, and Exporum brings the event to the Japanese capital city as part of the Asian leg of World of Coffee. It will be the fourth installation in the series, following events in Busan, Jakarta, and Bangkok in 2026.
Occurring April 28th through May 1st, WoC Tokyo will be held at Tokyo Big Sight right off Tokyo Bay in the Koto ward in the southern part of city.
“The Specialty Coffee Association is proud to announce that World of Coffee and the World Barista Championship will take place in Tokyo in 2027. Japan has played an influential role in shaping global coffee culture through its dedication to quality, precision, and innovation,” SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos states. “Our partner SCAJ has been leading the specialty coffee scene, and we are extremely honored to co-host this event in Tokyo under the leadership of President Mr. Kato and Mr. Iwata’s team. Bringing these flagship events to Tokyo reflects our commitment to fostering international collaboration and advancing excellence within the specialty coffee industry.”
For more information or to read the full announcement, visit World Coffee Championship’s official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
AloJapan.com