The Barista League is returning for 2026, and this year the globe-spanning competition has a new look. For this season, The Barista League is putting a focus on three key elements: Concept, Service, and Product, all while keeping it completely free to compete, and applications are now open.
Announced earlier this week, The Barista League is moving away from the more technical side of barista competitions and moving towards service. What’s in the cup isn’t necessarily as important as the overall experience. From the press release:
Baristas are the gatekeepers to the coffee experience. Their job is not to grow, source, roast coffee but to translate the work, competence, skill, meaning, culture and stories of the coffee industry to consumers. Through the service and preparation of drinks the barista is responsible for the actual delivery of that experience to consumers every day all around the world.
In scoresheet terms, that means that concept and service comprise 62% of the total score, with the product making up the other 38%. Or put it another way, the drink still makes up the largest individual percentage at 38%, because what gets served still matters, and you could theoretically have a bad concept with a good service or vice versa, but it is the two combined that creates an exceptional experience capable of elevating any drink.
From the spectator side, the focus this year is to produce an engaging, watchable product. To that end, both contestants and judges will be mic’ed up, with live commentary, interviews, and scoring that will be accessible to viewers both in person and on the livestream.
A total of six events will take place in 2026, one for each region of the globe. They are as follows:
Europe – Prague – March 28
Latin America – Mexico City – May 8
Asia – Tokyo – June 11
North America – Atlanta – September 3
Africa – Johannesburg – October 3
Pacific – Brisbane – November 13
To further remove barriers to entry, both the application and the competitions themselves are completely free to compete in. Everything the teams need to compete will be provided for them by The Barista League. (Teams have the option of bringing their own glassware, mocktail/mystery drink ingredients, and any additional barista tools they desire, but they are not required.)
To apply, teams of two must create both a written and video submission—no longer than 2.5 minutes—that introduces the team as well as each competitor, their coffee journey, what drives them to compete, what they hope to achieve by competing, and any skills or style that makes their approach to coffee unique. A panel of independent judges will decide on six teams for each of the events.
The victors of each stop on The Barista League will earn their way onto The Mystery Coffee Vacation, a “once-in-a-lifetime trip to a secret coffee destination along with all the other champions of The Barista League competitions that year, traveling together on a coffee-fueled adventure to learn, inspire and connect.”
Applications are open now! For more information, to apply, or for a full list of the rules and regulations, visit The Barista League’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.
