SHAH ALAM – Malaysian barista Nas Jaafar has made history by becoming the first Malaysian to win the 2026 World Brewers Cup, a prestigious global competition under the World Coffee Championships that celebrates excellence in manual coffee brewing, sensory evaluation and presentation.
The victory was officially confirmed through the World Coffee Championships’ platforms, which named Nas as the overall champion after he outperformed finalists from Australia, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, South Korea and France in a closely contested final round.
The competition evaluates baristas not only on brewing precision and technique, but also on cup quality, consistency and their ability to present and communicate the sensory profile of their coffee to judges.
Nas, who previously clinched the Malaysia Brewers Cup title in 2025, earned his place on the world stage through Malaysia’s national selection circuit, which gathers top baristas from cafés, roasteries and specialty coffee institutions across the country.
The achievement has been widely celebrated within Malaysia’s growing specialty coffee community, which has expanded rapidly in recent years alongside the rise of independent cafés, micro-roasters and structured barista training programmes.
Industry players view Nas’ victory as a breakthrough moment that could further strengthen Malaysia’s standing in the global specialty coffee scene, while also encouraging greater international recognition for local coffee professionals and inspiring more young baristas to pursue competitive brewing.
The win is also expected to help elevate standards in local café culture, particularly in brewing precision, sensory training and coffee education.
The World Brewers Cup, organised annually as part of the World Coffee Championships circuit is regarded as one of the most prestigious events in the specialty coffee world, drawing national champions from dozens of countries and rotating its host cities worldwide each year.