A runner-up finish in the World Brewers Cup from Simon Gautherin has headlined three great performances from Australian competitors at World of Coffee Brussels this past weekend.
Simon, representing APAX LAB, finished round one with a score of 353, behind only Czech Republic representative Jackie Tran.
Then, in the final round, Simon scored 346 in the open service round – the top score of the six participants, before scoring 115 in compulsory service for a final score of 461, just eight points behind the winner, Malaysia’s Nas Jaafar, and two points clear of third-place finisher, Hong Kong SAR’s Bavis Kwong.
Serene Yu of Smay Coffee finished fourth in the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship with a score of 320, with China’s Andy Philein (Liu Zhan Hong), winning with a score of 418.5.
Serene finished the preliminary round with a score of 456.50 – the third-highest score of the field. Eventual winner Andy also topped the preliminary round with an incredible score of 560.5.
Finally, Danny Andrade was representing Australia at the World Roasting Championship, which won by Belgium’s Benjamin Brassart with a score of 619.
Danny, representing Blackboard Coffee Roasters, finished with a score of 547 points in what was an incredibly tight competition. Austria’s Andrea Trevisan, who finished fifth, ended with just eight more points than Danny.
Australia has a strong history in all these events. Matt Perger won the World Brewers Cup in 2012, while Paul Bassett won the inaugural World Coffee in Good Spirits Championships back in 2004.
Danny Wilson came close, finished second in 2025, while Danny Andrade finished third in 2023.
No Australian representative has ever won the World Coffee Roasting Championship, however Amber (Ning Chi) Cheng finished fifth in 2025.
