Following four days of thrilling competition and taking on 52 competitors from around the world, on 4 May Mikael Jasin of Indonesia was crowned World Barista Champion 2024 at World of Coffee Busan.
“I’ve been visualising the moment holding Hide’s, Dale’s, or Boram’s trophies (2014 World Barista Champion, Hide Izaki; 2016 World Barista Champion, Dale Harris; 2023 World Barista Champion, Boram Um), and to finally hold one feels surreal. It’s a combination of ‘if you dream it, you can make it work’,” says Mikael.
“It still feels surreal to be the World Barista Champion. After working for it for so long, I’m very grateful, and hopefully I can put the platform I’ve been given to good use.”
The final rankings of this year’s World Barista Championship were announced on Saturday evening, with runner up Jack Simpson of Australia missing out on the top spot to Mikael Jasin by a single point. Japan’s Takayuki Ishitani placed third, Honoka Kawashima of Aotearoa/New Zealand placed fourth, South Korea’s Junghwan Lim placed fifth, Ian Kissick of Ireland placed sixth, and The Netherlands’ Zjevaun Lemar Janga placed seventh.
As part of their 15-minute performance, competitors must prepare four espressos, four milk drinks, and four original signature drinks and present them to a panel of WCC-certified judges. Competitors are scored on the taste of beverages served, cleanliness, creativity, technical skill, and overall presentation.
“It was beyond an honour to share Head Judge role with Sylvia Gutierrez this year,” says Scott Conary, World Barista Championship Head Judge.
“The judges were able to experience the highest level of coffee passion as well as the expertly made drinks in the heartfelt and engaging presentations these experts shared on stage. The level just keeps increasing every year as baristas embrace innovation along with their desire to keep our industry improving in every aspect, with the competition stage acting as a forum for sharing these ideas and the coffee preparations proving their points with tangible evidence.”
Mikael’s performance was centred around mindfulness, and as part of his routine he said: “The mind is so powerful, it allows us to elevate a simple coffee into an incredible tasting experience.”
“This idea came from my journey of burning out after my last WBC. As a competitor I didn’t achieve the ranking I wanted back then. Through that experience I had to detach a little and see competition from a different angle. I realised I could talk about this and how finding mindfulness helped me get back on track,” he says.
Mikael had about four months to prepare for the WBC after winning the Indonesian national title in December 2023. He says his preparation this year focused on getting into the right headspace.
“I needed to be in touch with myself. If I was going to talk about mindfulness, I needed to ‘talk the talk’ and practice what I was preaching. I did a lot of meditation, journaling, and breath work to help deliver the message,” he says.
For the espresso round, he showcased a Panamanian geisha. For the milk and signature rounds, he used an Ethiopian landrace coffee from Colombia.
Mikael celebrated his victory by having dinner with his team before attending the WCC Barista Party.
“It was crazy, everyone was [at the afterparty]. Before I went there I hadn’t drunk alcohol in two months in preparation for the worlds, so it was great to be able to enjoy myself,” he says.
Mikael says he looks forward to continuing his path in the coffee industry and can’t wait to see what his future holds.
“I love coffee and I love being around coffee. I want to immerse myself in the industry as much as I can, and hopefully inspire people to find their own journey in coffee and create better ambassadors for the community,” he says.
Watch Mikael’s routine here.