A complete analysis of the coffees presented by competitors — origins, farms, varieties and processes — with a focused reading of the grand final.
Round one drew a clear map of power: one origin dominates, one variety reigns, and a handful of farms concentrate most of the world-class recipes.
62% of all competitors built their recipe on Panamanian coffee. No other origin comes close.
Between classic Geisha and its variants (Green Tea, Green Tip, Red), 40 of 45 recipes speak the same sensory dialect.
Natural still leads, but anaerobic and controlled-fermentation methods now nearly match it in frequency.
Counting every blend that includes Panama as Panama, the isthmus's dominance is overwhelming. Colombia consolidates as the second pole, appearing mostly in high-end blends.
28 recipes with Panama = 20 pure isthmus + 8 blends (Bene Sanchez, Erlend Wessel-Berg, Jaideep Sidhu, Lisa Zancanella, Matin Shaikh, Ryan Wibawa, Simon Gautherin, Tom Tran). Denmark appears as a curiosity: Rasmus Madsen grew the Flora variety in a controlled greenhouse.
Geisha doesn't just win — it defines the competition. The select variants (Green Tea, Green Tip, Red Geisha) and rarities like Sidra or Pacamara mark where competitors sought to differentiate themselves.
"Geisha family" groups classic Geisha, Green Tea Geisha, Green Tip Geisha and Red Geisha. Exotic varieties (Sidra, Pacamara, Flora, Sudan Rume, Catuai, Excelsa, Liberica) were niche bets to stand out amid so much Geisha.
The processing snapshot reveals a competition in transition: natural holds the crown, but controlled and anaerobic fermentation is advancing as the territory of experimentation.
Approximate categorization based on each competitor's declared description. Many baristas combine techniques (washed + natural, fermentation phases), so the category reflects the dominant trait.
From most to least used. The four leading farms are all Panamanian — with Finca Nuguo and Janson Estate tied at five recipes each — and together they concentrate the most-repeated coffees of the round.
The full list (including the 36 farms with a single appearance) is available in the interactive matrix below. Country in parentheses.
All 45 competitors with their origin, farm, variety and process. Search, filter and sort any column.
| Country ▼ | Competitor ▼ | Coffee Origin ▼ | Farm(s) ▼ | Variety ▼ | Process ▼ |
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The six baristas who advanced shared one striking constant: all of them brought Panamanian coffee to the judges' table, whether pure or as the essential component of their blend.
Two Panamanian farms repeat in the Top 6, placing two competitors each. Their sensory consistency was the factor that carried them to the final.
Bavis Kwong (Hong Kong) secured his spot with a Green Tip Geisha, Lot 251, producer Janson Family — natural with 48 h of cold fermentation.
Ethan Junseong Park (South Korea) advanced with a "transparent" washed Geisha, fermented in cold spring water and dried in a dark room.
Clarity and terroir identity beat artifice: the farms that repeated most are the ones offering clean, recognizable profiles.