Jordan Sanchez
Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) announced the cancellation of the 2020 World Coffee Championship scheduled for Melbourne and Warsaw due to international travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Organizers decided to focus on the 2021 championship season rather than anticipate the changing travel requirements for events that would bring competitors and attendees from around the world.
The 2020 World Barista Championships and World Brewers Cup were scheduled to take place November 3-6 at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) trade show. The World Coffee In Good Spirits, World Latte Art, World Cup Tasters, World Coffee Roasting, and Cezve/Ibrik Championships were to take place during World of Coffee Warsaw on October 15-17. Both of these events were already rescheduled from earlier in the year.
SCA said in a statement it would be working with partners at the Warsaw event to cancel the 2020 World of Coffee trade show and postpone the contract to a future year.
"We know that this is disappointing news to many, and we deeply regret that there is no feasible way to gather global competitors this year," organizers said in a statement. "We are excited to bring the World Barista Championship, World Cup Tasters Championship, and Cezve/Ibrik Championship to the World of Coffee Athens trade show in June of 2021. While we are still exploring location options for the 2021 World Coffee in Good Spirits, World Latte Art, World Brewers Cup, and World Coffee Roasting Championships, they will be held no earlier than June 2021."