Taiwan Champion of the World Barista Championship Crowned – Wu Zelin Retains Title

▲ Wu Zelin (left) once again claims the title of Taiwan Champion in the World Barista Championship. (Photo provided by the Taiwan Coffee Association)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The Taiwan champion of the 2015 WBC (World Barista Championship) has been announced！Champion Wu Zelin, who also won in 2014, will once again represent Taiwan at the world competition in Seattle in April 2016. Last year, in 2014, Wu achieved a global ranking of 7th and has 9 years of professional coffee experience.

Today’s (17th) finalists were all highly skilled. In addition to Wu Zelin, the 2014 Taiwan champion, Jian Jiacheng was the Taiwan champion the year before last, and Zhong Zhiting was the runner-up in this year’s Latte Art Competition.

The judging format for today’s finals required contestants, after a 15-minute preparation period, to prepare and serve 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos, and 4 signature drinks — a total of 12 drinks — to 4 sensory judges within 15 minutes. Cleanup also had to be completed within 15 minutes. In addition to the 4 sensory judges, there were 2 technical judges, 1 head judge, and 1 shadow judge, though the head judge and shadow judge did not participate in the scoring.