Jack Simpson of Australia has won the World Barista Championship.

About an hour after his victory we sat down with Jack, his roaster Matt Crowley and owner of Axil Coffee Roasters Dave Makin.

In this podcast we discussed what went into becoming the world barista champion and the methods Jack used.

Instrumental in his success was his entire team, perhaps most of all was Matt Crowley (Head of Coffee at Axil) who was with him every step of the way.

As many know, Jack came second last year in what was the tightest result in WBC history, and he came back determined as ever to win.

What goes into sourcing, roasting and preparing for a World Barista Championship run? Find out in this episode of the Coffee Show.

Thanks again to Jack who is a great friend of The Coffee Show.

Thanks again to our Sponsors Timemore, Oatly and Barista Group. And big shout out to Specialty Coffee Association Panama who lent us space on their booth which allowed us to record podcasts at the show.

Watch Jack's winning routine here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVoHoMhzy2w

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Chris Baca is one of the founders of Cat and Cloud Coffee in Santa Cruz, California.

Chris is also a previous winner of the USA Barista Championships and one of the original specialty coffee content creators, dating back more than ten years.

Chris career journey is one of the most traceable in all of coffee. Nowadays his focus is on Cat and Cloud and one of his biggest focuses is building a nurturing company culture, which he broadly implores the rest of the industry to do.

Chris and Kirk talk about the costs and disadvantages of high staff turnover and even touch on skateboarding in the early 2000's!

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James Hoffmann is the most recognised face in all of coffee.

From winning the World Barista Champioship, his detailed coffee videos and the World Atlas for Coffee, James has for a long time been the biggest name in the coffee industry.

After years of asking, Kirk finally landed the interview and the conversation did not dissapoint.

What makes a cafe thrive in 2025?

Are cafes competing against home baristas?

Should we switch the internet off?

These are some of the questions we answer on the podcast.

This is the biggest interview we have every done, so please don enjoy!

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