What the World’s Best Brewers Are Doing Differently | COFFEE BREAK!

Fresh from the 2026 World Brewers Cup in Brussels, Ben breaks down the coffees, brewers and techniques used by the competition’s top six finalists. We look at how World Champion Nas Jaafar, Australia’s Simon Gautherin and the rest of the finalists approached their routines, from the rise of hybrid brewers and fast-flow filter papers to shorter ratios, lower temperatures and coarser grind sizes. Plus, we unpack Bavis Kwong’s wild “sandwich extraction”, Simon’s two-coffee brewing method, the continued dominance of Panama Geisha and whether these competition techniques can actually improve the coffee you brew at home! Coffee Break is your weekly inside scoop into the coffee community. Everything from on-the-fly barista tips, honest and unfiltered café reviews (eek), hospitality stories and gatekept coffee secrets. CHAPTERS 00:00 Back From Brussels 02:04 The Top Six Brewers 06:24 Is Brewers Cup More Accessible? 09:38 Hybrid Brewers Take Over 11:05 Modern Filter Coffee 13:53 Is Percolation Dead? 14:42 Fast Filter Papers 15:03 Panama Geisha Dominates 18:25 Natural vs Washed Coffee 21:48 The Sandwich Extraction 24:43 Simon’s Two-Coffee Brew 26:10 What Home Brewers Can Use 28:20 Are These the World’s Best Coffees? 30:13 The Future of Pour-Over Want more coffee content? IT'S JUST COFFEE: https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod Want to get in touch? Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com for any questions or comments. Proudly sponsored by: Marco Beverage Systems: https://www.instagram.com/marcobeveragesystems/ Apax Lab: https://apaxlab.com/ Condesa Co.Lab: https://condesacolab.com.au/ Riverina Fresh: https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/ Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices