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After three days of coffee competitions spanning barista routines, manual brewing, latte art and cup tasting, the Singapore National Coffee Championship (SNCC) 2026 has wrapped up by crowning four champions who'll go on to represent Singapore at the 2027 World Coffee Championships.
If you’re wondering – this annual competition serves as Singapore's biggest specialty coffee contest, helping local coffee professionals benchmark themselves against international standards before heading onto the global stage.
This year's championship brought together 63 competitors across four categories: the Singapore National Barista Championship, Timemore Singapore National Brewers Cup, Singapore National Latte Art Championship and Singapore Cup Tasters Championship. Judges from Singapore and around the region (like Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan) were brought in to assess the competitors.
Leading this year's winners is Gabriel Lim Yeok Sien, a barista from Glyph Supply Co., who clinched the Singapore National Barista Championship in his very first SNCC appearance. Competitors in the category had to prepare espresso, milk-based drinks and an original signature beverage while showcasing technical precision and creativity. Gabriel will represent Singapore at the 2027 World Barista Championship in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Elysia Tan, Brand Manager at MAME Specialty Coffee, was crowned the winner of the TIMEMORE Singapore National Brewers Cup for the fourth time. Having previously claimed the title in 2024, she's now the competition's most decorated champion and will head to Bogotá, Colombia, for the 2027 World Brewers Cup, where she'll compete in the manual coffee brewing category.
Over in the latte art arena, Zheng Yi Lim, Senior Barista at Cafe Kitsuné, finally got his long-awaited victory after years of coming painfully close. Having previously finished as second runner-up and first runner-up – and competed in more than 20 coffee competitions throughout his career – he claimed his first national title this year. He'll represent Singapore at the 2027 World Latte Art Championship in Lisbon.
Rounding out the winners is Wong Li Ping (Levina), Trainer at Torch Coffee, who emerged victorious in the Singapore Cup Tasters Championship during her third attempt. Based in Kenya, where she conducts coffee training for locals and international students while advocating for coffee-producing communities, she was also the only woman to make this year's finals. The category tests competitors on their ability to quickly and accurately distinguish subtle flavour differences between cups of specialty coffee. She'll now represent Singapore internationally in 2027.
Next year's championship will take place from July 14 to 16, 2027, at Sands Expo & Convention Centre as part of SIGEP Asia, where a new batch of baristas and coffee professionals will compete for the chance to represent Singapore internationally.
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