World of Coffee Dubai 2025 achieved remarkable success, drawing over 17,000 attendees. The three-day event concluded on Wednesday and marked its fourth edition at the Dubai World Trade Centre. This year’s exhibition featured nearly 2,000 participating companies, including more than 130 newcomers.

To accommodate this growth, the exhibition space expanded by one-third, showcasing over 250 international exhibitors. Visitors represented 78 countries, with 10 national pavilions, including debut appearances from Morocco and Mexico.

Khalid Al Hammadi, Executive Vice President at DXB Live, noted that the substantial year-on-year increase reflects the growing significance of World of Coffee Dubai, making it one of the most influential events in the global coffee industry. The event served as an exceptional platform, allowing more brands and countries to present their products, share insights, and forge lasting partnerships within the specialty coffee sector.

The final day of the event featured a series of awards recognizing excellence and innovation in the industry. Aldy Nugroho from The Espresso Lab was crowned Barista of the Year at the UAE National Barista Championships. Lablilell Bajarias from Heirloom secured second place, while Hootan Salemi from The QC took third.

The UAE National Barista Championship highlighted the art of coffee craftsmanship, with competitors preparing and presenting four espressos, four milk-based drinks, and four unique signature beverages within a 15-minute time frame. Judging criteria included flavor, creativity, technical precision, cleanliness, and overall presentation.

In another competition, Mondrick Alpas from Goldbox x Heirloom won the UAE National Latte Art Championship, followed by Jhomar Moralas from Benchmark in second place and Kerwin Alcoriza from Univest National Food in third. This championship showcased the skill involved in creating intricate designs on latte surfaces through techniques like free pouring and etching.

The inaugural UAE National Roasting Championship crowned Raha Shahsavar as the first winner of this competition in the MENA region, celebrating roasting skills and precision among competitors from across the UAE.

Khalid Al Mulla, CEO of the SCA UAE Chapter, emphasized the importance of the Coffee Design Awards and the Best New Product Award in recognizing innovation within the industry. Rahul Reddy won the packaging category for Subko, while Ana Marquez was awarded in the branding category for El Boske. Maximillian Lundin from Bluewater Group received the Best New Product award for his water purification system, highlighting significant contributions to the specialty coffee landscape.