Following months of intense competition across Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East, the search for the world’s most innovative barista has concluded with the crowning of Mr Hastings Ng from Hong Kong as the Global Champion of the DaVinci Gourmet Barista Craft Championship 2025-2026, held at World of Coffee Bangkok on 8 May 2026.
Hastings is currently working as Operations Manager at BLOSSOM, a specialty coffee shop in Hong Kong. AFBR has the opportunity to interview Hastings and gain further understanding of the coffee market and the latest trends and challenges within this fast growing segment. The following are snippets from the short interview with him:
Where do you draw the line between a machine making a perfect cup and a barista making a great one? Can technology ever really replace the ‘soul’ of a hand-poured coffee?
A machine can make a very precise and consistent cup because it follows preset parameters every time. But a great cup still depends on the barista, because the barista is the one who understands the coffee, sets the recipe, and knows how to adjust when the coffee changes. I don’t think technology can replace the soul of hand-poured coffee. It can support the barista and make high-quality brewing easier, especially in a high-volume environment, but it cannot taste, interpret, or connect with the coffee the way a human can.
What are the latest trends that you perceive to be affecting coffee making in this region (Southeast Asia)?
One of the biggest trends across Southeast Asia is the rapid growth of signature coffee drinks. Whether they include alcohol or not, these beverages have become a very popular way to introduce specialty coffee to a wider audience, from beginners to more experienced drinkers.
At the same time, many cities are developing their own coffee identity by using local ingredients and local flavours in creative ways. For example, signature drinks in Sichuan, China will use hot and spicy, and in Bangkok we can find pandan influenced coffee as well. That kind of localisation makes specialty coffee more approachable and helps connect with different generations, including younger consumers looking for novelty and older customers who relate more strongly to familiar tastes.
What do coffee producers (end-products) in this region need to be concerned about which will affect demand, quality and marketability of their coffee products in the near future?
Climate change is clearly one of the most important issues affecting coffee right now, especially in terms of quality, consistency, and future supply. Beyond that, innovative processing methods will also play a major role in shaping how coffee is perceived and marketed in the coming years. Experimental processing can push coffee in exciting new directions and create strong market interest. For example, innovative processes like co-fermentation of yeast, thermal shocks process with coffee cherries will lead to extraordinary flavours. In fact, we see recent World Barista champions using thermal shocks processed cherries for their milk coffee, which leads to a dessert-like milk-based drink. Even with climate change and inconsistent harvest, the outcome can still be quite similar, thanks to advanced technology. However, producers must be careful not to lose the original character of the coffee, because authenticity and a clear sense of origin still matter.
