About AeroPress China 2026

The championship is back. Everyone belongs.

After time away, the AeroPress Championship returns to China in 2026. But we didn’t want to simply bring back another coffee competition.

Together, Duide Coffee Lab, Outman Coffee Roastery, and I’M NOT A BARISTA are working to create a new chapter for the AeroPress community in China — one centered on people, connection, accessibility, and the simple fun of making coffee together.

That’s why this year looks a little different.

One city. One community. Three days together.

China is huge. Traditionally, coffee competitions spread competitors across different regional events, meaning many people never get the chance to meet until the very end.

For 2026, we’re bringing everyone together. From October 26–28, up to 120 competitors will travel to Guiyang for one three-day AeroPress experience.

There will be competition, of course. One person will ultimately become the China Champion and continue the journey to the World AeroPress Championship in Mexico City.

But there will also be workshops, international judges and guests, music, practice, conversations, parties, and plenty of coffee.

We’ve invited coffee friends from outside China too, including Tay, the 2023 World AeroPress Champion from Thailand, to join us and share his experience through a special workshop.

We want people to have time to meet each other instead of simply arriving, competing, and going home.

 

You don’t have to be a champion.

The AeroPress Championship has always been special because you don’t need to be the world’s most experienced barista to give it a try.

Our 2026 competition is open to AeroPress lovers who want to compete, whether you’re a professional barista, home brewer, coffee enthusiast, or simply someone curious enough to step up to the table.

You don’t need a title.
You don’t need years of competition experience.
You just need to brew.

Because although there will eventually be one China Champion, we believe every competitor matters.

Every person who makes the journey to Guiyang brings a story with them. And hopefully, everyone leaves with another one.

Who We Are

This championship is being built collaboratively by three teams bringing very different strengths to the same table.

Outman Coffee Roastery

Based in Guiyang, Outman Coffee Roastery brings deep local coffee knowledge, roasting experience, industry relationships, and the ability to turn an ambitious idea into a real event on the ground.

Outman is one of the driving forces behind bringing the championship back to China and serves as the official 2026 China host.

Duide Coffee Lab

Also based in Guiyang, Duide Coffee Lab brings local community connections, hospitality, event execution, and the human touch behind the three-day competitor experience.

From welcoming people arriving in Guiyang to helping create the spaces where competitors can meet and connect, Duide is helping make the championship feel less like an event you attend and more like a journey you join.

I’M NOT A BARISTA

I’M NOT A BARISTA is a global coffee not-for-profit organization dedicated to giving coffee people a voice.

For AeroPress China 2026, our role goes beyond competition logistics. We contribute creative direction, international connections, storytelling, design, and community experience — helping connect China’s AeroPress community with coffee people around the world.

For us, this project fits naturally with something we’ve believed for years: Coffee is about people.

 

From Guiyang to the World

This year’s visual identity tells the same story. A red AeroPress becomes a bridge winding through the mountains of Guiyang and continuing toward Mexico City.

It represents the journey of the eventual China Champion. But it also represents something bigger.

A bridge between communities.
Between China and the world.
Between professionals and enthusiasts.
Between old friends and people who haven’t met yet.

We don’t know who will win. We don’t know which friendships will begin here. And we don’t know what stories people will take home with them.

That’s exactly what makes it exciting.