Belgian Roast Master
November 7, 8 & 9, 2025
The Belgian Roaster Master competition showcases the expertise of Belgian roasters, offering an immersive competition focused on specialty coffee.
A competition that combines roasting expertise, extraction mastery, marketing skills and commercial knowledge - essential pillars for a specialty coffee roaster in 2025.
The competition takes place in three stages: qualifying, semi-final and final. Each phase highlights a different facet of the roasting profession.
8 Roasters
1 to 3 people per roasting team
Judges
2 expert judges from the specialty coffee sector
1 expert marketing judge with knowledge of specialty coffee
PHASE 1 - Qualifying - 8 teams
Each roaster presents two coffees from its existing range, pre-roasted in its own facility: A filter coffee An espresso coffee (single origin or blend)
Pitch & Storytelling
Preparation time: 15 min
Presentation time: 7-minute pitch
The roasting team has 7 minutes to present :
Their personal/professional background
Their sourcing approach (relations with producers/importers)
Their roasting style and method
Branding (name, logo, packaging)
Each judge will ask the roaster an open-ended question.
Evaluation criteria: quality of storytelling, clarity of overall approach, relevance and appeal of branding (logo, café names, packaging).
Service & Presentation
Preparation time: 15 min
Service time: 15 min
The roaster extracts and serves the following beverages to the judges:
3 identical espressos (1 per judge)
2 sets of 3 filter coffees, with two different extraction methods (V60, Aeropress, Origami, etc.).
3 Cold Brews or 3 Iced Coffees (prepared in advance or on site)
Evaluation criteria: quality of taste, technical mastery, presentation, quality of cups and explanation of drinks.
Conditions for coffee
Packaging: 250 g
Filter coffee: maximum purchase cost of green beans for the roaster: €50/kg
Espresso coffee: maximum purchase cost of green beans for the roaster: €25/kg
PHASE 2 - Semi-final 4 teams
Faced with a selection of 6 green coffees, including 2 with defects, the teams choose, analyze and roast the beans directly.
Roasting & Cupping time: 90 min
1.1 Live Roasting
Roasting time: 90 min
- 1 green coffee for the filter
- 2 to 3 green coffees to create an espresso blend
- Profile development on samples
- 800 g batch on Stronghold S7 PRO
1.2 Live Cupping
Cupping time: 30 min
Each team organizes a cupping for the judges:
- Description of the approach
- Expected sensory profile
Roasters are assessed on the accuracy of their selection of green coffees, the consistency of the roasting profile developed and their technical expertise in producing the final batch.
The judges appreciate our understanding of the physical characteristics of the beans, our management of the key roasting phases and our efficient use of equipment.
PHASE 3 - Final: 2 teams
Roasters present their roasted coffee to the judges, explaining their choices in terms of the beans selected and the roasting profile developed.
They then have to build a real marketing strategy, as if this coffee were going to become part of their range: this includes naming the coffee, creating a label, defining the selling price, and a marketing strategy consistent with their identity.
To round off the final on a creative and festive note, each team prepares a signature drink (cocktail or mocktail), highlighting the coffee presented.
Roasting & Cupping time: 90 min
1.1 Presentation & Branding
Preparation time: 60 min
Presentation time: 20 min
Each team presents
- His choice of green coffees
- A real name and packaging
- Sales strategy (pricing, target market, etc.)
Evaluation criteria: relevance, methodology, creativity, targeting.
1.2 Signature beverage
Preparation time: 10 min
Presentation time: 10 min
Free category: mocktails, cocktails, free creations.
Assessment criteria: creativity, quality of service.
Rating system
The competition takes place in three phases, with a weighted scoring system.
Evaluation is based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria, including green coffee selection, roasting profile development, extraction skills, cup quality, roaster technical expertise and clarity of presentation.
Phase 1 - Qualifying: 8 teams
70 points
Pitch & Storytelling: 40 points
Coffee service & presentation: 30 points
The 4 teams with the highest cumulative scores advance to the semi-finals.
Phase 2 - Semi-final: 4 teams
50 points
Live roasting: 30 points
Cupping: 20 points
At the end of this event, the points from the qualifying round and the semi-final are added together for the 4 teams.
The 2 teams with the highest total scores advance to the final.
Phase 3 - Final: 2 teams - 30 points
- Presentation & Branding: 20 points
- Signature Drink: 10 points
The team with the highest total score in this phase wins the Belgian Roaster Master 2025 competition.
The two finalists will receive an official Belgian Roaster Master 2025 trophy.
🥇 1st prize & 🥈 2nd prize
In addition to recognition from the jury and the public, the finalists will be awarded material and/or immaterial prizes.
Public Vote 🏆 Public Award - Best Branding
For 4 hours, visitors and the online public can vote for their favorite roaster from among the 4 semi-finalists. The vote takes into account all aspects of branding: name, logo, packaging, storytelling and overall design.
This prize is independent of the overall competition ranking.
Rules and score sheet
On request by e-mail to hello(at)brusselscoffee.show
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