There is a specific kind of energy that hummed through Newcastle this February. It was not just the coastal humidity or the surf, it was the collective caffeine-fueled intensity of the 2026 Golden Bean World Series. For those who aren't familiar with the "Golden Bean," think of it as the Olympics, the Oscars, and a high-stakes science fair all rolled into one, but with much better aromas. And one of the coolest parts? The World Series shifts location year to year—Hawaii (2023), Melbourne (2024), Guatemala (2025), Newcastle (2026), and potentially Fiji (2027)??
This year, the stakes felt different for us at Walcha Coffee. We didn't just head to Newcastle to show up; we went there to prove that a regional roastery from the New England high country could go toe-to-toe with the world’s elite. And the results? Well, we’re coming home with some extra luggage.
We are incredibly proud to announce that Walcha Coffee secured three bronze medals at the 2026 Golden Bean World Series across the Filter, Espresso, and Milk-Based categories.
This isn't just a win for us; it’s a win for our community. It follows a massive streak for our team, including our previous silver medals and the absolute whirlwind of being named the 2025 NSW Business of the Year at the Business NSW State Awards. You can read more about that wild night here.
But behind those shiny medals is a story of technical grit, a few sleepless nights in the "roasting pit," and some very deliberate decisions about thermodynamics.
The Guatemala Sacrifice: Prioritizing the Foundation
Before we dive into the science, we have to address the elephant in the room. A few of you asked why we weren't at the Guatemala World Series earlier. It was a tough call. Guatemala is the heartland of coffee, and the invitation was a dream come true. However, we made the strategic choice to stay home and focus on our major roastery fit-out.
We believe in doing things right from the ground up. By staying back to overhaul our facility, we were prioritizing the foundation of our future. We invested in the kind of high-level coffee tools and infrastructure that allows us to roast with a level of precision that simply wasn't possible a few years ago. We traded a trip to Central America for the ability to deliver world-class freshly roasted coffee beans to your doorstep, day in and day out.
Looking at these three medals, we’re pretty sure we made the right move.
The "Roasting Pit": Where the Battle is Won
The Golden Bean is unique because it’s a "pre-roasted" competition. This means there’s no hiding behind a fancy barista performance on stage. You send your beans in, they are judged blindly by a massive panel of industry experts, and the coffee has to speak for itself.
In the roasting world, this makes the "pit", the area around the roaster, the ultimate high-stakes environment. Once those beans leave the cooling tray and go into the bag, the battle is over. You can’t tweak the grind or adjust the water temperature for the judges. Everything comes down to your technical execution during those critical 10 to 12 minutes of roasting.
For 2026, we decided to retire our old medal-winning profiles. While they’d served us well, we wanted to push the boundaries of what Walcha Coffee represents. We moved away from "safe" profiles and began experimenting with some of the most complex, premium beans on the market.
The Star of the Show: Pink Bourbon Coffee Beans
When we started planning our competition entries, one bean kept rising to the top of our cupping table: the Pink Bourbon.
Pink Bourbon is a bit of a genetic marvel in the coffee world. It’s often described as a simple Red + Yellow Bourbon hybrid, but the latest genetic work points somewhere else—DNA analysis suggests Pink Bourbon is closer to an Ethiopian Landrace type that was found (and then spread) in Colombia. That said, it’s not always genetically “clean” in the real world: depending on the farm and plant material, there may be hybrid, Catimor, or Bourbon crossovers in the mix.
That’s part of what makes it so hard to grow consistently. Farmers who are serious about keeping it true (and keeping those cherries properly pink) often need to isolate Pink Bourbon trees to reduce cross-pollination from neighbouring varieties—because once that genetic mixing starts, the cup and the fruit colour can drift fast. But when you get it right? It offers a striking combination of floral acidity and a creamy, lactic mouthfeel that is almost unmatched.
We knew that if we wanted to medal in three vastly different categories (Filter, Espresso, and Milk), we needed a bean that could wear many hats. The Pink Bourbon coffee beans became our primary focus, but unlocking their potential required us to move past "intuition" and into deep technical science.
The Science: It’s All About the "Charge"
Most people think roasting is just about time and temperature. In reality, it’s about thermal momentum.
One of the most technical battles we fought during the prep for Golden Bean was perfecting the charge temperature. This is the internal temperature of the roaster drum the moment the raw green beans are dropped in.
We had to precisely adjust our charge temperature based on:
- Batch Size: Even a slight difference in the drum changes how heat is absorbed.
- Moisture Content: Higher moisture requires a more aggressive initial heat application to drive out water without stalling the roast.
- Density: Pink Bourbon is incredibly dense. We needed enough "initial kick" to ensure the core of the bean reached the necessary chemical transitions at the same time as the surface.
Mastering the Maillard Phase
Once we nailed the charge, the next technical hurdle was the Maillard phase. This is the chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives coffee its complexity and color.
By manipulating the air pressure and gas application during this phase, we were able to "stretch" or "compress" the time the Pink Bourbon spent browning. For our Milk-Based entry, we extended the Maillard phase slightly to develop those rich, caramel-like sugars that cut through the sweetness of the milk. For the Filter entry, we kept it leaner and faster, preserving the delicate notes that the Pink Bourbon is famous for.
It’s a balancing act that requires constant monitoring of the Rate of Rise (RoR). Securing three bronzes across three categories proves that our technical approach to these freshly roasted coffee beans is hitting the mark.
Regional Pride: From Walcha to the World
Winning at the Golden Bean is a massive ego boost for any roaster, but for us, it’s about putting Walcha on the map. We are a small team operating out of a beautiful corner of the New England region, and we take immense pride in bringing world-class standards to our local community.
We don’t just want to be "good for a country roastery." We want to be the best, period. These medals are a testament to the hard work of our team and the incredible support of our customers who push us to keep innovating.
Whether you’re a home enthusiast using our coffee tools to brew the perfect cup or a wholesale partner serving our beans in a busy café, you’re part of this success.
What’s Next? Catch Us at the Seasons of New England Expo
We aren't planning on slowing down. Now that the Golden Bean medals are safely in Walcha, we are gearing up for one of our favorite events of the year: the Season of New England Expo in Uralla.
On March 28th and 29th, we’ll be setting up shop at Sunny Jim Mackay Park. This is your chance to come and taste the very coffee that brought home the hardware. We’ll have our award-winning brews on bar, and yes, we’ll be bringing plenty of our specialty beans for you to take home.
If you can’t make it to Uralla, don’t worry: you can always grab a bag of our latest roasts through our online store. And if you want to make sure you never run out of the good stuff, our subscription service is the easiest way to keep your pantry stocked with medal-winning flavor.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us. The "Technical Battle" never really ends, and honestly? We wouldn't have it any other way.
Stay caffeinated, Walcha!
( The Walcha Coffee Team)