American part World of Coffee took place over the weekend in San Diego, California and it was really fucking awesome. The dance floor was buzzing and the parties were roaring, but one event deserved further investigation on that blurry Monday after the show, and that was Latte Art World Championship 2026.
This is a bit of a watershed moment for the US. The World Latte Art Championship has been held every year since 2005 – except for the pandemic years – and in that time the United States has not produced a world champion or hosted the event. This is due in part to America’s unequal participation in the event. And in fact, only five people have ever represented the U.S. on the world stage at this event: Simeon Bricker in 2014, Angie Chung in 2015, Piyapat “Flook” Lapterawut in 2022, 2023 and 2025, Wenbo Yang in 2024 and this year Marco Monzon.
And at least one of these series has come to an end. Monzon in San Diego was joined by 29 other national latte masters from around the world to show off their craftsmanship and push the boundaries of what’s possible with microfoam. Over the three days of competition, the number of participants for Sunday’s final was reduced to just six.
It’s pouring, amazing. The designs are dizzying. But in the end there could only be one champion.
And the 2026 champion was Bala from Taiwan. His original free-pour designs included a raccoon, a stunning giraffe, and a red panda (in a macchiato!). For Bali – who is competing under a pseudonym, using only his first name – this is his third appearance for Taiwan in the Latte Art World Championship, and previously in 2022 he took a high third place in the world. And now he is the world champion.
Without further ado, here are the results of the 2026 Latte Art World Championships.
Champion: Bala – Taiwan
Runner-up: Jacky Chang – Malaysia
Third: Zking (Zhang Yuanyi) – China
4th place: Bank Sarawut – Thailand
5th place: Jay Kim – South Korea
6th: Tatsuya Ishibashi – Japan
Congratulations to all Finalists!
