SCA Brings World of Coffee and Roasting Championship to New Orleans in 2027

The 2027 World Coffee Roasting Championship is returning to the United States after this year's edition heads to Brussels, and New Orleans is where the competition lands. The Specialty Coffee Association confirmed on March 30 that World of Coffee 2027 will run April 9–11 in Louisiana, bringing a global championship that evaluates roasters on coffee evaluation, preparation, blending and roasting skills to a host city that has never staged the event before.

Stronghold Robotics returns as the Qualified Production Roaster Sponsor under a 2024–2027 multi-year agreement with the SCA, meaning the same sponsor infrastructure that backs the Brussels edition carries directly into New Orleans. That continuity matters for competitors, who can prepare for the championship knowing the equipment specifications in advance rather than recalibrating from scratch on a new production roaster.

The SCA specifically cited New Orleans' "rich culture, hospitality and vibrant food and beverage scene" as part of the hosting rationale. The city has prior SCA event history and the convention infrastructure to support simultaneous competitions, education sessions and a commercial expo floor across three days. Under the SCA's "World of Coffee" global brand, the New Orleans slot continues a rotation strategy that targets cities where the conference floor and the local hospitality scene reinforce each other, rather than operate in parallel.

The broader event has grown to more than 15,000 attendees under the SCA banner, making the expo component North America's primary B2B platform for equipment manufacturers, green coffee suppliers and service providers. Live cuppings, product launches and face-to-face equipment demonstrations remain central to the event's commercial value, and the roasting championship adds a competitive draw that pulls both delegates and spectators onto the show floor at the same time.

The 2026 WCRC runs at World of Coffee Brussels on June 25–27, meaning the New Orleans edition arrives immediately after an international cycle closes. Roasters competing in Belgium this June will have fewer than ten months before the next world title is contested on American soil.