Vietnam’s Nicky Cuong wins 2026 World Cup Tasters title in Bangkok

Le Quang Cuong, known as Nicky, delivered a milestone win for Vietnam, taking the 2026 World Cup Tasters Championship title in Bangkok and putting a long-overlooked coffee origin in the center of the specialty world’s sensory conversation.

The victory came at World of Coffee Bangkok, held May 7-9 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, where the championship made its first appearance in Thailand and, more broadly, in Southeast Asia. In the final ranking, Vietnam finished first, followed by Switzerland, the United States and Japan, a result that underscored how global and tightly packed the cup-tasting field has become.

The title was decided in the format that defines the event: competitors work through eight triangles per round, identifying the odd cup as quickly and accurately as possible. The top eight moved into the semifinals, then the top four advanced to the final round, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Bangkok time. That final quartet was Mizuki Tagami of Japan, Catherine Queiroz of Switzerland, Mehmet Sogan of the United States and Cuong of Vietnam, four palates separated by the smallest margin of speed, memory and concentration.

Cuong’s win lands with extra weight because of what he represents back home. His competitor profile says he is a roaster and runs G.O Cafe Roastery in Ho Chi Minh City, where tasting is part of the daily work of keeping green coffee, roasted coffee and menu drinks on spec. He also said he competed in the first-ever cup tasters competition held in Vietnam in 2024, a detail that now reads like the early chapter of a much bigger national story.

Bangkok gave that story a larger stage. The Specialty Coffee Association says World of Coffee Bangkok 2026 was the third edition of World of Coffee Asia, built to connect roasters, baristas, producers and entrepreneurs with Asia’s specialty coffee scene. The sensory roots of the contest also run deep: the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel was first published in 1995 and updated in 2016 with World Coffee Research, a reminder that this is a discipline built on science as much as instinct.

The event carried major sponsor backing, with Porland as title sponsor and Bluewater Globe as qualified water sponsor, alongside Cosori, Kranti Coffee, Option O Coffee, Cold Perk, Nobletree Irhea and Femobook Grinder. Thailand’s Creative Economy Agency also marked the competition as a chance to showcase the country as a world-class coffee and events destination, with Punnaphop Suwanjaroen of Bottomless Coffee Roasters serving as Thailand’s national representative. Cuong’s win now gives Vietnam something even bigger than a trophy: a claim to authority in one of coffee’s most exacting tests.