World Coffee Championships rename Taiwan to Chinese Taipei, sparking backlash
The World Coffee Championships switched Taiwanese competitors to Chinese Taipei on April 28, putting Bala’s San Diego title and Taiwan’s coffee identity in the spotlight.
The World Coffee Championships changed the designation for Taiwanese competitors from Taiwan to Chinese Taipei on April 28, and the decision landed hard across a community that treats the competition stage as part sport, part national showcase. For baristas, coaches and fans in Taiwan, the label now attached to the world’s most visible coffee contests is more than a paperwork update. It changes how their champions are announced, how records are kept and how Taiwan is seen in a circuit that shapes careers.
The shift became especially visible after Lin Shao-hsing, known as Bala, won the 2026 World Latte Art Championship in San Diego from April 10 to 12. One report said 33 competitors took part, with Bala beating challengers from Malaysia, China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan. The World Coffee Championships website now lists Bala as representing the Competition Body of Chinese Taipei, making the naming change impossible to miss for anyone tracking the event.
The Taiwan Coffee Association said Taiwanese competitors had entered World Coffee Championships events under the name Taiwan since 2007. It said the new designation was communicated by organizers based in the United States and that future entries must use Chinese Taipei. The association also said Taiwanese competitors need to accept the change to safeguard their right to keep participating internationally, a blunt sign of how much is at stake for a scene that now competes in six of the World Coffee Championships’ seven annual skills events, including barista, brewing, roasting, latte art, cup tasters and coffee in good spirits.
The Specialty Coffee Association said the move was an administrative decision made at the World Coffee Championships level and said it was aligned with international sporting conventions used by bodies such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA. The association also said the change did not alter who can compete, how competitors qualify or what their experience is on stage. Even so, the reaction inside Taiwan has been sharp, especially after questions surfaced about political pressure and the role of Luckin Coffee as one of the event’s main sponsors.
Berg Wu, a former world barista champion, said the change should have been communicated transparently to competitors and the wider coffee community. Taiwan’s coffee community has since launched a one-person-one-email protest campaign, pressing the World Coffee Championships to restore the Taiwan designation. For a country that has spent years building credibility in specialty coffee, the fight is now as much about trust and recognition as it is about a name on a results page.
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