Introducing: Best Roaster UK
Glasgow Coffee Festival is a chance to welcome all kinds of coffee fans to the table. From industry veterans to those tentatively taking their first sips of a latte, a big part of the festival is welcoming in new faces, regardless of their experience level.
That said, there’s no denying that at some point, coffee can become a little competitive. Whether it's executing the perfect latte art or tweaking the perfect pourover recipe, the quest for the very best is what makes speciality coffee special.
Roasters play a key role in making the world of speciality coffee tick, connecting consumers and producers, and using their incredible depth of knowledge and skill to create roasts that linger long after the final sip.
To this end, we’d like to introduce you to Best Roaster, a competition to discover - you guessed it - the very best roaster! A UK exclusive, Glasgow coffee festival will put 10 UK coffee roasters to the test to discover who will be crowned 2026 Best Roaster.
This year’s competition is brought to you in partnership with Falcon Micro, ROEST, Dog & Hat and Espresso Solutions - a huge thank you for their support!
What is Best Roaster?
Designed to test the knowledge, experience and skill of each roaster, World’s Best Roaster is a series of competitions produced by Ordna Events Agency with the aim of having a worldwide competition in the future.
Roasting is a skill that can take months to learn, years to master and a lifetime to perfect. From the actual roasting element to sourcing skills, there are many facets to roasting great coffee, and many attributes that can make a roaster exceptional. Best Roaster evaluates each of these skills to discover the ultimate winner.
In addition to testing these elements in a competitive environment, Best Roaster also offers a chance for roasters to connect. As a festival that thrives on the togetherness of the UK coffee industry, we welcome this wholeheartedly. For those observing, it’ll be a unique insight into the meticulous effort that goes into every bag of coffee.
Those who attended this year’s Nordic Coffee Festival will have seen the fierce (but friendly) competition at their heat. For those who don’t know what to expect, this is how it works!
How it works
To become Best Roaster, entrants must take part in two separate rounds: the Mandatory Coffee round and the Sourced Coffee round.
In the Mandatory Coffee round, entrants will all be expected to roast the same coffee to help our judges learn more about their approach to roasting.
The Sourced Coffee round follows, allowing entrants to bring in a coffee of their choosing (within a certain value range) for a roast that they feel best represents their abilities and preferences.
Our VIP judges will then score both rounds. The roaster with the highest combined score from both will have the singular honour of being crowned the Best Roaster of Glasgow Coffee Festival 2026!
Who’s taking part in Best Roaster UK 2026?
After spots for the competition filled up in just 20 minutes(!), we’re pleased to confirm a fantastic line-up for Best Roaster UK 2026, with roasters from some of the UK’s best roasteries.
Mathew Lee - Chipp Coffee Co
Usamah Faheem - Rise and Grind Roastery
Kris Thurbin - Tilted Coffee Roasters
Ruben Medrano - Figment Coffee
Tom Atloft - Lincoln and York Coffee
Reece Hennessy- Carnival Coffee Roasters
Ruairí MacAonghusa - Dear Green Coffee Roasters
Jonathan Martinez - Thomson's Coffee
Robson Dodd - Gatehouse Coffee Roasters
Mathieu Maricourt - Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters
Where can I watch Best Roaster UK 2026?
The Best Roaster competition will hold an Evaluation Cupping Event on Friday, 17th April 2026 and will not be part of the main event.
However, visitors to Glasgow Coffee Festival will get the chance to vote for their favourite profile from Sourced Coffees during the course of the festival. The winner of this vote will be the ‘Fest Best’. This vote will not affect the result of the Best Roaster competition itself. To try the cream of the roasting crop and vote for Fest Best, all you need to do is buy a ticket for this year’s festival!
Thank you once again to our Best Roaster UK partners: Falcon Micro, ROEST, Dog & Hat and Espresso Solutions. Additional thanks to our fantastic industry partners: La Marzocco UK, Dear Green, Mossgiel Organic Farm, Story Shop, Jaguar, Eureka, BWT UK, 2GoCup and The Social Hub. You can pick up tickets for Glasgow Coffee Festival 2026 right here. To stay up to date on stallholders, speakers and other event info, sign up to our mailing list.
