Introduction:This article delves into how the documentary film 《Coffee Wars》 reflects the challenges and growing acceptance of plant-based milk in specialty coffee through the journey of a vegan barista, while also analyzing the significant rule changes regarding plant milk participation in the World Barista Championship (WBC) at the end of 2022. Readers will gain insight into the real industry transformations behind the film’s narrative, the current state of plant milk use in coffee competitions, and the direction of scoring standard adjustments.
In recent years, films and TV shows centered around coffee have been on the rise. However, 《Coffee Wars》 takes a unique and socially meaningful angle—exploring the plight of vegans and plant-based milk in specialty coffee competitions. The film centers around a highly skilled barista named Joe, who insists on offering plant milk options. Despite his café facing operational difficulties due to only serving plant-based milk, he leads his team all the way to the finals of the World Barista Championship (WBC), striving to prove to the world that plant milk can also deliver extraordinary coffee flavors.
Interestingly, the filming of the movie coincided with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) re-evaluating WBC rules in reality. At the end of 2022, the SCA announced it would relax the regulations, allowing competitors to use plant milk in competitions. This move aligned perfectly with the film’s theme and also demonstrated the industry’s gradual recognition of diverse beverage choices.
The protagonist Joe in the film runs a café that exclusively serves plant-based milk and vegetarian menu items. Even though his brewing skills are widely recognized, many customers choose to leave upon learning no traditional dairy milk is available, resulting in persistently low sales and even financial strain. Faced with this reality, along with the limitations faced by other vegan baristas in competitions and career development, Joe decides to speak out by competing, hoping to break the bias against plant milk coffee on the international stage of the WBC.
Under his leadership, this vegan team fights their way to the WBC finals. It is widely believed that under the traditional judging criteria centered around dairy milk, plant milk struggles to stand out. However, Joe remains undeterred, firmly believing that plant milk can also showcase excellent taste and complexity, deserving to be judged on the same scale as dairy milk... In addition to telling the story of a barista’s pursuit of dreams, the film also seeks to raise public awareness of the plant-based beverage market and questions the unfair aspects of past competition rules.
Perhaps even the production team did not anticipate that, in December 2022, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) officially announced the new 2023 WBC rules, clearly allowing competitors to use various commercial plant milks—including soy, oat, and almond—as well as dairy milk, all competing on the same stage. This move not only responds to long-standing calls from the industry but also marks an important step toward greater diversity and inclusiveness in specialty coffee competitions.
Behind the SCA’s decision is years of ongoing questioning about the fairness and inclusiveness of competition rules. Many competitors and experts pointed out that the previous restriction to only dairy milk not only marginalized some vegan baristas but also limited possibilities for innovation and performance. Especially when certain regional competitors were disqualified for using plant milk, it sparked greater discussion, ultimately prompting the SCA to reassess its regulations.
The new rules allow competitors to use a variety of commonly available plant milks, including oat, soy, almond, coconut, and even blended formulas. However, this also presents new challenges for judges. Each type of plant milk has different textures, sweetness profiles, and flavor characteristics, which can significantly affect the overall coffee experience. Therefore, the scoring criteria also need to be adjusted accordingly to ensure judges can evaluate each type of milk fairly.
Notably, establishing a scoring system that can fairly compete with traditional milk is no easy task. Plant milks vary greatly in protein, fat, and lactose content, which can easily impact crema, mouthfeel, and overall balance. As a result, judges need to undergo additional training to accurately identify the influence of different milks on coffee flavor. This is also one of the main reasons why the SCA has long maintained a cautious stance on plant milk participation.
However, in recent years of competition, some baristas have made breakthroughs by using non-traditional milk processing methods to enhance coffee flavor. For example, Anthony Douglas, the 2022 WBC champion, utilized a freeze-concentrated milk technique. By vacuum-dehydrating milk powder to significantly increase its purity, and then mixing it with fresh milk at a specific ratio, the sugar, fat, and protein concentration in the milk was doubled, thereby enhancing the coffee’s sweetness and smoothness. It is understood that this method involves heating the milk to approximately 55°C to elicit optimal flavor expression. Such innovative approaches have also led some industry professionals to further reconsider the SCA’s previous concerns about plant milk.
Whether it’s the perseverance of the protagonist in 《Coffee Wars》 or the gradual opening up of WBC rules in reality, both signify that the specialty coffee industry is moving toward greater diversity and inclusiveness. For audiences and coffee enthusiasts, this is not only an inspiring film, but also a window into understanding the current development of plant milk in the professional coffee field.
With the arrival of the 2023 WBC competitions, many industry insiders and spectators are filled with anticipation for the performance of plant milk competitors, and are curious to see how judges will provide fair evaluations to different types of milk under the new rules.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
