The World’s Best Coffee Roaster Says Ultra-Light Roasts Are a Flex | BENJAMIN BRASSART!

Ultra-light roasting might have pushed coffee forward, but has it now become more about flexing than flavour?

Benjamin Brassart has just been crowned the 2026 World Coffee Roasting Champion, becoming the first Belgian to win the title, on home soil and in his first appearance at the World Championships.

In this episode, Benjamin takes us behind the scenes of one of coffee’s least understood competitions. We unpack how competitors assess unfamiliar green coffees, build a three-coffee blend, create a roast plan and predict what judges will taste in the final cup.

We also explore what everyday roasters can take from competition, including how to identify vegetal, woody and baked flavours, why cupping is a roaster’s most important skill, and how different machines shape the final result.

Plus, Benjamin shares how he launched Boo Coffee Roasters, what it’s really like working on a fluid-bed roaster and why the perfect profile means nothing if you cannot taste what needs to change.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Roasting Championships
01:47 Meet Benjamin Brassart
05:14 Starting Boo Coffee
07:41 Fluid-Bed Roasting
10:50 How the Competition Works
14:17 APAX LAB
15:10 Skills Every Roaster Needs
19:35 Fixing Problem Coffees
20:44 Roasting Defects
24:20 Lessons from Competition
29:00 Are Ultra-Light Roasts Dead?
31:05 Building a Winning Blend
35:40 Advice for New Roasters
38:05 Roasting Automation
41:05 Riverina Fresh
41:45 Benjamin’s Hot Take
43:05 The Person Behind the Win

Find Benjamin here:
Instagram: @benj.brassat

Find Boo Coffee Roasters:
Instagram: @boocoffeeroasters
Website: boocoffeeroasters.com

APAX LAB:
@apaxlab
apaxlab.com

RIVERINA FRESH:
@riverinafresh
riverinafresh.com.au

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