When Longer Isn’t Weaker: The Truth Behind WBC'25 Espresso Ratios
If you tuned into the World Barista Championship 2025 in Milan, you probably noticed something different about the espressos being served. Gone were the dense, syrupy 1:2 shots that used to dominate the competition stage. Instead, competitors across the board pulled what seemed like longer, cleaner extractions — ratios reaching 1:3 or even 1:4. Many coffee fans immediately assumed that the world’s best baristas had suddenly started watering down their shots. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. What happened at WBC25 wasn’t about dilution — it was about precision, clarity, and narrative control.
Today’s competition coffees are a world apart from the traditional washed lots of a decade ago. They’re often anaerobic, yeast-inoculated, carbonic-macerated, or enzymatically fermented. These experimental processes produce coffees with explosive fruit aromatics, floral tones, and complex acidity structures. When you try to squeeze all that expression into a tight 1:2 espresso, it can feel compressed — too heavy, too muddled, or simply unbalanced. A longer ratio, like 1:3.5 or 1:4, allows those intricate flavors to “breathe.” It stretches the cup so that judges can taste layers — not just power. That’s why so many WBC25 finalists leaned toward higher yield extractions: to give more space for the coffee’s terroir and fermentation story to unfold.
wcc.coffeeYet, this evolution created confusion for many viewers reading competition data sheets. Malaysia’s Jason Loo, for example, listed 20 g in, 23 seconds, 81 ml water used, but described on stage 20 g in → 46 g out. To most people, that sounds contradictory — 81 ml vs 46 g? Which is correct? The answer is both. The 81 ml figure represents the total water delivered by the espresso machine, including pre-infusion and the portion absorbed by the puck. The 46 g figure represents the actual espresso yield in the cup, which is what matters for taste and scoring. On average, 35–40 % of the water used in an espresso shot stays trapped inside the coffee bed — absorbed like a sponge. So Jason’s real extraction was a 1 : 2.3 ratio, a modern-style espresso emphasizing sweetness and structure, not a 1 : 4 lungo.
The same principle applies to other finalists. Jack Simpson, who claimed the 2025 world title, used 20 g in with 83 ml of brew water. While his yield wasn’t officially listed, analysis of his flow pattern and sensory descriptors suggests a similar 1 : 2.3 output. Ben Put, Simon SunLei, and others followed the same formula: measuring total water flow for consistency but calibrating flavor through yield weight. The confusion happens because WBC technical sheets log water used (machine telemetry) while the sensory side of the routine refers to espresso yield. It’s not that competitors are pulling 80 g of espresso — it’s that their machines used 80 ml of water to extract ~46 g of beverage.
To decode this, it helps to understand the brew-formula ratio, the language of modern espresso. The brew ratio is calculated as:
For Jason’s case:
That means his espresso was a 1 : 2.3 ratio — not long, not short, but tuned precisely for balance. When competitors reference 1:3.5 or 1:4, they’re talking about this relationship — dose to beverage, not dose to water. Machines like the Victoria Arduino Eagle One, La Marzocco Leva X, and Sanremo YOU also record water in, so coaches can track flow consistency and pressure behavior. But when the espresso is judged, only the beverage yield and its sensory quality count.
So why do machine logs show “water in”? Because that’s the engineering perspective. Espresso machines are equipped with flow meters that measure how much water passes through the group head. This helps baristas maintain repeatability — they can detect if a puck is choking (less water passes) or channeling (too much water too quickly). However, from a sensory standpoint, judges don’t care about the litres of water; they care about the liquid extracted. The difference between “water in” and “espresso out” becomes larger with finer grinds, longer pre-infusion, or higher-absorption coffees like natural or Liberica hybrids. Understanding that difference allows competitors to talk fluently about both technical precision and cup results.
This distinction matters enormously in WBC scoring. The sensory score sheet rewards flavor, aftertaste, balance, mouthfeel, and aromatic clarity. Judges don’t give points for crema height or espresso density — they score how well the barista translates the coffee’s story into taste. A slightly longer ratio (1 : 2.5 – 1 : 3.5) produces a lower TDS (4–6 %) but higher extraction yield (22–24 %), which means more flavor compounds dissolved without overwhelming viscosity. It’s the difference between a heavy chocolate bomb and a layered cup where fruit, florals, and sweetness are individually perceivable. That kind of clarity consistently wins points on the WBC stage.
The scoring logic also explains why “longer” doesn’t mean “easier.” As you extend ratio, you risk over-extraction, flattening acidity or introducing dryness. That’s why competitors rely on fine-tuned pressure profiles, variable pre-infusion, and ultra-consistent grinders like the Mythos MY75, EG-1, or EK43S. These tools let them extract more yield while keeping flavor clarity intact. The ideal shot isn’t random — it’s a calculated dance between flow, resistance, and time. The difference between a 1 : 2.3 and a 1 : 3.5 shot can decide whether your tropical sweetness sings or your aftertaste crashes.
The conversation is growing locally too. At the Malaysia Espresso Championship 2025, Ariffin Saim from Kopi Awan JB earned First Runner-Up, and we've been talking with him about this advanced understanding about espresso trend for over two years now. We’ve discussed how clarity-driven ratios might reshape our own approach to roasting and service in Malaysia. the conversation always circles back to one thing: how far can we stretch espresso without losing its soul?I tend to lean more on sensory cues — mouthfeel, finish, and narrative. Somewhere between our two styles, we started mapping what we now call “clarity mapping”: understanding how yield, flow, and pressure create transparency in flavor.
Seeing competitors like Jason and Ariffin adopt this balance of science and sensation proves our scene is catching up with the world stage — and maybe even setting its own flavor philosophy.
For home brewers and café baristas, there’s a key takeaway here: the modern espresso is a balance of clarity and texture, not a race to strength. When you see competitors mentioning 1 : 4, remember they’re talking about yield, not the machine’s water flow. Start with 18–20 g doses and explore 40–50 g yields (1 : 2.2–1 : 2.5). If your coffee has floral or fruit-forward notes, stretch it slightly further; if it’s nutty or chocolate-heavy, keep it tighter. Always weigh your output, time your flow, and taste for sweet clarity over intensity.
In the end, WBC25 didn’t change espresso — it clarified it. It reminded the world that numbers alone don’t tell the story; interpretation does. Jason Loo, Jack Simpson, Ben Put, and Simon SunLei all demonstrated a new discipline: knowing the science behind the shot while still serving something emotionally resonant. Understanding dose, yield, and water flow isn’t just technical trivia — it’s how the next generation of baristas will communicate flavor truthfully. The line between engineering and artistry has never been thinner — and that’s exactly what makes modern espresso so beautiful.
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notes : images courtesy of WCC