21-Year-Old Roast Master Wins the 2026 Brazilian Roasting Championship
I came across some good news: Fábio Milan Pereira, roast master at Epamig (Minas Gerais' agricultural research company), won the 2026 Brazilian Roasting Championship. The competition took place from 6 to 8 May at the Coffee Trade Center of Minas Gerais in Varginha and was organized by the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA).
The judges chose him for presenting the specialty coffee with the best sensory profile and for following the roasting plan he himself had presented most faithfully. That second criterion strikes me as very interesting, because it shows that roasting well also means planning and being able to repeat what you planned.
The detail that stands out most is his age. He is 21, studies agronomy at the Federal Institute of Machado, and has worked at Epamig for almost three years, roasting all the coffee produced at the Machado experimental field. It was only his second competition; at the end of April he finished second in the regional championship in Andradas. He comes from a coffee-growing family and at first thought about studying veterinary medicine, but his interest in coffee quality grew in study groups during his technical course.
According to him, the work of a roast master combines technical control of the machine with reading the characteristics of the bean. The plan involves inlet and outlet temperatures, yield, color, and sensory attributes such as sweetness, acidity and finish, and he tastes the coffee at least once before designing the competition roast.
The win secures his place to represent Brazil at the 2026 World Roasting Championship in Brussels in June. I'm rooting for more young people like him in the coffee world.
Source: Agrolink (Agricultura-MG)
The judges chose him for presenting the specialty coffee with the best sensory profile and for following the roasting plan he himself had presented most faithfully. That second criterion strikes me as very interesting, because it shows that roasting well also means planning and being able to repeat what you planned.
The detail that stands out most is his age. He is 21, studies agronomy at the Federal Institute of Machado, and has worked at Epamig for almost three years, roasting all the coffee produced at the Machado experimental field. It was only his second competition; at the end of April he finished second in the regional championship in Andradas. He comes from a coffee-growing family and at first thought about studying veterinary medicine, but his interest in coffee quality grew in study groups during his technical course.
According to him, the work of a roast master combines technical control of the machine with reading the characteristics of the bean. The plan involves inlet and outlet temperatures, yield, color, and sensory attributes such as sweetness, acidity and finish, and he tastes the coffee at least once before designing the competition roast.
The win secures his place to represent Brazil at the 2026 World Roasting Championship in Brussels in June. I'm rooting for more young people like him in the coffee world.
Source: Agrolink (Agricultura-MG)
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