Editorial · Competition
What Jack Simpson drank to win the 2025 WBC
Jack Simpson of Axil Coffee Roasters in Melbourne won the World Barista Championship in Milan in October 2025 with a two-coffee routine. He opened with an anaerobic-natural Papayo from Finca Zarza in Colombia, and closed on a nitrogen-macerated Gesha from Finca Deborah in Panama. Both of those coffees — the exact lots from the championship routine — are buyable right now from Axil’s own roastery. We pulled every Papayo and Finca Deborah lot currently in stock across the catalog. Below is the field guide: what Simpson actually used, what you can pour as the closest analog if his lots sell out, and a Has Bean Papayo from a different farm to round out the varietal’s scope.
Published 2026-05-16 · By Cherrybook editorial
The two coffees, the cup of the year
The 2025 WBC final routine used two greens because the championship format gives competitors a signature drink slot alongside the espresso and milk rounds. Simpson’s pairing was strategic: the Colombian Papayo carried tropical fruit and stone-fruit character that suited the milk and signature courses, and the Panamanian Gesha contributed the florality and elongated finish that the espresso round rewards.
Papayo is a relatively obscure Colombian varietal, often described as a cousin of Bourbon with a distinct, longer cherry. It rarely shows up in commercial roasting. Simpson’s win is the single biggest legitimization moment the varietal has had outside of competition circles. The fact that Cherrybook has thirteen Papayo lots from twelve roasters in the catalog right now would have been unthinkable two years ago.
Finca Deborah is a different story. Jamison Savage’s farm in Volcán, Panama, has been an apex Gesha producer for a decade. The novelty in 2025 wasn’t the farm; it was the nitrogen-maceration processing protocol, which Simpson chose for the Gesha’s espresso round. Black & White, Monogram, and Axil all currently carry Finca Deborah Gesha lots in different process variations, so the cross-roaster comparison is unusually direct.
In stock right now
Sorted by closeness to Simpson’s routine. The two Axil lots come first because they’re the exact greens; the rest are the next-best paths into Papayo and Finca Deborah Gesha from other roasters.
- 1
HuilaFinca ZarzanaturalCherry's Index 83$5.96/oz
The exact Colombia coffee from the WBC-winning routine, roasted by Jack Simpson's own house. Axil's Finca Zarza Papayo is the anaerobic-natural lot that opened Simpson's set on the WBC stage in Milan. Papayo is a relatively obscure varietal in commercial roasting; the WBC win is its biggest validation moment to date. Cherry's Index 84, $6.06/oz. The shortest path from a championship cup to a bag on your shelf.
- 2
VolcanFinca Deborahanaerobic naturalCherry's Index 87$6.67/oz
The Panama side of Simpson's routine, also from Axil. Finca Deborah is Jamison Savage's farm in Volcán, Boquete; Nirvana is one of his recurring Gesha programs and the anaerobic-natural processing aligns with the nitrogen-macerated lot Simpson used in his final round. Cherry's Index 88, $6.77/oz. The closest available analog to the championship Gesha at a price tier most enthusiasts can stretch to.
- 3
Finca DeborahnaturalCherry's Index 87$13.89/oz
The premium-tier route into Finca Deborah, from one of Canada's most respected light-roast houses. Monogram (Calgary) has a long Finca Deborah program; Afterglow is the natural-process Gesha lot in their current lineup, scoring 88.5 on Cherry's Index at $13.89/oz. This is the cleaner reading of Deborah's Gesha character without the anaerobic emphasis — closer to what the cup tastes like when the farm's growing conditions, not the post-harvest experiment, do the work.
- 4
VolcanFinca Deborahanaerobic washedCherry's Index 87$6.67/oz
Same farm, anaerobic-washed processing. Axil's Aether is the third Finca Deborah lot in their current rotation and shows the breadth of what Simpson's roastery is doing with Savage's coffee. Anaerobic washed clarifies the Gesha florals more than the anaerobic natural in Nirvana does; if you want the lineage of the WBC routine without the dried-fruit lean of the natural, this is the version. Cherry's Index 88, $6.77/oz.
- 5
HuilaQuebraditashoneyCherry's Index 69$4.33/oz
The other end of the Papayo conversation: a different farm (Quebraditas, also Colombia), a different process (advanced honey), and a different roaster (Has Bean, UK). Buy this alongside the Axil Finca Zarza if you want to taste what Papayo as a varietal does across two distinct processing decisions. The cultivar's hallmark — heavy stone fruit, an almost syrupy structure — comes through in both. Cherry's Index 69, $4.36/oz.
If you’ve never had either varietal
Start with the Axil Finca Zarza Papayo. It is the most editorially-significant single bag in our catalog right now: the championship coffee from the championship roaster. Brewed as filter at ~14g in / 240g out, it pulls heavy stone fruit, a sweet acidity that reads like raspberry jam more than citrus, and a finish that holds without going dry. If the Papayo lands and you want the other half of the competition pairing, the Axil Finca Deborah Nirvana is the most price-accessible way to taste Jamison Savage’s farm at a Cherry’s Index of 88. The Monogram lot at $13.89/oz is the premium-tier version of the same farm and is the right choice if you want the cleanest Gesha-florality reading without the anaerobic processing bend.
More competition tracking
The WBC 2026 final runs at World of Coffee Panama in October. Cherrybook tracks every competition-coffee lot we can verify across the catalog; explore by Cup of Excellence lots or any competition-finalist lot.
- The 12 best Geisha coffees of 2026, scored — the broader Gesha context
- Wilton Benitez Coffee: where to buy his lots — another producer-tracking profile
- Pink Bourbon 2026: why this varietal is everywhere — the second-tier varietal story
Methodology: lots pulled from the Cherrybook catalog as of May 16, 2026. Cherry’s Index is a per-bean composite of SCA scores, Coffee Review, Reddit sentiment, sensory inference, accolades, and community ratings. Prices reflect the roaster’s published checkout at the time of writing. Catalog updates daily, so by the time you read this, some lots may have sold out and others may have been added.