Rules & Regulations

• Registration for the Indian AeroPress Championship 2022 is open to all residents of India.

• The competition is a multi-round, elimination tournament.

• In each round, three competitors brew coffee simultaneously.

• Competitors have 5 minutes in which to prepare, brew, and present their coffee.

• When the time is up, the coffees are presented in identical vessels to a panel of three judges.

• The judges blindly evaluate each coffee and make their own private assessment as to which is the best.

• On the count of three, all judges simultaneously point to their preferred coffee.

• The winner progresses to the next round. The losers are eliminated.

• The brewer used must be a genuine AeroPress Classic. All three parts of a genuine AeroPress brewer must be used; the chamber, the plunger, and the classic filter cap. Aftermarket or non-genuine parts are not allowed.

• No other brewer may be used in drink preparation. The only equipment permitted on stage is one or more of each of the following:

           - AeroPress Classic Brewer

           - Filter
           - Grinder
           - Kettle
           - Scale
           - Stirrer / Spoon
           - Sifter
           - Timer
           - Stand
           - Empty Brew Vessel / Decanter
           - Tasting Cup

• Any type of filter is allowed, so long as it does not replace the filter cap itself (see rule #2). The filter can be made out of paper, metal, cloth, or any other material.

• Ground coffee and water are the only ingredients allowed.

• If the Hosts have specified a competition coffee, this is the only coffee that may be used.

• Competitors may use a maximum of 18g of roasted coffee in their recipe.

• Competitors must prepare a minimum of 150ml of brewed coffee.

• Coffees not presented within the time limit of 5 minutes will not be evaluated.

• Failure to comply with any of the above may result in disqualification.

• Each round is judged blind using the cupping technique of spoon, slurp, and spit.

• Competitors' names and/or countries will be marked on the underside of the cups where they are completely hidden.

• There is no scoresheet or formal judging criteria. Judges are simply answering: “Which cup would I prefer to drink all of?"

• Each judge will arrive at their own conclusion, without discussing the samples with their fellow judges.

• On the count of three, all judges will point simultaneously, confidently, and definitively at the cup of their choosing.

• After judging, the MC will lift the winning cup, revealing the name of the round winner.

• In the event of all three judges pointing at different cups, the MC or a pre-determined Head Judge will taste the coffees, and decide the round. This decision is final.

• There is no age restriction to compete.

• Anyone employed in a management or leadership position within a hosting organisation may not compete in any event that organisation hosts. This comprises owners, managers, directors, executives, and senior staff.

• Owners or primary contacts of a regional or national host organisation may not compete in any Regional, National, or World AeroPress Championship event for the duration of the competition season.

• In the event where a national champion is unable to travel, or unable to obtain a visa to enter the world final host country, eligibility passes to the 2nd place winner of that national competition. Similarly, if the 2nd place winner cannot attend, eligibility passes to the 3rd place winner. Eligibility does not pass any further than this, nor can it be transferred to any other person. Eligibility does not ‘roll over’ to any future seasons.

• Regional and National championships must abide by the official W.A.C. rules and regulations.

• The AeroPress Flow Control Filter Cap may not be used in competition in 2023.

• All competitors have 5 minutes to run their personal AeroPress recipe and serve a final drink of at least 150 milliliters to the judges. The final drink must be served in a tasting cup provided by the organization within this time. It is not allowed to add any ingredient. Serving less than 150 milliliters of drink or doing it outside the established time, will mean automatic disqualification. The coffee served to the judges should be warm/hot.

• The brewer used must be a genuine AeroPress. No other brewer may be used in the drink preparation. Competitors may use their own equipment being responsible for its installation and removal. The organization is not responsible for loss or damage, so it is recommended that all competitors take extreme care during the competition. Modifying the original design of the AeroPress is not permitted. The organization will guarantee that on the day of the competition, the competitors have access to:

        (1) at least one professional grinder;

        (2) temperature adjustable kettles;

        (3) filtered water; and

        (4) tasting cups for the competition.

• AeroPress, filters, scales, servers, tasting spoons and all optional preparation instruments must be brought by the competitors themselves.

• The Regional Coordinators will constitute a jury made up of at least three recognized experts who will judge the ability of the competitors based exclusively on the quality of the coffee served in a cup. One tie-breaker judge will be appointed who will be judging the coffee only in case of a tie. The members of the jury will not be associated with the brand that organizes the Regional Championship, nor will they maintain a relationship with the competitors. The members of the jury must calibrate before the competition, but they cannot speak to each other when they are judging the cups during the competition.

• To select the winners of each round, the tasting cups provided by the organization will be marked with the names/number of the competitors at the bottom. In each round the judges will blindly select a single cup by pointing the finger, all at the same time and on the count of three. Judges should limit themselves exclusively to selecting the cup that they judge best individually. The most voted cup will win. In case of lack of a majority, the tie-breaker judge will decide the winning cup.

• The distribution of the tables and the rounds in each Regional Championship will be decided at random once the registrations are closed and attendance has been verified at the appointed time. The distribution will only take into account the competitors present on the day of the competition.