The Global Coffee Awards (GCA) has announced the winners of its 2026 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) competition, recognising the region’s most outstanding coffee roasters and the producers behind their coffees.

Held on 15 June 2026, the competition brought together roasters from across the MENA region to compete in four main categories: Filter, Espresso, Flat White Dairy, Flat White Plant-Based Milk. Following a rigorous double-blind evaluation process conducted by certified Q-graders and experienced competition judges, Woods Specialty Roastery of Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, was crowned the overall winner.

The competition brought together elite roasters from across the region, such as Oman, Egypt, Kuwait, and the UAE, but it was Saudi Arabia that came out on top.

The highest-scoring coffee of the competition was a Gesha submitted by Brew 92 in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, and produced by the Aguirre Family at El Injerto, Guatemala. The coffee earned Gold in the Filter Single Origin Experimental category.

Every coffee was assessed under a strict double-blind protocol. No identifying information was shared with judges, sensory evaluators, or the barista team preparing the samples. Entries were scored across multiple sensory attributes, including aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, mouthfeel, and overall performance. All participating roasters received detailed written feedback designed to help improve future roasting performance and competition submissions.

The 2026 MENA category winners were:

• Filter: Woods Specialty Roastery (Saudi Arabia)
• Espresso: Brew 92 (Saudi Arabia)
• Flat White Dairy: Oasis Coffee Trading Company (Saudi Arabia)
• Flat White Plant-Based Milk: Woods Specialty Roastery (Saudi Arabia)
• Specialty Drip Bag: CMI Roastery (United Arab Emirates)

In addition, Roasting House (Saudi Arabia) received the MTPak Packaging Award, recognizing outstanding coffee packaging design.

All Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners from the MENA competition will qualify for the 2026 Global Coffee Awards World Championship, where top-performing roasters from every regional competition will compete for global honours.

The complete list of winners and category results is available on the Global Coffee Awards website.