Brief (coffeeyo.com): From September 24 to 26, the 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Expo will be held at the Kunshan International Convention and Exhibition Center (Halls A & B). As a core move for Kunshan to build its “International Coffee Industry Capital,” the expo gathers leading global coffee companies, industry associations, world-competition champions and international judges, showcasing the city’s full industry-chain advantages.
From September 24 to 26, the 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Expo, hosted by Shanghai Beyond International Exhibition Co., Ltd., will be held at Halls A & B of the Kunshan International Convention and Exhibition Center. As an important event for Kunshan to promote the integrated development of its coffee industry and urban consumption, this expo will rely on Kunshan’s increasingly complete coffee-industry foundation, pool upstream and downstream resources of the coffee industry chain, and further connect industry and consumption and showcase the city’s “coffee aroma filling the town” character through diverse content such as brand displays, professional competitions, industry exchange and consumer experiences.
The coffee industry keeps expanding
Kunshan accelerates building new industrial advantages
By 2026, Kunshan’s coffee-roasting capacity has reached 200,000 tons, accounting for over 60% of the nation’s green-bean roasting volume. In January 2026, the C&D Lifestyle Materials Asia-Pacific (Kunshan) coffee-bean distribution center was launched, further improving Kunshan’s coffee green-bean trade, warehousing and distribution system. Currently, Kunshan has attracted more than 40 top international coffee companies, and the industrial-agglomeration effect keeps strengthening.
This August, the Kunshan Municipal Government Office issued the “Kunshan Three-Year Action Plan for Building a High-End Food Characteristic Industry Cluster (2026–2028),” explicitly proposing to continually polish the “International Coffee Industry Capital” nameplate, strengthen the Asia-Pacific coffee-hub function, deepen the construction of “six centers” such as the Asia-Pacific coffee brand sales center, coffee centralized-procurement and distribution center, and bulk-commodity trading center, support enterprises in raising roasting capacity, advance projects such as the coffee-roasting public-service platform and a coffee industry institute, and cultivate a batch of local emerging coffee brands.
From industry-chain agglomeration to industry-ecosystem construction, Kunshan is further expanding the development space of its coffee industry. On one hand, by strengthening trade, warehousing, roasting and other industry links, it enhances the capability to allocate global coffee resources; on the other, through talent cultivation, technical services, brand incubation and consumption-scenario building, it pushes the industry chain toward higher value chains.
As the industry chain, innovation chain, talent chain and consumption chain further connect, coffee is also becoming an important carrier for Kunshan to link industrial development with urban life. New scenarios such as “coffee + culture,” “coffee + tourism” and “coffee + consumption” keep emerging, and the urban value of the coffee industry is further revealed.
Halls A and B coordinated layout
Creating new scenarios for industry-consumption fusion
The 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Expo is a core, weighty move for Kunshan to build its “International Coffee Industry Capital,” gathering leading global coffee enterprises, industry associations, world coffee-competition champions and international judges, and fully releasing the policy dividends of Kunshan’s coffee industry and its full industry-chain advantages.
The expo is set in Halls A and B of the Kunshan International Convention and Exhibition Center, with an exhibition area exceeding 20,000 square meters and over 200 quality brands. Differentiated around the professional industry chain and mass-consumption experience, it achieves the fusion of industry display, professional exchange and urban-consumption scenarios within a single event.
Hall A focuses on the coffee industry chain, building a platform for professional procurement and industry matchmaking. The exhibition covers six sections — coffee raw materials, roasting and extraction equipment, packaging design, ready-to-drink coffee, cold-chain support and supply-chain services — presenting the new products, technologies and trends of coffee-industry development from beans and roasting equipment to terminal products and supply-chain services. Hall A will also host the 2026 GCEF “Silk Road Coffee Aroma” Kunshan coffee-industry seminar and the Global Coffee Green-Bean Trade and Roasting Industry Summit Forum, exchanging on topics such as industry trends, supply-chain development, trade cooperation and technological innovation, and building a platform for policy interpretation, professional discussion and resource matchmaking.
Strong brands such as Timemore, Wendougee, San Doke, Aifeipei HB and DiFluid will all appear, bringing cutting-edge products across the full chain of roasting, grinding and brewing.
Hall B, oriented to the general consumer, builds a “Kunshan Coffee Theme Park.” Gathering roasting brands and coffee-producing-region beans from everywhere, consumers can experience different regions and roast flavors on site, while feeling the fusion of coffee with other lifestyle formats. Bread, chocolate, ice cream, craft beer and wine will together with coffee form a diversified consumption scenario. Concurrent themed activities will unfold, extending coffee from a single-drink experience further into urban-life scenarios of dining, leisure and socializing.
300㎡ themed feature stage
A 300㎡ themed feature stage will see youth trend-culture, coffee fashion shows, brand new-product catwalks and creative performances take turns, with rich and varied content. At the same time, the expo deeply integrates Kunshan’s local culture into the on-site experience, with national-style opera intersecting trendy music, three days of immersive carnival building a coffee-culture scenario with Kunshan identity, letting coffee culture and urban culture achieve and spread each other.
TOP Tingsong Elegant Tea Gathering
A cup of tea, a cup of coffee, a wisp of incense — between the blend of tea and coffee, feel the aesthetic of Eastern living. The specially built “TOP Tingsong Elegant Tea Gathering” activity zone uses tea, coffee and incense as media, fusing traditional-cultural experience with contemporary lifestyle, bringing an Eastern elegant gathering with both flavor, aroma and cultural interest.
The site features rich content such as modern specialty tea-drink mixing with ancient-style zen coffee experiences, flavor and aroma interactive experiences, Song-dynasty tea-coffee experiences, Tang-dynasty brewed tea, Song-dynasty whisked tea, literati incense affairs (incense ceremony) experiences, and Ming-Qing literati tea-ceremony gatherings, carried out in time slots throughout the day. From Tang brewing to Song whisking, from tea settings to incense affairs, travel through a millennium of tea culture, and experience the elegance and delight of Eastern culture between a cup of tea, a cup of coffee and a wisp of incense.
OONE Coffee Journey Lab
When a cup of coffee finishes extraction, the coffee silver skin and coffee grounds have not ended their mission. OONE Coffee Journey Lab, centered on the recycling and reuse of coffee waste, turns coffee offcuts into tangible handcrafted goods, conveys the concept of circular environmental protection, and immersively lets visitors feel coffee’s complete journey from seed to regeneration.
Coffee Roasting Experience Space
The expo site builds about a 200㎡ coffee-roasting experience space, taking visitors into the important link behind a cup of coffee — coffee roasting. From green-bean characteristics and the roasting process to flavor changes, through on-site experience and interaction, visitors more intuitively understand how coffee beans complete their transformation from “green” to “roasted” amid changes in temperature and time. Watch the roast, smell the aroma, understand the flavor, and feel the charm of coffee roasting up close — turning professional coffee knowledge into a warm, aromatic immersive experience.
Coffee Play Adventure Park | Game Check-in Zone
Accompanied by coffee aroma, fun play and check-ins go live. Enjoy interactive games at will, collect stamps with a coffee passport, and unlock exclusive expo surprises by gathering six stamps across the halls. Savor coffee and fun alike — in an aromatic atmosphere, immersively experience interactive mini-games and harvest double the joy of visiting.
Three international competitions run concurrently
Professional forces gather in Kunshan
International professional competitions are not only an important platform for practitioners such as baristas and roasters to showcase professional skills, but also a key window for observing technical trends, promoting industry exchange and fostering talent growth. This expo brings in international professional-competition resources, bringing the professional capabilities and innovative achievements of the coffee industry chain to the site through high-level competition, professional judging, technical displays and industry exchange, further strengthening Kunshan’s connection with the international coffee-industry professional system.
During the expo, the 2027 World Barista Championship China Regional — Kunshan Sub-competition (CBC), the 2026 World Coffee Roasting Championship China Regional — Kunshan Sub-competition (CCRC), and the 2027 World Latte Art Championship China Regional — Kunshan Sub-competition (CLAC) will be held simultaneously. International judges, past champions and well-known domestic baristas will gather on site, presenting the professional skill level and industry-development trends in coffee making, latte art and roasting through competition, exchange and on-site demonstration. At the same time, an ALL STAR coffee-champion performance show will be brought to the site, inviting champion players and professional forces to bring professional coffee culture closer to the public through on-site making, technical displays and interactive exchange.
2026 World Coffee Roasting Championship
China Regional — Kunshan Sub-competition
The World Coffee Roasting Championship China Regional (CCRC), initiated by the WCC, is an international high-level competitive event in coffee roasting. Roasters compete on the same stage, using green beans as the medium and demonstrating profound mastery of heat and flavor through precise control of roasting curves. The Kunshan sub-competition winner advances to the national finals; the ultimate champion will represent China in the World Coffee Roasting Championship global finals. Visitors can closely observe professional roasting skills and immersively feel the professional charm of specialty coffee.
2027 World Barista Championship
China Regional — Kunshan Sub-competition
The World Barista Championship (WBC), hailed as the “Olympics” of the coffee world, is a globally large-scale and widely recognized professional coffee competitive event. In the China Regional, contestants must complete professional presentations of multiple sets combining espresso, cappuccino and creative drinks within 15 minutes, accepted under a triple international standard of taste precision, visual presentation and sensory expression.
2027 World Latte Art Championship
China Regional — Kunshan Sub-competition
Founded by the World Coffee and Events pioneer (WCC), it is a professionally influential coffee competition worldwide and a recognized high-level competitive stage in latte art. In 2013, Shanghai Beyond International Exhibition Co., Ltd. formally introduced the event to China, hosting the World Latte Art Championship China Regional (CLAC); over the past decade and more, batch after batch of Chinese latte-art players have gone from here to the world stage. In the competition, contestants must complete designated-pattern latte and macchiato latte-art works within a set time, assessed by professional judges on precise technical stability and original artistic creativity. The Kunshan sub-competition winner advances to the national finals; the ultimate champion will represent China in the WLAC global finals.
ALL STAR Coffee Champion Performance Show
At the 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Expo, two coffee masters returned from the world stage will appear in person. From creative conception to implementation, what are the unique tricks behind the coffee skills that conquered the international arena? Off the competition spotlight, listen to the champions share the stories of training behind the scenes and deconstruct their exclusive techniques. Whether it is a stunning latte-art performance or meticulous flavor composition, all will be presented on site. Face top industry practitioners directly, interact and discuss in person, harvest precious exclusive experience, and immersively feel the power behind coffee competition.
Sun Lei
2025 WBC runner-up
Chen Zhuohao
2025 WLAC champion
(* The above activities are subject to the on-site schedule.)
Using coffee as a medium, connecting “Industrial Kunshan”
and “Consumption Kunshan” in both directions
From global coffee green beans entering Kunshan to scaled roasting products going nationwide; from international leading enterprises continuously laying out, to local coffee brands and consumption scenarios constantly growing, coffee is becoming both a characteristic nameplate of Kunshan’s industrial development and an important part of the city’s consumption vitality.
The holding of the 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Expo is a concentrated presentation of the achievements of Kunshan’s coffee-industry development, and also an important carrier for further connecting industrial resources with urban consumption. Connecting global coffee-producing regions, brands, enterprises and professional resources at one end, and consumers, urban life and new consumption scenarios at the other, it further releases the comprehensive value of the coffee industry through the fusion of industry display, professional competitions, brand experience and cultural activities.
Gather in golden-autumn Kunshan, discuss the industry’s future together. From September 24 to 26, the 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Expo will open at the Kunshan International Convention and Exhibition Center. It is both an important window for observing coffee-industry trends and linking the global supply chain, and an urban platform for brands to expand into the East China market, professional institutions to find cooperation opportunities, and consumers to experience the coffee lifestyle. Coffee-industry upstream and downstream enterprises, industry institutions, professionals and coffee lovers are sincerely invited to gather in Kunshan for a coffee event where industry and consumption meet.
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