Could Sofia's Baristas Design Their Own Competition Brewers?

The Rise of Custom Competition Brewers

Two tall, narrow cones angled at 30 degrees, each brewing independently. Different coffees, different doses, different grind sizes, different pour patterns. The liquid meets only at the end, in the cup. Mariam Erin calls it wet blending.

At the 2025 World Brewers Cup in Jakarta, the Binocular Dripper wasn't a curiosity. It was a competitive tool, designed by a multi-time UAE Coffee Champion and 2023 World Cezve/Ibrik Championship bronze medallist to solve a specific sensory problem: how to balance the florality of a Panama Gesha with the red berry notes of a Colombian Gesha without losing either.

The device exists because Mariam Erin built it. Not because a manufacturer decided the market needed another dripper.

This is the shift happening at the highest levels of competition coffee. Baristas are no longer just selecting equipment. They're designing it.

The Trend Is Real and Accelerating

The Binocular Dripper wasn't alone in Jakarta. UK Barista Champion Luca Croce combined an Origami dripper with a Hario Switch valve to create a hybrid brewer that allowed both flat-bottom brews and full-immersion blooms. Jackie Tran, the 2024 Czech Republic Brewers Cup Champion, designed the Solo Dripper after competing at the 2024 World Brewers Cup in Chicago. The flat-bottom device features a 40-degree internal angle, a curved base, and precision ribs intended to promote even extraction.

George Jinyang Peng used the Solo Dripper to win the 2025 World Brewers Cup.

The pattern is clear. As competitors gravitate toward similar high-end coffees and extraction tools, custom equipment becomes a way to differentiate. These devices also feed into the competition's storytelling aspect, giving baristas a way to build a recognisable brand beyond the stage.

That's the beauty of brewing, especially in competitions. It pushes everyone to explore, innovate, and be creative to achieve the best version of the cup.

Mariam Erin

Technique Still Wins

Before anyone rushes to a 3D printer, a critical point: custom brewers are not a shortcut to winning.

World Brewers Cup rules and regulations provide a clear framework to ensure fairness. The emphasis remains on sensory quality, consistency, and technique, rather than equipment alone. Judges look at how well the competitor understands their dripper, along with all the other variables, and how intentionally everything is used to express the best version of the coffee.

Custom brewers are only one small part of the scoring system, and they only matter if they positively impact the sensory experience. The brewer does matter, but it's only effective if the competitor can clearly explain its purpose and how it improves the cup. In the end, everything has to translate into cup quality, flavour, balance, and overall experience.

Mariam Erin

A barista with a standard V60 and exceptional technique will outscore a barista with a custom brewer and mediocre extraction. The equipment is a tool, not a substitute for skill.

The Barrier to Entry Is Real

Designing a competition-ready brewer requires access to 3D printing, manufacturing partners, or product development experience. Not every barista has this.

Moving from a competition prototype to a commercially available product takes time, testing, and refinement. A prototype is often designed to achieve a very specific goal in the cup, but turning it into a product means making it more consistent, user-friendly, and practical for a wider audience.

Mariam Erin

Some prototypes reach consumers. The Solo Dripper is now a retail product, appearing in home brewing setups and coffee shop brew bars. The Binocular Dripper followed a similar path, developed through real competition use on national and world stages before becoming available to purchase.

But many competition brewers remain one-of-a-kind tools. The goal isn't always to bring it to the home consumer, Mariam says. In many cases, the prototype is a proof of concept, helping push boundaries and explore new ways of extraction in a competition setting.

What Would It Take in Sofia?

Bulgaria's specialty coffee scene has grown rapidly. Sofia alone has over 60 specialty cafes. The Coffee Association Bulgaria (KAB, Кафе Асоциация България), established in 2022, organises Sofia Coffee Week and supports the Bulgarian Coffee Championship. DABOV Specialty Coffee has trained over 3,000 professionals and is the only Bulgarian Cup of Excellence judge.

The infrastructure for competition exists. The question is whether the infrastructure for equipment innovation does.

A barista in Sofia who wanted to design a custom brewer would need access to 3D printing services, which exist in the city through makerspaces and commercial providers. They would need manufacturing partners willing to iterate on prototypes, which is less certain. They would need product development experience or mentorship from someone who has it, which is rarest of all.

The pipeline from competition to consumer is shortening globally. Jackie Tran created the Solo Dripper with accessibility baked into the brief from the start, designing for both professionals and home brewers. Mariam Erin's Binocular Dripper moved from competition prototype to retail product within a year.

Sofia could position itself as part of this pipeline. The city has baristas competing at national and international levels. It has a growing community of coffee professionals who understand extraction theory and sensory evaluation. What it may lack is the connective tissue between coffee expertise and manufacturing capability.

The Question Worth Asking

The next Bulgarian Coffee Championship will feature baristas using V60s, Kalita Waves, Origamis, and Oreas. These are excellent tools. They have won world championships.

But somewhere in Sofia, there may be a barista with a specific sensory problem that no existing brewer solves. A particular coffee that needs a particular extraction profile. A story that requires a custom tool to tell.

The question is not whether custom brewers are necessary. They are not. The question is whether Sofia's coffee community has the resources to support a barista who wants to build one.

The trend is clear. The opportunity is real. The infrastructure is the variable.