Brazil's Um Brothers: Making History at the World Coffee Championships & Beyond

Boram Um, 2023 World Barista Champion, competes in the final round of competition with a custom Brewista precision frothing pitcher. Photo c/o Specialty Coffee Association.

We’ve been honored to help some of the world’s top baristas win championships all over the world, and we’re thrilled to even partner with a few to help us further innovate products that people will love to use. The Um brothers is no exception.

At the 2023 World Coffee Championships in Athens, Boram Um won the World Barista Championship — the first time in history for a Brazilian competitor. It also marked only the second win ever for a South American competitor in the history of the competition. As equally impressive is his brother Garam Um, who won third place in the World Brewers Cup competition.

Garam Um competes in the 2023 World Brewers Cup finals with a custom Brewista Artisan Kettle. Photo c/o Specialty Coffee Association.

As the largest coffee-producing country, their victories and achievements are significant for Brazil, highlighting their growing domestic consumption and love for specialty coffee. Long before the Um brothers started competing, their family's influence in the coffee world reflects this evolution. The Um family owns Fazenda UM, a coffee farm founded in 2009 by their father Stefano Um in a region known for producing some of the best coffees in Brazil. In addition, they run a green coffee company that exports and sells high quality green beans from their farm, a roastery, 7 cafes, and a coffee academy education center. Together, Um Coffee Co. is quite literally directly involved in all stages of the coffee chain: from cultivation to serving the perfect cup.

Boram and Stefano Um work on their family-owned Fazenda Um coffee farm.

We're grateful to have supported Boram and Garam since they started competing. We recently had the honor of visiting them on their family farm in Brazil. Here, they share their vision of elevating Brazilian coffee to new levels and their competition journey with Brewista.

 Boram Um is pours coffee from his X Series Glass Server on the family farm.