LINK Access Program 2025

In 2024, the LINK Access Program was launched by Nucleus Coffee Tools as a means to support competitors in the World Brewers Cup in Chicago, offering roasting assistance and a training space for national champions. 

In anticipation of the 2025 World Brewers Cup in Jakarta, the second iteration of the LINK Access Program has been launched, with the aim of providing as much support to competitors travelling from across the world.

The birth of the LINK Access Program

Prior to the World Brewers Cup in 2024 – hosted in Chicago, USA – the Nucleus Coffee Tools team launched a new initiative designed to assist competitors travelling from across the globe. This initiative, the LINK Access Program, was provided in collaboration with Metropolis Coffee in Chicago, and provided a training space at the Metropolis roastery as well as individual competitor access to LINK roasters.

Twelve different national champions were invited, or applied to take part in the LINK Access Program. Over the days leading up to the Specialty Coffee Expo and the World Brewers Cup, members of the Nucleus Coffee Tools team worked with each of these competitors, assisting many with roast profiles, brewing methods, aspects of competition performances and access to a LINK roaster.

Among those competitors was Austrian Brewers Cup Champion, Martin Wölfl and his coach, Janine de Laar. Working with the Nucleus Coffee Tools team over several sessions, a custom profile was developed on the LINK sample roaster for his coffee from Finca Maya and Lost Origin, Panama.

During these sessions, a custom roast profile was created with the LINK roaster in order to accentuate the best qualities of Martin’s coffee, taking into account his brewing technique and the ageing of the coffee throughout the duration of the competition. This coffee was used by Martin on stage to take first place, making him the 2024 World Brewers Cup Champion.

“After each roast we were able to brew the coffee directly – this gave us the chance to adapt the profile immediately and made the roast session very productive,” said Janine after Martin’s win.

“Sharing our impressions with each other was really motivating and gave Martin a good feeling to be able to present it on stage. The results from one batch to another is very even, so we didn’t have to worry about any non-uniform results.”

Challenges for competitors

Preparing for a World Coffee Championship is a difficult endeavour – the travel is often expensive, and competitors often have to travel with a lot of equipment and extra team members to support them during their preparation and performances.

In addition to preparing for their routines, many World Brewers Cup competitors have difficulty in sourcing different materials required for their routines, and struggle with organising a space to brew coffees, practice their routines, and more.

“When these competitors travel across the world for these championships, it’s not just a matter of bringing some coffee and equipment with them,” says Jordan Montgomery of Nucleus Coffee Tools.

“There are so many different things to consider – from the water they use, whether their equipment can be plugged into the same power sources, if their equipment arrives safely. What the LINK Access Program aims to do it provide some peace of mind, and provide the support that these competitors need to practice and succeed on the world stage.”

Central to the LINK Access Program is providing roasting equipment and support for World Brewers Cup competitors. As many competitors don’t have access to roasting equipment within the competition host country, they must travel with their coffee already roasted – as a result, the coffee can degrade in quality, or the ideal window for the coffee’s age and flavour profile can be missed.

By providing access to LINK roasters, as well as the expertise of Nucleus Coffee Tools roasting specialists, this program aims to give all competitors the opportunity to roast their coffee in Indonesia, providing them with the possibility of experimenting more with roasting profiles and coffee expression.

“We want to make sure that all competitors have an equal opportunity to showcase their coffee at its best,” says Jerome Rosler of Nucleus Coffee Tools, who developed Martin Wölfl’s profile during the 2024 LINK Access Program.

“Even if they roast their coffee in their home country, having the chance to experiment with a few more roasts provides that security and peace of mind that competitors need during a stressful and exciting period.”

LINK Access Program 2025

In 2025, the LINK Access Program is returning to further assist national champions travelling to Jakarta, Indonesia for the World Brewers Cup, hosted at the World of Coffee exhibition.

Following the 2024 program, the Nucleus Coffee Tools team is expanding the LINK Access Program in 2025 to provide a wider range of services, including access to more training facilities, roasting assistance and different materials for competition preparation.

In addition to providing access to LINK roasters and the experience of the Nucleus Coffee Tools team, the team from Nucleus Coffee Tools Indonesia will be providing a multi-story training space, and access to materials such as different waters, minerals and equipment for competitors to practice with.

“With so many incredible brewers travelling to Indonesia, we want to make sure that they have everything they need to bring the best out of their coffee, and succeed,” says Gavin Suryono of Nucleus Coffee Tools Indonesia.

“Providing this space and equipment is our way of supporting these brewers and coffee professionals, to make sure that they can head to the competition stage with confidence, and enjoy themselves.”

Join the LINK Access Program

The LINK Access Program is available exclusively to competitors in the 2025 World Brewers Cup, as well as their coaching and support teams.

If you are a national Brewers Cup Champion and are competing in the World Brewers Cup (WBrC) this year, you are invited to apply to take part in the LINK Access Program via the Nucleus Coffee Tools website.

For other competitors not competing in the WBrC, the regular sponsorship application remains open via the same link above.

“It gives us great joy that the best coffee brewers in the world are coming to Indonesia,” says Gavin.

“We hope that during their time here, they enjoy not only their preparation and time on the world stage, but also our incredible local coffee scene and culture.”

Read more about the LINK Access Program 2025 here.