Small regional coffee roaster Walcha Coffee was last night awarded three bronze medals at the Golden Bean World Series 2026. The event, held in Newcastle, NSW, attracted a strong international field, with entries from across the Americas and Asia.
The quality of the field and the size of many of Walcha Coffee’s competitors make their awards particularly notable. And, in another ‘win for Australia’, Brisbane roaster Latitude were awarded the gold medal – after domination of that award in recent years by US companies.
Walcha Coffee received bronze medals across in all three categories it entered: Filter coffee; Espresso coffee; and Milk-Based coffee.
A reward for excellence in the face of stiff competition
“This was without question the toughest competition we have ever faced,” Cameron Hayton, founder of Walcha Coffee Pty Ltd, said. “The overall quality this year was so high that we genuinely did not expect to place at all. In previous years, when we achieved silver, everything aligned perfectly in the roast.
“This year, we felt we had not fully unlocked the potential of the coffees we submitted. But we were still privileged to work with outstanding producers and exceptional coffees,” Hayton added.
The three bronze medals build on Walcha Coffee’s strong international track record, following two silver medals at the Golden Bean World Series held in Melbourne in 2024. The company was also named Business of the Year 2025 at the Business NSW State Awards. That was recognition for the roastery’s growth, resilience and its contribution to regional Australia.
“We are incredibly proud that a small regional roaster from Walcha can achieve this level of success on a worldwide stage,” Hayton said. “It shows what is possible when passion, producer relationships, and regional commitment come together.”
A ‘hobby gone mad’
Hayton launched Walcha Coffee in 2020 when, as he described to Inside Small Business, his ‘hobby went mad’. “I have always been passionate about coffee, and have run cafes in the past,” Hayton explains. That passion is longstanding – Cameron’s first experience with coffee was working at an on-campus Starbucks while studying at university in Colorado. Though, he points out, the coffee he served up back then was very different to that which he produces today.
“When we sold up in Sydney and moved up to NSW’s Northern Tablelands, I had the time and money to indulge my passion,” he says.
Initially roasting for friends, Hayton got positive feedback. So, he increased his capacity and started selling a few bags of coffee at local farmers’ markets. “It just snowballed from there,” he enthuses. He swapped his small home roaster for one capable of producing five kg of coffee every 15 minutes. Demand soon outstripped the supply that machine offered. As a result, today Walcha Coffee is roasted in 120 kg batches at an HACCP-certified contract roastery in Sydney. The five kg machine is not obsolete, however. It is still at home in Walcha, used for product development and specialty roasts.
A family affair
Despite its widespread following, Walcha Coffee is still very much a small family business. Cameron’s son, Jazz, helps him roast coffee and runs the café at the roastery. His wife, Kelly – a pharmacist by profession – also helps in the background. And his sister-in-law, Careen is the only other ‘full-time’ worker. The family are supported by three casuals.
The company’s mission is to nurture passion for specialty coffee in regional Australia. They work closely with producers and communities to deliver high-quality, thoughtfully roasted coffee to both local and international audiences.
Looking ahead, Walcha Coffee has been invited to attend the upcoming Australasian Golden Bean Awards in Brisbane, as well as the Americas Golden Bean competition in Denver, Colorado. The team will also showcase the brand at the Seasons of New England Expo in Uralla this March and the Sydney Café and Coffee Expo at Darling Harbour in late May.
- This story was originally published on Inside Small Business.
