In July, MILKLAB announced MILKLAB Bali Café Creation 2025, a beverage competition celebrating the vibrant innovation of Bali’s thriving café industry. After nearly a month, the search for the island’s best café finally reached a thrilling finale on Wednesday, 27 August 2025, at 70° Fahrenheit Café in Jimbaran.
From 20 July to 15 August 2025, café fans from across the island rallied behind their favourite creations by placing their votes online or sipping away during the MILKLAB x Wheel Brews FREE COFFEE DAYS at Level 21 Mall and Living World Mall Denpasar. The high level of enthusiasm has boosted the driving force behind this celebration of coffee creativity. After counting thousands of votes, 12 of the top-voted cafés advanced to the Final Showdown.
To build anticipation ahead of the Final Showdown, MILKLAB, in partnership with Excelso, hosted an exclusive Latte Lab with Global Ambassador Anthony Douglas on 26 August 2025 at Icon Mall, Sanur. The event was held to raise awareness and highlight the growing trend of new taste experiences with plant-based like, while leveraging Anthony’s credibility to validate the pairing of MILKLAB Almond and Oat Milk with traditional Indonesian flavours. It also acted as the perfect platform to familiarise and motivate trials of six innovative “Taste of Nusantara” drinks, combining local heritage with contemporary café culture.
The Final Showdown
On Wednesday, 27 August 2025, the Final Showdown was held at 70° Fahrenheit Café (@70fahrenheitcafe), where the 12 finalists not only impressed the crowd but the expert panel of judges as well. The finalists were evaluated on visual presentation, beverage aesthetics, storytelling & introduction, taste appeal, and overall experience.
The judges include Head Judge, Willy Sidewalk – The Head Judge for the competition is also the author of Barista #NoCingCong, 2011 Indonesia Barista Competition Surabaya Champion, and seasoned coffee professional with over 15 years of experience; Anthony Douglas – World Barista Champion 2022 & MILKLAB Global Brand Ambassador; Yande J. Wirawan – Head Barista & Coffee Trainer at Expat Roasters, MILKLAB Global Brand Ambassador; Bili Yoga Wirawan – 2024 Best Restaurant Mixologist of the Year by Les Grandes Tables du Monde; and Karlie Cummins – Founder of Bali Buddies & Indo Buddies.
After a gruelling and intense competition, the MILKLAB Bali Café Creation 2025 Champions were announced. Yoga Diasa from Tlaga Singha (@tlagasingha) was crowned the Champion of the competition, winning a cash prize of IDR 10,000,000 and a one-year MILKLAB supply (worth IDR 12,000,000). Andre from Chandi Restaurant (@chandibali) was named the First Runner-up, winning a cash prize of IDR 7,500,000 and a six-month MILKLAB supply (worth IDR 6,000,000). Ngurah Andi from di Mare Restaurant Bali (@dimare.bali) was the Second Runner-up, winning a cash prize of IDR 5,000,000 and a three-month MILKLAB supply (worth IDR 3,000,000).
Moreover, five lucky voters will each win IDR 1,000,000, which will be announced on @milklabindo’s Instagram.
Through this competition, MILKLAB strives to inspire and elevate Bali’s creative café scene, encouraging baristas to experiment and innovate with unique, high-quality plant-based milk beverages. With the rising demand for plant-based options in Bali, this initiative seeks to showcase how MILKLAB’s range – from almond, oat, coconut, and more – can serve as the perfect canvas for innovative drink creations. By providing a platform for collaboration, skill-sharing, and friendly competition, MILKLAB hopes to drive both creativity and awareness, empowering local cafés to take charge of the plant-based coffee movement in Indonesia.
To learn more about MILKLAB’s premium plant-based milks, please visit milklabco.com. To stay updated with MILKLAB’s campaigns in Bali and Indonesia, please follow @milklabindo or visit milklabbali.com.
