The who's who of KZN cafe culture met at Bertoua (fantastic venue!) at 3.30pm this afternoon to hear the announcement of the winners of this years SM Cafe Society competition. Everyone was given a name tag at the door (to ease people in to small talk perhaps? "Oh you're from that new place on Windemere!") and much small talk was had, while drinking mostly non-coffee beverages and waiting for the official ceremony to begin.
The most exciting bits follow below:
The Barista Personality of the Year went to
Lady of Go Coffee (pictured below) in Hillcrest. The judges could not urge us enough how the experience with her, made a trip up the hill worthwhile.
Nino’s was awarded the Best Franchise award, showing training from the Ciro team must be paying off.
The South Coast winner was
Coffee on the Square. An iidyllic spot to visit on any trip down the coast.
Terbadore Coffee Roasters took the Maritzburg/Midlands category.
Top spots in the Durban/North Coast Area went to:
3. Mark Gold
2. Bean Green Coffee Roastery
1. The Factory Cafe
Mark Gold and Bean Green, both having won the award multiple times before, had to graciously concede defeat to Kyle Fraser and his team’s excellent cafe. A well deserved win!
Congratulations to all the Champions!
Nkosi of Bean Green, Arno of The Factory Cafe and Sabastian of Mark Gold. (Notice Arno is holding the trophy with one arm, nice one Arno, that solid block of marble weighs near a ton)
Best quote of the afternoon had to go Sabastian of Mark Gold,
“I had my first ever cup of real coffee at Bean Green and I did my barista training at Colombo, so wow, to be on the podium with you guys is like, I don’t know what to do with myself. I gotta tell my parents!”
One thing is for sure, KZN coffee culture is alive and kicking.
Big props must go to Ingrid Shevlin and her team of merry judges, Darrell de Wet and Illovo for making the event possible and Bertoua for a great venue (and delicious snacks!).
Andre Schubert, Ingrid Shevlin and Darrell de Wet
If you’re in the KZN area, give these and the others in the Coffee Guide a taste, see if they’re up to your standards. Take that sip and tell us about it!
The winning team: Kyle, Maxine and Arno of The Factory Cafe/Colombo
