On the 22nd February 2026, two new SCASA National Coffee Champions were crowned in Johannesburg.
All images by Debbie Main/SCASA
What a weekend!
Morrico HQ played host to Nationals weekend, which was a bit different this year as it had to be separated from the Barista Championships due to the World events schedule. This meant that is was a more intimate competition with most of the attendees being competitors and having a lot to talk about!
Let's begin with Cup Tasters.
Cup Tasters Champion: Joshua Machelm - Yellow Jacket Coffee
Runner Up: Siphosethu Luningo - OTT
3rd Place: Melanie Winter - Coffee Magazine
The competition took place under a quiet veil of intense concentration. People arrived determined! It was also the first time in quite a few years that no defending Champions were taking part, so we were assured an all new Champion.
Competitors had been putting in the work to train and there was a lot of tension in the air, especially on Finals Day. A one in six shot of going to Thailand to represent your country are pretty good odds! What competition teaches us time and time again is that we can't control everything and there are always variables on the day that can impact your performance. But Joshua was consistent. On Day 1 and at Finals he scored 7/8 cups correct. And on Finals day, be assured, the coffees were challenging!!!
It was a nail-biting finish with Siphosethu having scored 6/8 earlier in the day and Josh having to get the last cup right to be the Champion. The pics below say it all! And you can watch the action here (we especially love the group hug!).
Special mentions must be made of the Western Cape Cupping Crew (of which Joshua was a part) and the Father Coffee competitors who made up 4 of the Top 16! The cupping culture is strong in those camps!
On to the Latte Art!
Latte Art Champion: Christopher Abrahams - TP Coffee Academy
Runner Up: Justin Makgoba - Cup O Café
Brandon Meyer - Seattle Coffee Co
Surprise and relief for the National Latte Art Champion 2026, Christopher Abrahams! Congratulations to this returning Champion who has booked his ticket to San Diego in April. After a cautious first round, Chris was calm and confident on stage today in the Finals and it showed on the scoresheet. The hug in this video says it all. There’s a huge amount of respect here. And it is an emotional one for Chris, as it is his last year competing. He is one of the hardest working people in coffee and we wish him all the best at Worlds!
Well done to Runner Up, Justin Makgoba of @cupocafecoffeebar who was wonderful on stage and has a very bright future ahead!
Everyone in this discipline learnt so much from the visiting World Coffee Competition reps and while we have a long way to go to get to the global level, the insight provided is a fantastic step in the right direction.
We were very lucky to have two World Coffee Championship Representatives in attendance, Cheryl Lee from Malaysia (right, below) and Sara Alali from Saudi Arabia (left, below). They were focused mainly on the Latte Art but also offered guidance so that the Cup Tasters competition could be run to the highest possible level.
From Head Judge and SCASA Board Member, Tim Krynauw:
"Having 2 World Certified Judges overseeing our competition was a massive learning curve and privilege! Normally our competition weekends include the Barista Champs and 99% of the effort is directed to the WBC format. For once, 100% was given to WLAC which raised the intensity and focus for this competition.
Judges training was comprehensive and laser focused on the WLAC Rulebook. Attention given to understanding what judges should be looking for, calibrating our thoughts, applying the rules and a special attention to the art of writing comments was the letter of the day in training.
Cheryl and Sara taught us the correct procedures and protocols not only at the presentation table but even on how to walk onto stage and who to behave when not deliberating. All in all the Reps pushed the judging panel to act and behave like we were at Worlds and most importantly to calibrate our competitors to similar scoring to what they can expect on the World stage.
It was an amazing weekend of competition and our South African judges panel can be proud of the work and dedication put in. Hopefully we can take what we have learnt and apply it across all our competitions going forward."
Thank you to all of the judges and volunteers who made these events possible, we salute you!
