AFRICA

THE BARISTA LEAGUE:

JOHANNESBURG | 3 OCT

CONGRATULATIONS

to TBL: AFRICA 2026 champions!

Stevo Kuhn & James Odendaal

You can now find all the teams’ performances on our Youtube channel, as well as the official event photos!

MISSED ALL THE ACTION?

TBL YOUTUBE

EVENT PHOTOS

Click the image to zoom in

A competition that rewards all the elements of an incredible coffee experience and doesn't need an operating manual to understand. The Barista League is built on three pillars of Concept, Service and Product — think MasterChef, not technical demonstration.
Be in the room as 6 teams from across South Africa step on stage to present the future of coffee experiences in front of 5 judges handpicked from across the industry. Live-streamed, so the rest of the world can watch along. The competition starts at 5:30PM.
We think it's a huge waste when the only people who get to taste the amazing coffee from competitions are the 5 judges on stage.
At the Barista League Café, TopDose Roasters and Home of the Bean will be serving the exact same coffees our competitors have been training with. Your chance to taste what the judges are tasting — before the results are in.
Culture Coffee — the reigning TBL: Africa Champions — will be serving coffee at their booth all night. Come taste the coffee that took them to the top.
At the Rancilio booth you can test your skills in a Temperature Profile Game — a fun challenge for anyone who loves dialling in espresso. With Toddy, try your luck at the Toddy Toss — a Skee-Ball style game where you could walk away with a Toddy Go Brewer.
Cape Coffee Beans will be doing a live roast demonstration, brewing freshly roasted coffee on the spot and inviting you to taste the result. And over at the African School of Coffee booth — think you know your coffee? Put your palate to the test and see where you land on the live leaderboard. It's called Can You Taste It? — and you're going to want to find out.
And if you need a moment to reset your palate — Ultimate Water has you covered with a water station next to the bar serving both still and sparkling.
Johannesburg has been one of Africa's best kept coffee secrets — not for much longer. The scene is growing fast, the talent is undeniable, and the community shows up like nowhere else. We've been here before and we already know — this city doesn't need us to tell it what it's worth. It just needs a stage.

MEET THE SPECIAL GUESTS

MELANIE WINTER | MC

Coffee Magazine
@thecoffeemag
Co-founder and editor of Coffee Magazine, Mel has spent over a decade at the heart of South Africa's specialty coffee story — writing it, publishing it, and celebrating the people who make it.
RAÏSSA DABAJI | JUDGE

Marunic Coffee
@raissa.dabaji
Head of Quality Control and Branch Manager at Marunic Coffee in Cape Town. Placed 5th nationally at the Cup Tasters Championship in 2025 and brings a sharp sensory lens to everything she evaluates.
XANDER VENTER | JUDGE

Robin Chat Coffee
@_xander_venter_
Owner of Robin Chat Coffee, Leo Coffee and Late Bloomers, with a washing station in Malawi where he produces, imports and exports his own coffee — from farm to cup, all the way through.
LEROY KGOPA | JUDGE

Home of the Bean
@LemogangK
A qualified radiographer working at a state hospital and the founder and head roaster at Home of the Bean.
SAMANTHA NAIDOO | JUDGE

Ciro Beverage Solutions
@sam_jo_0412
Samantha has twenty years experience in specialty coffee, including as a competitor, as well as member of the the SCASA Board. Currently, she is looking after blend development, training Nationally and the Sales Team for Ciro Gauteng.
ROAN MUNTINGH | JUDGE

Ultimate Water
@roan_mustang
Sensory judge at regional and national SCASA coffee championships for six years. A water filtration specialist who has spent years studying how water quality shapes what ends up in the cup.
IAIN EVANS | MC

DescriCoffee Magazine
@thecoffeemag
Co-founder and publisher of Coffee Magazine — South Africa's leading coffee publication and the voice of the local industry for over a decade.

MEET THE TEAMS

2 BREWS

Alistair Chadwick & Tshidiso Lehloka — Johannesburg
Alistair Chadwick — Owner of Fond Linden in Johannesburg, who spent most of his career as a chef before pivoting into specialty coffee. He brings a kitchen discipline to everything he makes.
Tshidiso Lehloka — Barista at Fond Linden who moved from operations roles into coffee and never looked back. A natural performer with a DJ alter ego to match.
RE:COFFEE

James Odendaal & Stevo Kuhn — Pretoria
James Odendaal — 2025 Barista League Africa Champion, South African National Barista competitor, Q Grader, and two-time CMA Barista of the Year nominee. Co-founder of Culture Coffee Roasters in Pretoria.
Stevo Kuhn — Two-time SA Barista Champion, 2025 Africa Barista Champion, Q Grader and instructor, and multiple Coffee Magazine award winner. Founder of Stevo Brews Coffee.
B-ALL-IN

Halston Van Lis & Sibongiseni Mainjana — Centurion
Halston Van Lis — Coffee professional at TriBeCa Coffee with a background in SCASA competitions, deep connections to Tanzanian coffee farms, and the locally awarded title of Tallest Barista in Coffee.
Sibongiseni Mainjana — Barista at TriBeCa Coffee, passionate about making people feel welcome behind the bar.
UNDERDOGS

Ofentse Kgabo & Dumisani Ndlovu — Johannesburg
Ofentse Kgabo — Barista at Father Coffee and philanthropic coffee professional, who competed in the 2026 SCASA Barista Competition and loved every second of it — even if he didn't make it to the national stage. This time, he's ready.
Dumisani Ndlovu — Barista at Father Coffee, Johannesburg. Still writing his story in coffee — and showing up to write it on the biggest stage available.
THE ORIGINATORS

Neelo Moremi & Kaylynne Poole — Pretoria
Neelo Moremi — Barista at Fomo Coffee Worx with a passion for hospitality and the craft of the cup. Driven by the belief that great coffee is about the people you serve it to as much as what's in the glass.
Kaylynne Poole — Barista at Fomo Coffee Worx with a background in psychology. Brings thoughtfulness and precision to everything she does behind the bar.
BREWMANCE

Tshegofatso Ndhlovu & Luyone Ndinisa — Johannesburg & Cape Town
Tshegofatso Ndhlovu — Coffee professional at Yaawk Coffee, runs a café called JustCoffee, and rides motorbikes in his spare time.
Luyone Ndinisa — Barista at Brewsky with 10 years in the coffee industry and a track record of volunteering at competitions across the country.