BATTLE OF THE BEANS…ALL FOR THE LOVE OF COFFEE
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INTRODUCING THE BATTLE OF THE BEANS
Coffee is one of world’s most widely consumed beverages. In 2020/2021, around 167 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee were consumed worldwide – and KwaZulu-Natal is no different when it comes to stirring up a love for the best of brews.
WHAT IS A COFFEE SHOP?
That’s not a simple question! For this competition, a coffee shop is a venue where you are free drink coffee but not eat. This excludes mainstream restaurants (but not cafes with eat-in menus). Each coffee shop must have an espresso machine and an active barista and shouldn’t be part of a franchise.
THE RISE OF THE ROASTERS
Coffee beans are at the very heart of the industry and range from bulk roasted and blended coffee beans to single estate coffee beans roasted in-house. More and more coffee shops are going the artisanal route and choosing and roasting their own beans. The Battle of the Beans will celebrate those going the extra coffee mile.
THE MAGIC OF THE BARRISTA
These are the folk that conjure the magic. We have reserved a special category to celebrate the skill and efficiency of the barista, the unsung hero of every coffee shop. We’d like to motivate our coffee shops to train their staffers to become qualified baristas, making this a profession in its own right and one that births more coffee entrepreneurs.
KZN Coffee News
Stay up to date with the exciting happenings in KZN’s coffee culture – from new coffee shops to special promotions to the stories behind our judges. We’ll keep you posted about everything that will tantalise your taste buds.
BATTLE OF THE BEANS CELEBRATES COFFEE AND COMMUNITY
Coffee entrepreneur, Sbu Nkolothi, the owner and inspiration behind Coffee LAB in Ballito, will be proudly displaying his trophy as KwaZulu-Natal’s top coffee shop from this morning (Friday, January 31,…
MEET THE JUDGES: DAVE BALLANCE
My first recollection of coffee was during a stay with my aunt and her family on their farm in Zimbabwe. They had this huge kitchen, well it seemed huge to…
MEET OUR JUDGES: JUDD CAMPBELL, HEIKE SIM AND DENNIS NGXONGO
Coffee is a universal language – and a brew shared by an incredibly wide array of people. Nowhere is this more evident than in the judging line up of The…
RALPH BRONZIN AND THE FINE ART OF COFFEE
INGRID SHEVLIN As many of you know, the Great Cappuccino Hunt, first published in the Sunday Tribune, is the inspiration behind The Battle of the Beans – and it all…
THE MAGICAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF COFFEE
CINDY BOTTOMLEY Coffee!! Ah!! There is nothing quite like that first mug of the day. Taking that first sip just gets your ‘motor running’ in the best way. It’s the…
GINGER FOX: A NIMBLE AND DELICATE BREW TO GET YOU GOING
DENNIS NGXONGO Sias du Plessis and I meet at The Grind in bustling Melrose Arch in Johannesburg. This place serves good coffee and great food for people on the move,…
In KZN, coffee shops are the cornerstone of the hospitality industry, offering spaces where you can linger over a freshly brewed espresso or a creamy cappuccino while chatting with friends. But they offer even more: A place for that caffeine wake-up kick on the way to the office where you can order your thoughts for the day ahead – and where better to do this than your local coffee shop where they know your name and your choice of bean?
-Ingrid Shevlin (Food critic)
KZN’S GUIDE TO GOOD COFFEE DRINKING
We are compiling your ultimate guide to drinking good coffee in KZN.
Watch this space
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