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, 2025) after being chosen as the province’s top coffee venue at the Battle of the Beans Awards Ceremony at the Selati Sugar head office in Durban yesterday.
The year-long competition, sponsored by Selati Sugar, which culminated in the presentation of awards to 27 coffee shops as well as KZN’s top barista Keagon Chavoos from Crane Flower Coffee in Kloof, saw a team of 30 judges visiting more than 250 coffee shops province wide incognito. It was created to recognize the stalwarts of coffee culture in KwaZulu-Natal as well as set a benchmark for newcomers to this important segment of the hospitality industry.
Nkolothi hails from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe where he started out as a golf caddy before moving to Durban during the FIFA World Cup in 2010. After a variety of odd jobs, he started working at a popular restaurant where he learned to make coffee and appreciate good food. Soon, he was making coffee at workspaces and learning everything he could from the coffee mentors who took him under his wing.
He also became interested in the history of coffee making and studied everything he could about it. He went on to train baristas, which he says was an important opportunity to uplift people and develop skills that would, ultimately, lead to work opportunities.
In 2020, he opened Coffee LAB, which was almost an immediate hit. However, this extremely modest entrepreneur believes the value of good coffee does not remain in the cup. “Coffee brings people together. It connects them. When I make coffee, I’m able to engage in and build relationships with them through my coffee. I love people,” he says.
The first runner up in the Battle of the Beans 2024 was Lineage, Hillcrest which, together with owner Craig Charity, have been at the forefront of coffee roasting and making in KZN for over a decade. Charity sees coffee as being a “vehicle to uplift people in the industry and to change customers’ lives by closing the void between different communities in South Africa.”
The second runner up was another relative newcomer to the industry, Skyline Salt Rock. Originally the coffee shop was part of Skyline Coffee Roasters in Morningside but new owner, Darren Lewis, bought the shop in 2023. He says he bought the venue due to its great community spirit. He was a former regional manager for Vida e in KZN and rolled out coffee solutions for Nandos under that company’s banner.
“A good coffee shop is about serving consistently good coffee and food, knowing every regular’s coffee order and name. We have over 100 regulars who come to the store five to six times a week,” he says.
Senior Midlands judge, Dave Ballance, who spoke at the event, also highlighted the value of independent coffee shops, often owner managed, within the coffee fraternity. He noted that, while there was still a gap between top end and mid-range coffee shops, the quality of the coffee served in the province continued to improve year on year and the difference between the winners and near winners was surprising narrow.
Melanie Winter, co-founder and editor In Chief of the Coffee Magazine, who was part of the independent final judging panel concluded: “Being part of the final round of judging was a very interesting experience. A good reminder for me, someone who spends all her time in the coffee world, is that specialty coffee may still be very niche, but that’s ok! Secondly, it was good to see that the overall standard was very high when it came to service, community, consistency, beautifully poured coffees and flavours. I am proud of the cafes of KZN overall!”
FINAL WINNERS’ LIST:
PIETERMARITZBURG AND KZN MIDLANDS: Top 3 in no particular order:
Lineage, 103 Old Main Rd, Nottingham Road
Next Coffee Cafe, Northern Park, Pietermaritzburg
Home Slice Café, Karkloof Rd, Howick
BEREA: Top 3, in no particular order:
Boston Brew, Morningside, Durban
Skyline Coffee Roasters, Morningside, Durban
Saviors Café, Glenwood
SOUTH COAST AND AMANZIMTOTI: Top 3, in no particular order:
Berry Crafty Café, Munster, Port Edward
The Stables, Marine Drive, Shelly Beach
The Waffle House, Marine Dr, Ramsgate
NORTH COAST: Top 3, in no particular order:
Skyline Coffee, Salt Rock, Ballito
Coffee LAB, Dolphin Coast, Ballitoville
Foam Coffee, Umdloti Beach
UPPER AND LOWER HIGHWAY: Top 3, in no particular order:
Crane Flower Coffee, Kloof
Velvet Coffee Co, Kloof
Lineage Coffee, Old Main Rd, Hillcrest
CENTRAL DURBAN / BEACHFRONT / BLUFF: Top 3 in no particular order :
Hilton Hotel, Durban CBD
Basi Bean Cafe – in the process of relocating
Heidi’s Cafe, Anstey’s Beach Backpackers, Bluff
THE MOST POPULAR COFFEE SHOP BYPUBLIC VOTE:
Millflour Café – Fig Tree, Farm, Waterfall
TOP BARISTA
Keagon Chavoos, Crane Flower Coffee, Kloof
UMHLANGA / KWA MASHU: Top 3, in no particular order:
Tiki Tonga Coffee, Chartwell Dr, uMhlanga
African Roots Coffee, Lagoon Dr, uMhlanga
Moto Cafe, Meridian Dr, uMhlanga
DURBAN NORTH / GLENASHLEY / LA LUCIA: Top 3, in no particular order:
Now Coffee, Glen Ashley, Durban
Colombo Coffee and Tea, Durban North
Gatvol Coffee, La Lucia, Durban North.
