Battle of the Beans celebrates KZN coffee culture at awards ceremony
The year-long competition, supported by headline sponsor, Selati Sugar, which culminated in the presentation of awards to 21 finalists across seven districts, saw a team of 27 judges visiting more than 330 coffee shops incognito.
Lineage Hillcrest was crowned the Battle of the Beans 2025 Top Coffee Shop in KZN at an awards ceremony on Friday night (January 30) at the Grand White in Durban. Second was Now Coffee in Durban North, and third was Boston Brew, Morningside.
The event, which recognised KZN’s coffee royalty during a fun-filled and colourful evening overlooking the port of Durban, also rewarded the province’s best barista – Humble Coffee’s Portia Sibiya, closely followed by Joe Dlamini from Now Coffee, Glenashley.
The trophy for KZN’s most popular coffee shop, based on a public vote that ran between September 2025 and January 2026, was Crane Flower Coffee in Kloof. The year-long competition, supported by headline sponsor, Selati Sugar, which culminated in the presentation of awards to 21 finalists across seven districts, saw a team of 27 judges visiting more than 330 coffee shops incognito.
They scored not only the cappuccinos and espressos that were served but also the entire coffee experience. After two rounds, the judges whittled the list down to three regional finalists per area. Those finalists then competed for the ultimate titles. The Battle of the Beans has become an annual highlight on KZN’s coffee calendar, with the 2026 competition due to begin shortly.
The competition was created by a non-profit organisation known as the Coffee Colab to recognise the stalwarts of coffee culture in KZN, as well as set a benchmark for newcomers to this important segment of the hospitality industry.
Coffee entrepreneurship was a key topic throughout the awards ceremony, with keynote speaker Dr Marsha Gabriel, South African Honorary Consul to Ethiopia, which is one of the world’s top coffee producers, not only complimenting independent coffee shop owners for their passion and fortitude but suggesting that the coffee industry has significant room to expand in KZN.
“We should not just sell coffee. We should build markets, empower entrepreneurs and reshape how African coffee is consumed at street level, every day,” she said.
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Craig Charity, owner of the winning coffee shop Lineage Hillcrest, which was also the first runner-up in 2024, has been at the forefront of coffee roasting and making in KZN for over a decade. He 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 Battle of the Beans competition has evolved significantly in just a year, with the 250 independently owned coffee shops judged in 2024 growing to over 330 during 2025. In addition, having recognised another important phenomenon, Coffee To-Go, a new category was added to the 2025 competition.
This was won by Coffie’kie in Uvongo. “Because coffee lovers on the run don’t go without, the worldwide trend of serving takeaway coffee is becoming increasingly popular across KZN. This is an important entry point for new coffee entrepreneurs. So, we have not only picked the province’s top To-Go finalists for each of the seven regions but crowned the best one as part of a whole new category this year,” explained founder of the competition and head of judging, Ingrid Shevlin.
However, one of the developments that makes the Coffee Colab most proud is the work done to both recognise and train the very heart of coffee retail – the baristas.
“Whereas, in 2024, we rewarded a single top barista, this year we have picked out regional finalists and crowned a top barista and a runner-up. Even more importantly, during 2025, we put forward three candidates for barista training by Famous Brands – a skills development vision that the Coffee Colab wishes to grow year-on-year,” added Coffee Colab fellow director, Bongane Mthiyane.
REGIONAL FINALISTS:
Top three: Berea/ Beach/ Bluff (in no particular order)
- BOSTON BREW MORNINGSIDE
- SAVIOR CAFE GLENWOOD
- SURF RIDERS CAFE SOUTH BEACH
Best to-go coffee: Berea/ Beach/ Bluff
- PRIME COFFEE MOSES MABHIDA STADIUM
Top three: Lower/ Upper Highway (in no particular order)
- VELVET COFFEE CO KLOOF
- LINEAGE COFFEE HILLCREST
- CRANE FLOWER COFFEE KLOOF
Best to-go coffee:
- COFFEE MINISTA KLOOF
Top three: Pietermaritzburg/ Midlands (in no particular order)
- LINEAGE COFFEE NOTTINGHAM ROAD
- THE UPPER MILLSTONE HILTON
- GROUND COFFEE HOUSE HILTON
Best to-go coffee: Pietermaritzburg/ Midlands
- STATION SHOP MOBILE COFFEE
Top three: Amanzimtoti/ South Coast (in no particular order)
- BERRY CRAFTY CAFE PORT EDWARD
- MOJO’Z SHELLY BEACH
- THE PACKSHED MARGATE
Best to-go coffee shop: Amanzimtoti/ South Coast
- COFFEE’KIE UVONGO
Top three: North Coast (in no particular order)
- SKY- SALT ROCK
- COFFEE LAB BALLITO
- CAFFE GIORDANO UMHLALI
Best to-go coffee: North Coast
- BENCH COFFEE CO SALT ROCK
Top three: Durban North/ Glenashley/ La Lucia (in no particular order)
- NOBLE COFFEE DURBAN NORTH
- NOW COFFEE GLENASHLEY
- SKYLINE COFFEE DURBAN NORTH
Best to-go coffee: North Coast
- BENCH COFFEE CO SALT ROCK
Top three: Umhlanga (in no particular order)
- AFRICAN ROOTS CAFE UMHLANGA
- NOW COFFEE UMHLANGA
- HOME BRU GRAFT CAFE UMHLANGA
Best to-go coffee – Umhlanga
- ROX COFFEE COMPANY UMHLANGA
Regional finalists: Best Barista
Best Barista: Berea/ Beach/ Bluff
- PORTIA SIBIYA – HUMBLE COFFEE, FLORIDA ROAD
Best Barista: Lower/Upper Highway
- KEAGON CHAVOOS: CRANE FLOWER COFFEE KLOOF
Best Barista: Pietermaritzburg/ Midlands
- MFANA ZIBULA: LINEAGE COFFEE NOTTINGHAM ROAD
Best Barista: North Coast
- BEVAN MUNYANYIWA: CAFFE GIORDANO
Best Barista: Umhlanga
- NONDUDUZO MAGWAZA – ROX COFFEE COMPANY UMHLANGA
Best Barista: Durban North/ Glenashley/ La Lucia
- JOE DLAMINI – NOW COFFEE GLENASHLEY
