Courtside Bean Tree barista named Lowveld champion
Innocentia Mathebula of the Spar Bean Tree coffee shop at Spar Courtside in Nelspruit was recently named the Lowveld winner of the Bean Tree Lavazza Barista Competition.
She will now represent the Lowveld in the national competition.
Innocentia started her career as a barista five years ago at the Spar Bean Tree at Courtside Spar and she has not looked back since.
“It has always been my dream to be a barista and to become a world champion. I will keep working until I reach my goal,” she says. The Ciro Coffee Academy course that she won would definitely go a long way in achieving this goal.
She says her family is very proud and supportive of her career. Innocentia is a born Lowvelder and lives in Schoemanskloof with her family.
She is married to Bongani Shongwe and has two children: a 12-year-old daughter named Mbali, and a six-year-old son named Andiswa.
As part of the competition that took place at the Mbombela Stadium, she developed her own coffee shake that she says is a must-taste for every coffee lover.
“I invite all my customers to visit us for this treat,” she says.
Réhann Coetzee of myLOWVELD.net gave it a try and he fully agrees.
“As a lover of coffee shakes, I had to order one of Innocentia’s coffee shakes. It was stunning. Without a doubt, this is the best coffee shake I have ever had. It is very rich and flavourful and can almost be a snack. Go and test it,” he said.
Innocentia says she is very happy at Spar Courtside and thanked managers Tanya Knight and Jamie Watt for their continuous support.
Tanya says she is very proud of Innocentia’s achievement.
“She is very driven and has really made the Bean Tree her own. She knows every regular custom by name,” she says.
Innocentia also thanked the Ciro team – James Simango barista trainer), Diona van der Merwe (sales representative for Mpumalanga) and Lani Snyman (barista trainer and judge) – for their support during the competition.
