Harare barista Arthur Masuku and Harare bartender Obedience Mandizvidza are Zimbabwe’s national barista and mixology champions for 2025, after outscoring 10 finalists in each of their categories at a national championship event held recently.
The National Barista Competition and National Mixology Competition, held last July in the capital, were hosted by Drop Beverage Solutions and were aimed at encouraging and rewarding excellence among service providers in these highly competitive fields.
Masuku (25) is barista at the FreshlyGround coffee shop in Sam Levy’s Village and has five years’ experience under his belt, while 28-year-old Mandizvidza is a six-year bartending veteran who works at the Three Monkeys Restaurant in Greendale.
“We are thrilled with their wins and with the high levels of professional skills they both showed in their competitions, in which they faced strong challenges from all the finalists in both of this year’s barista and mixology competitions,” said Liesel Pretorius of Drop Beverage Solutions.
“There was a general high level of standard in the competitions and for those of us watching it was also an inspiring experience to see the enthusiasm, enjoyment and professionalism of all the entrants.”
Entry into the barista competition was open to everyone involved in this field across the country and the finals involved competitive preparation of beverages by 10 finalists under the scrutiny of judges, leading to a shortlisting to five and a final announcement of a top three, including national champion.
There was a similar flow of activity in the mixology competition, held on the same day and also under the watchful eyes of a panel of judges.
An addition to the competition day this year was the inclusion of a food and wine -pairing competition, in which chefs and service staff of four restaurants prepared dishes and paired them with wines for a panel of expert tasting judges.
- Barista Masuku scoops top gong
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“It was a full day of activity in which the service people of Zimbabwe’s hospitality industry were in the spotlight of professional scrutiny and in which they highlighted what amazing skills we do have in the industry,” said Pretorius.
Judges included representatives of South African principals of Drop Beverage Solutions and local hospitality personalities.
In second position in the barista contest was Obey Madzokere of Pistachio and Robert Chirinda of Mozambik restaurant Honey Bear Lane.
In the national mixology competition Ronaldo Robinson of La Parada came in second, while Vanessa Muzangaza of The Jam Tree was third.
However, in the food and wine pairing competition Upstate by Pariah State restaurant won the starter segment, front of house service went to Three Monkeys, Upstate by Pariah State main course again for the main course, while Amanzi took back of the house.
Upstate by Pariah State came tops in the overall ranking followed by Three Monkeys. Amanzi and La Parada took third and fourth positions respectively.
