From Hillcrest to London - The Barista Who Turned Coffee Into Connection

At the Starbucks Hillcrest store, the regulars have started bringing their families in. They want them to meet Musawenkosi Mosikili, the barista behind the counter who has just been named Starbucks South Africa's 2026 National Champion. The store has only been open a year. You would not know it from the way people talk about it.

Mosikili won the title at the National Final at the Starbucks Reserve in Melrose Arch, held from 10 to 12 June. In September he travels to the Starbucks EMEA Support Centre in Chiswick, London. The EMEA Championship runs from 16 to 18 September. He joins the other finalists from the 11th. There is a stop in Amsterdam from 13 to 15 September to visit the Starbucks EMEA Coffee Roasting Plant and learn more about the company's approach to ethical sourcing.

For a young man who joined Starbucks in 2023, unsure of himself and still finding his voice in English, it is a long way to have come in a short time.

Ask him about the win and he does not talk about trophies. He talks about people.