Starbucks announces 2025 Barista Champion – From Gauteng to global – Kabelo Majoro is heading to London as your 2025 Starbucks SA Barista Champion!

As winner of this highly sought after title, Kabelo – or Jori, as he is known to his friends and fellow Partners at Starbucks – is on his way to Europe for an extreme coffee training experience, and, most excitingly, the chance to win Starbucks EMEA Championships.

For Jori, becoming a Barista Champion means stepping closer to earning the prestigious Purple apron, a remarkable achievement at Starbucks. In South Africa, only two Partners currently wear it: Phuti Mmotla and Teddy Nzama. Each apron colour at Starbucks holds deep meaning. There is green – worn proudly by all Partners; black – worn by Coffee Masters, and the rarest apron, Purple; the most difficult to attain, symbolising true mastery and dedication.

Jori isn’t just brewing coffee. He’s brewing boldness, resilience, and a legacy, the very spirit of brave in action. He’ll have a chance to show off his personal brave when the champions take part in an immersive range of activities, starting with several days in Amsterdam, where they will visit the coffee roasting plant that houses and roasts all green coffees from across the growing regions around the world where Starbucks sources its coffees.

Jori has travelled a long road to reach this point. It all started with the Starbucks Store Championships, where he beat 83 other Partners from the 72 Starbucks stores around the country taking part in the Store Championships. Winners from this round went on to take part in the District Championships, and the winners went onto the Regional Championships.

Next, these brilliant baristas all showed off their skills the National Barista Championship held in Cape Town – the last stop before London.

It was a nerve-wracking contest, but the stakes are even higher at the EMEA Barista Championships, where at least 37 Partners from around 3,226 stores in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region are out to do their best. For the winner, the ultimate prize is being named a Starbucks EMEA Brand Ambassador – plus, getting the chance to show off their Coffee Knowledge, Creativity and Passion in the Global Championships.

From his first pour in 2017 to the Global stage in 2025, Jori’s story is a reminder that every cup, and every moment, matters. He’s not just representing Starbucks South Africa, he’s representing the BRAVE hearts behind every apron.

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