Trevor Digoamaje, a popular barista at Bembom Portuguese Café in Linden, Johannesburg, who has been crowned the Diners Club’s Barista of the Year 2024.
A quiet Thursday turned unforgettable when a Diners Club team paid a surprise visit to Trevor at his espresso bar and presented him with his well-deserved R20 000 grand prize as the 2024 Barista Champion, as well as a certificate of excellence to be displayed at Bembom Linden.
Commemorating its second year, Diners Club’s The Day Makers Barista of the Year competition celebrates excellence in coffee craftsmanship, honouring the talented baristas, the Day Makers who deliver your morning fix and turn beans into bliss! It is an opportunity for coffee shops and baristas to shine, inspire and lead in the coffee community, and to brew success together.
There is no entry fee to participate. Coffee shops are encouraged to enter their prized baristas, providing the scope to spotlight their business, affirm their barista’s skill and creativity, enhance their establishment’s reputation and customer engagement, and attract new patrons.
The participating merchants receive a visible QR code that they can display for the attention of their customers. Patrons then use this code to vote for their favourite barista (one vote per till slip), making the voting process simple and integrated into the regular customer experience.
Diners Club actively markets the competition through its social media platforms and website over six months, showcasing the profiles of the contenders, and drawing in new customers who then visit their barista of choice to savour their coffee expertise and cast their vote.
This year, 91 establishments participated, with 135 barista entrants. The celebration of coffee culture reached its conclusion when the votes were counted. Trevor Digoamaje emerged as the winner of the prestigious 2024 Barista Champion title, which recognised his exceptional coffee-making skills and the joy he brings to his customers.
In the winner’s video interview, promoted on all of Diners Club’s social media platforms, “I’m honoured and excited to be this year’s Diners Club Barista of the Year. It’s an incredible feeling! My coffee journey began eight years ago, after college, when I started working as a junior barista. I started realising there’s more to coffee. What is coffee, where is it coming from, and who started coffee? I started taking my coffee journey seriously. I’m so happy and grateful to Bembom and Diners Club for giving me this opportunity. I cannot wait to share my journey and passion for coffee with you at Bembom. Our name, a blend of two Portuguese words, ‘bem’ and ‘bom’, translates to ‘awesome’, and that’s precisely the experience we aim to deliver.” says Trevor .
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Feature image: Supplied
