Awards & Recognition

Four Bronze Medals. Three blends recognised. One very proud first year.

In June 2026, Marnka & Co. entered the Golden Bean Australasian Championships for the first time and received four Bronze Medals, with three of our five blends recognised. As our Managing Director Christine Sindely put it, it was “the most exciting way we could have come out of the gates.”

2026 Golden Bean Australasian Championships

Brisbane, 16–20 June 2026

Golden Bean Australasia judged 752 coffees across 12 categories, with more than 100 coffee professionals participating as judges. Every entry is assessed by blind cupping — flavour alone, no brand, no story, no name. Just the coffee in the cup.

Marnka & Co. was recognised across three of its five blends:

• Maka (fire) — Bronze, Espresso (Short Black)
• Maka (fire) — Bronze, Milk Based (Latte)
• Ukarai (deadly, something seriously good) — Bronze, Milk Based (Latte)
• Wadhlu (Country) — Bronze, Super Automatic (Espresso)

Four medals. Three blends. One unmistakable message: the coffee speaks for itself.

What This Means

Blind judging does not know who we are. It does not know that we are a female-led, 100% Indigenous Australian-owned and operated specialty coffee brand, or that every blend is named in the Arabana language and carries a story from Country. It only knows what is in the cup.

That is why these results matter so deeply to us. They are not a gesture of recognition toward a worthy cause. They are a judgement of quality, made honestly and independently, by some of the most experienced palates in the industry.

“For a brand this new, having three of our blends recognised in a blind judging process is the most exciting way we could have come out of the gates. It tells us the coffee speaks for itself. These results belong to our roasting partners and to the community behind the brand, and we are proud to see that quality acknowledged on a national stage.”
— Christine Sindely, Managing Director

What Comes Next

As Bronze medallists at the 2026 Golden Bean Australasian Championships, Marnka & Co. is eligible to progress to the Golden Bean World Series, to be held in Fiji in February 2027. We are just getting started.

Our Blends

Each of the five Marnka & Co. blends carries an Arabana name and meaning, and is developed with a third-generation Italian-Australian roasting family in Naarm/Melbourne:

• Maka — fire
• Ukarai — deadly, something seriously good
• Wadhlu — Country
• Kutha — water/rain
• Waangara — tomorrow

Media Release

Download the full media release for press, media, and stockist enquiries.

Inspired by Country.