While Legado Coffee Roasters was established in 2010, the idea to set up a roastery had been in the making for the better part of a decade at that point. Legado's founders knew they wanted to get into speciality coffee, but they decided to bide their time to find the right moment, set of circumstances and business model.

That moment eventually arrived when they tracked down what may have been the first Diedrich roaster in South Africa. Not only did they convince the long-time owner to sell it to them, but along the way, they also managed to get him to intensively train them on how to get the best out of the machine.

Armed with this inherited wisdom and precision tool, they set about constructing their business, roasting for their own customers right away but also doing a large amount of contract roasting that helped them hone their skills quickly. Fast forward just 6 years, and Legado has helped to transform the Cape Winelands coffee landscape and made an indelible mark on the speciality coffee scene of South Africa as a whole.

Legado's Approach

When you've had the privilege of working with Legado for a while, you come to realise that their founding story epitomises their way of operating. They are focused, meticulous and quality driven. They take their time to prepare well for whatever they're going to do, but when it's time to move, they move quickly.

There's an essence of professionalism that pervades their approach in everything from administration to the aesthetics of their brand. Much to the delight of our, and many of our customers' taste buds, this also translates directly into the cups of coffee brewed from their carefully selected & occasionally blended coffee beans.

Legado's selection of coffees is always varied & delicious - they make a point of ensuring they can offer their customers a really diverse set of origins and flavours. Their roast style honours the natural characteristics of the coffees they source, tending towards the lighter side but always well developed.

Leaving a Legacy

Legado is actually the Portuguese word for legacy, and the name was selected with the same care and thought that they have put into every other aspect of their venture. It is in fact their goal - to honour the legacy of the other parts of the coffee industry they work with, with special focus on the farmers, and to help create a legacy of speciality coffee in their corner of the country and beyond.