Our Coffee Roasters | Cape Coffee Beans

Rosetta Roastery - the Single Origin evangelists

Rosetta Roastery logo One only has to take a glance at the pricing board on the wall of Rosetta Roastery's Woodstock coffee shop and headquarters to realise that they take a different approach to coffee. Down the left hand side, you find the usual list of coffee types - flat white, espresso, americano, etc. - though the presence of alternative methods like a pourover already hint at the fact that this is a place to explore and discover new outlets for a love of coffee. But it's the list of exotic names along the top of the board, helping to form a matrix of options, that leaves the newby staring as they try to decide what their choice should be. Fortunately Jono, Rob or Oli are quick to jump in and help you understand the implications of each particular intersection of preparation method and coffee bean. You'll always find a cup that you will enjoy there, and if you're adventurous, you've got a good chance of finding one that will change your perspective on coffee.

For us, that cup was an Ethiopiean Yirgacheffe prepared meticulously as a pourover by Oli, a barista whose skills helped put Rosetta Roastery on the list of the 10 most memorable Baristas of 2013. We're happy to say that we immortalised that particular preparation (even if in a somewhat blurry manner - see attached photo) as it genuinely was a memorable moment in our journey of coffee discovery. It didn't taste at all like what you might expect from a cup of coffee. It was bright and fruity, with a natural sweetness, and incredibly distinct berry flavours - delicious and also completely different to your typical cup of joe.

Oli - Rosetta Roastery - Pourover Coffee Having spent some more time with the guys at Rosetta Roastery since then, we now know that this is exactly the kind of eye-opening coffee-experiences one can expect there. Even better, you only have to strike up a conversation with one of the guys behind the bar to get a real education in the coffee you're drinking - where it comes from, how the beans were prepared, how they then roasted them and what it is that gives it its unique characteristics. It's that focus on those unique characteristics that sets Rosetta Roastery apart.

About Rosetta Roastery - Cape Town's Single Origin guys

Founded in 2010, you could call Rosetta a fairly new kid on the block, but their reputation within the world of South African coffee is much bigger than the business's age would suggest. Their unique approach to coffee and passion for what they do is undoubtedly what has made their name as well known as it is to coffee aficionados. They place a great emphasis on the sourcing of the beans they use - scanning the globe for quality coffees with unique flavours. Once they have sourced their coffee beans, they take great care in finding their roasting profiles - the roast that will best accentuate their natural characteristics. They then sell those beans to their lucky customers in this unadulterated form.

Their focus on Single Origin rather than blended coffees already sets them apart from most of the Cape-area coffee roasters but their dedication to educating their customers about what each coffee-producing region of the world has to offer makes them quite unique. That's why Rosetta Roastery is a great place to visit when you're ready to start exploring coffee in more depth.

What we love about Rosetta Roastery

As is probably already clear, we really love Rosetta Roastery's unrelenting focus on Single Origin coffee. We're as fond as the next person of a delicious coffee blend but finding a different approach to coffee is refreshing and only helps expand one's appreciation for this drink we consume ever day. We also love their passion for the topic - having a chat with Jono or Rob about coffee is inspiring and educational. What makes visiting Rosetta even better is that they are as friendly and welcoming to their customers as they are passionate about coffee. You'll always be greeted and served with a smile and often you'll be lucky enough to benefit from their deep knowledge of the industry.

For those who are ready to get to know the coffee they are drinking much more intimately and are in the Cape Town area, a visit to Rosetta Roastery at the Woodstock Exchange is a must. We're thrilled to be able to sell their coffees, from each region of the world, at Cape Coffee Beans so that you can try what they have to offer from home. Have a look at their page on the site and discover your favourite coffee-producing regions!

Truth - Cape Town's Coffee Cult

Truth Coffee Logo When we walked into Truth's HQ, we couldn't help thinking that it looked a little bit like a scene out of a Tim Burton movie. It kept us looking around at every corner for several minutes before we thought to order. The aesthetic wasn't at all what you may have come to expect from coffee shops. The colours were dark and metallic, the staff dressed in Victorian style and the space filled with an enormous and impressive-looking machine. That machine, named Colossus, is central to the style of the Truth HQ as a whole, which we now know is called Steampunk: a type of futurism from a Victorian perspective. It really is a captivating space - If you're ever in Cape Town, we would highly recommend you go see it for yourself.

The truth is (no pun intended) that this coffee shop would be worth visiting regardless of what they served, just to take in the look and feel of the place. Fortunately for us coffee-lovers, this is far from the only reason to take an interest in Truth.

About the Truth Coffee Cult

Truth was founded in 2009 by David Donde, a true evangelist of excellent coffee. David has been involved in specialty coffee for more than a decade and has been a central part of the coffee revolution that has been happening in the Cape Town area over the last few years. We were lucky enough to have the chance to chat to David about coffee recently and his passion and depth of knowledge immediately shone through. We picked up some great tips on how to make our coffee better, and started to understand the dedication that was behind this brand of coffee which has attracted such a cult following.

What we love about Truth

There are a lot of things to love about Truth: the fantastic HQ coffee shop (recently named best coffee shop in the world), the clean, simple design of the bags and the passion of its team to name a few. All of that is secondary to the most important thing about Truth however: the coffee is amazing!

If you have a chance visit Truth in person, at the HQ on 36 Buitenkant, you will be served a Truly mouth-watering coffee. The flavour of Truth's beans is incredibly bold and rich, without even a hint of bitterness. It's the kind of flavour that will stay in your mind for days afterwards and give you uncontrollable cravings for another cup.

The best part is, Truth's coffee is also amazing when you make it at home. When we first tried Truth coffee in our humble coffee press, we quickly realised that Truth's slogan - We roast coffee. Properly - was right on the money. The amount of flavour you can extract from freshly ground Truth coffee beans really demonstrates that the people roasting them know exactly what they are doing.

So if you're in the Cape Town area, don't miss out on the chance to have an amazing cup of coffee at the best coffee shop in the world but even if you can't visit, order a bag of Truth coffee from Cape Coffee Beans and try it at home - you will not regret it!

häzz - our favourite coffee for heroes

häzz - coffee for heroes It was a Saturday morning spent doing one of our favourite things - taking a couple of hours to relax and indulge at a Cape Town market. This was actually one of our first times at the Stellenbosch Slowmarket at Oude Libertas; now one of our favourites. We we were doing what we usually did at a market on a Saturday morning: wandering from stall to stall, sampling whatever looked tastiest, and accumulating an ever-larger amount of delicacies to take home. We quickly noticed that a rather long queue had formed in one spot, leading up to a small market stall upon which stood an serious-looking espresso machine.

Beside that machine were some bright blue bags of coffee with a name that we immediately concluded must have been European: häzz. Undaunted by the queue and intrigued to find out why this European coffee was drawing such a crowd, we waited patiently and ordered some cappuccinos. Those who have been lucky enough to have a häzz coffee at the Stellenbosch market won't be at all surprised to hear that we were blown away by the coffee we were served.

I think we left that day still thinking that we'd sampled some fantastic European coffee, confused about why we hadn't heard of this international brand before. Once we started returning to that market, the häzz coffee stall quickly became our first stop and eventually, the people working at the stall enlightened us.

About häzz

Needless to say, we learned quickly that häzz wasn't a European brand of coffee but rather a proudly South African one. With headquarters at a beautiful cafe in Stellenbosch, häzz is South Africa's best answer to the big European coffee brands. The makers of häzz realised that South African consumers were having to make a choice between a recognisable brand and a fresh locally-roasted coffee and so they created a coffee to fulfil both needs. häzz keeps it simple, much like the European brands that inspired its creation. There is only one häzz blend, it's freshly roasted every day and it's just plain excellent.

What we love about häzz

Flat white from häzz in Stellenbosch We love the straightforward approach that the makers of häzz have taken. The South African consumer can be overwhelmed with choice when trying to pick freshly roasted beans from some of the Cape's roasters. For those who just want a consistent, excellent cup of coffee, no matter what your brewing method, häzz is your answer.

On top of that, we think that the makers of häzz have succeeded in creating a strong brand (one for heroes) which is accompanied by an amazing coffee experience. To see what we mean, pop into the cafe on Ryneveld street in Stellenbosch the next time you're in the area. You'll enjoy a fantastic cup of coffee and a real taste of cafe culture to rival the best that Europe has to offer.

So if you're the type of coffee-drinker who seeks out single-blend big coffee brands at the grocery store, why not give South Africa's answer a try: häzz - coffee for heroes

« Previous 1 2