Whiff of coffee culture in Joburg
TRENDY SHOPS SPROUT AROUND CITY
COFFEE is becoming quite the thing in Johannesburg with patrons seeking out the best in flavour, aroma and roast.
My wild bean hunt for a decent cup started at the Bean There Coffee Company in Milpark. I was greeted at the door by the strong aroma of coffee beans roasting and falling out from the mouth of the giant Probat roasting machine.
The cup of choice was a cappuccino, something that the co-owner of the establishment, Sarah Robinson, calls the popular fix.
Robinson, who runs the company with her brother, says the raw beans are imported from Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania.
My next stop was Father Coffee, the new kid on the block on Juta Street, Braamfontein. Here, I had a shot of rich Macchiato served in a small glass.
Only three weeks old, Father Coffee has come to settle amid the cosmopolitan ambience of Braamfontein.
Co-owner Nicholas Chritsowits says the shop attracts different kinds of people.
“We have had a little bit of everything, from students to cool-kids and the trendies. It’s really awesome,” Chritsowitz says.
On this block alone, there are four specialist coffee shops. A few steps away from Father Coffee is the cosy Doubleshot, where the roasting is done in an antique machine dating back to 1916.
Barista Stann Ngubeni says that people just seem to love the sound that the machine makes.
Ngubeni serves me a Latte brewed from Costa Rican beans. This is a light roast compared to the others.
Doubleshot also pride themselves with an interesting mix of teas, but Nguneni says that the market craves coffee.
“Tea is tasty, but it’s not as interesting. You don’t get the same feeling as you do with coffee and people are in it for the culture,” Ngubeni reflects.
The culture flows on to the Maboneng precinct, where coffee is served in the authentic Ethiopian style at Little Addis cafe. It moves on to the cafes on Main Street and diverts to Crazy Bean, all the way to Parkhurst.
The best coffee is all over Johannesburg and the onus is on you to catch the whiff and the taste.