The first edition of the year is always the most difficult to get over the line, but nothing worth doing is ever easy, they tell me. On our cover this edition is the end result of a long value chai...

Words by Kate Burnett Over the weekend, Martin Wölfl of Austria secured 1st place at the World Brewers Cup.  The theme of his world-beating set was innovation. He focused on 6 key innov...

Christiaan Jacobs, from Sorcery Coffee in Pretoria, this week placed 3rd in the World in the Lavazza International Barista Competition held in Turin Italy. The competition took place at th...

We have been suffering from severe FOMO while the Specialty Coffee Expo has been happening in Chicago, April 12-14. Two World Coffee Championships were held during those three days: World Cup Tasters ...

Breathe in. Breathe out. Honestly, there was little else going through my mind when I walked into this piece of calm at the end of a busy week. What a treat. Aptly named Mellow Nello, chilli...

The Impact of cup shape on coffee flavour perception Words by Ayanda Dlamini Velvet Cafe in Istanbul is a concept cafe where you can select your own unique cup that has a story! In...

Andre Blignaut, a rookie at this year's SCASA National Coffee Competitions went on to win the Cup Tasters Title and is in Chicago for the World Cup Tasters Championship this week!
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Words by Ayanda Dlamini Images courtesy of Freshly Ground, unless otherwise stated. Photo by Ayanda Dlamini Freshly Ground Coffee emerged as a beacon of warmth and cultural significance o...

Words by Kate Burnett In 1982, what we now know as the Specialty Coffee Association was founded. According to the their website, “…the term ‘specialty coffee’ was firs...

Beating the drum for coffee Coffee is a powerful social lubricant — often forming the basis of friendships, romances and other significant life moments. In a world that is too easily divided,...

This is truly an innovative handgrinder design and we have had so much fun experimenting with the Pietro by Fiorenzato. The design features vertical flat burrs that help to lower retention, which mean...

One of our favourite things about coffee is discovering it in the most unlikely of places, we also have a love of a ‘padstal’ (Farm Stall) and as it happens, just outside Mossel Bay one of...

Words by Katie Burnett Pepe Jijón seemingly burst onto the specialty coffee scene in 2021 after World of Coffee Milan. His farm in Ecuador, Finca Soledad, quickly became one of the names bei...

Words by Ayanda Dlamini Issy’s Coffee and Gifts is a small coffee shop in Forest Town at the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre. I was lured in by its unique and immersive...

The SCASA National Coffee Competitions at HOSTEX 2024 came to an exciting end this  week. The competitors laid it all on the line and we are so proud of the standard at this year's competi...

By Ayanda Dlamini  Prepare to immerse yourself in a narrative of growth, resilience, and community. This week we welcome back I Love Coffee Group. For those that are new - I Love Coffee Grou...

I think the romantic idea of owning a coffee business can have few more whimsical iterations than a travelling cafe in the back of a vintage Landy with a coastal cliffs backdrop as your home base. Thi...

Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood unpacks the idea that specialty coffee might well be a niche, but it's a niche that’s here to stay Words by Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, originally published in...

Words by Katie Burnett I had a couple of days in Athens before World of Coffee 2023 began. We had chosen two places we really wanted to spend time at and drink coffee at: The Underdog and Foyer E...

By Ayanda Dlamini  Cnr Whiteley Road and, The High St, Melrose, Johannesburg, 2196 Located in Melrose Arch, The Grind Coffee Company pays homage to the hardworking spirit of the city. It ...