South African Coffee Bean Brands Recommendations_ South African Coffee Jacob and South African Frisco Coffee_ South African Coffee Price

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Bean There: Johannesburg's Premier Coffee Company

This time, I'd like to introduce Bean There, a coffee company from Johannesburg. Founded in 2002 by the Jonathan Robinson family, Bean There is engaged in fair trade and direct trade coffee bean procurement business, primarily importing green coffee beans from various African coffee farms to South Africa. They have their own roasting facilities in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. They mainly sell roasted coffee beans to various coffee shops and other wholesale channels, but of course, they also have retail operations - you can find Bean There beans in South African supermarkets like Pick & Pay, pharmacies like Dis-Chem, and other retail outlets. Bean There's beans are mainly African varieties and all washed processed, as I've heard their head roaster Cuth personally prefers the clean flavor profile of washed South African coffee beans.

Bean There currently has two roasting facilities that double as coffee shops in South Africa - one located on Wale Street in Cape Town, and another at 44 Stanley in Johannesburg. The coffee shop I visited for this photoshoot was the one at 44 Stanley (Note 1).

I came to know about Bean There because the founder Jonathan's parents are pastors in the church. When I moved back to Johannesburg 3 years ago, the enthusiastic pastor's wife handed me a Bean There business card.

Bean There at 44 Stanley uses a La Marzocco Strada 3-group espresso machine.

One of Bean There's baristas won the Gauteng Regional-Best Espresso in the World Barista Championship.

As mentioned above, their coffee beans are mainly from African countries including Ethiopia, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, and Congo.

It's worth mentioning that Bean There has a special micro-lot limited edition coffee called Olga Reserve. Olga is Jonathan's grandmother, and she inspired his love for coffee, so they released Olga Reserve to commemorate his grandmother.

Due to South Africa's developed livestock industry, milk here is sweet, delicious, and inexpensive, making Italian milk-based coffee drinks considerably more affordable compared to Taiwan. For example, a cappuccino costs about 55 Taiwanese dollars (of course, the South African exchange rate has dropped quite a bit in recent years).

On the day I visited, I ordered a Kenya cappuccino. The foam was dense and creamy, and Kenya's bright acidity blended well with the milk.

Unfortunately, the milk temperature was a bit too high.

Note 1: 44 Stanley

44 Stanley is a 1930s industrial factory converted into a small arts and business district, featuring unique boutiques, independent restaurants, delicatessens, second-hand bookstores, and vinyl record shops. It's perfect for spending 3 to 4 hours having a meal, drinking coffee, and browsing through unique shops. I didn't take many photos that day because I was stopped by a Black security guard who said that photographing within 44 Stanley required the manager's permission. I thought this district wasn't exactly a high-end celebrity hotspot, but apparently even casual tourist photography required the district manager's approval. As I was a woman traveling here alone without my husband's protection, I put away my camera!

If you have the chance to visit Johannesburg, come to 44 Stanley for a meal, enjoy Johannesburg's beautiful weather, and have a cup of coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse selection of beans, where you can find various famous and lesser-known coffee beans. They also provide online shopping services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473