South Africa once only had instant, chicory, or moer-koffie (I call it French Press).  But now from city to city, South Africa is fast becoming known for their speciality coffee.  Especially in the past 8 years or so, South Africa is focusing on perfecting the brew and perfecting their latte art.

But it’s not just the cafe coffee culture that is showing growth, it is in the roasters and coffee farmers here. There are over 150 roasters in the country.  Some roasters are using advanced technology such as solar systems to heat up the beams. The flavour must be there, but how the coffee is roasted is now taken into consideration.

The world of fine coffee is closely aligned with that of the exacting wine maker or accomplished chef. It is subjective in nature; a question of taste. Roasters and brewers are tastemakers.  And what better place to grow coffee than in South Africa.   Coffee is being produced on some beautiful estates (Beaver Creek), notably in KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga (although on a much smaller scale than before).  They even have the naturally caffeine-free species, Coffea Racemosa, found in the coastal forests of Zululand.  The wine culture here has a tourism culture all of its own. Maybe in the future, we will see visitors checking out more and more coffee estates to taste the perfect cup of coffee.

As the world slowly and cautiously continues to come out of the recent global recession, so the sales of coffee, both locally and overseas, are continuing on an upward trend.  World coffee exports amounted to 9.21 million bags in November 2012, compared with 7.88 million in November 2011. Reported by the World Coffee Organization. “Certainly in South Africa, consumers are increasingly prepared to try out new and more sophisticated options. “ That’s according to Chris Brown, Director at The Daily Buzz, a local chain of upmarket workplace coffee bars.