Coffey & Cake

Your guide to great coffee

Coffee Shops along the Midlands Meander

Every so often I retreat to the KZN Midlands to reset my mind and detox my soul. I have always LOVED visiting the Midlands, and as a coffee shop blogger I love it even more now that there are some absolutely phenomenal coffee shops along the Midlands Meander. To me there is nothing better then sipping on a cup of coffee with a view out over the farmlands, surrounded by friendly people and misty rolling hills. Ok it’s not always misty but when it is there is a mystical magic to the Midlands.

These are some of my favourite coffee shops in the Midlands, all serving specialty coffee.

Wanda’s Cafe @ The Farmer’s Daughter

Serving Colombo Coffee and tasty baked treats, Wanda’s Cafe is located in the garden of The Farmer’s Daughter. Well known for their delicious lemon meringue in a jar, Jen and her team at The Farmer’s Daughter have also struck gold with their barista Wanda.

Stop in at Wanda’s Cafe on the R103, at The Patchwood Elephant.

Like Wanda’s Cafe on Facebook

 

Terbodore Coffee Roasters

Terbodore Coffee Roasters set the bar high in the Midlands. I remember when we would stay in the Midlands and the only place to grab a cup of specialty coffee was at Terbodore. Established in 2004, Terbodore now also have a roastery in the Western Cape. Roasting on site Terbodore Coffee is a real coffee experience. They serve a number of medium to dark roast coffees and as you step out your car you will succumb to the smell of their caramel and french vanilla coffee as well. It’s enough to make you leave with more than one bag of coffee beans.

You can find Terbodore Coffee Roasters at 87 Old Main Road, Curry’s Post.

Like Terbodore Coffee Roasters on Facebook.

 

Steampunk Cafe

Steampunk Cafe is the most recent addition to the Midlands Meander coffee scene. Steampunk Cafe started out as a basic coffee shop/pit stop on the R103 and has, as of late, added a roastery on to the side of their coffee shop. Owner Michael Goddard is a passionate and humble coffee lover who desires to serve the community with great tasting coffee.

You can find Steampunk Cafe at the Token’s Garage on the R103.

Like Steampunk Cafe on Facebook

 

Blueberry Cafe

Let me just say that I was elated to learn that Blueberry Cafe have hired a Durban trained barista, who is roasting coffee solely for Blueberry Cafe. I love this cafe, the view is like no other and coupled with a trained barista and delicious specialty coffee, this coffee shop may soon become a regular hangout. Might I add that their blueberry cheesecake is OUT OF THIS WORLD good! Trust me on this one.

You can find Blueberry Cafe in Nottingham Road at Blueberry Hill.

Like Blueberry Cafe on Facebook

Those are my top coffee shops along the Midlands Meander, and I am so aware that there may be others that you have visited and that’s awesome. Please comment below and let me know where those are. I may have already been there and just because it’s not a favourite of mine doesn’t mean it’s not good. I am also so aware that there are AMAZING cafes all over the Midlands Meander, however what differentiates the spots listed above is that they are serving specialty coffee.

Take a trip to the Midlands and do yourself a favour by stopping off at any of these coffee shops along the Midlands Meander.

Durban to host the SA National Barista Champs

The announcement has been made and the 2015 SA National Barista Champs will be held in Durban! This is a pretty big deal, as Durban has never been host to this fantastic competition. Gateway’s Expo Xplore Court will become stage to the top 24 baristas in South Africa, where they will compete for first place.

The winner of this competition will be named South African Barista Champ and will head over to Dublin, Ireland in 2016 to compete at the World Barista Champs. Like I said, this is a pretty big deal.

Never been to a coffee competition, well this is what you can expect - Read “What happens at the barista champs?”.

The SA National Barista Champs will take place from the 19th - 22nd November.

These events are organised by the Specialty Coffee Association of Southern Africa, together with their awesome sponsors. They are run as per World Coffee Events standards and these competitions are a terrific platform for young baristas to further their skills and network amongst industry leaders.

I will DEFINITELY be at the competition so I hope to see many of you there!

What happens at the Barista Champs?

A lot of people have asked me the question, “What happens at the Barista Champs?” and I love answering that question. Attending the barista champs is equally as nerve wracking as it is exhilarating. In this blog post I am going to explain exactly what happens at the barista champs, and why these competitions are so important.

Today is the start of the Western Cape Barista Champs. Baristas from around the province are meeting at the Homemakers Expo, where a stage has been set up for the 3 day competition to take place. Baristas enter the competition prior to it’s start and they can choose which category they would like to compete in : Barista Competition, Latte Art Competition, or the Cup Tasters Competition. What do each of these competitions entail? Let me fill you in.

Barista Competition
This competition is the busiest and more expansive, of the categories as each barista has only 15 minutes to prepare 4 cappuccinos, 4 espressos, and 4 of their signature drink. White preparing each course they are speaking to the 4 sensory judges and head judge, explaining their coffee and what flavour notes the judges will taste, and why they have chosen this coffee. They have a backtrack to their performance so the whole 15 minutes really is that much like a show. The suspense kicks in when you watch the clock countdown and you hope that the barista will finish in time. Every minute over the allocated 15 minutes is points deducted. I often find myself sitting on the edge of my seat during most sets.

Not only are there 4 sensory judges tasting for the flavour notes the baristas have pointed out, but there is a head judge checking the texture of the milk and the presentation. There are also technical judges who watch the baristas making sure they don’t waste any coffee grind, and they watch the tamping methods used, and how the barista pulls their shots. To top it off baristas are also marked on how clean they keep their station. There is a lot that goes into those 15 minutes!

A signature drink is any espresso based drink that doesn’t include alcohol or artificial ingredients.

Latte Art Competition
The next category is most peoples favourite, the Latte Art Competition. Baristas have to present two pictures of latte art, and are required to replicate each pattern. One pattern is made using a free pour, and the other a design pour. A free pour is straight from jug to cup and the barista uses their wrist and angles to create the shapes in the textured milk. The design pour is also made from jug to cup, however once poured the barista can use a design tool (toothpick, latte art pen) to create extra elements on the textured milk. This is a creative and artistic competition that leave every audience mesmerised at the exceptional latte art.

Cup Tasters Competition
The final category at the barista champs is the Cup Tasters Competition. Not many bystanders are aware of what cupping is, which is why I have written a whole post about it here : read more. As you will see from this image below, freshly ground coffee is prepared and tempered water is poured over the coffee creating a layer of grind at the top and coffee/water underneath. Baristas compete against each other to identify which coffee out of 3 is the odd one out. There are usually up to 8 sets of 3 cups for each barista to taste. Cupping is great fun to watch as baristas have to slurp up the coffee in order to get the most flavour around their palates.

The competition structure usually takes place over 3 days. Day 1 and Day 2 all baristas compete and at the end of Day 2 the top 6 are announced. All 6 go through to Nationals from each region. On Day 3 the top 6 compete to be ranked and for a Regional Barista Champ to be named.

SCASA is the Specialty Coffee Association of Southern Africa and is made up of a number of individuals dedicated to growing the specialty coffee industry in SA. Each province has a committee dedicated to making sure all competitions run as per World Coffee Events standards. These competitions are a fantastic way for local baristas to learn more about coffee and making good coffee. They are also a great way to build camaraderie amongst the baristas and they get to network with industry leaders.

I encourage you all, if you get the chance, to attend the barista champs one day. They take place in Durban, Cape Town, Joburg and PE. Our support to these local guys goes a long way in motivating them to produce great coffee for us the consumer. It also is an opportunity for them to educate us on how good coffee should taste and spread the knowledge of specialty coffee.

Yes I am passionate about the coffee culture we have here in SA and around the world. Coffee is drunk every second of the day, around the world, so why drink bad coffee when you can drink exceptional, specialty coffee, made by local baristas who love what they do. Let’s #supportlocal and together we can impact lives through every cup of coffee we drink.

 

Drakensberg Chocolate Memories

Last month my mom in law visited us from the UK. During her stay we went to stay at Champagne Castle in the Drakensberg. The weather was superb, warm and sunny during the day and cold enough for a fire at night. The mountain tops were capped with snow and the views went on for miles.

While we were there we visited a few of the local hotspots, namely Valley Bakery and the Drakensberg Chocolate Memories shop. On arrival at Champagne Castle we were given a flyer of the different chocolate tastings at Drakensberg Chocolate Memories and the one that caught my eye was the coffee and chocolate pairing.

Using Bean Green coffee from Durban, they make their coffee with a siphon. Having tried a number of different methods they have found customers enjoy coffee this way the most. It also looks pretty awesome. The only thing I would have changed was to have fresh milk with the coffee. But that’s just me, I’m not a fan of long life milk in beautifully extracted, specialty coffee.

With our coffee we received three decadent chocolates each, a fudge chocolate, creme brulee, and a marzipan chocolate. The creme brulee bite was the best in my opinion. (All the chocolates at Drakensberg Chocolate Memories are hand made.)

Aside from having a cup of coffee with your chocolate you can order a chocolate fondue, which I was tempted to have as well. The Drakensberg Chocolate is so delicious and knowing it is locally and hand crafted makes me want to buy it even more. Each bar is out for tasting on their chocolate bar, and my personal favourite is the 70% Dark.

If only to buy chocolate this experience is worth a visit when in the Champagne Valley. Drakensberg Chocolate Memories can be found in the Cedarwood Centre opposite the road from Champagne Sports Resort.

Follow Drakensberg Chocolate Memories on Facebook
Visit their website here

 

Become a coffee ambassador in your city!

More than just visiting coffee shops I have a passion to educate people, around the world, about places that serve good quality, specialty coffee. Not only does this benefit the person drinking the coffee, it has a chain effect where it benefits coffee sales at the coffee shop, and ultimately it benefits the farmers producing the coffee beans. The more specialty coffee we drink, the more farmers sell and the more they can provide for their families. As we educate people about where to drink specialty coffee more people will start drinking and enjoying specialty coffee.

Our hope is that this standard of coffee will be upheld and that the everyday person will start buying beans from their favourite coffee shop and will be making this coffee in their homes too! Gone will be the days of drinking coffee just for the caffeine content, but coffee will be enjoyed for it’s complex and complimentary flavours.

SO as a coffee ambassador with Coffey & Cake you aren’t just taking pictures at coffee shops, you are part of a greater picture. A picture that will help many many people.

Join the coffee adventure today and email me if you would like to be a coffee ambassador in your city. Alternatively you can just post your pictures on Instagram or twitter using #coffeyandcake or post them to our Facebook Page here.

Once you have posted them and we approve the specialty coffee shop we will add it to our online coffee map, an interactive directory of coffee shops around the world. Yes you WANT to be part of this process… it’s pretty awesome!