We travel back in time to trace the fresh aroma of the much-loved java bean in the Mother City
Coffee is magical.

From its aromatic allure to its spellbinding power to take a casual coffee shop chat among strangers into a memorable experience, one thing is certain; there is an unexplainable power to the bean.

So much so that South Africa has seen gigantic growth in the java business. In fact, the South African Coffee Club reveals that in just 10 years, the industry has grown from a mere 20 roasteries to over 100 spots mapped throughout the country. According to Stats SA’s 2014 figures the 2.8% contribution growth in the fast food industry can be ascribed to coffee, with a 7.8% growth increase in the coffee industry as a whole.

While the numbers prove what we’ve been seeing, we thought to ask those in the game about just how this coffee trend came about in the Mother City. We spoke to three industry leaders to uncover the history of when and how our seaside metropolis came to have a lustrous affair with the coffee bean.