Bliss Coffee is forging a path of coffee culture in the Northern Cape. We caught up with Andre Smith to learn more about this fantastic cafe and roastery based in Kimberly!
What was it like putting together your beautiful cafe and roastery?
We started very small back in 2017, actually sooner than that, I started roasting coffee in a pan back in 2014. I would visit some of the best roasteries in SA and just dream about what I would like ours to look like. Setting up our roastery was hard work, but it was a dream come true, we’ve been sitting on ideas for years and we finally got to put it in practice.
Who are the key players in your team? And can you tell us a little about each of them
We are very blessed to have a great team. I’m the roaster, barista, trainer and I run the day to day things at the roastery. My wife Reshelle is the creative one, she comes up with all the crazy ideas, ideas like painting a 2.75 x 1.6m world map out of coffee. Jacques and Henk and Danie are my partners in crime, you won’t see them at the shop every day, they are always out there selling more coffee, getting more good coffee out there for people to enjoy. Yvonne, Jacques wife is also very creative, she also helps a lot tying loose ends and is always there to help wherever she is needed.
What is the ethos of your business?
First of all we see ourselves as a part of the global coffee community that advocates good, ethical coffee with excellence. We also want to see a coffee culture grow in the Northern Cape where it hasn’t expanded to yet.
What do you love most about being in the coffee industry?
What I love most about the coffee industry is the people, the relationships that is built and the experience of meeting new people. Another thing that I love is the high level of excellence and passion I see in people in the industry.
How important are regulars to the fabric of day cafe life?
Regulars plays a crucial role at our shop. They are the ones promoting us on the outside. We always make sure to engage with them and give the a special experience that they will remember and tell other people about.
Name one menu item that we would never expect or have heard of before - a uniquely Bliss creation! (food or beverage)
We make a beverage we call Kaffé Bliss. It’s a blend of Cold brew coffee, lemonade and one other secret ingredient 😉
How can people get coffee from you during this time?
If people are interested in buying coffee from us they can contact us by calling us, whatsapp, Facebook messenger or they can send us a DM on Instagram . We are almost ready to launch our website as well.
What have you learned about yourselves and others that you didn’t know before this?
What I have learned about myself during this time is that hard work and patience always pays off, impatience is the killer of creativity. I’ve also learned that people support a place or person when they see passion. Lastly I’ve also learned and appreciate the openness of the coffee community in South Africa.
What would you like to tell everyone in your community at this moment.
If I can say one thing to my community it is to stand together and help each other to further spread the coffee culture in our city and province, we all want food coffee and if we all work together then we can put the Northern Cape on the map with coffee, I know our people, we are creative and hard working.
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