This year Mastertons Coffee in Port Elizabeth turns 100 years old!
Wow!!
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD!!! Are you kidding us?? In that time, the business has operated at three different locations and has passed through three generations of the Masterton family! We have had the privilege to enjoy coffee at two of those locations, and have met two of the generations involved at both Central and Walmer, and are very proud to say that it is indeed a wonderful legacy.
In 1924, the Masterons Coffee Roastery was founded by Jock Masterton. Jock had come to South Africa from Scotland in 1920 at the age of 23 after serving as an officer in the First World War. He first worked as assistant manager on the farm ‘Three Rivers’ in Vereeniging where he met his future wife Marjorie. The couple then made the move to Marjorie’s hometown of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.
Jock Masterton opens the coffee roastery in Queen street, P.E.
Check out this cool video on Jock:
After then studying Tea Tasting in Ceylon (Sri Lanka today), Jock returned to Port Elizabeth where he opened ‘The Tea and Coffee House’ at 33a Queen Street (now Govan Mbeki Avenue) in 1924.Their very first bag of coffee was a Brazilian Santos, which at the time cost just 1 Pound 18 shillings and sixpence!
In 1966 the business moved just up the hill to Russel rd and a few years later in 1969, Jock's son, James Masterton joined the family business after leaving his position as a production manager at a coffee company in Cape Town. James has over 50 years' experience in the coffee industry and he has helped and inspired many people along their coffee journey in that time!
James Masterton joines the business.
In 2002, 78 years after Jock first opened the doors, his Grandson, Ryler Masterton joined the business and is the current man at the helm. In 2018, in keeping with the times, the Roastery moved again, this time to its current site in Walmer, where it continues to serve the larger community of Nelson Mandela Bay area and has won several awards and accolades.
Father and son, James and Ryler Masterton at work in the roastery.
We wish Mastertons many congratulations on this auspicious milestone and look forward to tasting the Mastertons Centenary Blend, especially curated to celebrate this occasion! (Which we highly recommend you do too!)
Mastertons now stands at 92 Main Road, Walmer, 100 years after opening its doors to the community
