The 50th Issue of Coffee Magazine was launched amidst glitz, glamour and much fanfare at the Coffee Magazine awards in Stellenbosch last Saturday night, and in hits shelves all over Southern Africa this week!
Find it at your favourite cafe or purchase it online now!
This issue is significant because it is a milestone issue, and we have broken some of our own records in producing it.
Firstly, it has not one…but TWO...extra sections of text - that’s 32 pages more than a usual Coffee Magazine edition! When you pick it up, it is weighty! This has given us (Mel mainly, but also me!) a chance to really dive into some long format features and give them the depth and scope that only a magazine can give you. I write an ironically named piece called “Print is Dead” (it’s not really!) which marks the place of print media in a digital world and this will give you readers some insight into our magazine and where it sits in the sub-culture. It was pretty cool to see people reading this at the CMAs and then chatting to the Industry professionals about the role Coffee Magazine has played in uniting the coffee community in SA. My other favourite piece is written by Mr David Donde (Truth Coffee) who looks at the beginning of speciality coffee in SA. When we started Coffee Magazine, all of those coffee businesses that were in their infancy. A bit like comparing Cape Town’s Coffee Scene in the early 2000s to Seattles Grunge scene in the early 90s! It was all happening!
Secondly, this issue has again…not one, but TWO gatefolds! This means each cover, both front and back, fold out! In my entire publishing career of 19 years, across 7 magazine titles, I’ve only ever published 3 magazines with a gatefold (and that was only one gatefold in those two mags! So this Coffee Magazine is extra special! Oh, and the cover reveals something pretty cool - which makes you have to pick up, move it around and change your perspective, to “get it” :) Ah, the beauty of perspective!
Finally, this issue comes with a bellyband (that’s a black band around the outside of the magazine) which will lead you on a treasure hunt where you can win the biggest prize in coffee, valued at R160 000!! - That’s not a typo…it’s the correct number of zeros!
We really hope you enjoy this magazine - we’ve put absolutely everything into this one, and we’re so so proud of hitting this milestone, and so proud of our coffee community that has made it possible for us to publish in this incredible culture of coffee in South Africa!
Iain & Mel.
Media: Print is Dead
We beg to differ. Iain Evans reflects on a career in magazine publishing on reaching this milestone issue.
Discover: The Big Bang
Specialty coffee in South Africa exploded to life in the early 2000’s inspiring a quantum leap forward in quality and limitless potential.
The beginnings of and humans behind speciality coffee in South Africa might be a topic up for debate, but the overwhelming consensus from a large majority of the coffee pioneers that David Donde had the opportunity to engage with, was that right now, in the year 2024, the overall standard of coffee in our country on the Southern tip of Africa is incredibly high.
Brew: Like a Champion
We have the immense privilege to share recipes from a handful of the amazing South African Coffee Champions that have competed on a World level over the years. Celebrating their journeys that have been part of the fabric of this magazine through the years.
Barista Stories: The Heroes behind your Daily Coffee
Get to know the humans behind the bar from some of their biggest fans. We honour them and we respect their craft as one of the most important facets of our subculture. We don’t often hear the personal stories from the baristas behind the bar, unless they are involved in some kind of competition. Meet three coffee professionals who spend each day making delicious coffees and making us all better humans.
Travel: City Guides
JAKARTA | PARIS | SHANGHAI | MIAMI | DUBAI
You may be asking yourself, why these particular cities? Good question! As with all of the endeavours we undertake, our choices are based on the humans and the experiences! These are not definitive ‘Best Of’ lists, these are personal adventures in cities through coffee, from one of the most popular tourist destination cities in the world to one that is near impossible to navigate for any tourist. Soak up these unique places that have each evolved their own cafe culture.
Collaboration: Always with Purpose
In a rare interview, co-founder of Rosslyn, James Hennebry shared some insights into their philosophy. Founded in 2018, Rosslyn is a collection of five high volume, independent, speciality coffee shops in the City of London that have consistently been recognised internationally for being some of the best cafés in Europe.For the first time, a South African coffee roastery, Bluebird Coffee Roastery, was invited to be a guest at one of their famous bar takeovers, an honour that has only been extended to an exclusive group of world-leading coffee roasters and Barista Champions.
Human Interest: Wouldn’t it be Nice?
Wendelien van Bunnik is the 2019 World AeroPress Champion. She is focused on making the journey of coffee professionals happier and more inclusive through her platform The Happy Coffee Network and from the competition stage, where she finds joy in supporting other competitors as an emcee, her trademark pink hair brightening up many a competition. We asked her to tell us her story, to inspire us to fail and as a reminder that each of you is amazing.
Origin: The Brewing Coffee Climate Crisis
Our capacity to take in new information when it comes to the phrase ‘Climate Change’, is at an all time low, but for the producers on the ground the effects are becoming all too real. Matthew Carter has seen first hand the impact that changes in weather patterns are having on farmers in Tanzania. It’s time to sit up and take notice. And be part of the solutions.
Culture: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Coffee Farming
When we thought back on the contributors we’ve featured over the years, one of our favourite article series was the interwoven strands of music and coffee seamlessly integrated by the inimitable Lem Butler, co-founder of Black&White Coffee Roasters, US Barista Champion and one of our first international guests at Creative Coffee Week 2018. We gave him carte blanche to blow our minds with what his current musings are on music and coffee. He did not disappoint.
