The Cedar Coffee Team are expanding! In numbers, locations and in average height! We caught up with Winston Thomas to introduce us to their baby, Cedar Cafe, Albert Road.
Cedar Cafe
Side Street Studios
48 Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7915
How does it feel to be part of a full time cafe again? It’s been a while for both of you*! How different does it feel now that you are the decision makers?
It feels a bit surreal to be honest. We are quite involved in most of our wholesale partners' cafes and are often behind bar for bar takeovers and training but this is different. Being the decision makers can be fun because we can do the things we always dreamt of when we were baristas, but now as the owners all the risk falls on us so we have to be wise :)
*Co-founders Leigh Wentzel and Winston Thomas
How much of a role has ‘opportunity’ played in the progression of your business?
It has played a big role, however, most of the opportunities that have come our way have been because of our calculated planning! And preemptively being able to take them when they come. We’ve had a clear 1, 3, 5 and 10 year plan and have taken very intentional steps along the way and fortunately the work has paid off and the opportunities have followed.
Our bar at Lemkus, the purchase of our roaster, our collabs and this Albert Road space were all opportunities that came our way at the right time according to our plans.
Tell us about the new faces we can expect to see at this flagship location?
Yes! Our two latest hires Georgia and Motheo! They joined us towards the end of last year and we are very chuffed. When we hire, we focus on the people first and we could not have asked for two better humans!
What do you hope for the future of this space?
We hope it takes Woodstock back to the glory coffee days of old. I remember my first experience having coffee from Chad Burton at Tribe way back around 2012, from Ollie at Rosetta and my first Aeropress from Lydia at Espresso Lab at around the same time. Woodstock was a hub for great coffee and, although there are still a few spots around, many have moved out.
The Albert Road store pays homage to the great coffee people from Woodstock that inspired Leigh and I to start working in coffee in the first place. First as baristas and now as Roastery and Cafe owners. We also have a great Landlord Elad who has helped us shape both the roastery and the store.
Which coffees can our readers expect to enjoy at the shop?
We have something special from our friends at Swiss Water Decaf launching very soon! And then we are finishing off lots we purchased last year (Kenya and Ethiopia) and a few reserved lots from last year as well.
We have just cupped our new Kenyan lots for the year and expect Ethiopia and Panama samples to land in the coming months as well. So there will be a tasty and diverse rotations on filter and espresso from week to week!
Is there a coffee or beverage you’re really excited about at the moment?
Our Swiss Water Decaf release is very interesting - as espresso, filter and milk! It’ll be an interesting coffee to talk about and we’re really happy to have the store to foster that conversation.
As far as beverages go there isn’t anything specific that excites me right now, but we are working on a seasonal drinks menu to launch in winter so the creative juices will start flowing soon!
What beverage do think will be the most ordered and why? :)
Most definitely the Flat White. We’ve been very intentional to brew 3 versions of a Flat White that are all delicious in their own way - whether you’re looking for a comforting classic, a tasty and distinguished single origin or a funky special release.
Can we expect anything unusual from the new cafe… manual brews, nitro, a barista on a unicycle…anything unique to pique the curiosity of the CT coffee drinkers?
Haha well, we are proud to say that this is the only coffee bar in the country where you can find a Barista Champion on shift. That is pretty unusual! But for now we’re starting off with getting the basics right and we’ll build from there. But you know us, we are always trying to do something new and creative and one of those things is our Limited Edition Coffee Bon Bons! It's our way of experimenting with coffee in a different form, slightly left field, a little unexpected, and very much in line with how we like to explore flavour.
Instead of expressing these coffees through brewing, we’ve translated them into chocolate. It’s a chance to let coffee show up differently, to step outside the cup, and to play with how flavour, texture, and sweetness interact. This isn’t about redefining coffee, but about opening up another way to experience it.
