THE COLONY
Learn more about us and where we are based.
About us
We are about specialty coffee.
Since our conception in 2018 our obsession – which some would label an addiction and the jury is still out on whether it’s a healthy one or not – with the specialty coffee industry has just escalated. We love the people in the industry, the challenges and competition within the industry, the inter-connectedness of it, the seemingly boundless opportunities within it, its capacity for creativity, its expressiveness, and the general atmosphere of excitement around it. Although still in an emergent state, the specialty coffee industry in South Africa, and specifically Cape Town, is growing at an exciting pace and in many respects is on the cutting-edge of the international community. This is something we are proud to be a part of, and which we humbly aim to contribute towards.
Simple bru Coffee Co. was started by Jacques Pienaar, who was later joined by Flippie Rosslee and Marcus Braun in what we term the initial days of Sbcc. In 2019 our first café was opened in Tableview, which has since moved location. In 2020 our beachfront café in Melkbosstrand saw the light of day, and in 2022 our Harrington store was burst open by Grant Vraagom and Jacques. Led by Grant, the Harrington café won South Africa’s best new café within its first year of opening.
Aesthetics are of core importance for us, and therefore alternative visuals carry an important feature in wherever we go; visuals which vary from dramatic to playful to edgy and are intent on expressing something of our character as a brand and those who are encapsulated by it. We believe that the space in which you consume specialty coffee is part of the value chain – which extends from the producer to the consumer – and so must uphold the expressive and excellence-driven nature of the industry. Our artist is Bryan Haw.
Also, in 2022 our roastery moved out of the Melkbosstrand premises and into an independent space in Milnerton, Cape Town. The roastery is the heartbeat of the company and it is here were we endeavor to find the best green coffee we can lay our hands on, and diligently find the profiles which serve to preserve as much of the producer’s intended taste and quality as possible. We want to showcase what specialty coffees can taste like and have found a symbiotic passion for experimentally processed coffees. This journey has led us into the arms of Sabores, with whom we have forged a close and personal relationship. Through them, as coffee importers, we have ventured into experimental coffees and directly import lots from the producers in Colombia. With this we hope to deepen the transparency between ourselves and our producers and close the gap between our wholesale partners or retail customers and the soil of our coffees. Our roastery is headed by Jedsun Cawcutt and Migael van der Walt.
Finally, please don’t call us Simply Brew | its Simple bru Coffee Co. 🙂
To work within the specialty coffee industry. To educate, connect, discover, broaden, invest, and contribute to its development, with a specific focus on experimentally processed coffees.