JOURNEY
Customization options:
lEATHER OPTIONS FOR TABLET MACHINE COLOUR OPTIONS WOOD OPTIONS FOR HANDLES FRONT AND SIDE LOGOs
EXCELLENCE IS SERVED
MEET THE S-LITE.
Designed for those who need a compact product without compromising on the in-cup coffee quality.
Taking the bean-to-cup concept to new heights with THE Plug and Play functionality.
Plug, Power and Serve Great Coffee
FITS RIGHT IN
GETTING TO KNOW
Joel Singer of Origin Coffee (JS), Andrzej Janik of Truth Coffee (AJ), and Chris Gaag of Tribe Coffee (CG)
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB IN COFFEE?
JS Starting Origin.
AJ I honestly have never had “a job in coffee”. My path in the world of coffee started with David Donde and Richard Kellond. Together we created an extraordinary coffee culture called TRUTH. It all stemmed from the belief that “extraordinary” can be achieved across all aspects of life.
CG I first started in coffee as a trainee barista. It was a part-time job while I was at school. I just could not understand what these coffee beans called “espresso roast” were. I couldn’t wrap my head around what and why a perfect shot of espresso was. It sparked my love for coffee. It piqued my curiosity and started me on this journey, that I am still on. I will always be grateful for that.
WHAT IS THE ONE PIECE OF COFFEE EQUIPMENT YOU COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT?
JS The Origin Team. I was so tired of the quality of coffee in Cape Town in the early 2000s that I ended up building an entire roasting, coffee training, and café business to ensure I could drink extraordinary coffee all the time at my own café and all over SA. More seriously, at home my burr grinder and my plunger is all I need. My partner Joanne and I take turns making each other plungers in the morning. It’s part of the joy of my every day with her. Beautiful coffee can be simple.
AJ Just a simple AeroPress at my home. My Rocket single-group machine was taking up too much space and have since let it go on request from my better half. Happy wife, happy life.
CG A grinder. Doesn’t matter what shape or size just something to turn beans into ground coffee.
TELL US ABOUT THE CUP OF COFFEE THAT CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT COFFEE COULD BE.
JS After living mostly in Montréal, Canada a city
with great street and food culture, and after an exchange year in France, I did not have high hopes for food, coffee, or beer when I moved to Seattle to work for Microsoft in the early 1990s. Yet once there, I discovered a world of independent roasters and cafés that blew my mind (along with microbreweries, etc).
In particular, I remember:
1. Drinking many plungers of Guatemala Antigua in the rain with a friend outside of Zoka roasters in Greenlake, started by two ex-Starbucks guys who had a different vision about roasting than their previous employer.
2. The first flat white I had at Vivace in Capitol Hill in Seattle - a shout-out to one of the early pioneers of real specialty coffee in the U.S.
3. The first Hazelnut latte I ever had in Seattle. We still serve it at Origin for nostalgia reasons even though we in our café we focus on the pure expression of the coffee and what our growers, our roaster and our baristas are able to achieve through their deep skills & experience.
AJ A long time ago, it was the 1980s in Vienna, Austria. The aroma was incredible, unfortunately still the old Italian style, but it made me aware that coffee could be something to celebrate and extraordinary.
CG A cup of a Rwanda Umusazi anaerobic by Community Coffee. They had fermented the coffee in small barrels for 96 hours. I could not believe that I was drinking coffee. It was like drinking something from the future. My brain couldn’t quite place it. The flavours. How could something taste like this without having anything added to it? Unreal.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENT ‘PERSONALITIES’ OF ORIGIN, TRUTH, AND TRIBE?
JS Origin focused on quality, diversity, knowledge, and most importantly the story behind the coffee. We want to welcome everyone to experience the passion and quality in what we do - from the different coffees, to the baristas, the brewing methods, our people,
THREE DOYENS OF SOUTH AFRICAN COFFEE
and the warm and welcoming feeling we create in our cafés. We want anyone to be able to connect with us through extraordinary coffee.
Truth a challenging and outspoken advocate for café, coffee, and barista culture.
Tribe friendly & accessible great coffee. A pleasure for any day or anyone.
AJ Origin demanding respect, serious yet for those seeking adventures.
Truth playful, faithful to the world of coffee and coffee principles.
Tribe a representation of the continent, simple, accessible, and not pretentious.
CG It’s quite fun thinking about the different brands as personalities. Origin is the purist. It’s about the coffee and where it comes from. It is quite exclusive in the sense that you need to know a little bit about coffee to fully enjoy the experience. You also need to buy into the idea of changing flavours throughout the year. Origin requires your undeniable trust.
Truth is rebellious. Challenging other beliefs and forging its own path. Confident in its beliefs but very open to people joining its ranks and being ambassadors. It’s a little bit of a middle child thing; being different for the sake of being different.
Tribe is fun. It’s about inclusiveness. You want milk and sugar in your coffee -cool. You think adding cream to your coffee is what your customers enjoy -cool. The tribe does not take itself too seriously. In the end, what is the best cup of coffee in the world? It’s the one you love to drink.
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT DOES THIS MERGER REFLECT ABOUT THE SOUTH AFRICAN COFFEE INDUSTRY?
JS Since 2005 Origin has upskilled and trained over 5000 coffee professionals. Across the industry we all need to invest more in raising the standard of coffee
professionals and making more greast coffee people. If all of us did this, the industry would be further along and we would all have plenty of great coffee pros to choose from for our businesses. I see this merger as a way for the industry to identify, create, and nurture coffee talent across South Africa and the continent. This is the only way we can compete and thrive on an international stage. People make the business of coffee enjoyable. The best cup is made by someone skilled who loves to make it.
AJ The SA coffee industry is becoming incredibly congested. The only solution to survive and grow is to combine resources, be at the forefront of all new developments in the coffee world, have extraordinary end-to-end service, and never forget how important deep relationships are with our clients, our suppliers, and our own people.
CG It’s quite simple. We all had very similar dreams for each of the brands. Alone we could not achieve them. Together we are achieving them. We are better together. The South African coffee industry needs more mergers to push the entire industry forward.
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM FOR THE O.T.T. (ORIGIN, TRUTH, AND TRIBE) GROUP?
JS That we will find joy happiness and success in working together in coffee. That our teams will achieve their professional and personal dreams through working in this expanded group which can offer more opportunities to all. That we will continue to reinvent ourselves and challenge ourselves to do things better and differently. That we will continue to help coffee professionals and business owners find success using our coffee with us as their partners. That we will bring much joy to many people with coffee and the development of SA’s coffee culture.
AJ To be a leader for the industry, not by size, but by knowledge, and innovation. To change some perceptions about extraordinary coffee experiences within the general public.
CG That we are the guiding light for the industry. The standard that new and seasoned industry professionals look towards for guidance and inspiration.
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