Tucked in the Garden Route town of George, Krust Cafe, is a beautiful new coffee spot and they have something that no one else in the country can boast about, the first San Remo Cafe Racer in South Africa. It is a spectacular machine. We chatted to Carla and Nelonia, the two women behind this fine establishment.
How did you fall in love with coffee and what led to opening Krust Cafe?
We always loved good coffee and after selling our previous Restaurant the Peperboom Restaurant in Great Brak River, we were on the lookout for a new venture. The perfect spot opened up at the new Eden Meander Lifestyle Centre in George and we saw the opportunity. We visited many roasters and coffee shops in Cape Town and Johannesburg for research and we were inspired by roasters like Origin and Deluxe Coffeeworks.
Do you roast your own coffee? Tell us how you went about choosing the coffee that was right for your customers.
We don't roast ourselves, but chose to leave that to the experts! We like to keep it local and Ben Ferreira from
Brothers Coffee a local roaster from Great Brak River with his passion and knowledge about coffee made him the perfect choice. He strives to better his coffee and craft every day and that pushes us to do the same. We found the perfect pairing with his
Genio 6 roaster and our Cafe Racer to produce the perfect cup to our customers.
You’re breaking new ground by owning the first San Remo Cafe Racer in the country, what was the thing that made you decide that you absolutely had to have it?
We wish we could say it was the technology at first but as women we just thought it was very, very pretty. After a lot of research and help from Ben we decided that it will take Krust to a whole new level.
Tell us about how it’s been treating you so far?
It is truly a remarkable machine and we've never looked back. It's every baristas dream to operate one and any owners most honest worker. One of our biggest criteria was consistency and the Racer delivers that every time. The Racer tells you what you need to know after pouring every shot.
You host a lot of educational coffee events, why are these important to you?
Our customers love quality coffee and wanted to know to make good coffee at home. So we started selling different brewing methods and grinders. Our first cupping evening was very successful and kept growing from there. We integrated palate development, coffee pairing and cupping with Shaun Aupiais from PE this year and our evenings are a sellout. It just showed us the tremendous growing coffee culture in the Garden Route.
What are the other great features that people can expect when they visit Krust Cafe?
We are dedicated to service and quality and are involved in every detail. At Krust we believe that there is no substitute for flavor and all our food is prepared fresh! We also baked inhouse and sell fresh beans including our house blend that we pack and grind to our customers needs.
