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This issue is our 40th Edition. The big 4-0. How the heck did that happen?
We started this publication 10 years ago and I don’t think either of us would have believed you back then, if you’d told us that we’d be around in 2022. And not just around, but thriving. I’m not sure how many times over the last decade we’ve heard people say things like “Print is dead” or “Surely digital is the only way” or “are magazines even relevant?”
We like to keep things relatively simple at Coffee Magazine. And so our simple reply to these kinds of questions goes something like this: A magazine is a tactile object. It exists. It is real. And reality creates permanence.
In an age of digital clutter, memes, an overwhelming amount of social networks to keep up with… precious little seems to stick around for long anymore.
We believe that this magazine exists, simply because it is real. Though that is veering dangerously close to the philosophical, it is accurate. It lives on your coffee table. It gets dog-eared in your favourite cafe. It has a new magazine smell when you first open it. Its stories and images, by design, are as relevant today as they were 10 years ago.
In our 40th Edition, we are stepping a little out of our comfort zone and exploring some really big ideas, from some of the most respected minds in coffee around the world. I think what I love about each new issue is that there are always some surprises (even for me!) when you start to put together all the pieces of content. I always like to give contributors space to express themselves and that means I often receive pieces that are not exactly what I envisaged, but that teach me new, unexpected things each time.
I’m already thinking about the next edition (which marks the official 10 year anniversary of this little business) and I’m so excited to start working on it.
This magazine has brought us, and we hope you too, adventure beyond what we could have imagined within the lens of coffee. If you look at the cover, it is a small representation of how the exploration of coffee reaches far wider than you might think. There is a dolphin on our cover. I know, it’s weird! But, I’m weird. And teaching someone to brew coffee gave me the opportunity to dive with those majestic creatures, which is an experience I will never forget. There is a bee-eater, seen on the first origin trip we took as a magazine to Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, a defining life moment for me, having already been in coffee for 10 years at that point in 2016. The other elements are the very many parts of coffee we have had the opportunity to discover and shine a light on.
But most of all it has brought us community.
Our day to day has been in pursuit of creating this physical object every couple of months that inspires, educates and entertains people who love coffee. The people that it has featured, the readers that love to flip through it, the baristas we so admire, cafe owners who create spaces we love, roasters who have honed their craft and coffee drinkers around South Africa and the world. We could not have done this without the advertisers that support it, and the contributors that help make it. We couldn’t be more grateful. The Coffee Magazine has become significant over the last decade, because it is a beautiful representation of the community it serves.
Here’s to the next 40 issues.
Mel and Iain
Adventure: The Valley where Time Stands Still
We take you on a journey to discover the wonders of the rooibos plant and how it has found its way into coffee culture around the world.
Discover: Coffee Through the Looking Glass
Erika Koss is a globally renowned scholar of coffee and is leading the charge on how coffee professionals tackle the issue of making the world of coffee more sustainable and inclusive, both for each other and for the consumers who love to drink this beverage everyday. Take a deep dive and imagine a world of coffee we can all be proud of.
Roast: Trust the Process
The same coffee processed in different ways will reveal wildly different flavours and characteristics. Here’s why that happens. Hint: Fermentation is key!
Brew: Being in the Moment
However you choose to brew your favourite beverage, Freda Yuan, a three time UK Cup Tasting Champion and author of a book about the sensory elements of coffee tasting called Sip n Slurp, can tell you that tasting coffee properly might just change your life. An insightful interview with an impressive woman.
Innovation: Coffee 4.0
Dylan Cumming grew up on a coffee farm and he has some opinions to share. Not all of them will be popular, but some might be downright revolutionary for coffee growing in Southern Africa.
Culture: Why Speciality Coffee isn’t for Everyone. And that’s OK
Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood unpacks the idea that specialty coffee is a niche, but a niche that’s here to stay.
Discover Great Coffee: Roots that run Deep
Celebrating coffee roasting heritage on the Southern Tip of Africa with some of the oldest and most respected roasters, starting with Mastertons Coffee & Tea Specialists and Colombo Coffee & Tea
Human Interest: Drip Coffee Revolution
Nigel Price pours his way into the hearts of NYC and beyond. In the space of two years, with pour over coffee and people over profit at its core, the brand has four locations around NYC. We chatted with Nigel Price about his journey to this point.
