Words by Ayanda Dlamini
The same way people create bucket lists for experiences, or achievements they want to tick off in their lifetime, I’m slowly but surely beginning to treat my Cafe visits as delicious accomplishments. I’m unashamed in saying that, I make lists of cafés that stand out to me, and bit by bit, I make time to visit them.
My new café experience this week was a new-ish coffee spot, on the centerpiece street of Jan Smuts avenue, Rosebank: Green Dot Café, known for its good coffee and green appeal and presence.
Visually, I’m satisfied by the cafe's recurring theme of dark green. I find a synchronised colour palette to have such a fulfilling effect. Like wearing a colour co-ordinated outfit, it’s naturally cohesive, chic but low effort, and there’s just something about it that makes you feel so put together. From the moment you walk into Green Dot, you feel the colour co-ordinated magic and you experience its green nature with earthy undertones of yellow, orange and stone gray.
I arrived quite early in the morning, taking my time to choose the right spot to sit. I eventually found myself seated in a corner, not too far from the heater. I ordered an Americano with milk on the side. Which deliberately was presented to me in a short pastel green mug.
Green Dot uses a blend from Father Coffee called “Coffee Coffee”. I was informed by the very kind Barista that the coffee is a Brazilian blend, from two different regions in Brazil. I enjoyed the fact that he was eager to tell me all the fine details about the coffee I was drinking, and found that it translated into his craft. He paid attention to detail when making my coffee, and it tasted like a work of art, balanced and well rounded. I thought to myself “why didn’t I order a taller cup”.
I sipped my coffee through all of its temperature changes and took time to observe the shop. I couldn’t help but notice the cafe's sense of humour. Text, is a core decoration feature in this cafe, with exhibiting words such as “good damn coffee”, “live life with a little spice” and my favourite, their “lunching” section on their menu.
If you didn’t already know, the colour dark green is symbolic to the feelings of calmness and freshness. Of which I find fitting to Green Dot's nature and how I felt when it was time to go. I look forward to my next visit to Green Dot. I may or may not consider colour coordinating my outfit next time around, for the sake of the culture you know ?
