Kees van der Westen visits Coco Safar SA

Picture: Supplied

The custom espresso machine Van der Westen built for Coco Safar, called the Spirit Idocompresso, is exclusive to the Coco Safar brand and more iconic than the current ‘market leader’ in espresso machines, which is a coup for the brand. The Spirit, also built by Kees, can be seen in the top five espresso bars worldwide.

Conceived in New York, designed in Toronto and made in Cape Town, Coco Safar combines Michelin-star quality patisserie, baked goods and a café style casual food, paired with world class Third Wave coffee and cold brew in a luxurious retro chic setting. The flagship store also features a revolutionary freestanding espresso bar, as well as the first independent retail capsule emporium of its kind internationally.

The good news is that all Coco Safar coffee and Rooibos capsules are compatible with Nespresso systems available on the market. This was featured in Bloomberg a few weeks ago, in an article about the brand’s revolutionary new developments in coffee. The article has subsequently been syndicated worldwide on other media platforms.

Launched last year, the Coco Safar Capsule Emporium is like none other. For the first time, Third Wave coffee has made its way into the inside of a capsule, thanks to Coco Safar. The revolutionary capsules make use of the finest grade, small batch and micro-roasted coffee, meticulously sourced from the best producers around the globe. Each capsule has further been sealed in high barrier-proof sachet, ensuring that the coffee is as fresh as the day it was roasted – a fact that is evident by the aroma released when opening a Coco Safar capsule sachet.

The entry-level capsules come in the form of the City Roast collection with colourful cinematic boxes. Like the iconic cities and their travels that have influenced the founders, Wilhelm Liebenberg and Caroline Sirois, each blend is inspired by the evocative characteristics of its particular city, whether it is the smooth and gripping Havana, the sleek and elegant Saint Tropez, or the boisterous and gutsy Jakarta, there’s a blend that suits everyone’s taste. For the more discerning, there are also the exclusive luxury collections, which consist of specially sourced and unique coffees like limited edition Cup of Excellence from micro-lots bought on auction and top graded rare coffee beans individually merchandised.

The red and green Rooibos capsules, aptly named Kaapstad and Stellenbosch have a special proprietary and secret blend of spice-infused maple syrup, crystalised via a complex process, to elevate the flavour of the Rooibos in ways never thought possible.

“We are proud of our Rooibos capsules. It has taken years of research and development to get it to this point and the result is phenomenal,” says Liebenberg, ensuring them the support of Rooibos Limited, the world’s leading supplier and exporter of Rooibos tea.