Coffeebeans Routes, all about telling stories

Among the day tours offered by this groundbreaking company is an art route which takes tourists on tours to a number of visual artists including Cinga Sampson, John Bauer and Gashiya Norman. Evening routes include a Jazz Safari, a Hip-Hop Route and a Reggae Route.

Coffeebeans Routes also undertakes special routes like the recent Handspring Puppetry Route, which took place during the Out the Box Festival in the city. Owner Iain Harris says all the routes offer contemporary, urban, African experiences that provide deep insight and plenty of fun.

A strong identity creates a strong economy

"The key to what we do at Coffeebeans is stories; it's all about stories. We create experiences around the stories of Cape Town. These are experiences aimed primarily, in the medium term, at foreign visitors to Cape Town. Coffeebeans is interested in the relationship between business and art and we believe that there are more possible models than simply business providing grants to art," Harris says. "Art is identity, and strong identity and sense of self are the backbones of a strong economy. So the link is clear and important."

One of the company's initiatives is the Coffeebeans Routes Summer Series which started on 12 December. A four week mini-festival of cultural and creative Cape Town experiences, exploring fashion, art, music and beer hubs in the city, the series also debuts Coffeebeans Routes Cape Town Beer Route, an afternoon journey through beer culture in the city, from mainstream mega-beer production, to emerging microbreweries and traditional African brewing.