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#TourismMonth: What's brewing with Paarl's coffee culture?
25 Sep 2019
On a sunny #TravelTuesday that hinted at the brightness of spring to come this Tourism Month, a handful of the Cape's tourism media met at the Paarl Tourism Information office and Visitor Centre for a tour of the town's coffee culture, all along spotless Main Road.
© Suphakaln Wongcompune via 123RF
It’s a welcome mix of rich small-town history in South Africa’s third oldest town, with the vibrant coffee culture of modern living.
We made four stops throughout the day, with a taste of Paarl’s history flavouring each stop – no run-of-the-mill ‘coffee on the go’ spots here, we found that each has its own delicious personality and regular customer base that keeps coming back for more.
Stop 1: Bean in Love (BIL)
Having survived the morning traffic run from the Cape Town CBD, we were all in need of a strong coffee kick to start the day. Luckily, Bean in Love provided just that.
We sipped on ‘small sappies’ – we chose from mango, orange, strawberry, guava and apple – while soaking up the sights and perusing the broadsheet menu for our three breakfast options on the day.
All of this along with any coffee or tea, of course, and served with heart-shaped sugar cookies to bring home the ‘love’ theme.
Owner Werner Pauw explained that his personal coffee career started over a decade ago. He had the opportunity to shadow a coffee roaster at Lourensford in 2007, where he learned to keep things simple.
He started with a business plan, imported a machine from the US, bought R50,000 of coffee and started dropping off samples. Word of mouth grew, and by the end of 2010 the current Bean in Love space became available – the sloping roof is a giveaway of its origin as a former Baptist Church, but much has changed since then.
Lots of the original staff still work at Bean in Love, says Pauw, but the story’s not without heartache, as Bean in Love has had two fires over the years where the front part of the shop area has burned down.
The rebuild process was lengthy – understandably so, as Paarl is very heritage-building oriented and requires a permit from Western Cape Heritage for any alterations.It’s just this focus on legacy while learning the latest in coffee trends that instills Paarl’s coffee culture, says Pauw –consistently good value coffee at good prices.
I may even heat things up with the 70% dark Belgian hot chocolate served with cinnamon stick!
The recommendations and reviews on Facebook are glowing, and Bean in Love is open from 7am to 5om on weekdays and 8am to 2pm Saturdays and public holidays.
Stop 2: Kikka Coffee Florist
Next stop, a Paarl coffee institution – Kikka Main, though you can also visit Kikka Laborie in Southern Paarl’s Laborie Centre, and the new Kikka Boulevard in the old jail precinct, which includes a bigger kitchen for milling their own flour and wheat and baking bread, as well as Kikka’s chilli and meat smoker.
While Karike has a dietetics background, her passion is flowers, and her husband Abe of Noop and AB products fame keeps the food side of things fresh and delicious.
It had been her dad’s lifelong dream to farm proteas, but he only got started when she finished her schooling. On returning to Paarl after a brief stint in the UK, Karike loved delivering these blooms, especially as the free life and fynbos textures slowly took hold, so much so that her own bridal bouquet featured a single Protea.
This past life meant the store was already equipped with ample mirrors to see fittings, so Karike worked with this by adding long, central tables for a community feel. “It was the old days, literally – people didn’t need free Wi-Fi or social media handles, but they do now,” said Karike.
It’s no longer a question of how strong is the coffee but rather, how strong is the Wi-Fi?Fittingly, the florist side of things has lots of online and email orders, with people popping in throughout the morning to collect their bouquets and savour a cup of coffee – no wonder it’s gaining a reputation for its match-making aspect, too.
This will feature such flavours as hibiscus and buchu and fills the need the Conradies noticed for a non-alcoholic drink that complements a fine-dining meal.
Karike said it’s good to have competition from the other coffee locations in Paarl, as each one then feels the need to form its own community base, where all are comfortable.
That sense of ‘you’re safe here, we’ll take care of you’ is strong in store, as the employees soak up skills as waiters, baristas and florists, some having originally worked at Karike’s parents’ protea farm.
The cappuccino they served was strong, accompanied by a delicious melt-in-the-mouth shortbread bite, but the carrot cake is what they’re famous for, and came highly recommended.
Before long it was my turn as we took part in a flower activity ourselves, using the pincushion proteas currently in season to create beautiful fynbos bouquets to take home.
Karike shared that some farmers have since evolved protea hybrids with thinner stems, making them lighter to export and easier to feature in bouquets, and spoke of the fact that a protea offers lots of light reflection from its pale centre, with textures ranging from velvety to silky and feathery.
Kikka is open 7 days a week across the three different venues, with Karike splitting her time across the three and still making time for her family. Follow Kikka Coffee Florist on Instagram for the latest innovations.
Stop 3: Knus Karoo Kombuis
Believe it or not, we had worked up a bit of an appetite by then, following our morning of soaking up Paarl’s coffee culture. Fittingly, it was lunchtime by then, and time for the third stop of our tour.
Further up the road, past Skinkikoffi or ‘pour the coffee’ guest house, we saw the turn for Coleraine and Knus Karoo Kombuis, and happily sprawled at tables in the sun while owner p Nicolene Diedericks explained how she and her sister had been bringing a touch of the Karoo to Paarl since their opening in March 2016.
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Their dream of Knus originated from their memories of their Karoo upbringing, featuring picnics in the middle of nowhere and eating apricots in a tree.
Knus stands for ‘cosy,’ that overarching Karoo experience, and that’s exactly what you feel when you realise that they specialise in such delicacies as ‘camembert, green fig and nut’ roosterkoek and serve delicious Terbodore coffee brewed from their La Marzocco machine.
All beautifully plated, the roosterkoek is a real delight, having opted for the thinly sliced biltong and almond option; as are the sweet koeksister twists and ‘bruintjie’ slices served with ‘Karoo cappuccino’ - strong coffee topped with sweet cream and cinnamon and served in a tin cup, as is the moerkoffie specialty.
Gift shop treats like biscuits, figs and olives are from the Karoo, too and well worth topping up your pantry at home.
Stop 4: Mountain and Moon
By then it was early afternoon and we were more than ready for a coffee tasting with a difference.
Situated in Frater Square, in the former Melissa’s spot, travel-inspired owner Yvette Frater explained the whimsical name, saying they kept the ‘M’ and dark blue branding of Melissa’s, making it their own in harnessing her love of the ‘Paarl bolletjie’, her favourite mountain, and their perfect position to watch the moon rise at night.
Vietnam featured all sorts of coffees served both hot and cold, usually in a slow drip press and always with something to chew, turning it into a mini meal rather than a quick drink stop. Frater marveled at the young set who would sit outdoors well into the night, sipping at coffee and having face-to-face conversations, rather than staring at their phones – perhaps a sign of the times?
While there’s just one official iced coffee option on the Mountain and Moon menu at the moment, our group served as guinea pigs for two new options she’s toying with – the one, a refreshing iced cappuccino, the other, a delicious creamy Brazilian hazelnut drink that was our winner on the afternoon.
In Frater’s own words, “Paarl is already vrekwarm, so iced coffee is just the thing for an afternoon treat.”
Mountain and Moon Bistro Wine Bar is also fully licensed and open from 8am every day, and forms part of the Frater Square Lifestyle Centre shopping experience, as the building dates back to 1845 as part of the Hou Moed farm. Click here to download Mountain and Moon’s breakfast and lunch, drinks and home catering menus.
All utterly delicious and well worth the drive. The hospitality is warm, the story’s true, heritage true and the coffee hot – I highly recommend a day-trip to experience the Paarl’s valley’s coffee culture!
About Leigh Andrews
Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
