Intro
To be covered in this newsletter:
- A Shot in the Dark
- Currently, at Quaffee
- Vineyard roastery
- Coffee update
- POPIA
A Shot in the Dark
We are participating in A Shot in the Dark – South Africa’s roaster competition, for the fourth year running. Last year Sino roasted, and his submission came second. This year Mzukisi is roasting, and we have submitted the coffee to the judges for the first round.
We want to thank those who responded to the previous newsletter and said you wanted to taste the coffee. It was great getting your feedback.
Do you want to try the coffee? We have limited availability and offer 2x100g (so you can test a different roast of the same coffee) for R100. Email order.AT.quaffee.co.za to get yours.
Currently at Quaffee
We are deeply grateful to all of our supporters through this challenging time. While our bulk user base has slowly whittled down, our home-brewers have been super supportive. Our pre-paid subscription base has doubled in the last six months, which has been a real help.
We have continued to survive. All of us here have made salary sacrifices and made sure we are careful with our expenses. Little extras, like those that have come through our referral system at Cape Coffee Beans and a few hardware sales, have helped and hence we have survived.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the roastery at The Vineyard Hotel. Covid-19 has adversely affected The Hotel. Even though we have done everything we can to stand by them for over a year, we have had little communication from their finance department, and the risk of supply without remuneration is a real threat.
We are looking at moving the Vineyard roastery to partner with another interested party and have some considerations on the table. Are you interested in partnering with us? We will consider all offers transparently to all other parties. Our primary concern is Sino. Email me at warrenm.AT.quaffee.co.za if you are interested.
Coffee Update
While we have limited our imported offering (due to cash flow issues), we are still trying hard to source good quality coffee. The following coffees have come to an end or are almost there:
- Natural Costa Rican La Canuela – is on its last roast. We are looking at other naturals to replace this, maybe offering our first Rwandan in a while.
- Peruvian Finca Las Guabas Maximo Rupay Ramirez Microlot  – we have a new microlot waiting in the wings once this is finished
Supply issues
In our last newsletter, we mentioned issues around Kenyan and Ethiopian coffees. We are hoping that these issues may have a limited effect on our offering. This is mainly due to the drop in demand from the Vineyard and our stock management.
However, we are concerned about our Colombian coffees. Colombian ports and roads have been blocked by protestors who are protesting tax increases, corruption and health care. This may delay our shipments significantly.
We are sure that many of you have been inundated with POPIA updates. The commencement of the POPIA act was a year ago. The basics of the act are very similar to the GDPR act we mentioned two years ago in a newsletter.
All our subscriptions and communications are opt-in. And if you were added and did not opt in, all our communications allow you to opt out (by clicking on the link). The only data we keep is for managing the deliveries to you and the prediction of your requirements. All your data and contact information can be removed at any time (unless legally required).
If you experience any issues with this, please contact us using the contact us form…
