A few weeks back, to celebrate one of my best friends birthdays we got a little’ bit cultural and took part in 2 brilliant excursions – right here in good old Jozi town.

The first was a ‘Coffee Appreciation’ evening in Braamfontein. Coffee, check. Appreciation of coffee, check check. It was held at DoubleShot Coffee & Tea on Juta Street and I found the whole evening to be really fascinating. It started off with our coffee master taking us through the hisroty of coffee, the difference between coffees as well as how coffee is traded and valued. It ended off with several tasters and tests. I felt a right ponce swilling the black liquid under my nose, murmuring phrases like “ah yes, very wheaty old boy” and “The molasses is strong in this one squire”.

We left the event buzzing, and buzzed well into the night…. needless to say at 4 am we were still wide awake. Note to self kids, always appreciate coffee in the morning, your sleep patterns will thank you for it.

One of these is decaf. Clearly not the one I chose. 

Apparently roasted coffee beans don’t just happen. In raw form they look like pistachios, and taste like arse.

 

Oh yes, they also sell tea. 

 

Several weeks back a few of us ran the Soweto Energizer Night Race. As we pounded the pavements of Vilakazi street we fell in love with the look of a restaurant we ran by – Thrive Cafe – and decided to have a lunch there another time, as part deux of Lauren’s birthday celebrations.

The food was simple but tasty and the wine was flowing – the highlight for me was the friendliness of all the staff, and their eagerness to please. I also bought a really funky Madiba print done by a 12 year old boy – which I just love.

 

 

 

After lunch we walked off our full bellies and explored the area – and ended up in the dodgiest shebeen called “The Shack”. Here we drank quartz and danced to local music. As you do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

I heart Jozi.