We asked Diederik and Marietjie Niehaus a few questions to find out about their success.
Tell us when your company was founded and some of its history?
Our passion for artisan coffee roasting started in 2014 when visiting a coffee roastery in Mosselbay, South Africa. We love family, and we love coffee, so we knew that this was something we as a family wanted to pursue.
In 2017 we approached Kevin Nicolas from Mechanical Concepts in Cape Town and asked him to build us an artisan coffee roaster without some of the bells and whistles of modern-day roasting machines. They presented to us a roasting machine of pure craftsmanship. It is a classical double drum design that uniquely roasts coffee.
Tell us about some of the unique features of your company.
We are a small family business (if you can call us a business) with a big heart. We are in a very fortunate position where our focus is on quality and not just quantity. We also love to get communities involved and empower people, even if it is on a micro-scale. One of the NGOs we support is the Basadi Skills Project that equips African women in the Fobeni Village with skills to create a livelihood for themselves in difficult circumstances.
What do you think are some of the special products you have?
Singing Beans Coffee prides itself in the fact that we are unique in the way we do coffee. Two of our coffees that illustrate this fact are our Allegro Blend and Magoebaskloof Blend.
Our Allegro Blend, Singing Beans Coffee’s flagship blend for the past four years, won the Gold and Double Gold awards at The Aurora International Taste Challenge. We think it makes the Allegro Blend special.
Our Magoebaskloof Blend is rare and unique. This fact was highlighted towards the end of 2019 when we came across a rare selection of arabica coffee beans.
Introduced to a coffee farmer in the Magoebaskloof region by a mutual friend, we soon discovered that what we stumbled upon was something unique in the context of South African coffee. Arabica coffee beans of the highest quality growing on the slopes of Magoebaskloof!
We are grateful to say that Singing Beans are one of only a handful of artisan roasters that use these specific Magoebaskloof coffee beans, and only a limited quantity is harvested and used in our Magoebaskloof Blend. Truly a rare South African find!
What is unique about your manufacturing process and your manufacturing philosophy?
We believe that our manufacturing process is unique and is one of the reasons for our success. Our artisan roasting machine can roast coffee beans at various temperatures and lower drum speeds, without surface burn. We believe that this feature, together with our old fashioned hands-on approach brings out the best in our coffee beans.
We believe true artisan roasting is not only a skill but an art. And by using one’s artisan skills, one can create coffees that reflect this art form.
Our manufacturing philosophy is quite simple: Use what the Lord has given us to the best of our ability...and to do it with a thankful heart.
What is the consumer demographic of your products, and what feedback are you getting?
With 2.25 billion cups of coffee consumed worldwide daily, coffee has a wide spectrum of consumer demographics, and so do our coffees. We don’t just want to roast pallet pleasers, we want to roast the best quality pallet pleasers.
We don’t just want to roast unique coffees; we want to roast it uniquely for coffee lovers searching for that unique cup will find it in a Singing Beans Coffee cup.
Over the past few years, we had very positive feedback from long standing clients as well as first time tasters. Being awarded a gold and double gold at the Aurora International Taste Challenge is cementing the feedback we have received from our clients.
What innovations do you have in the pipeline for the future?
Our dream is to make coffee roasting accessible and affordable for more people. We have approached the guys at Mechanical Concepts in Cape Town to make the roasting machines available and affordable to roasters in South Africa. It is exciting to be part of a coffee roasting journey that enables roasters to hone their artisan skills.
Contact: Diederik & Marietjie Niehaus
Email: singingbeanscoffee@gmail.com
Phone number: +27 82 940 6523
Website: www.singingbeanscoffee.co.za
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Singing-Beans-Coffee-2387431424627174/