Jamacian Blue Mountain beans.
David Donde is a man on a mission. His mission is one of evangelical significance for all you coffee drinkers out there.
Even if you are not a coffee drinker, don’t worry, you soon will be, if David gets his way.
David isn’t the MD of Truth. He is the “visionary“. He is a fundamentalist about coffee, and to him it is a religion.
The objective of his religion is “Truth in a cup”, and his followers are implored to shun the “horror of the over roasted bean”.
David The Visionary rails against the societal evils of “watery brews“, “taste bud nightmares”, and worst of all, that “people are silent” about the awful toll it’s taking on us.
So I just had to toddle along to the Truth Coffee Roastery in the Prestwich Memorial building the other day to hear more.
The occasion was the sermon on the Jamacian Blue Mountain coffee @R60 a cup.
No, David wasn’t in flowing robes, with a shiny bit around his head. He did, though, have a beard and the intensity of
David Donde extracts truth into a cup of coffee.
a bible thumping preacher when it came to all matters coffee.
His regular coffee retails at R60-R80 for a 225 g bag.
The Blue Mountain sells at R450 for a 225 g bag.
He is clearly not going to sell a lot of Blue Mountain, but hey, I don’t think that’s what it was all about.
It’s a great marketing ploy to establish his Truth operation at the top end of the bean chain, and it differentiates him away from all the other guys.
He sees himself as a roaster, not as a business serving cups of coffee.
So what was it like, the Blue Mountain?
Ya know what? it was nice coffee. Good aroma, smooth, nice body and a pleasant aftertaste.
The Blue Mountain Range in Jamacia.
Is it worth R450 a bag, or R60 a cup? Well, only small quantities are available each year, and it does grow in the Blue Mountain Range in Jamacia.
For me no, but you decide for yourself.
Truth. Coffee Roastery,
Prestwich Memorial,
1 Somerset Road,
GreenPoint.
021 419 2945.
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Clare, you should know that David was one of the founders of Origin roasters.Personally I find Truth’s coffee a touch too bitter- and certainly not value for the money spent. Rather go to Deluxe coffees (c/o of Church and Burg str)- Judd worked at Origins for many a year, he’s a master roaster, the premium blend sells at R160 per kilogram and he has attained a consistency which neither Truth nor Origin is capable of currently.
Hi Johan. I am disappointed to hear that you had a bitter experience with TRUTH. We entirely agree with you, excess bitterness is completely unnecessary in quality coffee. I am therefore surprised that this was your impression of our coffee and can only conclude that something went wrong on the day. For this I personally apologise.
Artisanal coffee roasting is a process of continuous improvement. I am not sure when last you tasted our coffee and can only hope it was during our early days? We did have a batch of coffee around March that we recalled. Usually EVERYTHING is tasted before being released for consumption, but that day Murphy was on overtime and not only was a batch of coffee untasted, but it was awful. We made good with everyone we could track down the same day, but perhaps you were victim to that batch? one of the component beans was slightly over-roasted.
We have never repeated either mistake.
Consistency is not our goal. Continuos improvement is. And as we said: the proof is in the cup. May I offer for you to come and re-taste? Either anonymously or as my guest?
I don’t think we would disappoint.