Local hobbyists turn curiosity into a growing coffee collective in Winterskloof

A quiet coffee revolution is brewing in a mist-belt valley on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg. Pioneered by a group of local women, the initiative is brimful of enthusiasm, if not expertise - yet. By Derek Alberts

- Derek Alberts

Five years ago, Melanie Rood planted three coffee trees to fill an empty space in her garden with sweeping views of the Winterskloof valley, northwest of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.

This week, she proudly showed off a grove of 200 trees, all in robust health, and idly wondered how a roast from the misty mounts of Winterskloof would stack up against other brews on a global stage.

With her were Marita Thornhill, Nikki Sinclair and Miranda Wilson, all members of Winterskloof's "coffee confederacy", a loose brigade of growers ranging from hobbyists to producers with more than 500 trees under cultivation.

Wilson and Thornhill, both with environmental science backgrounds, were quick to point out that sharing knowledge and collaborating would be the first steps towards any sort of consensus and collective action in terms of coffee production in the area.

"There's certainly an upsurge in interest and questions about coffee, especially as it has a chequered history of being planted here," said Sinclair.

It's too early to tell if the casual interest in coffee is quietly increasing property values, at least for those with a sizable grove of trees.

Fate smiled on recent Western Cape semi-grants Daniel and Laura Hutchinson, who only realised after buying their property that it came with 500 coffee trees.

"It was a steep learning curve, not least telling apart a bewildering mix of arabica cultivars," said Laura.

Another bonus was that the previous owner kept meticulous records of plantings and the fertiliser regimes for several cultivars planted between 2018 and 2022.