Formed in February 2010 by Francois Irvine, Tess Berlein and Glynn Venter, Haas, as it’s casually known, is home to collectibles, gallery and studio space, a coffee shop and an advertising agency.  Originally started as a platform to showcase the work of local artists and designers, Haas has evolved over time into The Haas Collective.

When the shop was first opened, clients started asking for coffee and it was this demand that catapulted a little art/collectibles shop in Bokaap into something more than just a coffee house or coffee roaster in a true example of one thing leading to another.

 

The Haas Collective now consists of the Haas Coffee Collective, Haas Design Collective and Haas Advertising Collective.

The three industries have been remarkably effective as a collective,  creating very exciting business possibilities for 'Haas' in general.

In true Haas style, only the best blends were sought for the coffee shop, with the team sourcing blends from as far as Brazil and Indonesia.

 

The Coffee

Coffees are served with custom-made pastries and wholesome sandwiches.  For those in a rush, coffee-on-the-go is also available. In addition to selling coffee beans for at-home consumption, Haas caters to the hospitality trade, including guesthouses, hotels and restaurants.

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Kopi Luwak

A very contentious subject for a very long while, so it must be clarified at this point that:
None of the beans served at Haas are retrieved from caged animals. Though the practice does exist, Haas never has and never will condone this.

So what is KOPI LUWAK?

Kopi – is the Indonesia word for coffee
Luwak -  the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) that feasts on the ripest, sweetest red coffee cherries growing on coffee trees in Sumatra.

Once the Luwak eats the cherry, the parchment-covered coffee beans inside are passed through its digestive system, with a unique combination of enzymes in the stomach breaking down the proteins to remove all traces of bitterness. Still intact even after being excreted, the parchment cover protects the green coffee beans. In a very labour-intensive process, the beans are collected from the faeces of civets and the parchment is removed. The coffee is then thoroughly cleaned and sun-dried before being sold. The beans are then roasted like any other coffee beans.

 

The resulting coffee is rich with flavour and has no hint of bitterness sometimes associated with ordinary coffee. The flavours hint at the forest floor, fermenting vegetation and moist earth. It is a taste that cannot really be described, but almost every person who tastes it swears that they have never tasted a better coffee, ever.

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All our Kopi Luwak beans are collected in the wild by farm workers out in the coffee plantations of Indonesia. Haas has personal relationships with the farmers and have gone to the farms and witnessed the processes first hand.

“Unfortunately uninformed people in the coffee industry have tried very hard to create negative publicity around the beans. Strangely enough, all these attempts have only fueled the excitement around the beans and we now actually struggle to keep up with demand.”

 

Kopi Luwak is just one of the fine and rare coffees you can enjoy. There is also Yemen Mocha Matari, one of the oldest grown coffees in the world and Jamaican Blue Mountain which carries a globally protected certification mark of origin and said to be a favourite of Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond.

The highlight of the Haas Collective could be many things but they pride themselves on their honest, down to earth approach, which keeps their loyal customers returning time and time again. There is a warm hospitality which permeates and the same honest approach is taken in all things Haas, which includes the Art and Design, the Coffee and the Food.

The best thing to do, would be to get yourself down to Haas and enjoy the experience for yourself.

The Haas Collective -  We love what we do and every day brings new and wonderful experiences and endless knowledge with it.

You can find Haas at 67 Rose Street, BoKaap, Cape Town
Or call them on: 021 – 422 4413
Haas is open Mon-Friday 7am-5pm
And Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays 8am-3pm

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