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Coffee is what we do. Roasting is where it starts.

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Stereo Coffee Roasters is an independent coffee business based in Bloemfontein, South Africa, built around a simple idea: good coffee requires more than good beans. It requires knowledge, consistency and an understanding of how coffee works from green bean to finished cup.

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We have been involved in coffee since 2011 and roasting since 2013. Over that time, Stereo has developed from a small farmers' market coffee stall into a business focused on coffee roasting, wholesale supply, private label and commission roasting, coffee equipment, training and consulting.

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Our founder, James Kilbourn, has spent more than a decade working hands-on across different aspects of the coffee industry. His approach combines practical experience with formal coffee education, including SCA qualifications in Roasting, Barista, Brewing and Sensory, as well as a Certificate in Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).

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From the farmers' market to the roastery

 

Stereo's story began in 2011 as Connoisseur Coffee, a small coffee stall at a local farmers' market. Every Saturday morning we served filter coffee and sold freshly ground beans to customers to take home.

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The coffee quickly became more than a weekend project. In 2011, James travelled to London, UK, for professional roasting training. In 2012, he travelled to the World of Coffee expo in Vienna, Austria, to source a commercial coffee roaster. That visit proved to be an important turning point, opening his eyes to the scale and diversity of the global coffee industry and cementing his belief in what coffee could become.

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With this groundwork in place, we invested in our own commercial roaster in 2013. Roasting our own coffee changed the direction of the business and laid the foundation for what would eventually become Stereo Coffee Roasters.

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As the customer base grew, the next natural step was opening a café. In 2014, Stereo Café opened its doors, providing an opportunity to put our coffee into the hands of customers every day while developing our understanding of café operations, barista training, equipment and the practical realities of running a coffee business.

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The café remained an important part of our story for many years. Following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, we took the opportunity to reconsider the direction of the business.

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The decision was made to close the café and focus on the areas where we could offer the greatest value: roasting coffee, supplying wholesale clients, developing coffee programmes, providing equipment, training baristas and helping new and existing coffee businesses improve what they do.

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That evolution brought us back to our roots — coffee itself — and to the name Stereo Coffee Roasters, which better reflects what we do today.

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Coffee, backed by experience

Today, Stereo Coffee Roasters works with businesses and coffee drinkers who care about the coffee they serve.

For wholesale clients, that means supplying consistently roasted coffee and providing practical support beyond the bag. For businesses developing their own coffee offering, we provide private label and commission roasting. Through training and consulting, we share the knowledge gained from years of working with coffee, equipment and customers.

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We remain an independent business, roasting in Bloemfontein and continuing to develop our understanding of coffee through experience, education and constant evaluation.

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We're not interested in making coffee complicated. We're interested in making it better.

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Recognition

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• Winner — Coffee Magazine Café of the Month, December 2017 — Stereo Café

• Winner — SCASA Cup Tasters Championship, Central Region, November 2019 — James Kilbourn

• Gold Award — Aurora International Taste Championship, 2020 — Trio Blend

• Nominated — Coffee Magazine Excellence in Coffee Award, 2022 — James Kilbourn

• Nominated — Coffee Magazine Excellence in Coffee Award, 2023 — James Kilbourn