Seam Coffee: A Small Hatch with a Big Story in Stellenbosch

It’s one small coffee hatch in a piano store on Stellenbosch’s Dorp Street, but Seam Coffee’s story is way bigger than its modest storefront. It started in 2017 after founder David Walstra visited coffee plantations in Burundi and imagined a new way to work with the farmers directly. Since then Seam has grown into a busy roastery, sourcing a wide variety of beans directly from farmers in Mexico, Colombia, Rwanda, Ethiopia and beyond (paying a fair price so the growers actually make a profit), then supplying hospitality customers all over South Africa. The new Stellenbosch hatch is planned to be the first of many direct Seam outlets, and the beginning of a whole new coffee-loving community.

A unique space

Dorp Street’s oak trees, a couple of pavement tables beside the hatch (and several more next to a larger-than-life guitar sculpture just along the way), it’s a picturesque spot to stop and smell the coffee. The friendly baristas are happy to share the stories as they serve Seam’s signature Campbell Road blend, or a rotating single-origin coffee from the producer of the day. They’ve got technology at their fingertips too. Using the innovative Eversys machines which put precision into every cup, both in extraction and milk texture, each cup is poured to perfection.

The signature blend

Named after the street where Seam began (although they’ve since moved on), the Campbell Road blend is all about showing off the layers of flavour that make coffee such an adventure: smooth yet complex, with notes of red berries, chocolate milk and vanilla, it’s rounded out with a cherry-like acidity. Equally perfect for a velvety rich flat white, or a textured and delicate black pour.

Single Origins

The excitement of discovering a new favourite origin or producer is a regular highlight when you choose the featured single-origin coffee. Rotating every few weeks, it might be the bold and floral Lalesa Anaerobic Natural from a women-led team in Ethiopia, or the Finca Flandes, an anoxic natural Colombian bursting with flavour. And when that batch is finished, it’s on to the next enticing flavour adventure.

Building community

Part of the Seam story is The Barista Project, an intense one-month training initiative in speciality coffee, aimed at uplifting individuals from underprivileged communities and leading to full-time barista employment. With coffee, connection and conversation on the cards, it’s all about building a community…more than baristas, they are coffee concierges.

A grab-and-go specialty coffee experience that keeps you coming back for more.

Opening times Monday – Friday, 6am – 5pm
Saturday + Sunday, 6am – 2pm
Contact info@seam.coffee
Where to find it 144 Dorp Street, Stellenbosch
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