The Story
Truth Coffee was founded by David Donde and Andrzej Janik in 2012 at its current Buitenkant Street location in Cape Town . Donde’s journey began earlier with Cape Town brand Origin, where he became one of the co-founders and a central figure in Cape Town’s rise of coffee connoisseurship . It took him a year to create the Truth artisanal roastery, with its distinctive steampunk design .
Few coffee businesses have made such international headlines as Truth did when it first appeared on the scene, with newspapers, coffee websites, and travel guides racing to call Truth “the best coffee shop in the world” . The roaster’s original goals were deliberately ambitious—to “make a ripple in coffee internationally,” as Donde puts it . The space centers around their vintage Probat roaster, which became the kingpin for the entire design once located centrally on the ground floor .
In 2023, Truth’s wholesale operations merged with Origin and Tribe Coffee, though Donde still owns the Buitenkant Street roastery and café . This collaboration maintains each brand’s identity while providing better access to green coffee and more variety across style and price points .
Sourcing & Relationships
Truth’s ethical sourcing ensures farmers receive premium prices, well above Fair Trade standards . The roaster focuses on single-origin coffees, handpicked by coffee-obsessed founder David Donde . Truth sources extraordinary coffees like Racemosa, a rediscovered species so rare that only 14 kilograms were harvested globally in 2024, with Truth securing just five kilograms .
Their signature ReVengeance blend demonstrates their sourcing approach, combining micro-lots from Guatemala (40%), Rwanda (50%), and Ethiopian Harrar (10%) . They also offer unique processed coffees like their “Black Honey” espresso, blending Ethiopian and El Salvadorian beans to showcase innovative flavors .
The roaster operates with a philosophy that goes beyond simple transactions. Donde focuses relentlessly on quality and taste, going back to basics in sourcing, roasting, blending, and grinding to find the essence of the humble bean, trying to “get coffee to deliver on the promise of the aroma of freshly ground coffee” .
Roasting Philosophy
Truth’s coffee development is never based on preconceived ideas—dark roast or light roast are “silly ideas,” with “fully developed” being the guiding principle . At the heart of their operation stands “Colossus,” a vintage 1940s cast-iron roaster, meticulously rebuilt by founder David Donde . This 60-kilo vintage roaster from the 1940s is likely the only roaster in the world powered by bio-fuel .
For precious beans like Racemosa, master roasters employ stethoscopes to precisely pinpoint the “first crack,” demonstrating their commitment to delicate craft . Their approach considers purpose over convention, asking “What purpose is a coffee for?” when developing each blend . Truth roasts about six tonnes monthly, supplying coffee clients in and beyond Cape Town’s city centre .
The roastery has mastered “inimitable blends,” crafted to deliver world-class coffee whether customers prefer dark and intense or smooth and balanced profiles . Their coffees are masterful blends, crafted to bring the fullest flavor possible without even a hint of bitterness .
What to Try
Resurrection is Truth’s flagship blend, playing a central part in the brand’s success—ideally suited to traditional espresso with strong yet balanced flavor that cuts through milk for excellent flat whites, lattes, or cappuccinos . Choose the chocolatey, high-acidity Resurrection blend for flat whites, the DDT (Deep, Dark and Twisted) for Americanos, or the rich, nutty Vengeance blend as pour-over coffee .
Their ReVengeance blend offers full body and deeply satisfying richness with praline notes over a heavy, syrupy flavorful canvas . Their two most popular blends, Resurrection and Vengeance, were designed traditionally—excellent as espresso and filter respectively, making Truth identifiable with their smooth and flavorful flat-white .
For the adventurous, Truth occasionally offers the almost mythical Racemosa, one of the world’s rarest coffee species . Current offerings include Deep, Dark & Twisted, Single Origin India, Black Honey, and Antithesis Decaf, with prices starting around $12 . The experience extends beyond coffee— in-house patisseur Kamal Hamzaoui creates exceptional pastries including baba au rum, chocolate éclairs, and lemon meringue pie .