We received a mysterious invitation from Coffee entrepreneur David
Donde, asking us to arrive at Truth at 3pm on Tuesday for something exciting, and some free
coffee. It was headed “Truth Coffee Roasts on left overs”. We arrived to see
his newly refurbished behemoth of a coffee roaster, circa 1947, which had been adapted to
work on Bio-fuel instead of diesel. We applaud this green initiative. He is
currently installing solar on the roof of his building. David says that Truth is
the only roaster in Africa and probably the only one in the world roasting
completely on waste fuel.
What Bio Green Fuel is and how it is made:
Bio fuel is a biodegradable, renewable, alternative fuel
created from nearly any naturally occurring vegetable oils and animal fats,
through a chemical reaction process occurring between the natural oils and
alcohol, followed by purification. This creates molecules which can easily be burned in a diesel engine. Biodiesel can be made from vegetable
oil or fat. The Bio fuel from Bio Green that Truth is using is waste oil
collected from restaurants, hotels and other institutions (this is a quote from their press
release).
You’ll find Truth at 36 Buitenkant Street, just uphill
from the Central Police Station
It
is very industrial in design, great space for computing and filled with lots of
ancient household relics and quirky antiques
The
bar backs on to the coffee roaster
Some
comfortable and private banquettes
Some
snacks laid on for the media
Did
your mum have one of these? This old washing machine came with the building, said David, so he kept it
A
section of old typewriters and other artefacts
Such
bad memories! Lynne learned to type on a machine like this. Wrist breaking and
finger cracking. John didn’t believe that Ellerslie still had these in
operation in the 60’s. They did!
David
explains how the roaster works and how the raw coffee beans from one sack are
fed by a vacuum pipe overhead into the oven
It
only takes a few minutes to transfer all the ‘green’ beans ....
...
into the hopper above the roaster. Note that it has been adapted to use
computer temperature monitoring
It
is a vast machine
The
furnace beneath, burning the bio fuel, which is made from old oil and fat
collected from industry, restaurants and other sources
Roasting
temperature control
And
a little new technology helps
The
sensible green message from Truth
Approximately
18 minutes after the green beans hit the roaster, they are ready and come
pouring out of the door with a rush of wonderful aroma. These beans came from
Mysore in India. The hopper cools them.
Stirring
the beans to stop them continuing to pop and roast. Cooling them down quickly
is essential
And
then they come pouring out into the hopper where they pass through a filter and
a magnet to get rid of any possible contaminants like stones or metal that may
have got into them at source
Measured
quantities can then be taken to fill packages of coffee
David
Donde explaining how the process works and answering questions
Roy
de Gouveia of Bio Green who process and supplies the bio fuel explains it to us
A
cheerful wave goodbye from Jose Vilandy, Truth Barista
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
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