Tribe Coffee: R40, 25kg, and 15 Years of Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe

If you walked past the Tribe booth at Jo'burg 2026 without stopping, you missed the most institutionally substantial roastery story in the archive.

## The R40 Founding Story

Jake Easton founded Tribe Coffee on 10 October 2010 with:

- R40 cash on hand
- 25kg espresso blend
- 2 months rent forward
- 1 tank of petrol
- 1 SA visa
- R3,000+ owed to FNB

First sale: Café Paradiso, Cape Town.

> "I started Tribe Coffee because of my love of coffee, this humble bean literally gave me a chance at a new life. Also, I am the single worst employee 'of All Time', so working for others was out."

He used to split payments from one back pocket to another. He roasted at different roasteries around Cape Town by offering roasting training in exchange for use of their roaster. They had no idea he was using more than one. Scrappy. Brilliant.

## The 2023 Merger

The wholesale sides of Origin (2005), Truth (2009), and Tribe (2010) merged. The cafés continue independently — Origin on Hudson Street, Truth on Buitenkant, Tribe at the Woodstock Foundry.

Jake was an Origin consultant in 2009 before founding Tribe. The Origin alumni thread that runs through Cedar, YAAWK, Origin, and Tribe finally has a structural ending. They came back together.

## The Festival Menu — Six Blends, Two Formats

| Blend | Tube | 1kg | Notes |
|-------|------|-----|-------|
| Espresso Blend | R140 | R420 | Up to 9 coffees fused. Italian miscele tradition. |
| Malawi Gold | R150 | R440 | Sweet peaches, truffle, candy floss |
| Guatemala Chocolate Block | R160 | R460 | Chocolate for breakfast. Runaway customer favourite. |
| Sunday Morning | R145 | R430 | Hazelnuts, berries, milk chocolate. Conceived at Empire Café, Muizenberg. |
| Lovers Blend | R145 | R430 | Chocolate, honeysuckle, red cherries — and maybe just a little bit of love. Made as a goodbye letter, mothballed after heartbreak, resurrected six months later. |
| Decaf | R180 | R520 | "Decaf with main character energy." Six words. That's the entire product description. |

## Tribe × Ash Ceramics

Handcrafted colourful tumblers. Flat White cup R295, Cortado cup R260. The first archive entry where the cup is part of the retail identity.

## On the Floor at the Festival

Wood-panelled booth with dark-teal TRIBE banner. "JOZI EDITION" on the front — a Cape Town roaster announcing itself to Joburg, humbly. Three team members on shift. A bright-blue La Marzocco. A barista in a Pittsburgh Pirates cap (I have questions). And the best retail display at the festival — Tube cans + kraft refill bags + Ash Ceramics tumblers + branded cups.

## Where to Find Them

The Woodstock Foundry, 160 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town
Online at tribecoffee.co.za
Instagram: @tribecoffeeroasting
Roaster: Bertha