About

The Wiesenhof Story…

Kobus and Belinda Wiese have been in the Coffee Trade since 1994. They started out this venture by being part of a handful of Coffee Roasters spread out thinly throughout South Africa.

During this time, the Coffee Trade was still very new – an unexplored avenue, only appealing to a specific niche and selective market.

Kobus Wiese, who is always ready for a challenge, saw an opportunity in the coffee market and started operating from a small premises on the East Rand.

Roasting green coffee beans in full view of customers was a very appealing, exciting and innovative concept Kobus wanted to explore – and soon, the aroma of freshly roasted coffee filled the air and had people queuing for their daily fix of caffeine. Later, a small menu was introduced of freshly baked goods to enjoy with their brew of the day.

This small café soon became one of the most-loved local hang-out spots for both locals and visitors to the area.

The popularity of this Café forced Kobus to expand seating capacity. With this, he enlarged the menu to include more options of wholesome food choices. He then gave birth to Wiesenhof Coffee Shop in 1998, but left the core of the business – “The Roastery” – untouched.

When Kobus was not on the rugby field living out his dream to play in the “Green and Gold” for South Africa, you would always find him at the coffee shop, personally roasting every batch of imported green Arabica beans. His all-time favourite was found in experimenting with various roasting methods and testing a variety of beans sourced from different countries.

These “experiments” were tried and tested by the loyal and supportive patrons frequenting the café.

A selection of their most favourite blends were selected, recipes were created together with roasting methods, roasting temperatures, roasting times and variety of beans were carefully documented – all of which proudly became their Trademark, and still today are guarded as a trade secret.

Wiesenhof Coffees was a hybrid of Kobus and Belinda’s own ideas, and some of the original elements remain to this day and can be seen in stores countrywide.

Dulce Café was later added as an alternative franchise option to compliment the business offerings to future investors.

More than 26 years later, Kobus and Belinda proudly operate the Roastery, Wiesenhof & Dulce Cafe’s franchise from their former family home, which is tucked away on the outskirts of the beautiful town of Heidelberg in Gauteng.

The amalgamating of the Roastery, Wiesenhof and Dulce under the umbrella of Wiese Coffee Holdings (WCH) has made this family-owned business a role player in the ever-expanding coffee industry.

During this period the Wiese family moved to Paarl and started a satellite office for WCH. The vision behind this move was to oversee and promote the expansion of both the coffee distribution and stores into the Western Cape.

They pride themselves in operating ethically and with integrity while surrounding themselves with like-minded individuals. The team at Head Office is a reflection of this mindset.

They are always looking to partner and form alliances with businesses that have the same business morals and values, where the heart of their ethos is service and quality orientated.

Being a family orientated business, with both the Wiese offspring – Le Roux and Deminey – already showing interest and passion in the coffee industry at a young age, they strive to create a legacy for generations to come. This legacy is based on high ethical morals, integrity, honest business management and respect for all individuals.

Kobus contributes to WCH’s success by pursuing a vision that has significance, beyond just making money. His passion is locked up in giving back to the community by being a patron to various charities, such as the Forrest Town School, which is done with great pride and humility.

WCH’s culture within the leadership rank is to have a purpose that employees can align to, providing skills and opportunity to learn and grow. This all whilst attracting and retaining the best talent that will enable to drive the business forward.

Their team at Head Office are a group of individuals that are extremely passionate and loyal, all skilled in their specialized fields of expertise and always willing to go the extra mile. A mission of their management team is to cultivate a culture of long-standing, honest and meaningful relationships with franchisees, landlords, service providers and employees alike.

The Roastery, being the backbone of the company, is their pride and joy and has continued to offer only the finest selection of Arabica beans. Roasting is done on demand to ensure the consumer enjoys a fresh batch of coffee every time.

Roastery General Manager, Carel Wood, and his dedicated team maintain the highest standard and quality levels throughout the roasting and blending process.

Coffee cupping (tasting) sessions are done consistently – a practice where the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee batches are evaluated based on cleanness, sweetness, acidity, mouthfeel and aftertaste.

When a new recipe is being formulated, beans from various countries are also put through this process. In addition to being a quality control aid, this enables the taster to start identifying flavours of the beans, which could be much like wine – either nutty, fruity, or even having chocolate undertones. The cultivar and origin play a crucial role in selecting the correct and perfect bean for the blend. This is a very long-winded process, but essential to keep the Roastery on-trend with International standards.

Not only do they supply gourmet coffee to the hospitality industry, businesses and the public, but also have a vast selection of coffee machines as well – these range from semi & fully-automatic, espresso machines, filter machines, vending machines and plungers.

Their latest addition to the gourmet coffee selection is the pod capsule, which is available from their online store, as well as at selected retailers and franchise stores.

The baristas throughout the franchises under Wiese Coffee Holdings are highly trained and do regular training sessions with franchisees to ensure the perfect cup of coffee is served. Not only do they provide training for franchisees, but to all customers within the hospitality industry on a regular basis.

Now that you have an understanding of the story behind Wiese Coffee Holdings, and how the Wiesenhof and Dulcé brands were born, both Kobus and Belinda Wiese invite you to enjoy the online shopping store, while indulging in a variety of coffee and coffee-related offerings, which can be conveniently delivered to your door.

If you are in the catering and hospitality industry, or have a business you would like to buy for, click on the trade link to receive a traders discount.

For the aspiring coffee connoisseur, make sure to follow their News Feed to see what’s happening next in the world of coffee, look out for the next barista training workshop and cupping sessions, and join them for this exciting experience.

Enjoy your shopping!