Two Beards Coffee Roasters
How it all started
Royden Stanton has been hugely passionate about coffee since his extremely positive experiences at Wecke & Voigts in Windhoek in the early to mid-1970’s. This sparked a passion for coffee that could not always be explained by his family, and there are numerous entertaining family memories as result. It all culminated in an early retirement project. Having been the Managing Director at the Walvis Bay Salt Mine for many years, Royden started roasting from a small roastery at home. Roasting under the name of Fractured Beans – so named for the fracturing that occurs during the roasting process – the home coffee roastery fast became his ‘happy place’.
There was no greater treat than to spend time roasting with Royden, and for a number of years it was ‘banded about’ that Fractured Beans would become Fractured Beans and Sons in time. Fast forward a few years of passionate roasting, of weekends and public holidays spent roasting coffee together, and his son Mark did indeed join the business. Desiring a less corporate way of life coincided with Royden requiring some downtime, and Mark spent a month roasting coffee under watchful guidance from the living room.
As a Geohydrologist, Mark has a good understanding of the chemistry and physics of the roasting process which is in contrast to Royden’s roasting as an artform. The two different perspectives work well together and speaks to the special relationship this father and son team enjoy. Deciding to move forward with the project together, Swakopmund Coffee Roasters was registered. A decision was taken to add a significant ‘fun factor’ to the brand and with both Royden and Mark having had beards for many years – they are hardly recognisable without them!
Two Beards Coffee was embraced and the brand built. Royden and Mark like to do things differently. They both like to do things on their own terms. Yet at the same time they are both incredibly family orientated. And this is reflected in the coffees offered from their roastery, the way they approach business, the personal relationships built with their suppliers and clients (who they prefer to call family) and the way they strive to add value to their community. If you looking for the unusual – Two Beards Coffee may just be the space for you…