What’s in a name? The story behind Preface

The name, Preface, emerged during a season of my life where my interest in coffee grew alongside my pursuit in an academic career; a life of the mind encased in the world of books and literature. This season was marked by three kinds of places: libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops. My favorite kind was a bookstore that served coffee, or a coffee shop that sold books. These were places I felt most at home, and they remain spaces that I seek out wherever I live or travel.

At the time, my ritual whenever I came into possession of a new book, especially an academic text, was to seek out a coffee shop and read the book’s preface with a cup of coffee beside me. Preface, as a name, is in many respects an ode to this season of my life, but books have been a perennial preoccupation of mine.

Ever since I could read, the world of books and texts have been a trustworthy companion. They are trustworthy not in the sense that they always told the truth, but rather for a more personal reason that underpins my love for them.

As someone with a hearing impairment, conversations with people have always been marked by a certain kind of self-doubt as to whether or not I heard them correctly; so often my comprehension of what someone has said is undermined by the simple fact that I mistook one word for another. In the world of texts, this self-doubt is removed and more interesting questions of understanding what I am reading are allowed to surface on their own; it is a world in which my audible capabilities move into the background. 

It was through books, reading and writing that coffee shops, and by extension coffee, became an important part of my life. Friends of mine had introduced me to the world of specialty coffee, and it just so happened that specialty coffee shops lent themselves better to reading and writing than the more commercial, franchised coffee shops around Cape Town.

They were generally quieter, and the quality of coffee was such that I was eager to have more than one cup during my stay. Conversations emerged with baristas about the books I was reading at the time, and in turn we would come to talk about coffee. Books and coffee always served as conversation starters in these spaces; they were, in effect, the preface to relationships with those I interacted with frequently. 

My aim with Preface is that our coffees will become great companions for you – whether it be reading and writing, working, or starting the day with friends and family. I hope that our coffees will furnish the beginnings of your days; the preface for whatever comes next.

JB