☕️ A COFFEE SHOP WITH A TINGE OF ANARCHY ☕️
Happy Saturday SteemFam. Today I want to share with you a coffee shop I visited while in Howick, Kwa-Zulu Natal.
I must say that I didn't know much about Howick when we decided to visit @morkrocks brother a few months ago. I was kinda expecting a sleepy little town where not much happens. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Besides being one of the most lush and green places I have ever visited, Howick is a busy small (dare I say) touristy spot in the Durban Midlands. Being roughly an hour outside of Durban, it's close enough to visit for a quick weekend break for those living on the coast. For us Capetonians, two hours on a plane, plus the hours drive and we were there.
I am used to the small towns of the Karoo (the rural/farming area outside of Cape Town), where English is hardly spoken and most people don't go to high school, and a good coffee is hard to come by.
Howick is famous for it's large dam, the Midmar Dam, where every year they host the Midmar Mile, a swimming competition. There are plenty of nature reserves and everything is just so open and green. I kinda fell in love with the place and can totally understand why my husbands family lives out there. There is a current of enlightenment flowing through the town, with lots of art and poetry evenings. And a LOT of hippies. 🤓
Knowing what a coffee nut I am, Steampunk Cafe was the first place Mork's brother took us to. I loved the location too. Kind of in the middle of nowhere, not in the main town, but rather on a road out to ... somewhere. I felt like I was at a truck stop in America, surveying the great outdoors.
The vibe was eassssy. Super chilled trip hop was playing while a dog lazed in the sun. There was a lot of steel, copper piping and repurposed pieces of furniture, which just felt so right out in the middle of nowhere.
There was some amazing, almost psychedelic art on the walls. In particular, a cat with riveted goggles and an industrial style background full of cogs. I was under the impression the art was for sale, and of course, was SUPER BUMMED when I found out I couldn't purchase the cat painting. ☹️
The coffee itself was tasty as all hell, with perfect micro foam, and a good, strong roast of espresso. A coffee bar like this would not be out of place in Cape Town.
The name Steampunk Cafe of course alludes to the Steampunk movement, but had all kinds of what I would call anarchy flavoured details. Spot the "Throw Away Your Television" scrawled on the dark wall (an ode to a RHCP song, I'm sure). "You Can Revolt" is written under the clock. They even accepted some sort of cryptocurrency - I can't remember which now, but it wasn't Bitcoin or Steem, which I of course thought would have been perfect there. Pay for your Steampunk coffee with your Steem. Steam on! (or as I like to say - Steem on!)
Since we were with Mork's brother, who knew the owner, we got a quick tour of the small roastery in the back. Quite an impressive little set up.
Mork's brother told me how the owner had started as just a little coffee shop, selling coffees made with another roastery's beans, and slowly progressed over five years to be the small little roastery/cafe he is now. Yes! I love to hear stories like this.
I loved the vibe, I loved the decor, and I LOVED the coffee. If you are ever on a Midlands meander, be sure to stop at Steampunk Cafe for some good coffee and even better vibes.
| #Market Friday - Gardens Continental Butchery | )) |
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Hey Princess Good afternoon from India, Steem On and again 'Steam On' looks something belongs to us, your lovely experience of this coffee shop and the little town Howick which is a wonderful place for Nature lovers full of Greenery and a beautiful big dam for adventurous experience is quite outstanding. I personally loves coffee so much and all the things you described and explained in your experience there, the mew painting with goggles and everything the design, the decor is very lovely and definitely will attract you so maybe sooner or later you will visit there again.
Good luck Madam.
thanks so much my guy! I really loved that Mew painting.
This is such a quaint little joint, love it. Bummer about the painting, blow up your photo and frame it. That's what I do when I see art that I like because I can not afford. I take a pic of the pic and blow it up and frame. I wish we had one of those shops in Pittsburgh, I love how homey it looks and the dog in the entry, how awesome is that?
haha, I kinda feel like I would be stealing the art then! lol, but it is a good idea!
I get what your saying I never thought about it that way, maybe I will rethink my process, lol
Heeey, I have been to Howick! Seen the falls and this ....
haha! amazing hey 😄
Hi Princess. So pleased you enjoyed Howick. There is the most wonderful antique/junk shop in Howick. I had an absolute ball there, and I found some wonderful pieces of history. One was a composition of all the early Law cases. The language used to describe the incidents and characters was so entertaining.
oh, i think I visited it! i found two junk/antique places, and I just loved them. so much weird crap
Yes, that's it. You are spot on.
Oh, I just love it when I find cute little places like this! This coffee shop looks like we should all have a visit. And so awesome how they roast their own beans, you would never see anything like that in Europe or America. Also the dog, LOVE him. How quick would the health department run into a place like that here in Europe and put a stop to that. Great to see it possible in a place like that. What a great find! Ste(a)em On @princessmewmew!
Thanks so much! It's such a chill place, precisely in the middle of no where. I just loved it
Thanks for commenting on my post, it's nice to meet you!
Highly rEsteemed!
They spelled steem wrong.
haha! that's what I said!
Howick sounds a beautiful place and that Cafe is so cool, I hate coffee myself but I still would have to go into that place just for the decor
omg you don't drink coffee??? like how do ya live??
Just pulling your leg, I do find it unbelievable though!
@princessmewmew All my family are coffee and or tea drinkers I just never liked either of them or any type of hot drinks, I used to be bad for coca cola, but now I just drink water
That looks like my kind of coffee shop! I'll keep this one in my memory sieve for my next visit back to SA. The Howick and Midlands area has some really nice little spots to stop at. Beautiful part of the world.
it is so beautiful there! When you do come to SA, let me know! I have so many places to recommend!
Will do. I bet there are a lot of awesome places I haven't heard of. We have fam in Durban, Pretoria and Cape Town, so would probably spend a week or more in each area on our next visit. I'm super keen to get back into the Cape again. It's been too long!
it's awesome here! So much to do x
I am also a coffee addict as many are many of us steemians. I have never been to South Africa. If for some reason I find myself there (South Africa), I will be sure to visit the SteamPunk Cafe!
It is a great place x While Howick is a little out of the way, and not on most traveller's lists, if you do get there, I'm sure you will love it.