Xpresso is the newest of countless coffee shops to hit Stellenbosch after opening on 22 June in Eikestad Mall on Andringa street, during the winter break.
On the surface this coffee shop may look like any other, however, it has one defining characteristic that most other cafes cannot offer: every item on the menu costs just R10.
The cafe’s premises may be small but it is still managing to make a lot of noise with queues going out of the shop onto Andringa street itself. While some might say the “R10 for any item” is the only pull factor, the quality of said items are “of quite a high standard” according to campus minister, Vibert Padiachy (27).
“I went to the Stellenbosch one [Xpresso] for the first time last week. One of my friends told me everything is R10 in the shop,” he said. “What a bargain? That’s why I’m here. Their coffee is quite good, their snacks are quite good, I love everything about it.”
Xpresso sells all the standard coffee products from cappuccinos, americanos and espressos to the bit more extravagant toffee caramel lattes and top deck hot chocolate.
The food items include pastries, sandwiches as well as snacks like droëwors and muesli which all cost, yes you guessed it, R10.
Since word of mouth and social media are Xpresso’s only advertising factors and the shop is relatively new to Stellenbosch and Eikestad Mall, some students do not know about it yet.
“I was walking around Stellenbosch and decided to take a look inside and that’s when I saw it,” says Aiden Timberlake (19), a mechanical engineering student at Stellenbosch University (SU).
The franchise coffee shop says it aims at being a trendy, upmarket takeaway café within the industry, with the goal of providing any and all South Africans the chance to taste the real coffee shop experience at the best possible price. That price always being R10.
This “best possible price” is something Ntombi Mteho (24), a masters electrical and electronic engineering student, really seems to be enjoying.
“I’m not a coffee a person but I like the snacks and the juice and the R10 [idea]. I was blown away.”
At the moment, it is safe to say that Xpresso is creating a coffee shop experience which is enjoyable to all, regardless if someone enjoys coffee or not.
Xpresso has experienced queues going from their small shop in Eikestad Mall out into Andringa street. PHOTO: Jeremy Ryall
With branches located all over the Western Cape in Durbanville, Cape Town, Cape Gate and Canal walk, this very affordable cafe is expanding fast.
The Stellenbosch community, especially the students, may have just found its newest coffee hotspot!