When a person with a passion and a dream taps into the power of coffee, the results can be awe-inspiring. Dennis De Wet has turned his dream into Namibia’s most beloved coffee brand with his innovative Slowtown Coffee Roasters. When this coffee entrepreneur was collecting and selling empty bottles at a local corner shop just before starting university, no one would have imagined he would establish a brand that now supplies coffee to some of the biggest hotels, restaurants, lodges, offices, and other establishments. Although Namibia is home to the Namib—the oldest desert in the world—and is considered one of the driest and most sparsely populated countries on the planet, De Wet has expanded his coffee business to more than seven stores. Can it get even more puzzling? Namibia produces no coffee.
In a new feature for Sprudge Special Projects Desk, journalist Daniel Muraga reports on the emerging coffee culture of Namibia, where Slowtown Coffee Roasters is leading the way in a quiet corner of southern Africa.
Read “In Namibia, Slowtown Coffee Sets The Stage For A Changing Country (While Taking Things Slow)”
Special Projects Desk is a hub for long-form original journalism and select archival features on Sprudge. Since 2009, Sprudge has been the world’s premier home for thought-provoking coffee journalism, evocative photo essays, design deep-dives, and cultural narratives. Special Projects Desk continues this tradition in 2025 and beyond, platforming exceptional works from the field of coffee journalism.
Special Projects Desk is supported by La Marzocco, handcrafting espresso machines in Florence, Italy since 1927. Their mission is to support the growth of specialty coffee; they believe that increasing knowledge and understanding is the best way to develop a thriving future for the coffee industry.
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