“It is a gift from the creator to our ancestors, from our ancestors to our great-parents, from our great-parents to us, and from us to you.”

This is how business founder and co-owner Donald Setlhabetsi describes Motlopi Coffee, a proudly North West generational health beverage.

Produced in a meticulous process from the roots of the Motlopi Tree, indigenous to the Tseoge village region of the North West Province, Motlopi Coffee was born.

The business is 100% black-owned by the four Setlhabesi brothers – Donald, Kgosi, Modiri and Odirile and is formally registered and SABS-approved.

Although the product is, in fact, a health and longevity beverage, it is called Motlopi Coffee because the process of brewing it is so similar to coffee. It has been proven to be healthy and can support healing from different kinds of diseases including epilepsy, haemorrhoids, sugar diabetes, and high blood pressure. It can clean out the digestive system, promote kidney health, increase libido and blood circulation, assist in the treatment of eye and skin conditions, and is safe for breastfeeding women.

Due to its vast medicinal properties, the product is currently being distributed and sold at a number of privately-owned chemists in the North West and the Northern Cape, including Mahikeng, Ganyesa, Morokweng, Vryburg, Zeerust, Lehuruthse, Rustenburg, Kuruman and Kathu, with more distributors being added. Visit the Facebook page of Motlopi Coffee for more information on distributors (link below).

The company currently produces the product from its local village, Tseoge, using casual labour for the several production steps, including harvesting the roots, chopping, de-barking, roasting, and packaging. The tree’s scientific name is Boscia Albitrunca, also called the Tree of Life or the Sheppard’s Tree. The product is harvested from the tree’s very long roots, preserving the live tree as a renewable resource.

Looking towards the future, Motlopi Coffee wants to own permanent fenced-in premises from which it could produce its product in a structured production line, including vehicles to assist in distribution. Their long-term goal is to supply large supermarket and pharmacy chains in South Africa and to enter the export market. In doing so, they can sustain and grow the business and leave a legacy for their children to grow and expand Motlopi Coffee.

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