Every workplace has a coffee snob, and if you think yours doesn’t, chances are it’s you.

Look at that chap above and his smug, satisfied grin – urgh.

I suppose it’s kinda like the craft beer folk who turn their nose up at any of the ‘generic’ beer brands – a mass produced ale, oh the shame!

You’ll find most bars within a certain radius of the Cape Town CBD fitted with a craft ale or two. What about going after a good cup of coffee while you’re on the road, though, or if don’t feel like encountering a string of hipsters twirling their topknots while you wait?

We’ll let you in on a little secret, friends. For a solid 15 years Vida e Caffè have been serving the good stuff – life and coffee, the clue is in the name – and now they’re bringing something new to their more than 200 stores around South Africa (with a further 15 across the rest of the continent).

South African consumers as a whole demand more from their cuppa than they have in years gone by, and now Vida are taking heed of that.

Their original blend, called Estrela, has become a daily staple for their loyal consumers, but it’s time to shake things up.

With the launch of Auriga, Vida is the first national, speciality coffee chain to offer an additional blend in espresso form – significant given the maturation of the coffee market here at home.

Auriga brings another important first for Vida, as it’s the first time that African beans – globally acclaimed for their great quality – are being used. Of course you don’t just throw together a new blend overnight, and the intense process has been a year in the making.

Vida actually partnered with the country’s most renowned specialist coffee consultant, Charles Denison (it’s 2017 and this is a thing now), and slowly perfected the delicious Auriga blend over a series of tasting sessions.

He is the only independent licensed Q-Grader (Coffee Quality Institute) in South Africa, and has visited and spent time in the coffee fields at eight of the major growing origins in the world.

Charles doesn’t muck around, so maybe it’s time you put his new creation to the test. Auriga is in stores nationwide, so get stuck in and see if the Auriga cracks the nod.

I’d suggest you download the Vida app before you do, as loyal customers are rewarded through a mobile rewards programme which allows users to pay through the app and earn points.

Yes, Discovery clients, of course you get your own perks too. Achieve your Vitality Active Rewards goals and you can bank a free Vida coffee voucher.

I guess if you want to survive for 15 years in the coffee business you need to roll with the punches and innovate, so it’s good to see them taking chances, as well as using beans sourced from around Africa.

No one can promise that you won’t find a hipster waiting at the Vida counter when you head in for your taste of the new Auriga blend, but we can only do so much.