The founder of now, Mastertons Coffee and Tea Specialists, Ronald John “Jock” Masterton was born on 13 November 1897. He came to South Africa from Scotland in 1920 at the age of 23 after serving as an officer in the Black Watch regiment during the First World War. He knew he was going to fall in love with the country after meeting a South African in hospital during the First World War. Stories of wide-open spaces and endless sunshine were just what the doctor ordered, especially following four years in the trenches. Jock’s love for coffee, however, only came later.
RJ Masterton in the 1st Western Trench Mortar Battery, Western Division, British Army of the Rhine - Aug 1919
He first worked as assistant manager on a farm in Vereeniging where he met his future wife Marjorie. In love, he made the logical move to Marjorie’s hometown of Port Elizabeth, where her father was the Harbour Engineer in charge of building the breakwater which still protects the harbour to this day.
With the aim of establishing his own business, Jock travelled to Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka) where he studied Tea Tasting, often sampling more than 400 varieties of tea in a single day...
