Back in June of this year we achieved something momentous! We, (the Roastery, Coffee Shop and Nova Bakehouse) joined a global community united to use business as a force for good. B Corp, what is it? In simple terms, it is a certification that assesses the overall ethics and sustainability of a business across 5 areas. 1.    How the business is governed (how decisions are made/core mission/values etc) 2.    Employee experiences 3.    Environmental practices 4.    How customers are treated 5.     ..read more

You can’t beat a good cup of coffee while you’re camping. From Stove Top to AeroPress, we’re sharing the best ways to brew a great cup while out in the wild. We’re even going to tell you our favourite coffees to do it with. AeroPress  This is our personal favourite way to make coffee in the wild. The AeroPress delivers incredibly rich and smooth coffee. Its quick brew time, unbelievably simple clean-up, and compact size have made the Aeropress our camping must have. Grind Setting: Medium to fine Brewing Time: Around 2 minutes 30 seconds Brewing Ratio: Generally 6-8g coffee per 100g water ..read more

The Gente de Futuro Programme – Lamu, Kenya Vava (of Vava Coffee Kenya) is now on track to run the next iteration of her Gente de Futuro (GDF) programme. The current work is set to successfully open a cafe and learning institution in the town of Lamu, in the archipelago off the eastern coast of Kenya.  The site will act as a window or gateway into the specialty coffee industry from seed to cup. There will be an on-site roasting operation and a full espresso service, but too a range of manually brewed filter coffees available as hot drinks, cold brews and iced coffees. A food menu will ac ..read more

We have a couple of roles we are opening up in the Roastery team as we move into the Spring. Our business is open to applications from all regardless of race, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or age. ?? ??? ????????? ?? ???????? ? ??????? ????????? ????? ????? ????????????? ??? ?????????? ?? ???.  ????: Production Assistant ?????: 24 hours/week – potential to be full time ??????: £9.90/hour ??? ????: Be passionate about coffee and working with kindness and respect.  Be able to get yourself to our Roastery in Armley, Leeds. Be available to work a minimum of ..read more

Today is International Women’s Day. A global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. In honour of today, we want to take the opportunity to celebrate the incredible women we have the pleasure of working alongside so we asked a selection of them a few questions and here’s what they had to say. Due to speaking with women across the globe, from both ends of the supply chain, we haven’t yet had all their responses. However, we know they will be insightful and inspirational so keep your eyes on this blog as we update it. Maria: Producer at Finca Margarita ..read more

Like the turn of every year, 2022 began with a surge of glimmering hope as we collectively wished for a calmer and more certain year free from the very worst aspects of the pandemic. Things certainly seem to be moving in the right direction in many ways but it is also turning out to be the year of increased costs of living and sadly, it is no different for your local coffee shop. We know you will all be aware of rising energy, transport and labour costs – our own bakery has seen electricity bills rise from £400 to £1500/month. We are encouraged to see the minimum wage rising from £8.91/hour to ..read more

So here it is. The team at Fiorenzato have outdone themselves after overhearing that we were looking to fill the gap in the market for a total all-rounder for home use, that is also sleek, quiet during use and ergonomic too. Their new AllGround grinder that I was repping at the London Coffee Festival is an absolute dream – check it out here at 10:05:00 for the relevant part of the video for as long as the link remains active for the London Coffee Festival Virtual 2021. Although released as their ‘home’ grinder we have quite rapidly decided to make the AllGround our recommended secondary grinde ..read more

There is no doubting everyone had a lot on last year…! The daily trials and tribulations of operating in the height of the pandemic meant we only had so much headspace to dedicate to anything else. As we turn our attention to this next phase of opening up, we felt able to put the below together to summarise the situation surrounding the non-dairy brand Oatly, in the hope it can act as a resource for readers seeking out more information. We are still using Oatly in our own coffee shop but felt compelled to put together this info for our own review and also for others wanting to make ethical buy ..read more

As we roast the last batches of 2021 and prepare buying plans for next year, I find myself reflecting on what has been another fairly strange (very fast) and all in all pretty exciting 365 days. Yet again, we find ourselves with so much GRATITUDE – not only to still be here (!) but to get to work with each other week in and week out and of course for the amazing coffees we are constantly surrounded by. Krag and I still cannot quite believe that North Star has become the business it has, that we get to do what we do for a living and that we now collectively employ nearly 30 superstars across ou ..read more

We’re delighted to see zero-waste and refill shops on the rise, and what’s even better is that we have a few to choose from in Leeds. How do they Work? Refill shops, otherwise known as zero waste shops sell non-packaged food and require shoppers to bring their own containers. They then fill up empty containers in store with their product of choice and pay for what they’ve taken. Generally speaking, you can also expect the brands stocked in refill shops are making big strides to be more ethical, as well as being waste and plastic free. What is their Effect on the Environment? Through using refi ..read more