In just over a week’s time, London will be playing host to coffee roasters, cafes and professionals from across the UK and beyond when The Old Truman Brewery opens its doors for London Coffee Festival 2024. Always an exciting and insightful window into what’s happening in specialty coffee in any given year, for us the real value of the festival lies in its ability to bring a diaspora of partners, friends and peers together one place. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to catch-up and share a coffee with as many people as possible. We’ll be walking the festival throughout its four days, a ..read more

Friday 1st March 2024 being the first time that the doors have opened on the fact that Ireland has a burgeoning specialty coffee scene is undeniable. From quality-focused brew bars to family-oriented brunch spots; specialty cafes-come-natural wine bars to enviable drive-thru spots on busy commuter highways, the ability to seek out a brew that’s not just carefully made and delicious, but offered up so hospitably is wonderfully — refreshingly — easy. Dublin Coffee Festival is therefore somewhat surprising. What wasn’t a surprise, though, was the wonderful reception it received. The industry ..read more

As we prepare to unload a container of fresh crop Peruvian coffees, we hosted an open tasting at La Marzocco HQ UK on Willow Street in East London. A big thanks to everyone that joined us on the day.  Before gathering together around the cupping table our Chief Product Officer, James Bailey, offered an insight into our sourcing ethos in Peru, how we started and how we've grown and evolved our approach. Focussing on the Valle Inca Association, with whom we've worked for 6 years now, he shed light on our relationships in this vast and diverse producing country ..read more

Life is not a straight line. Whilst some people discover their path early in life, others career their way towards their chosen vocation, taking time to discover what it is that makes them tick and the things they value most from their day-to-day. John Hagger, founder of Tanner Bates, would be the first to place himself in the latter camp. It wasn’t until he was 45 that Hagger decided to move to the market town of Walsall and train as a saddler and bridle maker. Coming from a line of leather guilders and glovers, it was a return to familial roots of sorts, as John spent embarked on ..read more

Photo credit: Rory Cole  / Tender “This has become a project predominantly driven by a combination of curiosity and passion”, says Kroll during our latest catch-up over the phone. For the last 3 months, the founder of British apparel brand Tender has been trialling the use of coffee as a natural dye in a bid to create a pair of knitted and hand linked wool socks. Up until now, the results have been promising, but not quite robust enough to scale up to the small initial run we’re pushing for.  However, he’s made a breakthrough. The brewed coffee is sticking and we have a recipe to w ..read more

Our long-time friends Tracksmith understand the powerful connection between coffee and running. Each a ritual in its own right, time on feet is often pre-empted or punctuated by the careful preparation and thorough enjoyment of a brew – something we support through the provision of coffee to Tracksmith's Trackhouses across the globe. Our collaborative blend, Runner's Reserve, is served in their Boston, NYC and London locations and mirrors the changing emphasis of the run throughout the year – long runs through Spring and Autumn, exploratory adventures through summer, maintenance thr ..read more

We were both excited and grateful to be chosen to participate as an experience judge for the first ever Extracted Development coffee competition, which launched this weekend at the Birmingham Coffee Festival. The brainchild of the talented Cup North team, this new competition focusses on real-life barista skills, how baristas and roasters can and should collaborate to best serve their customers as well as involving the audience in a meaningful way.  Eight roasters from around the country were paired with eight baristas, and were tasked with preparing a presentation for the three experien ..read more

We've always appreciated the cultural and historic link between coffee and cycling. From supporting grass roots events and working with local tea ms, through to the regulars that stop by our coffee bar each week, it's one of a number of reassuring constants that continually bears out in Workshop's story as we continue to evolve. Building on that strong link, and to celebrate the beginning of the world's biggest bike race – The Tour de France – we've partnered up with creators of natural performance snacks and fuel, Veloforte, to offer 6 months of coffee and nutrition. Together, we've cre ..read more

Founded in 2011, Exploding Bakery have been championing brilliant baked goods for over a decade. Committed to excellent ingredients, working with like-minded partners and producers, and doing so fairly, their approach aligns closely with our own and so working together felt like an obvious decision. As Co-founder Oli highlights, “the partnership has to be right. Exploding Bakery and Workshop care so much about quality, but also share a responsibility for caring for the planet. Partnerships like this are a great way to shout from the rooftops and be heard by a wider audience”. Throughout ..read more

Preparing coffee in a Jebena outside the Snap dry mill in Dukem.   En route to the dry mills located outside Addis. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to meet the many people responsible for producing the coffees we get to work with, day in and day out. Having spent the last three years working with Snap Coffee, thanks to Nordic Approach introducing us to their coffees, we were itching to finally meet with them and see their operations in Ethiopia. At the end of February 2023, we spent a week in Addis Ababa cupping through many tables to make our selections for the year, as w ..read more