Today there are in excess of 500 coffee roasters in the United Kingdom. But we haven’t always been so spoilt. Speciality coffee roasters, and coffee companies in general, only burst on to the scene through the course of the 2000s. Now you can guarantee that there will be a roaster near me that all started from a few friends, or even a family, that are contributing to a fast-growing industry in speciality coffee roasting.
Coffee could only be roasted, by coffee roasters or by consumers, in much smaller batches than what they are today. The industrial-sized machinery turned out to be the best thing to happen for the industry since coffee’s discovery! Coffee companies across the world were able to receive large quantities of green coffee beans (pre-roast) and become a key cog in the supply chain that puts that delicious java in your cup today.
Coffee roasters have a huge wealth of skill, experience and knowledge. The margins are fine for a successful coffee roaster and the best speciality coffee roasters utilise the technologies that are now available to them. The roaster is linked up to a computer which reads the coffee’s temperature, acidity levels, and much more.
The London Coffee Scene
There is a high concentration of coffee companies and speciality coffee roasters in the south-east of England. But why is this? Being close to some of the main ports, and of course the capital, has allowed for the region to move quicker when industrialising speciality coffee. But there’s also the appetite for it, London today drinks a vast amount compared to other regions. Speciality coffee roasters are in dreamland, as younger generations develop a taste for finer and more ethically sourced products, as they move to busy London to maximise their 20s. Coffee roasters such as Mission Coffee Works are popular in the capital and boast an amazing roastery.
The backstory for coffee in London spans further back than you might think. There once existed a Lloyd’s Coffee House which was used as a key meeting place for merchants and sailors centuries ago. This popular little coffee house became Lloyd’s of London banking group, one of the biggest financial institutions in the world. The coffeehouses of London were also used as workspaces in the 17th and 18th centuries. Tables were filled with papers, pens, planners and of course… coffee! Working with your colleagues over a speciality coffee is no new thing!
Coffee Roasters: Everywhere Else!
We are, however, seeing the establishment of some of the country’s best roasters in the north of the country and spread far from the southwest. Look at Two Chimps Coffee Roastery for example. They have a real identity and deliver across the nation from Yorkshire.
Speciality coffee roasting was actually first started in the country by 2 men from New Zealand and Australia, who missed the quality of their coffees back home.
So, get out into the towns and cities of the U.K to find the best cups of coffee available to society, created by the best roasters in the world.
Best coffee in London – 26 great coffee shops to try | CN Traveller