For our return to the UK we focus this time on old ‘Blighty’ itself-England. As it is our home country, we really wanted to go the extra mile at finding some really exciting roasters and we’ve done just that! This month, one roaster we’ve worked with before will be joined by three new and thrilling discovery roasters and we’re feeling pretty proud because once again we have assembled a truly spectacular set of England’s finest coffees.

Scenery Coffee Roasters

(London, England)

Scenery are a trio with over 30 years of coffee industry experience combined and it clearly shows. Very new on the scene, Scenery have come out of the gates running and are already one of the most exciting roasters in the UK. Committed to honesty, humbleness, and openness they focus on sourcing, roasting, and sharing coffee they truly love. Their vision is simple: to offer an authentic coffee experience rooted in fairness and passion, while respecting both the people behind the coffee and the customers who enjoy it.

It was 6 months ago when we first tasted their offerings at a cupping event and immediately fell in love with their sublime coffee. Since then we have been working closely with Scenery to make sure we get something special for the set and this Black Honey Costa Rica is a pre-release and exclusive to The Right Roast-very special indeed!

Gaia Artisan Milenio (Pre-release & Exclusive)

Earl Grey, Sweet Citrus & Floral

Origin: Costa Rica
Roast Type: Filter
Region: San Juanillo, West Valley
Process: Black Honey
Variety: Milenio (H10)
Altitude: 1800m
Producers: Fernando Altmann,
Angie Gutiérrez & Gaia Artisan Coees

Fernand chose to plant H10, colloquially known as “Milenio”, a first-generation (F1) hybrid originating from a cross between rust-resistant T5296 and Ethiopian landrace Rume Sudan. F1 hybrid varieties are still relatively new; This hybrid variety has proven to be a success, earning second place in one year’s Cup of Excellence, giving hope for the future of quality coffee production.

The fruit is pulped and mucilage is left on the parchment which is placed in large mounds on a concrete patio. The mounds are moved 2 or 3 times a day for the first 3 days encouraging a strong fermentation in the mucilage and the color turns nearly black. Then, the coffee is moved straight to raised beds, put in a thin layer, and moved frequently everyday for 12 days to reach the optimal content.

Formative

(London, England)

Through offering extraordinary coffee experiences in the heart of London, Formative, founded in 2019 by Ian Kissik, has a vision to transform the UK's coffee culture. The café quickly gained international recognition, becoming a runner-up for “World’s Best New Café” in the Sprudge Awards in 2019. COVID restrictions forced the shop to close on its first anniversary however and over the next 18 months, the team rebuilt the business, emerging stronger than ever. Today, Formative thrives and Ian started roasting coffees in 2022, winning multiple national championships and placing 6th in the World Barista Championship 2024.

It’s rare that an Ethiopian coffee comes our way that gets us really excited but one sip of the Gooseberry natural and we knew straight away we had to have it in our box.

Gooseberry

Strawberry, Pineapple, Jasmine, Gooseberry, Tepache, Dark Chocolate

Origin: Ethiopia
Roast Type: Filter
Region: Arbegona
Process: Natural
Variety: Wolisho, Dega
Altitude: 2200m
Washing Station: Rumudamo Village

Rumudamo is a small woreda located in the Arbegona area of Ethiopia. Sitting at an altitude of approximately 2200 meters above sea level, it is positioned at one of the highest elevations suitable for coffee cultivation in the country. The coffee produced in this region is classified as Highland Coffee. Notably, Rumudamo was the recipient of the 2nd and 3rd Place Presidential Award at the 2020 Cup of Excellence Ethiopia.

The coffee is sourced from small plots within the highland area of Arbegona, taking advantage of the remarkable altitude of 2,200 meters. Currently, the station collaborates with 600 farmers and cultivates the 74112 coffee variety across 840 hectares. Each year, it yields around 350,000 kilograms of coffee, primarily processed as washed coffee, with a smaller quantity produced as natural coffee.

Dialect Coffee

(Birmingham, England)

Dialect has a really interesting story. Though living in Amsterdam, Mark Al-Shemmeri hails from Birmingham and runs Dialect’s store from there with his sister Hannah. Dialect began shortly after Mark completed his engineering doctorate, which focused on coffee roasting. Dialect is an outlet of creativity for the siblings as both approach their work without concerning themselves with how things "should" be done, preferring to find their own way through their mutual passions - science and art.

Though they don't yet have a physical space of their own, they continue to work nomadically. Their aim is to continue sharing their unique interpretation of coffee and how they present it to the world. Each new coffee they choose becomes a current favourite for Mark. Right now it’s a washed Guatemala and might be our favourite too!

Antonio Medina

Pear & Chamomile

Origin: Guatemala
Roast Type: Filter
Region: Santa Rosa
Process: Washed
Variety: Caturra, Bourbon
Farm: La Colina
Producer: Antonio Medina

La Colina farm, translated to English “The Hill”, is named so because of the elevations of the land and the hill on which it is located, named by Antonio’s father.

They begin the day of picking as early as possible, only selecting the most ripe cherries off the branches. The cherries are placed into sacks to be transported via truck, a journey that takes all night. The next morning at dawn, the cherries arrive at the mill in Santa Rosa.

There, the cherries are fermented for 36 hours, demucilaged, washed again and then placed on a concrete patio to dry in the sun. The washed coffee parchment spends about 10 days in direct sunlight, about 6 hours per day. Finally it is dehulled in the dry mill and placed into Grainpro and jute sacks for export.

Red Bank Coffee Roasters

(Kendal, England)

Nestled in the beautiful Lake District is Red Bank Coffee Roasters, which began its journey in 2015. Guided by quality, founder Tom, who became a certified Q-grader in 2019, upgraded to a top of the range low-energy roaster, and moved to fully recyclable coffee bags all in an effort to make a difference at every step of the supply chain. Red Bank carefully selects coffees from dependable producers and believes in visiting them annually to understand their challenges better. Moreover, they contribute 2% of their coffee sales to charitable and environmental causes, backing local projects, an organic farming charity, and enhancing conditions for coffee producers through their partnership with Raw Material.

Our second time working with Red Bank and we’re delighted to receive a stunning Colombia from them-and it’s a legendary Wush Wush, too good!

El Fénix Wush Wush

Vanilla, Lychee & Turkish Delight

Origin: Colombia
Roast Type: Omni
Region: Calarcá, Quindio
Process: Anoxic Washed
Variety: Wush Wush
Altitude: 1680-1800m
Producer: Miguel Fajardo Mendoza

El Fénix is run by the legend that is Miguel Fajardo Mendoza at Raw Material. El Fénix also doubles up as a community wet mill, and education centre for the wider coffee community.

The coffee is the rare wush wush variety, processed by way of the anoxic washed method originally developed at El Fénix. Wush wush is an Ethiopian landrace variety. It is notoriously low-yielding and difficult to grow, but the reward is a nuanced and complex cup profile. The pulped cherry is placed in a container which is then covered with plastic sheeting. Cold water is added on top of this, creating a seal and allowing for an anoxic environment for fermentation, whilst also acting as a heat exchange to control the fermentation temperature.