Glasgow Coffee Festival 2020
Glasgow Coffee Festival returns this October to celebrate and support the vibrant speciality coffee scene
Author: Kathryn Lewis
Five destination coffee shops to visit, ASAP
Five fantastic destination coffee shops across the UK where you can drink top-notch brews in amazing locations
The interview: Holly Kragiopoulos of North Star
Holly Kragiopoulos, co-founder of North Star Coffee Roasters in Leeds, tells us about the impact lockdown has had on her business
Where to get takeaway coffee
Want to know where you can pick up an expertly poured flat white? We’ve rounded up the speciality venues offering takeaway brews, beans and more
Sustainable Champions: Yallah Coffee
Just who should be responsible for coffee practices being sustainable? We explore the issue with Richard Blake, founder of Cornwall’s Yallah Coffee
Sustainable Champions: Dark Woods Coffee
In the next chapter of our Sustainable Champions series with KeepCup, we talk eco “cherrypicking” with Dark Woods Coffee co-founder Ian Agnew
Coffee market crash
The market price of coffee is at an all-time low. What’s going on? Kathryn Lewis asks if speciality coffee could be the solution
Sustainable Champions: Hasbean
In the next instalment of our Sustainable Champions series with KeepCup, we talk sourcing, recycling and consumption with World Barista Champ Dale Harris
2019 new openings: Northern England and the Midlands
To celebrate the launch of the huge new North, Midlands & North Wales Independent Coffee Guide, we rounded up the region’s fresh openings for 2019
Scotland’s most ‘grammable coffee shops
More pictures of flat whites than friends on your phone? Check out Scotland’s most ‘grammable venues from the new Independent Coffee Guide
England’s most ‘grammable coffee shops
Camera roll filled with ‘grammable coffee shop interiors? These Independent Coffee Guide venues guarantee social media success
Edinburgh Fringe Festival coffee guide
Heading to the Edinburgh for your fill of comedy and arts? Make sure you’re expertly caffeinated with our Edinburgh Fringe coffee guide …
14 new coffee shops to add to your Ireland hit list
Planning a caffeine-fuelled road trip across Ireland? These are the new coffee shops to add to your hit list
Indy Coffee Box
Tour the incredible speciality coffee scene from the comfort your kitchen with the Indy Coffee Box
The ultimate uni essential
Know someone off to university this September? Forget an A-Z, the most useful gift you could give them is an Indy Coffee Guide
The future of coffee
From experimenting with processing to diversifying traditional coffee shops, meet the businesses brewing the future of Irish caffeine culture …
Sustainable Champions: PS Coffee Roasters
For our third interview in the KeepCup Sustainable Champions series, we catch up with the brothers behind PS Coffee Roasters
Eco game-changers
From weigh-your-own lunches to slurping beer from a KeepCup, the speciality community is getting creative in its ethical efforts
What makes a great barista?
Experience, knowledge and ability are the holy trinity, but what separates a good barista from a truly great one? We asked the pros …
A coffee with … Lilla Valter
Lilla Valter, Scottish AeroPress Champion and Habitat Cafe barista, talks first times and pet peeves
Sustainable Champions: Dear Green Coffee Roasters
In the second of our Sustainable Champions series with KeepCup, we talk to Lisa Lawson, founder of Dear Green Coffee Roasters
Sustainable Champions: The Wildcat Cafe
In the first of the Indy Coffee Guide x KeepCup Sustainable Champions series we talk to Deanna Laforet, owner of The Wildcat Cafe in Fort William, Scotland
Right here, right now
Change has been the only constant in the coffee sphere since the Indy Coffee Guides were launched half a decade ago
10 ways to be a more ethical coffee drinker
Keen to be kinder to the planet without kicking your speciality habit? Squeeze in these swaps and your conscience will be as clear as that filter
Regions on the rise
Playing it safe with the Ethiopian single origin option? Get ready for fresh flavour notes thanks to a new batch of coffee growing regions
Fresher’s guide to tasting coffee
Want to swot up before your first cupping sesh? We asked Paul Meikle-Janney, coffee guru and co-founder of Dark Woods Coffee, for the basics
Green coffee
With ethical bean sourcing and a quality-over-quantity approach, the speciality movement is leading the way when it comes to sustainability
Want to be a tamp champ?
Ever wondered what it takes to become an Irish barista champ? We extracted tales of blood, sweat and tampers from 2018 champion Arvind Khedun
Beyond the beans
With rents skyrocketing and rates heading the same way, coffee shop owners are finding creative ways to utilise their cafe space after hours
Ditching the disposables
Boston Tea Party took a bold leap last month and introduced a blanket ban on single use cups at its 22 cafes across the South West
The barista’s little black book – Scotland
Ever wondered where the pros go for a ‘spro on their day off? Or where your fave barista fell in love with filter? We got the deets from some of Scotland’s most experienced espresso slingers
The innovators
From frozen bean shots to slot roasting to hydraulic mobile espresso machines, speciality coffee continues its relentless pursuit of perfection through innovation. Here’s what’s new in the Scottish scene – and beyond
DIY coffee roasting
You’ve kitted out your kitchen with the latest brewing gear, nailed a killer Chemex recipe and sussed out the steam wand, but are you ready to roast beans at home? We roped in a few industry insiders to find out what it takes
Wild coffee
Grab an Edinburgh or Glasgow city map, stick a pin in at random, and if it doesn’t land near a speciality coffee shop, consider yourself unlucky. But often overlooked is the growing crop of indies pushing quality coffee in the wilds. We spoke to three cafe owners about serving speciality in the sticks …
Stop. Collaborate and listen
In the pursuit of caffeine-spiked sponge, creamy coffee stout and bean-steeped gin, speciality roasters and bean alchemists are creatively collaborating with other artisan businesses. We explore some of the indie outfits fuelling our unconventional caffeine kicks
The rise of the career barista
Fifteen years ago, if you said you were a barista you’d be pegged as a wig-wearing lawyer. The term ‘barista’ may no longer be confused with ‘barrister’ and being an espresso slinger has a certain hipster panache, but what’s it like being a professional shot pourer?
Thirst aid
Ensuring coffee farmers receive a fair wage, supporting charities at origin and raising money for local communities – throughout the speciality scene, organisations are going the extra mile to help others. We met some of the businesses in the South West and South Wales walking the walk. Feature from the South West and South Wales […]
Tour de speciality: Ireland
Take a break from Dublin’s pub crawls, Belfast’s history trips and surf tours of the coast. It’s time to discover Ireland’s thriving speciality scene with a caffeinated voyage around the Emerald Isle
Coffee and food pairing
The flavour profile of a coffee, when matched with similar notes in food, can become the gateway to appreciating speciality coffee
Tour de speciality: The North
With new speciality shops cropping up across the North and pioneer roasters flinging open their doors to coffee fans, there’s never been a better time for a caffeine-fuelled road trip
Pro guide to home brewing
Hankering after a perfect barista-style coffee at home? Cofficionado Hannah Davies of Cup North spills the beans on how to crack home brewing
Milk of human kindness
You know exactly where your coffee came from, and you’re satisfied that a fair price was tendered for those locally roasted beans. So why ignore the milk?
5 things the coffee pros wish you knew
Ever wondered what the barista is really thinking when you place your particularly complicated order?
Taking the Q
The term “Q grader” is bandied about in the world of speciality coffee, but what does it mean?
Bean scene
From espresso fuelled basement gigs to latte art smackdowns in the back room, Scotland’s thriving underground speciality scene is gaining serious momentum
Indy Coffee Guide March lowdown
Welcome to your March coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with the coolest caffeinated events
From latte to landfill
We asked eco-campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall if the indies can help reduce the number of coffee cups ending up in landfill
Indy Coffee Guide February lowdown
Welcome to your February coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with the coolest caffeinated events
Indy Coffee Guide January lowdown
Welcome to your January coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with the coolest caffeinated events
Indy Coffee Guide December lowdown
Welcome to your December coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with the coolest caffeinated events
Coffee on tap
The brewing trend that’s making waves across the pond, nitro’s turned up at a select handful of British festivals, bars and cafes this year
Indy Coffee Guide November lowdown
Welcome to your November coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with the coolest caffeinated events
South West & South Wales Indy Coffee Guide Launch
We like to think that there ain’t no party like a coffee guide party, and at the launch of the new guide, our hosts Extract and Beyond the Bean certainly pulled out all the …
Indy Coffee Guide October lowdown
Welcome to your October coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with the coolest caffeinated events
Indy Coffee Guide September lowdown
Welcome to your September coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with the coolest caffeinated events
Indy Coffee Guide August lowdown
Welcome to your August coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with only the coolest caffeinated events
Northern Indy Coffee Guide No.2 launch
Keeping up coffee guide tradition, we launched the Northern Indy Coffee Guide No.2 with a ruddy good knees up on June 30 at North Star Coffee Academy in Leeds
Indy Coffee Guide July lowdown
Welcome to your July indy coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with only the coolest events crafted by the caffeine gods
Indy Coffee Guide June lowdown
Welcome to your June indy coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with only the coolest events crafted by the caffeine gods
Indy Coffee Guide May lowdown
Welcome to your May indy coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with only the coolest events crafted by the caffeine gods
African adventures
Pigs on bikes, slaughtered goats and cabs with no headlights – it’s all in a day’s work for the intrepid explorers sourcing beans in Africa
Indy Coffee Guide April lowdown
Welcome to your April indy coffee bible; preaching this month’s speciality latest and filling your diary with only the coolest events crafted by the caffeine gods
Indy Coffee hits the UKBC
We sent Charley Pope – Boston Tea Party barista and wordsmith extraordinaire – to her first UK Barista Champs to get the lowdown on badass beards, the latest tech and, um, coffee
New liquid on the block
Cascara is a drink that’s making waves across the Scottish coffee scene. We got the lowdown from barista James Wallace
The road to perfection
We commissioned eagle-eyed lensman Gavin Smart to capture some of the characters behind Scotland’s buzzing coffee scene
Percolating the past
From eighteenth century gents debating the day’s issues to the cool coffee culture of the sixties, Catherine Jones brews up a shot of northern coffee history
School of milk
Getting the milk right is almost as much an art as making the coffee itself. Alex Passmore of Origin Coffee gives a masterclass
One for the road
Bike and brews go hand in hand, so we sent cycling geek Marcus Chapman and Crankhouse Coffee’s Dave Stanton to try out the latest in ‘anytime, anywhere’ coffee maker, the Cafflano
The African connection
Widely recognised as the birthplace of the bean, craved by its fans across the globe, African coffee deservedly attracts acclaim. Catherine Jones talks to Phil Schluter
