Where to Drink It: The Wren

Many people have remarked that this might be the ‘grandest’ or most interesting space to enjoy speciality coffee in London. There is no denying that when we were approached by the team behind The Wren we were very excited to see their venue. The cafe is part of a St. Nicholas Cole Abbey that lies just South of St. Paul’s Cathedral. In fact, the church and the cathedral were both designed by Sir Christopher Wren - hence the name. 

The high ceilings and tall stained glass windows create an a level of light incomparable with any other coffee shop we know. The open space is great for larger gatherings or just a solitary flat white while admiring the finer details of the stain glass windows. As the summer rolls in the outdoor mezzanine, set away and above from the street, is the one of the best places to watch the bustle of The City of London while you enjoy a Cult of Done espresso or V60 filter brew.

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The Wren

Address
114 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4BJ

Email
info@thewrencoffee.com

Hours
Monday to Friday – 7am to 5pm
Saturday and Sunday – 10am to 4pm

Where to Drink It: The Association

Based in the City of London, The Association is a respite from the banality of the average commercial cafe. High design and impeccable service, alongside well brewed espresso and filter coffees make The Association a focal point of London’s coffee scene. The care and attention that Sam and his team put into each element of service is phenomenal.

With a selection of Workshop Coffee espressos and filter coffee on offer The Association is one of the best places within the square mile to grab a coffee. Make sure to pick up a bag of filter coffee before you leave because the shop is only open Monday through Friday.

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The Association

Address
No. 10/12 Creechurch Lane, London, EC3A 5AY

Phone
020 7283 1155

Twitter
@AssociationEC3

Hours
Mon to Fri – 7.30am to 5pm
Sat and Sun - Closed

Where to Drink It: Embassy East

A bastion of good coffee in East London, Embassy East has received high praise since its opening in spring 2013. Headed up by Chris, Lehi and Tommy of Flat White fame, they have brought everything that is great about the Antipodean coffee shop to Hoxton Street. Simple pegboard design walls, open kitchen and exposed lighting make Embassy East an unpretentious and warm venue for meeting friends or having lunch.

With Chemex brews to share, bags of retail coffee and our Cult of Done Espresso there is enough choice to please any coffee enthusiast. What's more the team at Embassy East prepare some of the most outstanding toasted sandwiches and salads in London. 

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Embassy East

Address
285 Hoxton Street, N1 5JX

Phone
020 7739 8340

Email
info@embassyeast.co.uk

Hours
Mon to Fri – 9am to 6pm
Sat to Sun – 10am to 6pm

Where to Drink It: Full Court Press

Small but perfectly formed, Full Court Press is Bristol's answer to the multi-roaster coffee bar. The name itself - a reference to a defensive tactic used in basketball - indicates a no compromise approach. For Mat North and his team at Full Court Press, this means an emphasis on great espresso and filter coffee, served with honest, informative and exemplary service.

We have been really excited to work more and more with Full Court Press and were lucky enough to take part in one of their takeover weeks, during which Full Court Press served exclusively Workshop Coffee filter and espresso coffees, putting a special emphasis on the origin of our coffees. We are really excited to develop this partnership further and have no doubt that the people of Bristol will be enjoying more excellent Workshop Coffee at Full Court Press in the coming weeks, months and hopefully years!

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Full Court Press

Address
59 Broad Street, Bristol, BS1 2EJ

Phone
07794 808 552

Twitter
@FCPcoffee

Hours
Mon to Fri – 7.30am to 5pm
Sat – 9am to 5pm

Wholesale: New Partners

For those of you on the pulse, you may have noticed that we put a temporary stop on accepting any new wholesale customers. We thought we should take the time to explain the thinking behind this decision.

As you may have noticed from our ‘Where to Drink It’ blog posts, we are working with more and more exciting new cafes around the UK and also internationally. In recent weeks we have been fortunate enough to work with cafes and coffee bars in Oslo, Dublin, Budapest, Stockholm and even further afield. The feedback overall has been very positive and that is something we would like to be able to maintain. 

However, as our presence in the coffee industry has grown we have begun to feel the strain. We pride ourselves on the quality and consistency of our coffee and would rather see these standards maintained than suffer at the expense of growing volume. We put a great deal of time and effort into sourcing outstanding green coffee and want to be sure we are always getting the most from it; for ourselves and for our wholesale partners. To do any less would be an injustice to all the care and the hundreds of man hours farmers have put into growing and producing their coffee. 

At the moment we feel we can still maintain these high standards, but we are aware that any further growth without a change to our systems may impact upon quality. In terms of quality, first of all we mean the coffee, but secondly and importantly, we also mean that quality of work that our team enjoy. We aim to be a progressive and modern employer; overworking your team for the sake of profit is not a route we ever want to go down. 

For those who are keen to stock our coffee at their cafes, restaurants or coffee bars, please do not fret. We are working towards expanding what we can offer and are confident that soon enough we will be opening new accounts again. In the meantime feel free to get in touch with us, as we are still very keen to have those conversations and continue to support those people who appreciate our coffee.

Hiring: Wholesale Support Manager

It's over two years since we went from solely roasting coffee for our own stores, to also working with a number of wholesale partners; initially in London alone, then further afield around the UK. As more and more cafes and restaurants are making the choice to improve the coffee they serve, we need more people to help us train, educate and support those partners to serve the best coffee possible.

We're hiring a Wholesale Support Manager, who will be another vital link between coffee producers at origin, our Production Department, our wholesale partners and in turn, their customers.

More details about the role are online here.