The Best Coffee Beans UK 2024
I’m Tom and here at Batch Coffee, myself and the team are always on the lookout for the finest coffee beans in the UK.
We receive coffee from independent roasters, which our team of industry professionals taste and review.
Below is a list of the best coffee beans I have had the pleasure of sampling over the past few years.
Overview
Determining what makes the best coffee is challenging and ultimately comes down to personal preference and taste.
Some people prefer fruit-forward lighter roasts that resemble herbal tea, while others favour heavier-bodied brews with a rich, chocolatey mouthfeel.
Delicious coffee has many different attributes, and at Batch, we taste and review coffee using various methods (from an espresso machine to a pour-over) to provide a well-rounded and unbiased opinion.
With over 400 independent coffee roasters in the UK and the ever-changing seasonality of specialty coffee, we are truly spoiled for choice.
Below you will find a selection of the highest-rated coffees in the UK as reviewed by our team.
We aim to provide a representation of coffee that can be brewed using various methods.
Why Trust Me?
THE BEST COFFEE BEANS UK 2024
New coffee roasters are springing up all the time so we are constantly on the lookout for new coffees to review. If you have any suggestions or would like us to review your coffee please use the comments section at the bottom of the page.
1. Batch Coffee Club
Batch Coffee Club is all about showcasing some of the best coffee beans in the world.
From the UK’s most talented coffee roasters through to pioneering coffee growers at origin.
We champion independents and celebrate speciality coffee in a non-intimidating way.
We want to not only introduce speciality coffee to people that have never tried it before but also appeal to all of those self confessed coffee snobs out there. All at the same time as being real and fun.
We don't take life too seriously but you can trust us to send you two banging coffees in each box.
If you would like to try two bags of the best coffee beans in the UK each week then check out our coffee subscription.
All of the roasters mentioned below have previously featured in our box, some of our favourites we revisit from time to time.
See Why Batch Coffee Club is Number 1
2. Volcano Coffee Works
Kurt Stewart is the man behind Volcano coffee works which was founded in 2010.
Kurt grew up in coffee-mad New Zealand and created Volcano to bring the great tasting coffee he had grown up with to the UK.
He did this while supporting the livelihoods of the communities who grow and produce it.
Volcano started life as a coffee cart that graced the streets of West Norwood but has now grown to a team of 30 passionate coffee people that operate out of their state of the art coffee roastery in Brixton.
The first batch of the day is always roasted by Kurt who is still the beating heart of the coffee business.
Volcano consistently produce some of the best coffee available in the UK at such a high volume.
Volcano Coffee Works believes in complete Supply Transparency, which means they insist on knowing where their coffee is from and visiting many of their farmers annually.
3. Assembly Coffee Roasters
Assembly are the customer focused and quality UK coffee roaster based in Brixton, London.
They are one of the few coffee roasters in the UK that are pushing the boundaries of each aspect of their business.
The Assembly roastery is housed in a 19th century fire station in the heart of London. The Loring roaster alongside a state of the art coffee sensory lab and a couple of event spaces to hold cuppings is a testament to how serious these guys take specialty coffee.
Launched in 2015 during the annual London coffee festival, Assembly are now showcasing their coffee on a global scale.
The biggest difference in how Assembly operates for me is their collaborations.
When talking to their business manager, Ed, he explained how the team is in constant conversation with their customers, whether it’s a retail customer purchasing a 250g bag every other week or a wholesale cafe that orders dozens of kilos per week.
This conversation enables Assembly not only to build strong long lasting relationships and understand their customers wants and needs but also keeps their finger on the pulse of the specialty coffee industry.
4.Origin Coffee Roasters
Origin coffee was founded over 15 years ago by Tom Sobey and roast their coffee in Cornwall.
Having worked closely with his fathers coffee business growing up, he has always been involved in the industry.
After a trip to Australia in the early 2000’s where coffee culture reigns, Origin was born.
Since then Origin coffee Cornwall has evolved into a full team of industry professionals, a world class coffee program, 6 coffee shops and an ever evolving product range.
They are one of the founding fathers of third wave speciality coffee in the UK and are amongst the front runners in the industry.
Origin coffee source direct from the farms. A practice that is true to speciality coffee and one that rewards the people who grow the coffee rather than the many middlemen.
Through their direct trade practice they’re able to support their farm and mill partners directly, giving their customers full traceability of the coffee in their cup.
They attempt to visit the farms at origin every year in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Brazil.
The relationships that they have built over the years of visiting these coffee growing regions means they are able to ask questions and provide support to workers and their families.
What sets certain coffee roasters apart for me is the stories that they tell through coffee.
Origin coffee does exactly that, the quality of their coffee is matched by the stories behind it and it’s easy to see why these guys are paving the way into the 4th wave.
5. Balance Coffee Roasters
Balance Coffee the colourful new roastery based in London.
Founder James has worked in the coffee industry for 8 years and wanted to create a coffee brand with a mission to inspire people to drink better quality coffee at home.
The coffee that they showcase is focussed on the healthy coffee end of the market, they stock coffees such as lions mane coffee. Checkout our article on the benefits of black coffee for more info
With really clean and slick branding their eye-catching watercolour design is a clue about the style of coffee that they offer.
They are not afraid to showcase an unusual origin and may provide that unique bag of speciality coffee you are looking for.
Balance offer a few different espresso options and an espresso taster pack that lets you try all of their blends at once.
6. Old Spike Coffee Roasters
Old Spike was set up in early 2015 in a small cafe in Peckham. Their vision was simple; to use coffee as a vehicle for change and offer their customers something more than just delicious tasting coffee.
Their mission is to train and employee homeless people across our business.
Whether they work in their cafe, assist in their coffee production or deliver their coffee to all their wholesale customers - every bag of coffee you buy goes some way to ending homelessness here in the UK.
Their passion for coffee and their inspiring mission to give back to the community is why these guys are one of the best London roasters.
They not only source coffee that promotes sustainability and ethical practices at source but also contributes to problems that are faced in the coffee consuming country.
7. Blossom Coffee Roasters
Blossom Coffee are a new and exciting coffee roaster that has emerged over the last few years and showcase some of the best coffee beans in Manchester.
The quality of their coffee is outstanding, they purchase the finest green (raw) coffee from a small selection of importers and roast the coffee in a way that maximises the sweeter notes while highlighting the interesting complexities and natural characteristics that many speciality coffees possess (great coffee beans for pour over).
With a Q-grade certified team, Blossom certainly knows their stuff in the speciality coffee world and it’s no wonder they have caused a bit of a buzz in the coffee scene.
As the brand is still fairly young they are still working towards a few of their goals, however, Blossom has started as they mean to go on, creating a sustainable and environmentally conscious coffee roastery.
8. Horsham Coffee Roasters
Horsham Coffee Roaster is based in Sussex, UK. Back in 2012, there were a fraction of the speciality coffee roasters there are today. With their 1kg roaster in their garage, Horsham wanted to showcase the amazing results they were able to achieve on their small-batch roaster.
They have come a considerable way from the garage back in 2012, although they are still a small team their drive and focus is still the same.
Their story starts over three hundred years ago when the London coffee house cemented itself as the quintessential melting pot of political, philosophical and creative debate.
They were the stomping ground of the rich and famous but also the leading thinkers of the day. A coffee house back then was a place for enlightenment, the coffee being the stimulus that sparked many discoveries.
These guys roast coffee for any method, however if you’re on the lookout for cafetiere coffee beans these are your ticket.
9. Foundation Coffee Roasters
Foundation coffee roasters are an independent roastery and equipment supplier based in St Ives, Cornwall.
They began their coffee journey with a mission to create quality and high-grade speciality coffee while at the same time using the best possible ethical practices that have a minimal impact on the environment.
This transcends from the sustainable relationships they build at source all the way through to the Omni-degradable and home compostable coffee bags that they showcase their coffee.
Foundation focus on honesty and transparency throughout their business - two things that we hold extremely important too. Their involvement at origin stems from these two ethics as they prefer to deal with coffee farms and mills directly.
10. UE Coffee Roasters
UE coffee roasters are an independent family run business from Oxfordshire.
UE has been around for quite a while when it comes to speciality coffee roasters. 2009 to be exact was when Dominic and Daniella opened their doors to showcase the delights of freshly roasted coffee.
Their brand is built on the relationships and the community that they have nurtured over the past decade and now are looking to elevate UE roasters to the next level.
The coffees that they rotate on their single-origin menu (What is single origin coffee?), as well as their blends, are of that quality and premium nature deserving that beautiful branding.
These guys don’t just roast delicious coffee and post sexy Instagram photos though, they also give back.
The barista foundation was launched to make use of the resources and relationships that UE coffee roasters have forged over the last decade and to help groups around the world.
Symposium Coffee Roasters
Symposium Coffee Roasters are based in Norwich, Norfolk.
The owner Steve has a real passion for high-quality coffee and is helping spread the word of speciality coffee throughout the UK.
Symposium source the majority of their coffee from East Africa. A region that is famed in the speciality coffee scene for producing world-class washed coffees that produce some extraordinary flavour notes, however, it is also a region of poverty and exploitation of people and the land.
Symposiums sustainable coffee sourcing model focuses on direct trade & sourcing through carefully selected coffee importers that encourage producers to improve the quality of their coffees meaning a higher price.
This can make a huge difference to household incomes as well as protecting the forests in East Africa. When farmers can build profitable coffee businesses, they don’t have to clear trees to create space for agriculture.
12. Carnival Coffee Roasters
Carnival Coffee Roasters, are an eco-friendly, speciality coffee roaster based in the heart of Penge, South East London.
Their love for life resonates through their bright and bold branding that always brings a smile to our faces each time they pop up on our Instagram feed.
Carnival are an inspirational team. Their focus on providing an eco-friendly product is a great example for future roasters to follow. Their ethics transcend all the way from the Colombia coffee farms where they support sustainable coffee projects all the way to South East London where they offer local delivery on a bicycle.
Their story started in Medellin, Colombia where they grow and produce coffee on their family farm. The farm has been in the family for generations ever since Juan’s Grandfather won a mountainside on the outskirts of the city in a very lucky game of cards. Even more luckily the conditions were ideal for growing coffee.
13. Pilgrims Coffee Roasters
Pilgrims coffee roasters are based on Holy Island, Northumberland.
Originally set up in a small yurt in the garden.
Andrew began roasting coffee in 2014 and simply aimed to supply the cafe with delicious, high quality and sustainably sourced coffee.
Andrew still heads up operations at the roastery and ensures all of the beans are of the highest quality arabica.
Their state-of-the-art roaster ensures they bring out the distinctive characteristics of the beans and produce top quality coffee, every time.
A fantastic roastery with fantastic morals that transcend all the way from the country the green coffee is sourced, to the eco-friendly bags they sell the roasted coffee in.
Some of the best Ethiopian coffee that I have ever brewed came from Pilgrims.
14. Terrone Coffee Roasters
Terrone & Co are the unorthodox Italian coffee roasters based in Tottenham, London.
Italian roasts are typically dark and sometimes over-roasted, you will see some Italian coffees looking almost black and shiny.
Terrone are here to change the way people think of Italian coffee.
They roast all of their coffee to the profile that best highlights the attributes in the green bean.
They unify their heritage of coffee culture with advanced roasting techniques and high-quality green beans to give Terrone a unique edge over the rest of the crowd.
Their roastery based in Tottenham, London has been going since 2012 which is quite a while in speciality coffee terms. The 15kg Giesen coffee roaster is at the heart of their production.
15. We Are Here Coffee Roasters
We are Here Coffee is a roaster based in Margate with a back story that is almost as interesting as their concept.
To start off with the brand is bold and bright and has some really cool creative aspects - my personal favourite is one of their taglines, ‘don’t be a dick’ which I think should be a motto that everyone lives by.
Their concept is definitely different from many of the other third-wave coffee roasters out there at the moment.
They put it best themselves;
“to state the obvious WE LOVE COFFEE, like loads. but we're bored with all the doo-dars and chit-chat that comes with it why over-complicate a drink that you make when you're sleepy? it makes no sense.”
There is no description or details on the bag, other than a few descriptive ideas of how you like your coffee whether it’s laid back, juicy or strong.
A really great idea on how people drink their coffee, it kind of focuses on the primary reason for drinking coffee (the taste) and takes away any rambling and suggestions that may influence what you should taste. We are here also offer a range of subscription coffee beans so you will never run out of your favourite coffee.
How We Review Coffee?
We receive coffees from roasters throughout the UK to taste and review (Coffee roasters such as Kickback or Chipp coffee roasters). All of our coffee reviews are our own words and thoughts, we don’t receive any form of payment for any of our reviews.
Our coffee reviews always start with an introduction to each independent coffee roaster.
At Batch, we are all about celebrating the incredibly talented roasters that we have in the UK and telling their stories. Each one has different styles of coffee roasting.
We then explore the origin of the coffee and take a look at where the coffee has been grown and the process that it has gone through once it has been picked (Learn about Washed vs Natural Coffee Beans).
Every coffee growing origin has a different set of characteristics when it comes to the final cup, whether it’s fruity and floral or chocolatey and full the origin of speciality coffee is always celebrated.
The last part of our coffee review is what we tasted in the coffee.
Speciality coffee has some incredible flavour notes (more than wine), some dark and rich while others on the opposite end of the flavour spectrum are light and fruity, we try and explain what we taste in the coffee however like with many complex tasting foods or drinks it is also down to perception and personal opinion.
So if we have tasted orange zest and you get watermelon then that is brilliant and what we think speciality coffee is all about (as long as you like the coffee).
We then score the coffee on attributes like body, aroma, sweetness and flavour.
FAQs
Where to Buy Coffee Beans?
The best coffee beans can be purchased from your local coffee roaster.
Although you will find coffee beans in most supermarkets there is a high possibility they are commercial grade (lowest quality) and over-roasted. Although they may be tempting because they are slightly cheaper than independently roasted coffee the difference in quality is huge.
Check out our map of coffee roasters in the UK to find your local roaster or learn more about our speciality coffee subscription boxes.
What Is Single Origin Coffee?
Coffee is actually a fruit. Harvested as a cherry before the fruit is stripped and the resulting seeds (occasionally one seed called peaberry coffee beans) dried and roasted into the coffee beans that we all love.
Coffee is grown all over the world but Arabica coffee that makes up around 80% of the total world production can only grow in specific climates, altitudes and within 20 degrees of the equator (fussy old plant right?).
The origin of coffee is therefore where the coffee is grown. Single origin is a coffee that is grown in the same region of a particular country. Region in a bit of a grey area as some will only call a coffee single origin if the coffee is all produced in one farm, rather than others that call it single origin if it is produced in the same country.
To find the best single origin coffee in the UK, take a look at some of our coffee reviews that we have showcased in our previous subscription boxes.
Where’s The Best Coffee Grown?
Coffee is grown all over the World however, speciality coffee is only within 20 degrees of the equator and high in altitude - learn about how altitude makes a difference in flavour of coffee. It makes specialist coffee rarer than commodity-grade coffee with the added fact that it gets better the higher it is grown.
There are many great coffee growing regions in the world, in Asia, there is Indonesia and India that produce lots of great coffee.
Africa, the birthplace of coffee has numerous coffee-growing countries, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda are known for excellent coffee.
South America has quality as well as quantity produced, some amazing coffees come out of Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
Central America also has some world-class coffee growing regions, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua grace many cupping tables.
There are also many other countries that produce excellent coffee.
How much caffeine is in coffee beans?
The amount of caffeine in coffee beans is a hard one to answer as there are so many variables, however our best approximation is 1.45mg.
Where the mg of caffeine in a cup of coffee is roughly 200mg. Like I said, however there are many factors that can influence the amount of caffeine in coffee beans such as over roasting coffee or the way that the coffee beans are brewed.
What are the different types of coffee beans?
There are 4 main types of coffee beans: Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa and Liberica. The majority of coffee however come from the 2 former types, Arabica and Robusta. You may also come across processing methods such as natural or washed coffees this is essentially how the coffee is dried and adds many of the flavours to the end cup (the term washed is in reference to this process at origin and so there is no need for you to wash your coffee beans)
Can you eat coffee beans?
You can eat coffee beans, they aren’t particularly pleasant though, however this is often how coffee roasters profile their coffee post-roast. You may also come across chocolate cover coffee beans which are a popular snack, the coffee is usually over roasted so the beans are extra dry.
What is the best way to brew coffee?
There are many ways that you can brew coffee and it does come down to preference and the type of coffee or how it has been roasted, for instance there may be certain coffee beans which are best for aeropress because of the origin and altitude. Or you may prefer to brew your coffee as a filter and pick out the complex flavour notes.
Whereas a coffee roaster may want to create a coffee for beginners which has smoother notes and cuts through milk.
How To Find Coffee Brands UK?
There are many coffee brands in the UK all of which offer something slightly different. For instance a brand like Caravan coffee will roast differently to brands like Rountons or Coffee Direct. There are also differences in the coffee brands business model for example Grind Coffee offer a range of products but specialise in pods, whereas Atkinsons or Two Chimps coffee roasters are focussed on coffee beans. There are other brands like Pact coffee that only sell coffee subscriptions or 8pm Coffee that showcase decaf
If you are looking for UK coffee brands that showcase amazing coffee whether sourced or roasted in house then scroll to the top of this article and find top rated coffee beans that fit your needs.
Can You Buy Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans In The UK?
Freshly roasted coffee is sometimes misinterpreted for coffee straight out of the roaster.
Although you would think that coffee that drops straight into the cooling tray after a roast is going to be super delicious it isn’t quite the case as coffee needs to rest. (Learn about how long coffee beans last for)
The optimal time to consume coffee is 7 to 25 days post roast, therefore you can buy fresh coffee beans in the UK but you will seldom see coffee on the shelves dated on the day of purchase.
