Our Approach

Our approach to sourcing coffee is equally driven by quality coffees and a commitment to developing sustainable and ethical relationships. 

Fully Traceable Coffee

Over the past 20 years our sourcing process has become more precise as specialty coffee has moved beyond just country and regional labels to specific farms, producers and cooperatives. With this improved traceability we have forged lasting friendships with some of the industry’s leading producers, to the point where much of our menu is now a familiar cast of returning farm names and faces.

 A Coffee Showcase

Our role in the process is to champion the coffees from our producers and our aim as a roastery is to highlight and showcase a coffee as more than just a commodity or product but a valued experience that touches many hands.  

 Partner Impact

Our partnership with coffee producers means that 90% of our coffees are from the same people, year after year. For us, quality coffees are not just looked at through the lens of an 80 point cupping score. We want to share the more intangible side; the histories and the stories behind the coffees whilst acknowledging the added value of a producer who takes on the risks of growing coffee, adapting to climate change;  to the value created in their communities and as a business in their own right. 

 Commitment To Quality

Where once we might have selected only the brightest coffees from a blind cupping table, these standout coffees have led us to working with some standout personalities and we now gravitate towards working with these friends first and foremost. Allowing producers and partners to pre-select a range of options creates a collaborative process and gives us access to many of the same lots each year whilst also adding a degree of certainty for their harvest planning. And the coffees just keep getting better!

Consistency is Key

When it comes to roasting we are inspired by each step in the value chain to take equal care in our approach to roasting. All of our coffee is roasted on our environmentally friendly Loring SmartRoast S35 & S70 where our objective is to evenly develop each coffee’s inherent sweetness, highlighting clarity and balance. With the latest in roasting technology and rigorous quality control process we are able to articulate and pursue our desired flavour profile with accuracy and consistency. 

Finding the Sweet Spot

Our range of coffees represent the most unique flavour aspects of each coffee producing region in an effort to highlight the tireless effort involved at farming, processing and export levels. 

Seasonal Coffee Calendar

Our coffee range reflects the coffee seasons. With differing producing nations picking and exporting at different periods throughout the year we are fortunate to focus on fresh arrivals. 

Coffee Preparation is just as Important as the Quality of Coffee. Coffee is an ingredient, and like a chef, the role of the barista is fundamental in bringing a coffee to life.  We place a lot of value in bringing people together to share in our coffee expertise; our dedicated training and technical team work with, teach and support our customers to make and deliver the best coffee possible. 

Barista Skills

Our goal is to empower baristas to champion the coffee and their service of it. Our training academy and cupping clubs are vehicles to share our knowledge and create opportunities for people to break down the barriers of coffee making, and engage people to be proud of their craft. 

Training Academy

Our Training Academy is the home to a whole range of coffee curriculum, including core training for wholesale customers, sensory experiences, SCA courses and home barista and brewing workshops. There is something for everyone to learn and to aspire to learn- whether its that coffee is the seed of a fruit and an introduction to what specialty coffee is all about; through to the depths of extraction theory, machine maintenance and cupping. 

Spreading the Word of Specialty

If we can inspire more people to take up the baton of specialty coffee; show care and consideration with their coffee making at home; or to see working in coffee as a career choice, then that is a win for specialty coffee!

Fostering curiosity

Exploring flavour and testing the boundaries in what we know and want to know, leads to some very interesting outcomes. We spend time getting to know our coffees through how we source, roast, brew and educate. 

Learning by doing

Our R&D projects have seen us evolve, becoming more consistent and succinct in our offering. Over the years we have developed, redeveloped and refined our sourcing and roasting processes, our training offering and even how we run our business.We’ve tried and tested pods, instant, filter sachets, cascara soda, coffee in food, coffee beers, cold brew and coffee concentrate with success - and failings along the way *cough* hot nitro tap. 

Burning the Midnight Oil

Our greatest success so far is the Midnight Oil range of coffee liqueurs and espresso martini. We have the experience of being coffee experts, making a product like no other on the market, by celebrating specialty coffee.

Collaborative Innovation

Championing ideas and people is at the heart of what we do. We see the value in partnerships - from experimenting with flavour, to sharing a space for food and drink to come together. We’ve worked with some extraordinary people and businesses over the years to push the boundaries of what coffee and food can do. 

The glory days of Climpson’s Arch

From 2011 to 2016, the arch was home to Climpson’s coffee roasters by day, but by night opened its doors with a longstanding reputation for hosting some of the city’s most exciting chefs and restaurant professionals. Chefs included Som Saa, Dave Pynt from Burnt Ends and Leandro Carreira. Tomos is well acquainted with the arch as he headed up their kitchen from 2013 - 2015, developing his style of cooking: seasonal produce grilled over fire. 

The here and now: Brat x Climpson’s Arch 

After closing the restaurant aspect of the Arch to focus on coffee; a Pandemic Brunch Box led Tomos Parry of Brat to reignite the Climpson’s Arch flame. What started out as an outdoor only, eat-out-to-help-out venue in 2020, the wood ovens remain lit here on in and continue to serve whole roasted turbot, spider crab and grilled breads in East London’s well-loved courtyard. To find out more or make a booking click here

Going Local

Community is literally at the heart of what we do. Our neighbourhood market stall and coffee shop have been part of the Hackney community for 20 years and counting. 

Coffee Community

The specialty coffee community is a forward thinking and passionate bunch. Throughout our time in the industry we have seen a huge shift towards specialty coffee and a lot of innovation in sourcing and technology. We want specialty coffee to be approachable and for quality to be seen as of value. 

Our people

Our team of dedicated and passionate individuals make Climpsons a very interesting and diverse group of people. Hailing from all over the world, our team has developed and changed as has the communities we are a part of. Starting from the one man band of Ian Burgess to now just shy of 50 people across two cafes, roasting and production, training, account management, business development, marketing and events and operations. We have learnt a lot along the way from and alongside a whole host of amazing people who have left their mark over the years.

Involved

We support many initiatives from the local schools, raising funds for local charities, running the Hackney Half with Team London Fields for Shelter;  and partnering with people trying to do something great for the world - like the Reuser scheme and Tap London.

Our support for the Blue Marine Foundation goes beyond local to a charity dedicated to 

Securing marine protected areas globally; with the main objective to ensure the protection of at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 through developing models of sustainable fishing and restoring marine habitats. Our partnership as coffee sponsor for the annual London 2 Monaco charity cycle has raised over £1 million pounds since 2018.