If you’re firmly seated on the ‘new year, new me’ train, we salute you. The end of December and the beginning of January are ideal times to embark on new missions, as a new metaphorical life chapter begins.
One such change could be the coffee you consume. Perhaps you want the same buzz that you get from your local coffee shop, but from the comfort of your own home? Or perhaps you’d like to try a new bean or a lighter roast?
We’ve looked into a few coffee brands that are doing great things. From Chimney Fire, which started in a garden shed, to Exhale’s healthy coffee, which champions beans from Rubiaceae cherries that are bursting with antioxidants.
Whatever your pour, it’s never too latte (see what we did there?) to try a new type of coffee. So here are ten of our personal favorites for you to try…
Chimney Fire Coffee
Chimney Fire Coffee is a Surrey-based specialty coffee roaster, and their ethically sourced coffee beans are simply amazing. Despite the fact that they are only a team of six, this intelligent group, from Founder Dan Webber to Head Roster Elizabeth Furth, are extremely passionate about their coffee.
Try their Peru Coffee, Ethiopia Tega and Tula, or the January Discovery Coffee, which features notes of tomato jam, orange, and dried dates. Furthermore, £1 from every 1kg bag of Discovery Coffee is donated to Re-Cycle, giving you even more reason to try it.
Exhale Coffee
Exhale Coffee is a cup in the right direction if you’re on a health kick this year. Exhale has packed their pour with beans that are high in antioxidants, with one cup of this coffee containing the antioxidant power of 12 pun nets of blueberries, 55 oranges, or 1.2kg of kale, making your coffee addiction a little less guilt-inducing.
Exhale’s specialty coffee has been designed for health, but you won’t have to give up flavor by switching to this wholesome brand. Exhale also considers waste to be a “dirty word,” and they deliver their coffee in plastic-free packaging, with a mission to triumph in ethical sourcing and organic farming practices.
Exhale was founded by Alex, a former accountant who “obsessively researched” health and coffee and how the two can be a match made in heaven. Exhale coffee is something you absolutely must try in 2023.
Brown Bear
This high-quality coffee brand, particularly their Mountain Blend, is a must-try. Rich flavors and a smooth texture will delight your palate, and 5% of sales will be donated to the Free the Bears charity, which protects vulnerable bears around the world – cute! The sweet and malty flavor will have you energized for the day, and the packaging is also very cool!
Yallah
Cornwall-based Yallah roasters make some seriously delicious coffee. Try their Las Cotorra, which comes from a farm in Chiapas, Mexico. This delicious coffee has cocoa, cashews, and cream notes.
The name Cotorras is derived from a bird species native to the region, which is home to a protected forest teeming with plant and animal life. There is also an Ethiopian origin blend from the Worka Smallholders producer on the Yallah menu. Notes of pineapple, apricot, and jasmine could accompany your dessert if roasted on the lighter side!
Manumit
Manumit roasts high-quality coffee and has a dedicated team whose motto is “For Freedom, Not Profit.” Extensive research is conducted in order to establish strong relationships with their coffee farmers. Manumit’s passion shines through in their blends. Try Global Justice from Brazil, which has chocolate, toffee, and citrus flavors. Pearl Mountain has floral notes of hazelnut, chocolate, and truffle. Try their Rwandan lime, chocolate, and caramel decaf. Manumit delivers to stores, offices, and places of worship. You can’t get away from this UK favorite.
Square Mile Coffee Roasters
Square Mile Coffee, founded in 2008, is a multi-award-winning company with 25 coffee professionals at your disposal! Their website includes a map with links to where their coffee shops are located in London, and they, like many of the roasters, sell great merchandise.
To entice your taste buds, this company will send you The World Atlas of Coffee 2nd Edition or a great sample coffee pack. The Amaluza is Loja, an Ecuadorean coffee with fruits like figs and apricots and a sweet and creamy addition of hazelnut, is one of their most popular. Turn on the Ecuador music compilation during break time and enjoy the moment.
Maude Coffee
If you only do one thing this year, make it try Maude Coffee’s Rwanda roast. The flavour is a delectable combination of milk chocolate, lime, and caramel; ideal if you’re out of chocolate and crave the taste! The beans are washed before going through a decaffeination process that extracts all of the caffeine using CO2. Because of this, as well as the use of charcoal and water, the cup of coffee is chemical-free, with all by-products being recyclable and natural. Ticking the boxes is what we want, and it’s a popular choice in the UK.
D’NISI
When this company won the Best Café with On-Sight Roasting ‘Crema’ award in Scotland’s 2018 Café Awards, they adopted the following motto: “The heart of our brand is our coffee, and we are passionate about it.” Popular drinks at this popular café, where coffee is micro-roasted in-house, include the Flavored Latte, which is blended with syrup and textured milk, the Macchiato Caldo, and the Mochaccino with chocolate. Delicious!
Taylors of Harrogate
Traveling south from Scotland, we come across an independent family tea and coffee company that dates back to 1886 and is still a popular choice for their coffees in 2023. Taylors of Harrogate sources the best coffees and teas from over one million farmers and workers in 24 countries under the motto “People are at the Heart of Our Business.”
With 100% renewable gas and electricity, solar panels, and carbon neutrality, you can be confident that sitting back in your armchair with a cup of one of their delights will be an experience. Attempt the Lazy Sunday. This coffee has a smooth milk chocolate and citrus flavor, and other favorites include Hot Lava, Praline Especial Brazil, Cacao Superior Colombia, and Rich Italian.
Rave
Rave coffee truly provides something to rave about. Not only do their one-of-a-kind bags pop with color, but what’s inside is also a total treat. Blends are created by combining single-origin coffees, giving them a more complex flavor than a single estate alone.
Try their Italian Job blend, which is perfect for espresso fans. It has a strong flavor of dark chocolate and walnut. Colombia Villamarin Natural No 103 and Guatemala El Morito No 97 are also must-tries. Rave successfully combines fruity, citrus, and floral notes with nuts and spice. That’s good enough for us!
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