Coffee roasters in East Sussex

East Sussex has 11 independent coffee roasters, with Brighton the centre of gravity and meaningful operations in Hove, Lewes and Eastbourne. The county is unusual in two ways. It has the longest specialty roasting history outside London (Andronicas in Lewes since 1979) and it has more roasters operating with a defined ethical stance per capita than almost anywhere else in the UK. Among the eleven you will find a registered charity roaster, a family farm operation, and one of the longest established names in UK specialty.

Andronicas Coffee has been in the trade since 1979, rooted in Lewes with a roastery and espresso room and a London address on Great Eastern Street; the signature 1849 blend remains its anchor product. Skylark Coffee, in Brighton, is structurally unusual: a registered charity, the only entirely not for profit specialty coffee brand of its kind, paying specialty prices at twice the Fair Trade rate before donating an additional pound per kilo to conservation projects. Symva Coffee, in Hove, has the most direct origin connection of any UK specialty roaster on this list: the coffee it roasts comes primarily from the family's own 13.5 hectare farm, Hoyo Frio, in San Gil in the Colombian Andes, which has been in the family for over thirty years.

Brighton alone has enough roastery cafes to fill a weekend. The Lanes, North Laine and Kemptown are the densest. Lewes (Andronicas, Pharmacie), Hove (Symva, Small Batch) and Eastbourne (Nelson) extend the radius if you have time.