Light roast coffee divides opinion more than almost anything else in the specialty world. If you are used to dark, heavy espresso, a light roast can taste like a different drink entirely. Bright, fruity, sometimes floral, occasionally tea like. That is not a flaw. That is the point.
These 31 UK roasters focus on lighter roast profiles that bring out the origin character of the bean rather than the flavour of the roasting process itself. You taste the farm, the altitude, the variety, and the processing method. Not the char.
If you have never tried specialty light roast coffee, start with something from Ethiopia or Kenya. Natural processed coffees tend to be the most approachable for newcomers. And brew it as a pour over or filter before trying it as espresso. Light roast espresso requires precise dialling in and can taste sour if the grind is off.
Eve MacFarlane founded Argyll Coffee Roasters in 2018, roasting on a Diedrich IR-12 from a unit on Kames Industrial Esta...
Colonna Coffee is a Bath-based roastery founded by Maxwell and Lesley Colonna-Dashwood. The story began in Australia in ...
Crankhouse Coffee launched in 2014 in Exeter, beginning in a single car garage before moving through a converted barn ne...
Curve Coffee Roasters was founded in 2016 by Tereza and Jon, who relocated from London to the Margate coast with a secon...
Django Coffee Co. is a Manchester-based specialty roaster founded after its founder returned from five years of travel, ...
Echelon Coffee Roasters is a small specialty roaster founded in 2018 in Leeds, operating from Unit 20 at Penraevon Indus...
Established Coffee is a Belfast specialty coffee roaster and cafe based at 54 Hill Street in the city's Cathedral Quarte...
Foundry Coffee Roasters is a Sheffield speciality roaster based at Cutlery Works, the food hall in Neepsend. The roaster...
Good Times Roastery is a solo operation run by Simon from Guernsey, who has been roasting coffee since 2017 after leavin...
Grey Seal Coffee is a North Norfolk roaster founded in 2012, bringing third wave coffee to the region from a working far...
Kontext Coffee Company is a specialty roastery on the Monmouthshire and Herefordshire border, founded by Katja Klein aft...
Lands End Coffee was started by Ryan, who grew up on the Isles of Scilly and moved to Land's End in December 2017. The i...
Lars & Margo is a small-batch coffee roastery on the Rame Peninsula in Cornwall, working out of Barn 2 at the Rame Innov...
Leicester Coffee House Company is a small roastery and coffee shop at 110 Granby Street, Leicester, named after the orig...
Lomond Coffee is a female-owned independent roastery based in South-East London, run by a small, hands-on team. The roas...
Long & Short Coffee is a Walthamstow roaster trading under the strapline Always Single Origin. The team is led by founde...
Nelson Coffee Roasters was founded in Eastbourne, East Sussex in 2014 by Lucy and Ben after a honeymoon visit to a speci...
Notes is a London coffee business co-founded in 2010, with co-founder Fabio building close ties with producers who pract...
Obadiah is a specialty roastery based in Edinburgh, founded in 2017. The business is built around a defined roasting phi...
Outpost Coffee is a small, independent specialty coffee roastery based at 32 Salisbury Square in Nottingham (NG7 2AB), w...
Pink Lane Coffee opened on Pink Lane in Newcastle in 2012, just across from Central Station, and the roastery grew from ...
PLOT Roasting is a London specialty coffee roaster, founded in 2019 and built around a stated mission to source and roas...
Red Bank Coffee Roasters is an online roastery built around close producer relationships rather than broker catalogues. ...
Rounton Coffee roasts from a converted granary in East Rounton, North Yorkshire, where a small team grew the business ou...
Seamoor Coffee is a Peak District roastery based at Riders Point on Bridge Street in Bradwell, sourcing from independent...
Square Mile Coffee Roasters was founded in 2008 in East London by James Hoffmann and Anette Moldvaer, both former World ...
Strangers Coffee Company was founded in Norwich in 2009 by Alex Sargeant and Samuel Maddocks, with William Maddocks join...
Taith Coffee is a roastery, café, ceramic studio and bookshop sharing one address at 84 High Street in Lewes. The owner-...
Terrone is a speciality coffee roastery based in Tottenham, North London, founded in 2011 with a specific argument to ma...
The Coffee Officina was founded in 2013 by Marcella Fiori and Rory Lloyd, roasting from a unit at Housham Hall in Matchi...
The Roasting Shed began with the founders roasting coffee in their garden shed, driven by a love of drinking and sharing...
The Source Coffee is an Edinburgh roaster running a coffee bar at 4 Spittal Street in the Old Town. The range leans towa...
Williams and Johnson Coffee Co. roast in Leith, Edinburgh, working from a cafe and roastery at Custom Lane on Customs Wh...