Atkinsons Coffee Roasters

Atkinsons Coffee Roasters and Tea Merchants traces its roots to 1837, when it opened in Lancaster as The Grasshopper Tea Warehouse. The current husband and wife owners took the business on in 2004 from Mr Thornton, who had no succession plan, and have grown it from three staff to 42 across four locations.

Coffee is roasted on a Loring Smartroast, which the company says uses 80 percent less energy than conventional drum roasters, and the roastery, shop and cafe run on renewable energy. Sourcing is built on long term relationships with producers, forward contracts at premium prices, and farm visits to verify social and environmental practices.

Origins include Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Peru and Uganda, and the rotating decaf is typically an EA sugarcane processed coffee. Bags are recyclable, carbon neutral and supplied by Dutchcoffeepak, with Terracycle handling the recycling stream.

The company is a certified B Corp and publishes an annual Impact Report. Beyond the original shop on China Street, the business runs The Music Room, The Hall and a presence at Lancaster Castle, and supplies wholesale customers across the region.