The Roasting Shed
Photos and text from March 2014
Who are you?
Ricci from Armenia, a small town in Colombia, he’s been in London for about 8 years.
Esther originally from Lake District UK, but grew up in Germany and Oxford before London.
When did you start making coffee and the business?
Just over a year ago, the Roaster was bought in March 2013. The Roasting Shed and Emilio are both our 2013 babies.
Why did you start roasting coffee?
Ricardo grew up in an area where coffee is grown and where his family and friends own coffee plantations. His dream was to import his Colombian coffee here into the UK. He found it hard to find anyone interested in roasting it for him in small batches, so he decided to do it himself. He studied how to roast green coffee, did a few courses, ordered a roaster and built a shed! Voila! - The Roasting Shed.
Can you mention a few of your customers and where we can get hold of TRS’ coffee locally?
We get lovely orders from our website. We retail at London Borough of Jam, and Palm 2 in Clapton. The De Beauvoir Deli in De Beauvoir town. You can also sample coffee at Nana Café on Chatsworth and The Proud Archivist off Kingsland Road. We hope to have a few new places stocking and using soon. We have a contract to supply Mother advertising agency in Shoreditch with all their coffee, where they have their own coffee bar!
Where have you had the best ever coffee? How do you drink your coffee?
Ricardo – he drinks it black mostly in which case one from Sharps or Prufrock. But in case of a Flat white he says 46b Espresso Hut on Brooksbys Walk. Esther always a flat white. Love a 46b, Shoreditch Grind or Flat White on Berwick Street.
What is your advice for those who want to make a decent cup of coffee at home without spending a fortune on equipment?
Get yourself an Aeropress. Quick and easy to use. Used to use a stovetop but aluminium is BAD for you. Aeropress is consistently good for strength and flavour.
The coffee culture in London has changed drastically over the last few years. Do you have any predictions on how it will develop over the next years?
I think more people will start choosing coffee as part of a lifestyle choice. Flavour and quality will direct choice, as well as where and when the coffee was roasted. I hope that quality establishments will continue to pop up. Life really is too short to drink bad coffee.
How long have you lived in Lower Clapton? How do you like it? Where do you go for a cup of coffee locally?
We moved here 3 years ago. We love it! Very liberating and we’ve met really cool people. I have the best coffee made for me every morning. It’s freshly roasted and ground, then expertly made for me by the man I love, in our shed!
Anything else you want to mention?
Thank you very much for your interview! Clapton really is full of super peeps.
theroastingshed.com
Instagram @theroastingshed
The shed evolution. We have visited The Roasting Shed a few times after our first meeting; mostly to buy coffee but also to photograph their growing business. Below is the first time we came around in 2014, then the second photo is from August 2015 after a bigger shed was needed and when Neil Coyle joined the team. Then again in 2016 when the garden simply wasn’t big enough to room the new roaster and they had moved to a warehouse in Hackney Wick nearby.
