August RISE coffee box
Nicaragua Meets Peru: This Month's Exceptional Cup.
Written by Alice & Ben, co-founders of RISE Coffee Box, Great Taste Award judges 2026, B Corp certified, obsessed with finding the UK's best independent specialty coffee roasters.
This month's RISE Coffee Box features Olfactory Coffee from Cornwall, born from pure obsession back in 2010, and Formative Coffee from London, roasted by a World Espresso Champion. Two roasters, two exceptional coffees: a Nicaraguan that tastes like lemonade and a Peruvian rated Exceptional that tastes like dessert in a mug. Plus decaf, brew tips, and a brand new partnership with The Protein Ball Co.
This is one of the most exciting boxes we've put together in a while. Olfactory Coffee have sent us a Nicaraguan that completely surprised Ben the moment he pulled it as an espresso, and Formative Coffee are back with a coffee so good it's been given an Exceptional rating, scoring 86.5 out of 100. Let's get into it.
Two Roasters, Two Stories
Olfactory Coffee
📍 Cornwall · Est. 2010Olfactory is a Cornwall-based roastery born from pure obsession. It started in 2010 when a couple fell in love with coffee at university, frustrated by the stale, rubbery cups the industry was serving up. By 2013, that frustration became Olfactory Coffee Roasters, built on quality, transparency, and ethical trading.
The team travels the globe forming genuine relationships with producers they admire, then roasts every coffee with precision on custom Diedrich roasters and ships it fresh daily. The name is a nod to their old factory home.
Formative Coffee
📍 London · Now roasting from SE LondonThis is one of the most exciting coffees we've ever featured, roasted by Ian from Formative, World Espresso Champion and 3x National Barista Champion. We featured Formative last year, and some of you got to meet Ian and Nick at their Westminster café. Maya, their roaster, served up coffee at our recent event at the London Coffee Festival. That's them above.
They've since moved their roastery to South East London. As you can probably tell by now, we are huge fans.
This Month's Coffees
Santa Isabel
Nicaragua · Nueva Segovia · WashedMedium
Cafetière: 30g → 500g water (92 to 94°C) · bloom 20 to 30 sec · plunge at 4½ to 5 min
Pour-Over: 18g → 300g water (89 to 92°C) · bloom 40 to 50g for 30 sec, then pour slow and steady
The coffee: The moment Ben tasted Santa Isabel as an espresso, he was hooked. Unlike anything he'd had before, with a beautiful fizzle across the mouth and a flavour that made it an instant yes for the RISE box.
Grown at 1,250 masl in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, by producers Janaina Silva and Jaime Moncada, this washed Parainema variety delivers vivid notes of lemonade, iced tea, and coconut sugar. It's sourced through Cafetos de Segovia, an exporting partner founded in 2014 by sisters Ana and Martha Albir, third-generation coffee producers who built a wet and dry mill to help the 60 farmers they work with improve both quality and livelihoods.
Drink it black for zingy lemonade vibes, or add milk for a flat white that genuinely tastes like lemon meringue pie. No, really.
Pecan Pie
Peru · La Naciente Farm · Washed · Exceptional86.5
Filter (V60): 15g → 250ml water (93°C) · bloom 50ml, then two pours of 110ml, continuously and slowly over 2:20
The coffee: This is one of the most exciting coffees we've ever featured, rated Exceptional quality and roasted by Ian, World Espresso Champion and 3x National Barista Champion. This is exactly why we hope you enjoy RISE: to find coffees like this one.
Grown at 2,250 to 2,350 masl on La Naciente farm, this washed Caturra scores an impressive 86.5, with a flavour profile of caramelised pecan, baking spices, and stewed apple. It's like dessert in a mug. It's grown by Joselito, who started with just a quarter of a hectare and gradually expanded, testing different varieties to find what best suited his land, building deep experience in soil care, shade management, and processing along the way.
Espresso brings out caramelised pecan and warm baking spices. As a V60, expect a cup that's clean, layered, and packed with stewed apple sweetness.
🌙 For the decaf drinkers
Rios de Esperanza, meaning "Rivers of Hope," is a washed Esperanza variety sourced from the Aquiares Estate in Costa Rica, grown between the Aquiares and Turrialba rivers at 800 to 1,400 masl. Decaffeinated using the naturally derived sparkling water process, where natural CO2 gently draws out caffeine while preserving flavour. Tasting notes: golden syrup, nuts, lemon.
Sourced from Popayán, Colombia at 1,100 to 1,850 masl, with 20% above market rate paid to farmers. Sugar cane decaffeinated, medium-dark roast, this coffee delivers caramel sweetness and gentle florals in a smooth, balanced cup. Tasting notes: milk chocolate, caramel, macadamia nuts. Proof decaf can still taste like proper coffee.
Upgrade Your Coffee Break
Great coffee isn't an accident. It's sourced with care, and brewed to bring out every last flavour note. So why pair it with a snack that's full of sweeteners, syrups, and ingredients you can't pronounce? We think your coffee deserves better, which is why we've teamed up with The Protein Ball Co this month.
Every recipe starts with real ingredients like dates, nuts, and nut butter. No added sugar. No sweeteners. No emulsifiers. Just naturally delicious snacks made the way nature intended.
- ✓ 100% Natural Ingredients
- ✓ No Added Sugar or Sweeteners
- ✓ No Emulsifiers or Palm Oil
- ✓ Naturally Gluten Free
- ✓ Hand Rolled in the UK
| Flavour | Best Brew | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Peanut Butter OG | Flat White | Creamy milk enhances the roasted peanut notes. |
| Choc Chip Muffin | Cappuccino | Chocolate and espresso are a timeless pairing. |
| Lemon & Pistachio | Filter Coffee | Bright citrus complements lighter roasts. |
| Blueberry Oat Muffin | Latte | Smooth coffee lets the fruit shine. |
| Matcha & Vanilla Stuffed | Matcha Latte | A match(a) made in heaven for matcha lovers. |
Exclusively for RISE subscribers: get 20% off your first order from The Protein Ball Co.
CODE: RISE20Stay Closer to RISE
💬 Facebook Group
Daily brewing discussion, tips, and community. Search RISE Coffee Box Community to join.
🎬 TikTok & Instagram
Behind-the-scenes content, roastery visits, and coffee education every week. Follow @risecoffeebox.
🏆 Great Taste Awards 2026
Alice and Ben are judging this year. Alice on filter, Ben on espresso. We won't feature any coffees we award stars to. Full integrity, always.
🌱 B Corp Certified
RISE is the UK's only B Corp certified coffee discovery club. We give 1% of every order to our Friendly Coffee Fund, supporting coffee-growing communities worldwide.
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Coffee That Does More.
August's box brings together two roasters doing genuinely exceptional work. Olfactory Coffee, a Cornwall roastery born from obsession, with a Nicaraguan that tastes like nothing else in your cupboard. And Formative Coffee are back with a Peruvian rated Exceptional, roasted by a World Espresso Champion, from a farm run by a grower who started with a quarter of a hectare and never stopped improving.
Every cup you drink this month is part of something bigger. That's what RISE has always been about.
Enjoy every single cup. We'll be back next month with more.
Alice & Ben ☕
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