Novembers RISE coffee box
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 Freda from Sussex, a tiny roastery named after its founder's nanny, and Ozone, the Kiwi roasters who helped kickstart London's speciality coffee scene. Two Central American coffees: a Guatemalan from a family farm growing coffee since 1958, and a Nicaraguan from a farm so well hidden you can't see it from the road. Plus two sugarcane decafs, why decaf is rarer than you think, and your chance to win a year of free coffee.
We love a box with a story, and this one has plenty. Freda roast every coffee and then serve it behind their own café bar, and Ozone were roasting in a Shoreditch basement back when most of London had never heard of a flat white. Let's get into it.
Two Roasters, Two Stories
Freda, Sussex
Meet Chris. He's been making coffee in Brighton since 2008, fell for speciality coffee in 2011, opened Bond Street Coffee in 2014 and started roasting in 2017. In 2025 the roastery got its own name: Freda, after his nanny, whose encouragement shaped who he became.
Freda roast single origins only, never blends, because Chris thinks hiding where a coffee comes from is a waste. The best bit? He roasts a coffee, then serves that exact coffee behind the bar at Bond Street, tastes it as espresso, filter and with milk, and takes what he learns straight back to the next roast.
Ozone, London
Ozone was started in 1998 by three friends in a small New Zealand surf town. In March 2012 they opened on Leonard Street in Shoreditch, with the roaster working away in the basement, and became one of the pioneers that changed how London drinks coffee.
They've since taken over Hasbean, one of the UK's original speciality roasters, and they're a B Corp like us. When they recertified in 2025, they scored 97.6, one of the highest scores in the coffee world.
This Month's Coffees
La Bolsa Guatemala
Freda, Sussex
Finca La Bolsa sits high in the mountains of Huehuetenango, one of Guatemala's most famous coffee regions. The Vides family have grown coffee here since 1958, and today the third generation runs the farm.
The family invest heavily in their community, supporting education, healthcare and long-term jobs. Freda have been buying from them since 2019, making it one of their longest-standing relationships.
Sweet, elegant and beautifully clean. A proper crowd-pleaser, black or with milk.
How to Brew It
- Espresso: 1:2 ratio, 28 to 32 seconds, dial in to taste.
- Filter: 15g to 250g water at 93°C, medium grind, around 3 minutes.
La Escondida Nicaragua
Ozone, London
Escondida means "hidden" in Spanish, and this farm earns its name. It's tucked behind forest near Lake Apanas in northern Nicaragua, so it seems to melt right into the mountainside.
It's run by the Mierisch family and managed by Jose Elias Contreras, with 70 hectares of Red Catuai grown up to 1,230 metres and fully washed.
A big mug of chocolate orange, with dried fruit on the finish and a biscuity sweetness at the end. Comfort coffee from start to finish.
How to Brew It
- Espresso: 1:2 ratio, 28 to 32 seconds. Brilliant with milk.
- Filter: 15g to 250g water at 94°C, medium grind, around 3 minutes.
For the Decaf Drinkers
Ozone, Nova Aliança Decaf, Brazil. Grown in Sul de Minas by Juliana, the fifth generation of her coffee family, and her husband Flavio, an agronomist. The cherries are naturally processed, dried whole in the sun so the beans soak up all that fruity sweetness, then decaffeinated with sugarcane in Bremen, Germany. Medium roast. Tasting notes: chocolate milk, roasted hazelnut, walnut. Comfort in a mug, any time of day.
Freda, Decaf, Colombia. From Jardín, high in Colombia's Western Andes, where small family farms grow coffee at up to 2,100 metres. It's decaffeinated with sugarcane at Descafecol, right there in Colombia. Freda paid $6.81/lb for it, almost four times the Fairtrade minimum. Medium roast, great for espresso, stovetop and filter. Chris is fussy about decaf, and this one makes it into his own evening brews.
Decaf Isn't Grown, It's Made
Any coffee can become decaf, but only a handful of places in the world have the kit to take the caffeine out. Fun fact: Swiss Water decaf is actually made in Canada.
This month's two decafs took very different routes. Freda's was decaffeinated in Colombia, close to where it was grown. Ozone's travelled from Brazil to Germany before coming on to the UK. Both use the sugarcane method, which goes after the caffeine and leaves more of the sweetness behind. All the flavour, none of the 2am ceiling staring.
Meet the Family: The Vides Family
Supermarket bags just say "Guatemala". Yours comes from Finca La Bolsa, where the Vides family have grown coffee since 1958.
The third generation now runs the farm, investing in local schools, healthcare and long-term jobs. Freda have been buying from the family since 2019, one of their longest relationships.
The Fairtrade minimum is a safety net, not a target. Buying from the same family year after year means paying well above it, and more of your money reaching the people who grew it.
Friendly Coffee Fund Update
Thanks to your coffee orders, we've made our latest payment to our fund in Uganda, supporting 65 children in school. Every box you order makes a difference to coffee-growing communities. Thank you.
Check Out Our Christmas Range
Our famous Coffee Advent Calendar: 24 days, 24 speciality coffees from 18+ origins, ground or whole bean. Voted best coffee advent calendar by The Guardian and in John Lewis for the third year running. Scan the QR code behind each door to learn about that day's coffee.
Whole Bean Coffee Crackers: swap paper hats and plastic toys for 100g of speciality coffee from four origins. Now in Selfridges.
Coffee Gift Subscription: for the coffee lover who has everything, give them something that keeps arriving long after Christmas is over.
Win a Year's Free Coffee
Here's the deal: refer the most friends by 31 January and your coffee is free for all of 2027. The prize is a 12-month RISE Coffee Subscription (2-bag box).
Every friend who places their first order using your referral link counts as one entry. Even if you don't win, your friend gets £15 off their first box and you get £10 off your next one. Win-win, some would say.
RISE active subscribers only. Friends must be new, first-time subscribers. Closes 11:59pm, 31 January 2027. Winner contacted by Alice on 1 February.
New here? Start your RISE journey. The UK's #1 specialty coffee subscription as voted by The Guardian. Two roasters. Every month. Cancel anytime.
Coffee With a Story
November's box brings together two roasters who never lose sight of where their coffee comes from. Freda, a Sussex roastery that tastes every coffee behind its own bar, with a Guatemalan from a family that's been farming since 1958. And Ozone, the Kiwis who helped wake up London, with a Nicaraguan from a farm hidden in the forest.
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
Perfect your latte art at home
ARABICA VS ROBUSTA
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