RISE coffee box AUGUST 2025 coffee box reveal

The Best of UK Specialty Coffee This August

At RISE Coffee Box, we’re committed to showcasing the most exciting and ethical coffee roasters in the UK. Each month, we blind taste dozens of coffees to bring you only the best. For August 2025, we’ve selected two exceptional roasters - Formative Coffee (from world Barista Champion Ian Kissick!) and Mission Coffee Works - both delivering flavour, transparency, and a passion for progress. 

Let’s dive into this month’s picks!

🌿 Formative Coffee: Fazenda São Mateus, Brazil

Roast: Medium
Process: Washed (only 10% of Brazilian coffee is washed) 
Tasting notes: Hazelnut, nectarine, milk chocolate
Altitude: 1,050 masl

Who They Are: Founded in 2019 in London, Formative Coffee is a top-tier UK roastery known for its minimalist design, flavour-led coffee, and integrity-first sourcing. With a café voted runner-up in Sprudge's World’s Best New Café (2020), Formative has quickly risen to prominence. All roasting is done in-house, supplying seasonal, traceable coffees to select independent UK cafes.

Why We Love It: Barista and founder Ian has an impressive trophy cabinet:

• 🥇 2024 World Espresso Champion

• 🥈 2024 Irish Barista Champion

• 🏆 6th Place - 2024 World Barista Championship

• 🇬🇧 2023 UK Barista Champion

About the Coffee: Only 10% of Brazilian coffee is washed, and this one from Fazenda São Mateus is a rare gem. The chocolate flavour melts in your mouth like a brownie. Grown by the Guima Café group in Brazil’s Cerrado Mineiro region, this Rainforest Alliance-certified farm leads the way in regenerative agriculture, protecting soil and biodiversity.

Sustainability: Fazenda São Mateus holds multiple certifications and champions environmental and social impact. A perfect example of how delicious coffee and responsible farming can go hand in hand.

On the 30th July, we hosted 40 of our RISE coffee box subscribers at Formative cafe in Westminster for a coffee tasting event. Here is an action shot from the event below. 

🌍 Mission Coffee Works: Hermosa, Costa Rica

Roast: Medium
Process: Washed
Tasting notes: Chocolate mocha, pear, cashew nuts
Altitude: 1,500 - 1,800 masl

Who They Are: Founded in 2012 in London, Mission Coffee Works is driven by a clear purpose: creating progress for people, community, and the wider coffee industry. Today, they roast in Hackney and work with importers who support farmers through education, fairer prices, and access to tools and infrastructure.

Why We Love It: This coffee comes from Coope Dota, a pioneering cooperative in Costa Rica’s Tarrazú region, where Alice & Ben from RISE visited earlier this year. It’s the world’s first carbon-neutral coffee processor, supporting over 1,100 farmers with innovation, sustainability, and youth programmes.

About the Coffee: The Hermosa lot is bursting with chocolatey richness, balanced by juicy pear and cashew. Grown in ideal conditions at high altitude, this coffee is a shining example of how climate-smart methods and quality can come together.

Sustainability: Coope Dota leads the charge with:

• Renewable energy use

• Composting and wastewater treatment

• ICAFE-certified coffee education school

• Project One: fertiliser innovation using honey-processing wastewater

☕️ Decaf Coffee Picks

We’re spotlighting two incredible decafs this month:

✨ Formative Coffee: Tolima, Colombia

• Process: Washed

• Altitude: 1,900 masl

• Decaf Method: Sugarcane

• Tasting notes: Apricot, passionfruit, strawberry candy

From Wilton Benitez’s Finca Paraíso 92, used to win the UK Barista Championship, this is hands-down one of the best decafs we’ve ever tasted. Think strawberry, tropical notes, and a candy-like finish.

✨ Mission Coffee Works: Happy Capybara, Brazil

• Process: Washed

• Altitude: 900 masl

• Decaf Method: Natural sugarcane

• Tasting notes: Stone fruit, golden sultana, hazelnut

Grown in Minas Gerais, this is a climate-smart decaf with full body and nutty sweetness. A coffee you can sip all day without compromise.

☕️ Brew Tips from the Pros

Whether you’re a pour-over purist or espresso enthusiast, we’ve included insider brew guides from our roasters:

• Ian (Formative): Filter V60 recipe with precise pulses and temps

• Rob (Mission): Espresso tips including grind size and shot weight

Filter Brew Tips from Ian - Founder of Formative coffee & Barista World Champion

Top tip: When you receive your coffee, check the roast date and let is rest before you open it for at least 5 days

Filter Brew Guide (V60, Kalita, etc.)

Dose: 15.0g coffee

Water: 250g total

Grind Size: Medium-fine

Water Temp: 96°C

Bloom: 50g water for 30 seconds

Pulse 1: Add 100g (to 150g total) at 0:30

Pulse 2: Add 100g (to 250g total) at 1:10

You’re aiming for a total brew time of 2:30–3:00 mins!

Espresso Brew Tips from Rob - Founder of Mission Coffee Works

Coffee: 16-18g ground coffee for espresso

Brew time: 25-30 seconds

Brewed coffee weight: 32-36g

Water temperature: If your machine has a temperature adjustment button, use the medium to high temperature setting.

Grind: If you grind your own coffee, use the grind size to adjust the brew time. If it comes out too slow (for example, it takes you 40 seconds to get 32 - 36g of brewed coffee), make it slightly coarser, and reversely if it comes out too fast, make it slightly finer. 

These are the roasters’ brew tips but feel free to experiment, have fun and see how it tastes!

📸 Member Spotlight: Rich

RISE member Rich has had 56 boxes and tried 112 different coffees with us!

“Each month brings a different coffee experience. I love learning about the roasters and their stories. Skylark’s Ethiopia Acacia Natural and Unorthodox’s Mindblown were absolute standouts.”

Shout out to Rich for his dedication and top brewing tip: Use original Japanese filter papers for your V60!

Read the Full Q&A inside the 8 page coffee guide inside this month's box. 

Why RISE Coffee Box?

We’re not just curating coffee. We’re building a community. As a B Corp certified business. A few things we're proud of: 

• Donate 1% of all sales to our Friendly Coffee Fund, supporting education in coffee-growing communities. Currently with 52 children in ongoing full time education. 

• Named Best Coffee Subscription by The Guardian & Best Value Coffee Subscription by BBC Good Food. 

• Partner with ethical roasters who pay farmers fairly

• Were recently named Finalists for Consumer Product of the Year & Sustainable Entrepreneurs of the Year

Ready to Brew?

August’s coffee box is one of our most exciting lineups yet - from world-champion baristas to regenerative farming in Brazil and Costa Rica. Whether you're brewing filter or pulling espresso shots, you're drinking with purpose.

Not a subscriber yet? Sign up today and join the friendly coffee revolution ☕️

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