Garage Coffee Roasters
A Roaster We Trust
Garage Coffee are the hosts of the Kent Coffee Festival and are proudly based in Hoath, a village outside Canterbury. Initially starting roasting in their garage (hence the name), Luke and his team are still roasting in small batches of 12kg for optimum quality. They also pride themselves on ensuring their coffee is fully traceable from producer to bag. Check out Garage (and us too) at Kent Coffee Fest every November in Margate.
That commitment to full traceability, from producer to bag, is exactly what we look for in the independent UK roasters we feature in our specialty coffee subscription boxes. Garage Coffee joins a growing list of roasters we're proud to champion through RISE.
The Maypole
This "Maypole" coffee comes from two distinct regions. One of which is Uganda, and our coffee partners based in the Rwenzori Mountains in Western Uganda – Agri Evolve, who are really the most incredible agricultural innovation company (more on them below). The other part of the blend is from Finca Guadalupe Zaju, Mexico. This farmer occupies 310 hectares right on Chiapas, Mexico's famed "Ruta de Café." This "Route of Coffee" rides along the Guatemalan border, north from the border town of Tapachula, through Mexico's famed Soconusco region. The route flows past some of Mexico's most famous farms, including the Fincas Hamburgo and Irlanda. This coffee has been expertly blended and roasted to make an exceptional espresso.
This blend has been really well put together, leaving a very well balanced coffee that makes the perfect espresso or espresso-based drink.
More On Agri Evolve
The Ugandan beans for this coffee are brought to Garage Coffee by Omwani Coffee and Agri Evolve, and their longstanding efforts to support and uplift the Ugandan coffee market.
Starting in 2016, Agri Evolve originally opened as a collection point for both Dried Ugandan Arabica (DRUGAR) and cherries, typically drying cherries on tarpaulin in the sun. Sourcing DRUGAR was considerably easier in the beginning than trying to purchase ripe cherries – it turns out old habits do die hard.
Following investment in processing equipment, demonstration farms and hiring experienced staff, the second-year harvest was a drastic improvement in terms of sourcing unprocessed ripe cherries. After this first season, processing facilities improved considerably, with new equipment introduced including a washer separator, mechanical dryers, a hulling machine and greenhouses.
Interest in Agri Evolve grew amongst the farming community, who saw them as a stable, reliable place to sell coffee, consistently paying good prices and always paying on time – which, as basic as it sounds, made a huge difference for farmers. By the end of the second season, Agri Evolve received outstanding reviews from a Japanese importer who thought their African Moon coffee was fantastic and "full of potential," which in turn kickstarted interest in sourcing and processing high-quality Rwenzori coffee.
Over the course of the next five years, Agri Evolve rapidly expanded to become the largest employer in the Kisinga region, bringing new economic stability and job opportunities to the community. This growth was driven by an ever-increasing reputation for high-quality coffee from the Rwenzori Mountains.
With a focus on staff empowerment and education, Jonny managed to build the team to over 50 skilled individuals sourcing and processing coffee from thousands of farmers across the Rwenzori Mountains. The focus in recent years has shifted to building a new station in Bugoye. Introducing buying centres in strategic locations across the Rwenzori has been one of the catalysts for growth – creating a constant physical presence encourages farmers that Agri Evolve is going to be there come the harvest, and the convenient locations drastically reduce the effort required to travel to market.
Coffees like this are exactly why RISE Coffee Box exists. Every month, we blind taste 25-30 coffees from independent specialty coffee roasters across the UK – from Kent favourites like Garage Coffee to standout names we've discovered along the way – and choose only the very best to feature in our coffee subscription boxes. If you love discovering new specialty coffee, sustainably sourced and roasted by people who genuinely care about where it comes from, a RISE coffee subscription is the easiest way to explore it all from home.
