We started roasting coffee in 2010, in a little coffee shop we opened in our home town of Poole. This was at a time when the sector was really growing, the availability of a great variety of good coffees was improving, and we thought of bringing some of the trends we’d seen emerging in London back home. With a small roaster imported from Turkey, and a pallet of coffee beans from speciality importers Mercanta, we set about figuring out how to roast an acceptable batch.

In 2013, we set up Bean Press Coffee Co and began roasting and supplying coffee to other businesses in our area. At the core of the business has always been a focus on buying coffees that are traceable and distinctive, working with importers and exporters that value relationships and fairness in the supply chain, and making an effort to get to know about producers by visiting and learning with them.

In 2014, Ben travelled to Ethiopia to learn more about the process of producing coffee. That trip was a real eye-opener. It was the start of a new understanding of the variety to be found in coffee, and of the skill and commitment required to make something really special.

Since then Ben has visited many other coffee farms all over the world, meeting with farmers and other coffee professionals. There are millions of people around the world involved in planting, harvesting, processing, drying and transporting coffee. Each visit is a new opportunity to learn and renews the passion for sharing their produce with people at home.