The Gentlemen Baristas opens new roastery in Stratford

The Gentlemen Baristas, specialty roasters and coffee houses, has opened a new roastery and experience centre in Stratford.

The aim of the site is to provide an inclusive environment for education and training for not only the business but for the entire coffee community.

The 12,000 sq ft site in Maryland Road, Stratford is more than six times the size of the Baristas’ former operation.

A new 35kg loring roaster will be used to “improve” batch efficiency, supplying wholesale coffee to Gentlemen Baristas’ coffee houses, independent coffee houses, cafes, pubs and restaurants across the UK.

The site will also have a designated event space, a cupping room, SCA specked school, and UKBC standard practice area set to be available to budding baristas where Roosa Jalonen, head of production, Arabica Q-Grader and coffee competition coach will continue to oversee sourcing, roasting and weekly cuppings.

The coffee house has also implemented several eco-friendly initiatives, such as new recyclable and reusable bags, a refill service for retail customers, and the utilisation of coffee chaff, a byproduct of roasting beans, as biofuel..

Ed Parkes, co-founder and director of The Gentlemen Baristas, said: “The roastery is the heartbeat of our business so we’re creating an all new accessible and engaging open-house. Empowering people through education and training from farm to cup; this is a space for our team, friends, the coffee community and the general public – something London’s not seen before.”

Henry Ayers, co-founder and director of Wholesale at The Gentlemen Baristas, added: “With new crops and processes we are able to offer even more choice to our discerning customers.

“The new roastery is going to revolutionise the business, providing vital support with batch coffee and becoming a space for suppliers and customers to enjoy – we are already looking at a diverse events programme.”

The Gentlemen Baristas, has grown its portfolio since launching in 2014 in the UK and now incorporates nine coffee houses, a flagship in Piccadilly, Mayfair, Southwark, Borough, London Bridge, Holborn, Hammersmith, East India and Marble Arch, as well as collaborative sites in office buildings.