Guest Filter: Showcasing our favourite coffees from UK roasters

LGC was born with a singular vision in mind: to take our favourite coffee – a single-estate Southern Indian – roast it with great precision, and deliver it to our customers. Thus far, its gone down rather well, and we like to think that our customers have loved drinking our coffee almost as much as we’ve loved serving it. However, here at LGC, we don’t like to stand still. Once we got up and running, we took a look around and had a think about what our next move could be. Then, a team visit to the London Coffee Festival made it all clear. A huge day filled with inordinate amounts of caffeine imbibing and socialising connected us with some of the country’s best roasters, and the idea to host an ever-evolving rotation of guest roasters was born.

New ground being broken

We are currently a few rotations in to guest filtering, and we’ve formed some great relationships along the way. The line-up started with a bang, with New Ground; a Headington roastery just a few miles up the road from our flagship Bicester Village Café. Not only did they introduce us to Nigussie Gemeda’s world-class Ethiopian natural – with a Q Grade of 92 points (for the coffee nerds out there) – they are committed to being a force to good in the community. They offer career opportunities to ex-offenders, giving them a route to a career in great coffee. They therefore not only source, and roast some of the world’s most outrageously delicious coffee, they also do so through an outstanding ethical framework. From our perspective, LGC x New Ground was a match made in heaven.

After the roaring success of New Ground we looked to The Coffee Counter, headed up by the legendary Ariyan who charmed us with both his personality and his coffee at the London Coffee Festival. Roasting out of Leicester, TCC sent us a beautifully smooth Ethiopian natural, with notes of cream and blueberry, as well as a bright and fruity Colombian Chapata. The coffee that these guys put out is carefully curated from green bean to final cup. Their hard work spoke for itself once their beans hit the bar and the retail shelves. It did not stand still, practically flying out the doors! (Our baristas also ran down the supply at a concerning pace!)

Plotting greatness

After TCC’s run sadly came to an end we looked to maximise another relationship formed at the London Coffee Festival. PLOT, roasting out of Woolwich, scour the Earth for the best producers, who apply cutting edge processes to some truly special micro-lot beans. Their motto ‘roast, taste, repeat’ rings clear in all of their coffees. PLOT applies the utmost care to their roasting process, naming each coffee after its farmers, and always roasting from the perspective of respect for the work of the producer. PLOT pushes the boundaries of flavour in coffee. Their ICON range showcases rare beans with complex or unusual processing, and it has completely changed our worldview on the possibilities of flavour that coffee holds.

So far, the guest filter line-up has proved a great way to introduce our customers to some of the leading roasters in the UK. Hosting guests on the bar maintains a consistent level of buzz and intrigue, and we are excited for what the future holds. Stay tuned!