New WatchHouse Roastery
So why build your own coffee roastery? There is the obvious business answer of vertical integration but for us to evolve into our own coffee was primarily about pushing forward with what our vision of exceptional coffee is.
WatchHouse roastery is built upon the humble and approachable pillars we have always held ourselves to. Coffee is about more than just buying the ‘best’ coffees of the Season, it’s about the people, those stories we can positively impact earlier in the journey and those at the end of the journey, you, our consumer. Modern Coffee is about listening.
Sure, as professionals, we can ponder over which cup scores 87.5 and which is an 87, and it is undoubtedly important for us as an industry but we did not want our roastery to make buying decisions solely on objective cup score. This lead us to think more deeply about how to select our coffees and thus we established 3 categories: Rituals. Ventures. Rarities.
Above: Our reconditioned 1959 German Probat UG22 roaster
A daily ritual; it may be your morning yoga routine; writing in your journal or cooking a nutritious meal, we all have rituals which keep us grounded. This inspired our rituals category, coffees we want to drink every morning. They are sweet forward, full-bodied with subtle fruit or floral complexities. They are comforting, warming and provide that consistent start to the day.
There are days where we want to venture; we may explore a new place; try a new activity; or in this case want to taste something new. Our ventures are selected as coffees which can open up our minds further to the potential of coffee. These cups will highlight more fruit forward or floral characteristics but with the balance of sweetness to back it up. You may not drink these every day but as an afternoon or weekend brew where there is time for an extra moment we think these cups are perfect for pondering just what is possible.
Above: The devil's in the details
Rarities… There are some real gems out there in the world and coffee is no different. It’s not just meticulous attention to detail but unique terroir advantages that create some extraordinary cups. Our rarities are designed to blow open our perceptions of coffee. Each month this category allows us to showcase cups which have flavours even we would not have thought possible from our humble coffee seed. Again, they may not be our everyday brew but we all love to be surprised and that’s where these cups have their place. So take some time and wonder; if this is what can be made possible in coffee, what else is out there waiting to be explored?
Curating a coffee menu is one thing but execution is another. Our processes may not be rocket science and we never intended them to be but at our roastery, and indeed in our Houses across London, we humbly invest our time in each and every step. For us, coffee is quite special and so from our sourcing procedures; to green quality control; roast profiling; roast quality control, sampling and brewing, we know that this time guarantees you the cup you are looking for each and every time.
