A pair of coffee lovers inspired by the city centre’s independent offerings have launched their very own business.
Kaida coffee was officially launched last month by friends of 10 years, Damon de Rees and Kai Walding, who hope to provide great tasting, specialist coffee for city-goers.
Mr de Rees, from Norwich, said they decided to take the plunge after lockdown and already their ethically-sourced roasted beans are being sold in the city centre coffee shop, Aroma.
“When I started working full time in my early 20s that’s when I really started to enjoy coffee,” he said.
“In terms of speciality coffee, we started to take a lot of interest over the last five years - when it started to become popular in Norwich.
“We take a lot of inspiration from Strangers Coffee. They are great guys and they sell great stuff.
“But we are not here to compete, we just want to add another option in the city."
Kaida coffee sell a selection of coffee blends from around the world which people can purchase from its online website - where they can request whole roasted beans or ground coffee.
Mr de Rees, 33, added: “Speciality coffee can have the reputation of being a bit pretentious. But we wanted our brand to be super accessible and obviously, something that tastes amazing.
“We put a lot of research in where we get the coffee from and we can trace it back to the farms. A lot of people have said that it is encouraging to have an ethically friendly coffee provider. We have had great feedback so far.
“We have gone for a wide range from light to medium roasted coffees. The light is quite fruity and really unique, from Ethiopia and El Salvador.
“Then our darker roast, which is chocolaty, almondy and quite decadent, is definitely the most popular.”
Following a difficult year for independent businesses, the pair decided to “start small” and they hope to sell more of their products in coffee shops around the city.
Their long-term goal is to one day run their own coffee shop in Norwich.
Kaida Coffee are offering a 10pc discount for EDP and Norwich Evening News reader, using the discount code EDPDISCOUNT. You can visit their website here, https://www.kaidacoffee.com/thecoffee.
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