Thursday marks International Coffee Day, a celebration of roasters and a chance to bring coffee lovers together.
To mark the occasion, on October 1, we’ve pulled together a list of local traders who can give you your caffeine fix.
• Strangers
Popular among coffee lovers in Norwich, Strangers has a roastery in Dove Street, a coffee house in Pottergate and most recently opened a new branch in All Saints Green, opposite John Lewis.
It was started in 2009 by Alex Sargeant and Samuel Maddocks, with William Maddocks joining the team in 2014.
As well as Colombian and Ethiopian blends, it also produces a Fine City variety, a mixture of African and American coffees with flavours of red berries, chocolate and orange.
• Kofra
The independent coffee company celebrated its sixth anniversary in April, and relocated in February from its previous base in Unthank Road to Upper St Giles Street, in the former home of Louis’ Café and Deli.
It has another home in Onley Street, which operated throughout lockdown as a takeaway.
Kofra sells a range of blends, including one dedicated to Antwerp, designed a tribute to a city which founder José De León Guzmán says was an inspiration to him.
It partnered with Redwell Brewing to release a Kofra Stout in 2015.
• Grey Seal Coffee
Grey Seal was started in Glandford, a small village on the north Norfolk coast, in 2012, with a goal of bringing the “third wave of coffee” to Norfolk.
Named after the UK’s largest grey seal colony, a few miles from the roastery, it is a family-run business.
The roastery has vegetarian/vegan café and restaurant Art Café, a coffee training centre, coffee shop and two bakeries on site. They have two coffee shops, in Sheringham and Cromer.
Their coffees include their Two Bean Espresso, their in-house espresso which has flavours of hazelnut and vanilla.
• Give It Some Beans
Jo and Sean Arnoup started Give It Some Beans from Mattishall in late 2017, selling to the public for the first time in spring 2018.
Since then business has grown, and they are now stocked in farm shops and other stores across Norfolk.
And in March - despite fearing the pandemic would wipe out business - their online sales boomed, surpassing sales targets far earlier than usual.
Their blends include Around the World in a Cup, which they say has the smoothness of Latin America, flavours from Africa and spice of Asia.
• Norfolk Coffee Company
Founder Steve Perrett’s love of coffee began while living in southern Germany, inspiring him to later create the Norfolk Coffee Company, which is based in Holt.
Its signature 1549 house blend has notes of toffee, green apple and orange, and is named after Kett’s Rebellion, an uprising in Norfolk against rich landowners.
Others include Gigglemug, a blend of two coffees from Brazil and El Salvador, which has notes of caramel, milk, chocolate and apple juice.
It runs the Black Apollo Coffee House in Holt.
• Green Farm Coffee
Based at Rackheath Industrial Estate, Green Farm is the official coffee partner of Norwich City.
It has blends named after many of the club’s players - including Mario Vrancic and Teemu Pukki.
It has been roasting coffee since 1984, and has grown to offer a barista training scheme and a letterbox coffee subscription service.
Its blends include Guatemala Bojangles, which has flavours of milk chocolate, almond and ripe plums, and El Salvador Santa Leticia, from a farm named after the current owner’s great-grandmother.
• Smokey Barn
Smokey Barn operates out of a small converted barn on King Street, in Norwich city centre.
The team is run by sister duo Sophie and Megan Roberts, and they have a seating area and café outside.
Their house roast changes weekly, and one of its blends includes Mexico La Yerba Womens Floral, which has notes of caramel, orange, floral and marshmallow.
• Coffee Quest
A family run business, Coffee Quest has been trading for more than eight years and is based in Lenwade.
They say their customers are a broad range of coffee suppliers, including the Brisley Bell pub, Swannington Farm to Fork and The Sitting Room in Sheringham.
The business ships products globally, including to Israel, the USA and Thailand.
Owner Peter Fears learnt his trade in London and has trained catering staff in Kings College, Parliament and even London Zoo.
Its coffee beans include a Brazilian and Costa Rican variety Millesimo, which has caramel notes.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here