Belfast's Root and Branch Coffee has been named among the world’s top 50 coffee roasters by Roastful

Belfast-based Root and Branch Coffee has been named among the world’s top 50 speciality coffee roasters by Roastful, an influential industry specialist.

The global recognition is an indication of the emergence of coffee roasting as a significant and increasingly successful sector within the Northern Ireland food and drink industry.

Dozens of smaller companies are now roasting coffee from beans for major retailers, restaurants, cafes and hotels here and in global markets such as China and the US. One company in particular has a developing network of coffee houses around Shanghai!

Root and Branch was listed along with coffee roasters in New York, Kyoto, Stockholm and Amsterdam. It was the only local roaster on the select list.

Formed in 2016 by Simon Johnston and Ben Craig, Root and Branch now operates from premises in the Portview Trade Centre in Belfast.

The company says: ”We’re super chuffed to have made the list! Curiosity and innovation to produce the best coffee possible will always be the focus at Root and Branch. To make it on to a list with the best roasters from around the world is icing on the cake.”

The company sells its premium coffee products through retail and subscription.

Holding the record for exporting coffee to China is Lisburn’s Pure Roast Coffee. The small company, formed by Martin Symington in 2006, has an agreement with a leading Chinese corporation to supply ground coffee from Lisburn to Pure Roast Coffee branded outlets around the greater Shanghai area. The coffee shops also offer packaged Pure Roast coffee from Lisburn to be enjoyed at home.

“We have developed a particularly strong relationship with our business partners in China, a huge and fast developing market for coffee, one we are growing steadily for Pure Roast,” Martin says.

He was one of the pioneers of independent speciality coffee roasting here in the early eighties and has won a host of UK Great Taste Awards for coffees under the Pure Roast brand.

In addition to China, Pure Roast coffees are to be found throughout Britain and Scandinavia. He’s recently installed a second coffee bag line to cope with the continuing growth in sales worldwide.

Pure Roast is now among more than a dozen roasters operating in NI. Slumberjack in Antrim, for instance, has won significant business from Lidl Ireland.

Recently launched roasters include Fidela Coffee in Coleraine which is the 13th member of the Économusée of artisans that offers visitors a range of bookable coffee experiences from their roastery and coffee shop.

Frank and Rachel Dillon, founders of Fidela, began their coffee journey in Columbia in 2016 following a visit to Frank’s family farms in the well-known coffee region of Nariño. Realising the opportunities and exciting prospects of the coffee, Frank and Rachel returned to Coleraine and set up Fidela Coffee Roasters in 2019. The Coleraine enterprise maintains the strong Colombian family connection by sourcing coffee beans from the Nariño farms of their relatives and friends.

Graham Watts of Causeway Coffee, also based in Coleraine, has shipped his hand roasted and award-winning coffee to a customer in the US.

“Selling our coffee to the US, surely the home of coffee and the biggest market for the product, is immensely encouraging and a great demonstration of its potential here and abroad,” he says.

Export approaches have also come from several parts of Europe.

Graham, from Londonderry, and business partner Chris McDaid from Coleraine, both aficionados of great tasting coffee, decided to set up the small batch roaster in 2018 with the aim of producing speciality coffees. The company’s focus is on ethically sourced beans which are then carefully roasted to ensure rich flavours.

Experienced business couple Dermot and Úna O’Kane are planning the development of the Upperlands Coffee Company in Co Derry, a small roaster they bought from its original owners back in February. They have already shipped small batches to contacts in Europe.

Both passionate about good coffee and long-time supporters of the handcrafted products from Upperlands, Dermot and Úna were keen to keep the successful business going on the retirement of owners John and Julie Henderson.

Among the best known in Belfast is Bailie’s Coffee Roasters, now a major supplier to the retail and hospitality sectors here and further afield. Based in Townsend Enterprise Park, Belfast Coffee Roasters has also grown its sales steadily.

Other successful coffee roasters here include: Johnsons in Hillsborough: Ristretto in Banbridge; Wild Heart in Bangor; SD Bell’s Belfast, Belfast; Established, also Belfast and Bro in Newcastle, the latter listed recently in the latest Grow with Aldi Ireland marketing scheme.