We roast our coffee in the shop in small batches, so it’s always fresh and handled directly by us. It’s something we’ve always preferred doing ourselves — it keeps us close to the process and means we can pay attention to how each roast comes out, rather than relying on anyone else to do it for us.
Alongside that, we also make our own Earl Grey and a range of flavoured teas here in Lincoln. The blending is done in-house, using teas and flavourings sourced from further afield, but worked through and adjusted here until they’re right. It’s a hands-on process, and one that’s developed over time rather than being set up all at once.
The ingredients come from all over, but the roasting, blending, and finishing all happen here, day to day.
FROM OUR CORNER OF STEEP HILL
We started as a small family business in a shop at 47 Steep Hill in Lincoln, selling tea and coffee. That’s where everything began — with a simple focus on bringing in products we believed were worth selling, and building things steadily from there.
In the early days it was very hands-on, learning as we went and shaping the range through what we liked, what people responded to, and what felt right to stand behind. Over time, that approach stayed the same, even as things grew.
IN-HOUSE BLENDS
SELECTING OUR RANGE
Every year we’re sent thousands of samples from growers and suppliers around the world. We taste as many as we can and choose the ones that stand out.
It’s a process that takes time, but it’s what keeps the range focused and consistent. Some of what we choose becomes part of the everyday selection, the teas and coffees people come back for again and again. Other things are smaller runs — seasonal lots, or something a bit different that comes and goes.
Nothing goes on the shelf unless we’re happy with it. Over time that approach has shaped a range that feels varied, but still carefully held together by the same way of working.
Since 1991 it’s been the same approach - small batches, careful tasting and making sure we stay close to everything that goes out of the door.
SHOP BY CATEGORY
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT US
As the years passed, our curiosity took us further. Tea and coffee remained at the heart of the business, but we began exploring the extraordinary variety of flavours, origins and traditions behind them. Chocolate followed naturally, along with other things we discovered and felt deserved a place on our shelves. The range has never been about offering everything, but about finding things that are genuinely interesting, beautifully made, or simply a pleasure to enjoy.
More than thirty years later, we're still here on Steep Hill, in the same historic building where it all began. Much has changed, not least the opportunity to share what we do with customers far beyond Lincoln, but we're still an independent business guided by our own tastes, experience and curiosity. We continue to discover new things, revisit old favourites and occasionally change our minds. That's part of the pleasure of doing what we do.
