Once again, the year has flown by and we are suddenly in 2025. The past year was topped by our appointment to His Majesty the King as coffee merchants. We received the news in the middle of December and we are very happy to continue to supply the royal family as we have done for nearly fifty years.

Indeed, we are delighted that so many of our clients are third and fourth generation customers. I remember a lady telling me in the shop that my grandfather had taught her how to drink coffee when visited us with her mother as a girl. Such stories are always a delight to me as I sadly cannot remember him, being only 4 years old when he died.

This year starts with the prospect of high prices on the coffee markets. The world’s two largest coffee producers, Brazil and Vietnam, have suffered severe drought followed by heavy rainfall. Brazil mainly grows the arabica variety and Vietnam the robusta variety, and no other producers can come close to replacing the potential shortfall in harvest expected. With the high demand for coffee around the world, no coffee roaster of any size will be unaffected, making prices in the supermarket higher as well as from independent businesses such as ours.

In the spring we shall start to see tea samples from Darjeeling’s first flush arrive which always herald the beginning of the tea drinking year. This region has also experienced erratic weather and drought in the winter so we wait to see how the harvest may be affected.

Despite these potential difficulties, we are really looking forward to bringing you the very best teas and coffees we can find and sharing our knowledge of these endlessly fascinating products.

We have never taken the route of trying to buy cheap coffee when prices are high, believing that the sustainability of the business can only be protected by supporting our established coffee farmers, many of whom we have dealt with for decades.

We will also be sourcing some special seasonal coffees for the coming year, introducing new flavours from both new farms and old favourites. We are able to determine how the coffee is prepared at origin which enables us to unlock unique flavours through careful roasting. We have access to coffees from more farms than ever before, something my grandfather could only have dreamed about. All our purchasing decisions are based on quality and sustainability, and we always look to farms and cooperatives that support the pickers and workers and their families.

We hope you enjoy making your selections for 2025 and do look out for news of what is coming as the year progresses.

David Higgins