Crosby Coffee has become the go-to destination for Liverpool coffee lovers over the past few years.
They are proud to roast delicious coffee in their beloved home town of Crosby, Liverpool, right next door to their beautiful coffee shop.
At Crosby Coffee, they serve all the latest coffee creations and offer the local community something different upon each visit.
Not only do they serve their customers through their local coffee shop, but they also have a shop online where you can buy their coffees, and if you are a shop that needs beans, they sell wholesale as well.
Interview with Crosby Coffee
We recently had the chance to interview Crosby Coffee. These are fun questions to help you to get to know the company behind the fantastic coffee they serve.
How did you get started in the coffee business?
Our founder Jack Foster used to spend weeks in London with his previous job role and decided the coffee scene in the North West needed revitalising. Starting with experimental home roasting no popcorn machines and American home roasters Jack got hooked on the science and art of coffee, roasting, and brewing.
In 2014 he set up Crosby Coffee, named after the village he grew up in. Since this day both Jack and Mark (business partner) have been on several courses and roastery visits to master the coffee roasting process.
What sparked your interest in coffee roasting?
Jack visited several roastery setups and numerous speciality coffee shops in London and its surrounding boroughs. These shops were nonexistent up North and Jack wanted to bring this love and passion for coffee back to his hometown.
What is the very first cup of coffee you ever remember drinking?
Jack tasted a Kenyan filter coffee from the Regeju region during a visit to a coffee shop called Brew down South. Not his first but definitely one he remembers as sparking his interest into specialty coffee.
What does your roasting set up look like and how has it changed over the years?
Our current setup is a Toper 10kg and Toper 30kg. We also have an Ikawa sample roaster and 2x Gene Cafe home roasters. The Gene Cafe roasters are used for demonstrating and educating customers in our shop.
They are what Jack learned how to roast on and the original one is used in the shop today. Onc the business was set up the original roaster was a 1kg Toper.
This was scaled up after 1 month of business to the 10kg Toper. In 2018 we then purchased the 30kg to ensure we could produce coffee on demand of our customer base.
What is your favourite brewing method and do you drink a lot of coffee at home?
Jacks favourite brewing method is Chemex which is what he uses of a weekend at home.
During the week he rarely drinks coffee at home as he is also our head roaster and will be sampling/cupping coffee most days. He does have a v60 in his office and an espresso machine next to the roaster for when he needs his fix.
Which coffee origin is your favourite and why?
Jack prefers Kenyan coffee for its bright flavours and full body. It also takes him back to the Regeju coffee he tasted all those years ago which sparked the idea for the business.
What roaster do you use, where do you roast, how often?
Toper and Ikawa
Our 10kg roaster is located in our coffee shop, it is used for all of our retail orders and our shop coffee.
Our 30kg roaster is located in our roaster/warehouse site and is used for our wholesale distribution. Roasting can vary between 2-5 days per week depending on schedules and orders.
Does your roaster have a name? If so, is there a story?
Our 10kg Toper is named Jan after Jack's auntie who sadly passed away to Cancer before Jack started the company in 2014. J
Jack took out a loan from his uncle to help fund the purchase of the Toper 10kg and so Jack thought it was a nice touch that he named it after who helped fund it.
Our Toper 30kg is yet to be named but we have opened this up to our team of staff for ideas.
What is your favourite aspect of roasting coffee?
The Experimenting!
Jack is constantly roasting samples using different profiles and creating new ideas/blends for trials in the shop or customers to use.
Using the Ikawa Jack can manipulate the entire profile and create different flavours from the same coffee, this can then be replicated on either of the larger 2 roasters due to our 2 coffee roasting profile systems we have in place.
What distinguishes your approach to sourcing and roasting coffee from other roasters?
Jack, Mark and the roasting team spend significant time going through crop samples each month - this is to ensure absolute consistency on our current contracts but also to look out for our next contract purchases.
We also believe that anything is achievable or possible, if a customer is after a certain flavour profile we will make it happen for them. Even if it takes months and a lot of samples to get it right.
This level of care is delivered in every aspect of what we do on a day to day basis but even more so in our roasting styles and profiles.
What gear or gadget is at the top of your coffee wish list?
Jack would love a Marco SP9 chemex brewer in his house!
Do you have a favourite coffee mug? If so, tell us about it.
We all use the re-usable Crosby Coffee Wave Cups! Even at home! The new metal design keeps the drink at the correct temperature, they don't spill and they look super cool!
Have you read any great books about coffee roasting?
World Atlas of Coffee by James Hoffman is a great read!
Do you have a cafe?
Yes, our coffee shop is based in Waterloo, open 7 days a week and houses our Toper 10kg on display for customers to see the roasting process.
It is also where our coffee training lab is that we hold public barista and cupping/tastings each month.
What does the future look like for you? Where do you see your company in the future?
This year's plan is to expand outside of the North West. Reaching new audiences and continuing to experiment with new ideas to help educate our customers further.
What advice would you give new roasters who are just starting out their careers in coffee?
Research! Jack took around 18 months before setting the business up properly. He continued to work full time and took time out when he could to investigate other coffee shops and roasters and learn about the industry.
He researched competitors and decided what he liked and didn't like about their business. Never rush into anything!
What is your favourite thing to do when you are not roasting coffee?
Jack and Mark both have a sporting background, Jack still regularly plays football and badminton and Mark enjoys Tennis and going to the gym where he is currently learning Olympic weightlifting.
When traveling, do you visit other coffee shops and hassle them about their methods or do you relax and take it all in?
Bit of both. Jack and Mark spend a day a month visiting other shops and exploring their areas that we do not supply.
The majority of the time they will just sit and take in what these places do but they're not shy to start asking questions about coffee, equipment or methods if they particularly enjoy something!
Finally
To learn more about Crosby Coffee, be sure and visit their website here. You can also follow them on Facebook to keep up with what they are currently roasting.
Each month is different so you get to explore the world of coffee. Why not send a coffee gift today and see what taste delights arrive.
