Bailies Coffee Roasters Launching Unique Microlot Coffees
Bailies Coffee Roasters in Belfast is aiming to accelerate the growth of existing business in Britain in particular.
The roaster hopes to drive growth in this important market through premium microlot coffees especially from Columbia.
The company is targeting opportunities it has pinpointed in the dynamic ‘food on the move’ category, the company, which has been roasting premium coffee for over 20 years in Belfast, is also aiming to grow retail sales particularly in Great Britain.
Andrew Hollywood, head of marketing at Bailies Coffee Roasters, says: “We are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways in which to grow our retail business. Being design-led and thoughtful with our branding, along with having an extensive product-list to suit the needs of many from those who are just starting out on their coffee journey, to those who want to taste some of the best coffees around.”
The direct trade coffees were launched by the company’s experienced baristas at the Lunch! trade show in London
Explaining the decision to show the direct trade coffees at the Lunch! ‘food-on-the-move’ show, Mr Hollywood adds: “For us, Lunch! provides a unique opportunity to engage with customers in the food-to-go sector whilst also highlighting and further promoting our high-quality coffee and products to this sector and those within the specialty coffee scene.
“A key strategy for us is to develop business with coffee shops and cafes in Britain, especially against the background of an EU Exit. We already have some fabulous customers in Britain, Europe and even the US, who all have a growing demand for; ethically sourced, great tasting coffee.
“We’ll be serving some fantastic microlot coffees inspired by our recent sourcing trip to Colombia. Direct Trade with coffee farmers is of the utmost importance to us and we have very strong ethical principles during the purchasing process. Once purchased, the roastery creates phenomenal coffees with their dedication to the craft of roasting – creating distinct roast profiles that remain true to our framing partners wished and promote the finest aspects of the green bean – altogether enhancing the coffee experience,” he adds.
An example of this, at Lunch! festival, he explains, we will be serving a fresh crop, washed microlot coffee from our long-standing single origin partners Comepcafe co-op, in Colombia.
“We’ve been working with Comepcafe for several years, helping the co-op to achieve their goal to produce some of the finest coffees in the world. And we are thrilled to be receiving not only single origin, but also now microlot coffees from them that are evidence of the quality of the farms that this Co-op it supports.
“Our microlot coffee from the farm, Buena Vista, Comepcafe – has tasting notes of raspberry jam, red grape and vanilla.
“Alongside Buena Vista, we tasted four of our microlot coffees at Lunch! Including; Kenya Gakui AA, Costa Rica Cerro Dragon, and Guatemala El Limonar Cipreses. Our previous Guatemalan coffee was named after the farm itself: El Limonar was entered into the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence by the farmer Rogelio, who is also one of our Direct Trade farmers.
“The coffee placed 17th overall with remarkable feedback and so we bought it through Cup of Excellence auction- as all coffees within the competition must be bought at auction price. Therefore, we paid even more for this coffee than our Direct Trade standard of 30 percent above Fairtrade price. But it paid off. The coffee was a hit, not only amongst everyone at Bailies, but the coffee sold fantastically well, across our customer base and on retail, and was proof for us that there is a demand for high quality exclusive lots.”
These microlots are unique to Bailies Coffee Roasters.” Microlots are a real growth area for our business, allowing us to command a premium and ultimately pay the farmer more money. We source our coffee directly and establish relationships with the farms.
“Our Director of Green Bean Coffee would visit farms in some of the most remote places to help establish relationships and recommend changes to farming practices. Bailies Coffee Roasters also produce blended packs for sale and these coffees have also been rigorously cupped to ensure quality.”
Bailies main business, he continues, is to supply the specialty coffee industry. “This remains our key focus, with our roastery also having capacity for more custom. On the equipment side, we currently supply several large-scale customers with brewing equipment. This can range from tea, coffee and hot chocolate machinery. Alongside this we run a successful ecommerce business supplying subscriptions and brewing equipment,” he adds.
The promotion of Bailies’ Direct Trade policies and involvement within the coffee community, through events and competitions, he continues, “are some other great ways we can spread the word about our brand and the retail choices we offer”.
