# A Bit Confused!



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

I've been looking at new, artisan roasters to try recently.

Looking at Grumpy Mule in a bit more depth I find they are part of Bewley's. Then looking a bit further I find there is a roasting company near-ish to me, Peros (a sister company of their main office in Bucks) who also seem to have something to do with Grumpy Mule.

Then I found another 'artisan' roaster, Hope and Glory, also based on the exact same estate as the Peros one. I ordered a couple of bags and when I paid the confirmation said I had paid 'Lincoln and York Coffee', a wholesale company (as are Peros).

How do you know, when you buy from roasters like these, that you are going to get (hopefully) a better quality coffee that they churn out for mass market sales? Does anyone from Grumpy Mule belong the forum? I know I can contact them direct but I wanted to see what other forum members thought first.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Grumpy Mule has a more curated range than Bewleys

Howard is a member of the forum and is a key asset in the purchase and quality assurance program for Grumpy Mule

Hope and Glory has a more curated range than Peros

Bewleys and Peros are very well known wholesale roasters

Lincoln and York have an impressive wholesale / white label roasting facility

Buy with confidence from both Grumpy Mule and Hope & Glory


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## scottomus (Aug 13, 2014)

I work for Bewleys I'm one of the trainers. Any questions give me a shout I'd be happy to help


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## scottomus (Aug 13, 2014)

And btw the Peros name no longer exists as Bewleys bought it out last year. Still sell the Eros coffee which was under peros. Also if I recall Lincoln and York is no longer user for roasting our Eros beans


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Thanks!

I fully respect the position of large roasters and distributors in the large coffee market (and wish them well). However, I would like to support small independent artisan roasters. I appreciate G/M and H&G are artisan roasters but with the backing and support of bigger companies (unless I am incorrect and they are run independently by their owners) puts them in a different category in my opinion.


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## scottomus (Aug 13, 2014)

the grumpy mule side of things are handled more delicately. We only roast in small batches of 30kg for the roast to order menu we produce. I can understand supporting smaller roasters, as that is what grumpy mule was, and still protrays regarsless of bewleys owning it. You'll be missing out on some amazing, cup of excellence coffee thats for sure. Heck we even roast esmerelda, from panama, regarding as the best in the world !


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## Hibbsy (Jan 8, 2017)

I have experience of Grumpy mule, recieved good customer service and they produce good beans. I would recommend the roast to order rather then the normal packs, as the roast dates are not as "fresh" as they could be...


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Hibbsy said:


> I have experience of Grumpy mule, recieved good customer service and they produce good beans. I would recommend the roast to order rather then the normal packs, as the roast dates are not as "fresh" as they could be...


Thanks! I will look at their roast to order









And thanks again, scottomus


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## scottomus (Aug 13, 2014)

No worries







like I said, any question about any of the coffees let me know


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## joe.barista (Nov 12, 2013)

Hi Mildred M, if you're looking for a truly independent, skilled roaster, look no further than Hull's The Blending Room. It is a one man business and is operated and founded by a roaster who seeks clarity and sweetness; always with the intent of showcasing a coffee's inherent character of terroir.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

joe.barista said:


> Hi Mildred M, if you're looking for a truly independent, skilled roaster, look no further than Hull's The Blending Room. It is a one man business and is operated and founded by a roaster who seeks clarity and sweetness; always with the intent of showcasing a coffee's inherent character of terroir.


Hi joe.barista









We've had your smashing beans! We picked some up in Beverley last week actually! In fact, I have just made our after supper f/w's and we are enjoying them as I type!

It's really good to hear you are a one-man business, just the kind of roaster we want to support


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## joe.barista (Nov 12, 2013)

Hi Mildred,

great to hear you're enjoying coffee from The Blending Room. It is not my business, but I will pass on the high praise! The roaster, James, runs a market stall every Saturday in Beverley E. Yorkshire and also operates a webshop. I regularly sing his praises because he gets very little attention - strictly not a marketing man - and yet produces some incredibly well developed, sweet and sophisticated coffees. If ever tempted to buy from The Blending Room again, I highly recommend the Rwandan Bushoki or the Natural Nicaraguan Cerro de Jesus!

Best.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

joe.barista said:


> Hi Mildred,
> 
> great to hear you're enjoying coffee from The Blending Room. It is not my business, but I will pass on the high praise! The roaster, James, runs a market stall every Saturday in Beverley E. Yorkshire and also operates a webshop. I regularly sing his praises because he gets very little attention - strictly not a marketing man - and yet produces some incredibly well developed, sweet and sophisticated coffees. If ever tempted to buy from The Blending Room again, I highly recommend the Rwandan Bushoki or the Natural Nicaraguan Cerro de Jesus!
> 
> Best.


We will make a trip to Beverley on a Saturday to see James (we have tended to avoid market day for some reason)! And we will try your recommendation! We had a blend at Cafe Velo recently, in a flat white, and although we enjoyed the actual taste the f/w was more of a bubbly cappuccino!!


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## Casa_Espresso (Dec 2, 2011)

joe.barista said:


> Hi Mildred,
> 
> great to hear you're enjoying coffee from The Blending Room. It is not my business, but I will pass on the high praise! The roaster, James, runs a market stall every Saturday in Beverley E. Yorkshire and also operates a webshop. I regularly sing his praises because he gets very little attention - strictly not a marketing man - and yet produces some incredibly well developed, sweet and sophisticated coffees. If ever tempted to buy from The Blending Room again, I highly recommend the Rwandan Bushoki or the Natural Nicaraguan Cerro de Jesus!
> 
> Best.


James is a top bloke, and gave us lots of advice + help when we decided to start roasting


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## [email protected] (Jan 9, 2015)

There are all shapes and sizes out there, the very large companies with an "artisan" brand like the ones you mention, others that started small and are now medium-large but still independent and very focused on quality, and lots of smaller roasters too. I've had great coffees from some larger roasters and terrible coffees from some smaller roasters, as well as some terrible coffees from large roasters and great coffees from small roasters. There is a lot of good coffee out there but also a lot of double speak and lip-service. I'm a bit uneasy about the likes of Hope & Glory or Grumpy Mule being one arm of a much larger entity, but Has Bean is a good example of a medium-large roastery that has grown organically from a one-man band into a much bigger operation while still focusing on quality and transparency. There are some excellent roasters around Europe who work on a very small scale and are producing some of the best coffee at the moment. At the same time, there are other small roasters who say they are producing something that is artisan or high quality - simply due to the fact they are small - but the reality is their beans are very similar to the Costa/Starbucks model (dark, smoky, carbony, boring) but more expensive.

I think what's important is to understand a bit about the ethos behind the business, the extent to which they focus on producing a good product and their attitude towards sourcing, transparency and roasting. I realise this isn't always immediately apparent from websites, marketing materials and coffee bag labels - because everyone says they are doing something great/unique. We run a small roastery (independently owned by two of us), produce relatively small quantities and work with a handful of speciality coffee shops. This allows us to be quite flexible in what we do, focus on the things we like to drink and the producers we like to work with, but at the same time we don't have the same buying power, volumes, production capacity, etc, as a larger business. I'd say try out different roasters and see what kind of beans and roasting style you most enjoy, but also have an eye on who/what is behind the business.


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## [email protected] (Jan 9, 2015)

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