Why Hampton Roast Coffee only uses ethically sourced coffee

A number of people have recently asked how and why Hampton Roast Coffee got into roasting coffee and why we make a big deal of only selling ethically sourced coffee we do.

It all started with falling in love with all things coffee whilst working in a well known American coffee chain in the late 90s. A natural desire to learn how things are made, a passion for ethical trade and the pursuit to find the freshest possible, great tasting coffee led me to sourcing my own green beans and experimenting with how to roast coffee.

I quickly discovered that Green coffee beans do not smell like coffee at all, especially when they are being roasted! Less of those familiar coffee shop smells and more of the aroma of somewhere between burnt grass and popcorn. In fact a green bean has none of the characteristics of a roasted bean, it's soft and spongy to the bite and smells grassy. But when we roast it, we develop hundreds of flavour profiles giving us so much choice for what ends up in the cup!

As the green beans are roasted in a rotating heated drum they become darker, taking on their complex flavours in the process. As the coffee from each region reacts differently to this process, we only roast in small batches, keeping control over ever part of the roast,  carefully matching the roasting profile to each coffee to bring the best out of each of the coffee we sell.

Lighter roasts tend to have more acidity than darker roasts and the caffeine level also decreases as roasts get darker. Aromas in lighter roasts tend to be fruity, bright and citric. Perfect for a longer mug of coffee, an Americano, Filter coffee or French Press. Whereas darker roasts will have a smoky burnt flavour, low acidity and great for a neat espresso or in a milk based coffee such as a latte.

The roasted beans are quickly cooled, packaged and sealed into foil bags with a little one-way gas valve that lets co2 gas out, without letting oxygen into the ethically sourced coffee.

And once the coffee is ready, there’s no waiting about on shelf, once ready we ship as quickly as possible to ensure maximum freshness.

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And of course you can see all of our ethically sourced coffees and coffee bundles for sale on our shop.