Say Hi To: North Star Coffee Roasters

When we first dreamed up the concept of Little Perth we knew we wanted to completely re-imagine the flower-buying experience for our customers. A huge part of this was to provide a setting where guests could sit-in and enjoy a whole sensory experience of watching our florists at work, taking in the colours, the aromas, the artistry - all whilst enjoying the highest quality food and drink we could find. Sourcing the best coffee was fundamental to us, so working with our old friends from Leeds North Star Coffee Roasters was a no-brainer. We’d partnered with them at our previous store in South Wales and quickly became closely aligned. Here’s a little about them, and 5 reasons why we love serving their coffee here in Bournemouth…

Who?

In brief, North Star are an incredible speciality coffee roastery based in Leeds with a love for great coffee and a desire to protect all it supports. Founded by Alex & Hols Kragiopoulos in 2013, these guys have been at the forefront of the UK scene for the best part of a decade now - not just because of their wonderfully consistent and exciting coffees, but because of their approach to trade and their commitment to carving a positive footprint in the coffee industry from farm to cup. You can read more about their story here, their environmental impact here, or better still pop the airbuds in and watch this over a tasty coffee…

Why?

There’s a whole load of reasons why we love working alongside North Star, and our team will be only too happy to chat more about them next time you pop in to one of our stores. But here’s our top 5!

Their People-First Emphasis

We first encountered North Star back at the start of 2018 when we were scouring the UK to find the right coffee partnership for our first store - Quarters Coffee in Newport. We had upwards of a dozen lovely conversations with roasters all over but there was a noticeable difference to our first chat with Ollie Sears from North Star. Whereas other roasters were keen to talk product and equipment and special deals, we noticed these things weren’t top priority in North Star’s approach! Ollie wanted to know about us - personally, our plans, our passions - and he was far quicker to talk about the farmers they work with, and all the heroes involved in their supply chains than he was about what North Star could offer a start-up like us. Alongside the amazing coffees they sent for us to sample, this completely captured our imaginations and we were sold. Over the years, and across three different stores now, we’ve consistently found North Star’s approach to be unwaveringly people-first - from how they trade, to how they train end-user baristas like us all around the country!

Their Outstanding Quality

This one goes without saying, but the main reason we serve North Star coffee here at Little Perth is that their offerings are consistently delicious! We always have at least 4 different coffees on our menu from North Star (across both Southbourne and Westbourne sites) and we always know our customers will love them - whether it’s a super smooth, fruit-forward blend like the Czar St Seasonal Espresso we have on in Westbourne right now, or the funky naturals that our Southbourne regulars seem to enjoy. Every time we brew a cup for any of our guests, our aim is to honour not only the outstanding quality of the beans but every human who has been involved in passionately growing them, processing them, packing them, exporting them, roasting them and marketing them. It’s a privilege that we take really seriously!

Their Trade Philosophy

As we’ve mentioned, North Star trade coffee a little differently to most - in a way that gives us a lot of optimism for the future of the coffee industry. This is perhaps best illustrated by their relationship with Maria from the Finca Margarita farm in El Salvador. Have a read / watch here, and next time you’re browsing our shelves for a bag of coffee to take home give Maria’s handiwork a whirl!

Their Environmental Conscience

For those of us who like to be aware of the environmental impact of what we consume, we can heartily commend North Star’s products to you. From working alongside farms to grow with low carbon-impact methods, to roasting on a Loring, to their green packaging and delivery efforts - it was no surprise when North Star received their B Corp status!

Their Love Of Small Businesses

Finally, as a small business it is hugely refreshing for us to work with a supplier who not only has plenty of experience running coffee shops themselves (if you’re ever in Leeds you MUST go to the North Star Coffee Shop or Kiosk!), but who also has a genuine desire to see small businesses thrive and a new wave of independents regenerate high streets and suburbs. Over the years we’ve had just as much support from the North Star team on strategy, marketing and all the other behind-the-scenes elements of running a business as we have advice on brewing great coffee. If you are thinking of opening a coffee shop one day, we can absolutely recommend partnering with these guys!

Let us know what you love most about North Star, and if you don’t live near one of our stores we can highly recommend ordering your coffee for home or for your business directly from their website - the subscription packages are ace!