Our Story
About Us
The Gentlemen Baristas respect (and are inspired by) the traditions of the London coffee houses that have gone before us - in fact we came up with our name at the Jamaica Coffee House, the historic birthplace of London's coffee scene. We’ve always believed that you can feel better at home in a house but not a shop. That’s why we’ll always have coffee houses - our customers home from home.
From hand-selecting green beans (sourced by following seasonal harvests) and exceptional roasting methods at our very own London-based roastery, The Gentlemen Baristas believe that from cherry to cup, a decent cup of coffee is all about getting the most out of your beans.
What Do We Mean By ‘Well Mannered Coffee’?
Being well-mannered means being friendly to our customers, respectful to our suppliers, and generous to our neighbours. It means being upstanding - behind the counter and in the community.
It means always thinking about others and putting them at ease. It’s definitely not a gender thing, it’s a behaviour thing.
2014
The Gentlemen Baristas launches.
Inspired by traditional London coffee houses of old, we fling open the doors of the first (of many) Gentlemen Baristas Coffee House in Union Street, Borough. We’ve always believed that you will feel better at home in a coffee house, not a coffee shop.
2014
First Coffee Bags Launched.
Our customers asked, so we couldn’t refuse! It was only a matter of time before we launched the very first bags of well-mannered coffee to the Great British public.
2018
Shadwell Roastery.
Roasting coffee gets us out of bed in the morning, so opening our very first roastery in London’s East End was always on the cards for us. The farm-to-cup journey has always been crucial for us, so from day one all our ethically sourced coffee comes from trusted farms and producers.
2018
Introduced Our Electric Bike & Van.
Our aim is to become a zero-waste coffee company, so we introduced a zero emission, 100% electric van to deliver our award-winning coffee across London, with our smaller orders and sandwiches arriving on our rather wonderful electric bike. No, it’s not a penny-farthing.
2021
Piccadilly Flagship Coffee House.
Just a hop, skip and a jump from world-famous hotel The Ritz, we opened our flagship coffee house in London’s Piccadilly - one of the busiest streets in Europe - serving our superb speciality coffee and top-notch food.
2023
Maryland Stratford Roastery Launch.
Our new Maryland Stratford roastery will allow us to double our weekly coffee output. It even boasts a coffee community event space, cupping room and even a dedicated school, offering training for our baristas and the baristas of any partners we work with.
What's With The Hats?
Our first coffee house - in London’s Southwark - was the historical home of hat making. The bowler hat was originally designed there in 1849 by Bowler & Bowler. Across the road was a top hat-maker. So, naturally it’s where the idea of naming our coffees after hats was born.
And hats all we’ve got to say on the matter.
our Awards
We’re not all that good about talking about ourselves and our award-winning coffee. Here’s some of the stuff we’ve been keeping under our many hats. It’s not bragging if you can back it up!
