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Our Story

Velvet Bean started in 2016 with a second-hand roaster, a borrowed garage in Hackney Wick and an unreasonable opinion about what a flat white should taste like. The founders - Maya Osei and Tom Whitfield - had both spent a decade behind other people's bars, and they wanted one thing: coffee roasted in small enough batches that every bag was actually fresh.

Today we roast from our Brick Lane roastery, buy directly from growers we have visited in Ethiopia, Colombia and Guatemala, and run the cafe out front where the kitchen treats brunch as seriously as the coffee. Ten years in, the opinion has not softened: coffee is a fresh product, and we will keep roasting it like one.

Roasted in Small Batches

Every lot is roasted to order on Tuesdays, cupped, scored and packed within the hour. From roaster to doorstep in under seven days.

Direct Trade Only

We buy from 28 origins, always from farms we have visited and paid well above commodity price. Our sourcing trips are public - read them on the blog.

A Kitchen That Cares

Bread from our local bakery, eggs from Essex, produce from Spitalfields market. Brunch the way it should be - honest, seasonal, fast.

0 Cups Served Daily
0 Origins We Source
0 Happy Customers
0 Wholesale Partners
Testimony

Customers Say

Regulars, wholesale partners and one very opinionated barista's mum.

“The best flat white in East London, hands down. Their Ethiopian single origin tastes like blueberries and honey.”

Sophie M.
Sophie M. Regular since 2019

“We switched our wholesale account to Velvet Bean and our customers noticed within a week. The beans arrive days off the roaster.”

Priya K.
Priya K. Cakes & Bakes, Hackney

“Velvet Bean's coffee cart made our office move bearable - the baristas were brilliant and the queue became the best meeting room in the building.”

James R.
James R. Events, WeWork
Visit

Come and See the Roaster

188 Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London E1 6RU. Open seven days - Mon-Fri 07:30-19:00, Sat-Sun 08:00-20:00.

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