Old Spike

A coffee roastery and cafe that provides training and employment to those affected by homelessness.

Enjoy a cup of socially conscious coffee courtesy of London-based Old Spike Roastery.

The coffee aficionados behind the brand opened the UK’s first ever speciality roastery operating as a social enterprise. Their social impact revolves around reducing homelessness through a training and employment programme, designed in partnership with fellow coffee social enterprise Change Please.

65% of Old Spike Roastery’s profits go towards this programme. It covers getting to grips with the art of coffee roasting and barista skills as well as supporting trainees with things like mental health, work readiness and accommodation.

What their trainees go on to do next also matters to Old Spike Roastery. Once the eight-week course is over, they match graduates with London Living Wage jobs within the industry.

More than just a feel-good brew, Old Spike Roastery coffees are responsibly sourced and taste amazing. They use high-quality grade green coffee, picked for its freshness and seasonality.

Sourced through principles of direct trade, Old Spike Roastery pays around four to five times more than the Fairtrade minimum for their beans, so you can rest assured producers are getting a fair deal.

The environmental problems that come with an ever-expanding global coffee market – namely farmers having to move onto land rich in biodiversity – are also on the mind of Old Spike Roastery. While they keep their own supply chain as green as possible, they also plant a tree for every bag of coffee as a way to offset some of the industry’s impact.

Meet The Founder

During his career in the advertising industry, Richard Robinson spent time living in New York where he got a taste of the local coffee scene. It was becoming common to find in-house roasteries at Brooklyn cafes at the time, something he replicated when he founded Old Spike Roastery back in the UK in 2014.

Richard’s business partner had trained with the School for Social Entrepreneurs. So they decided to add impact to the business, combining speciality coffee roasting with tackling the pressing issue of homelessness.

The combo of coffee and social change has gone down a treat. Richard and his team have already opened a new roastery and training site, with plans to expand even further.

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