UK’s Extract Coffee Roasters Forges Sustainable Workspace Solution in London

The Extract Coffee Roasters training facility at Sustainable Workspaces’ Bankside location in East London. Photo courtesy of Extract Coffee Roasters.

Bristol, UK-based roastery Extract Coffee Roasters has moved into its first facility in London; yet instead of actual brick and mortar, the new Extract barista training facility features numerous creative reuses of materials that would otherwise be  destined for landfills.

The front and back bars were built in-house using an old pub floor from what was formerly Joe’s Bar in Covent Garden; concrete bench tops were salvaged from bathroom fittings for a Victoria housing development; the sink was claimed from within a pile of scrap waste; and other components feature repurposed pallets, cabinets, scrap metal and wood.

The 11-year-old roasting company joins approximately 50 other sustainability-minded startups within the Sustainable Bankside development, a project led by London’s Sustainable Ventures that provides some 30,000 square feet of workspace for startups. The company describes the Bankside development as “Europe’s largest sustainability cluster.”

“We’re fully committed to sustainability at our Bristol base; from roasting our coffee on 4 second-hand roasters which we restored ourselves, to recycling all our waste coffee grounds, and using 90 percent renewable energy to power the roastery,” Extract Coffee Roasters Co-Founder Lee Bolam said in an announcement of the training center opening. “It’s great to finally have a place in London which is also in line with our sustainable values.”

The training center is also squarely in line with Extract’s wholesale growth, as the company now counts some 70 accounts throughout London among its 500 clients throughout the U.K. Roasting continues on four machines — including 60- and 120-kilo Probat production roasters named Bertha and Betty — at the Bristol roastery.

The new London facility will allow for coffee cuppings, public tastings and discussions on sustainability issues, as well as barista training and SCA coursework.