Freshly Roasted Specialty coffee
Coffee Blends
Our coffee blends bring together some of our favourite coffees from direct trade relationships in Rwanda and Costa Rica.
Our coffee blends are roasted slower than our single-origin coffees, which helps to tame some acidity making these more suitable for use with milk. The slower roast also makes our blends more suited to espresso brewing, especially for anyone new to brewing espresso.
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NEWCherry | Caramel | ChocolateEl Zumo Blend Natural and Honey
Regular price From £10.75Regular priceUnit price per -
Orange | Chocolate | Sweet Caramel
Workhorse Blend Washed & Pulped Natural
Regular price From £9.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Dark Chocolate | Nuts | Sweet Caramel
Nova Espresso Blend Natural, Washed & Pulped Natural
Regular price From £9.00Regular priceUnit price per -
RELATIONSHIP COFFEERed Apple | Caramel | ChocolateCooperative Costa Rica | Honey
Regular price From £10.50Regular priceUnit price per -
10% OFFHorsham Coffee RoasterBlend Selection
Regular price £35.00Regular priceUnit price per£39.00Sale price £35.00Sale
Our coffee blends — Workhorse, Nova, El Zumo and Cooperative
We've spent years refining our signature blends to suit different brewing styles and flavour preferences. Each is built around our direct trade coffees from Rwanda, Brazil and Costa Rica, roasted on our Loring S35 eco-roaster in Sussex. Whether you're chasing the perfect milk-based espresso, a forgiving filter brew, or something fruitier and more complex, there's a blend here for you.
Choose your coffee blend
Workhorse – our flagship blend
Our most popular blend, and the one we drink most often ourselves. A balanced 50/50 of washed Rwanda and a carefully selected coffee from Brazil. Roasted to a light-medium profile. Versatile enough for espresso, filter, cafetiere and AeroPress — particularly forgiving for anyone new to home espresso.
Tasting notes: chocolate, nuts, caramel
Best for: espresso, milk drinks, cafetiere
Roast level: light-medium
Nova — our traditional espresso blend
Built around similar coffees as Workhorse but with an added natural processed coffee and roasted slightly darker — closer to a classic Italian-style espresso blend. Designed to be easy to dial in and forgiving on most home espresso machines.
Tasting notes: dark chocolate, nuts, sweet caramel
Best for: espresso, milk-based drinks, traditional Italian-style brewing
Roast level: medium
El Zumo — our juicy, fruit-forward blend
For coffee drinkers who want a blend with the complexity and brightness of a single origin. Higher cup score, more pronounced fruit character, and a real talking-point espresso. Works beautifully as filter too.
Tasting notes: juicy, fruity, mixed berries
Best for: espresso, pour-over, AeroPress
Roast level: light
Cooperative — a rotating concept, not a fixed blend
Cooperative is different from our other blends. Rather than a set recipe, it's a rotating coffee built around small-hold producers and cooperative-grown lots from Central and South America. We seek out farms working in cooperative structures, using sustainable farming practices, and committed to positive community relationships. The specific coffee changes throughout the year and will often feature a directly sourced coffee from Costa Rica. For exapmple, a honey processed coffee from Minor and Nancy Jimenez at La Cumbre in Tarrazu.
Roasted to a medium profile with a focus on sweetness and chocolate notes — great with or without milk, equally at home as espresso or filter.
Tasting notes: red apple, caramel, chocolate
Best for: balanced espresso, everyday filter
Roast level: medium
How to brew our coffee blends
Espresso
- Dose: 18g in
- Yield: 36–40g out
- Time: 28–32 seconds
- Workhorse: standard ratio works well
- Nova: try a slightly shorter yield (18g → 36g) for richer body
- El Zumo: longer extraction (18g → 40g) brings out the fruit
Filter (V60, Kalita, Chemex)
- Ratio: 1:16 (e.g. 15g coffee : 240g water)
- Water temperature: 94–96°C
- Brew time: 3:30
- Best blends for filter: Workhorse and El Zumo
Filter (V60, Kalita, Chemex)
- Ratio: 1:16
- Brew time: 4 minutes
- Best blends for cafetiere: Workhorse and Nova
Choosing a blend
Coffee Blend FAQ's
What's the difference between a coffee blend and a single origin?
A single origin coffee comes from one farm, washing station or co-operative — it showcases the character of one specific place and varietal. A blend either combines two or more coffees to create a consistent, balanced flavour profile or, in the case of the Cooperative is created around a concept and flavour profile. The aim is easy to brew day-to-day with consistent tasting notes. Blends are particularly popular for espresso and milk drinks.
Whole bean or ground?
We recommend whole bean for the freshest cup, and grinding just before brewing. If you don't have a grinder, choose your brew method at checkout and we'll grind to order. We offer an espresso grind but this is a 'mid point' grind that will typically work with most espresso brewing however for best results a good quality burr grinder suitable for espresso is required.
How fresh are your coffee blends?
We roast daily, Monday to Friday. Your coffee is typically dispatched within 24–48 hours of roasting and will be at its peak for the following 4–6 weeks. We recommend resting the coffee for 7-10 days before use to allow the coffee to degas and flavours to settle. Espresso is typically best to brew 10-21 days from roast.
Do you offer a coffee blend subscription?
Yes — you can subscribe to any of our blends and save 10% on every order. Choose your delivery frequency at checkout and pause or cancel any time. See our coffee subscription for details.
Which blend is best for milk-based drinks?
Workhorse and Nova both cut through milk beautifully thanks to their chocolate and caramel profiles. Nova is slightly darker, so it gives a slightly more traditional flat white or cappuccino flavour.
Which coffee blend is best for espresso?
Our Nova and Workhorse coffee beans are great for espresso (especially if you love chocolate/nutty notes). They both contain the same two coffees however, the Nova blend is roasted slightly darker than Workhorse and contains more Brazil making this our most traditional style blend.
If you prefer a juicy, fruity blend with an elevated cup score and loads of character the El Zumo is definitly the one to try!
Can I use a blend to make filter coffee?
Yes, all our coffee blends make great filter coffee! We would recommend either the Workhorse of El Zumo as the most suitable blends for brewing filter coffee.
The Workhorse blend will showcase tasting notes that include chocolate, nuts and caramel.
The El Zumo blend will showcae tasting notes that include cherry, strawberry and blueberry.
How ethical is your coffee?
Our coffee beans from Brazil, Costa Rica, Rwanda and Kenya are traded directly making sure that growers receive a fair price for their hard work.
Coffees that we don't source from producers directly, are bought from specialist importers. We choose to work with importers that have similar ethical values and are focusing on paying prices that are well above fair trade.
You can learn more about this in our Transparency Report.
Why buy our coffee blends?
Our coffee blends are always freshly roasted on our Loring eco roaster. Buying freshly roasted coffee beans and grinding fresh will help you to produce the best possible coffee. Checkout our range of coffee grinders.
We are also able to grind all of our coffee blends to order.