Hot Numbers roasts in Shepreth, in Cambridgeshire, and runs two coffee shops in Cambridge where jazz and blues set the soundtrack. Bould Brothers, opened by two brothers in 2016, sells a house coffee under its own name; Pages serves Monmouth from London and a monthly guest on filter; The Locker is an art café with specialty coffee and brunch; and Stir, the bakery café group that started in Chesterton in 2015, pours Assembly, also from London. Between them there are cafés by the Round Church, near the station, among the colleges in the city centre and out in Chesterton, Histon and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Hot Numbers, a Victorian brewery, the city centre and Shepreth
Hot Numbers is named after an old Cambridge record store. Its founder, Simon, discovered specialty coffee while studying saxophone in Melbourne, where he worked as a barista to support his studies, and founded Hot Numbers back in the UK. The cafés play jazz and blues, and Hot Numbers puts on gigs and live music.
The original coffee shop is in a former Victorian brewery a few minutes from Cambridge station, with communal tables and corners for reading. The city-centre shop is steps from the Fitzwilliam Museum, with long sharing tables, rotating art exhibitions and a garden at the back. Both serve brunch every day.
The roasting happens at The Roastery in Shepreth, the company’s headquarters, which is also a bakery, a café and a coffee training centre. Sourdough and cakes come out of its open kitchen, there are wood-fired pizza nights, and the industrial room opens onto a garden of salvaged pieces. The roastery keeps eight to ten coffees on the go and roasts in small batches, with lots bought through importers such as Osito and Omwani from Ethiopia, Colombia and Rwanda. Body and Soul, a blend of Brazil and Colombia with notes of dark chocolate, roasted walnut and sultana, is the coffee served daily in the Cambridge cafés, and Breakfast Wine, named after a jazz standard, was the first blend Hot Numbers made. Well-behaved dogs are welcome at all three locations. In 2026 Hot Numbers was a finalist for Business of the Year (Medium) at the Cambridge Independent Business Awards.
Bould Brothers, by the Round Church and near the station
Bould Brothers is the work of Max and Alex Bould, who worked in London before moving to Cambridge and opening their first shop in December 2016, near St John’s College by the Round Church. Their mission was “to bring fantastic coffee and service to Cambridge”, and between them they had more than a decade of experience in coffee. The second café opened in 2019 on the walk from Cambridge station into town, and Trainline has recommended it.
The brothers hire a highly trained team so that the coffee tastes the same every visit. The house coffee is sold as beans in an espresso or a filter roast profile, and by subscription; the current one is a washed coffee from Zambia with tasting notes of raspberry, dark chocolate and almond. On the food side, the best-seller since day one is a chicken, crispy bacon and chive sandwich whose spiced mayonnaise began as their father’s salad dressing.
Pages Coffee House, among the colleges
Pages opened in October 2023 in the city centre, among the colleges. Its owner, Jasmine, designed a tranquil room with Scandinavian-inspired seating, exposed brick, terracotta floors and work by local artists on the walls, and there is an outdoor courtyard. The espresso is Monmouth Espresso, a medium to dark roast of Colombian, Guatemalan and Brazilian coffees, and the filter is brewed by hand as pour-over or flash brew over ice, with a new guest coffee every month. Pastries come in daily from Borough Market, every hot drink can be made vegan and gluten-free, dogs are welcome, and the mornings are laptop-friendly hours.
The Locker, an art café in the city centre
The Locker is an independent art café in central Cambridge serving specialty coffee, brunch, lunch and homemade cakes, with gluten-free and vegan options throughout the menu. The autumn pumpkin spiced latte is made with a syrup from its own kitchen, lunch runs to focaccia sandwiches with fillings such as prosciutto, mozzarella and green pesto, and there are tables outside under a large tree. Dogs are welcome.
Stir, Chesterton, Histon and two more cafés
Stir opened in Chesterton in 2015 and is independently owned, with four bakery cafés serving brunch and coffee: in Chesterton, on the high street in Histon, in the old Swiss Laundry building and on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus near Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The coffee in all of them is from Assembly, the London roaster. Bread, pastries, cookies and cakes come from Stir’s own bakery near Cambridge North station, and the kitchens cook breakfast, brunch and takeaway lunches, with a kids’ menu. Stir also runs Marvin’s, a sister business with two sandwich shops in the city.
What you need to know about Cambridge specialty coffee
Which Cambridge coffee shops roast their own coffee? Hot Numbers roasts at its roastery café in Shepreth and serves the coffee in its two Cambridge shops. Bould Brothers sells a house coffee under its own name, Pages serves Monmouth and monthly guests, and Stir serves Assembly.
Can you visit the roastery? Yes. The Roastery in Shepreth is a café, bakery and training centre as well as the place where Hot Numbers roasts, with brunch, cakes and wood-fired pizza nights.
Which coffee shops are near Cambridge station? The original Hot Numbers is a few minutes’ walk from the station, and the second Bould Brothers is on the way from the station into town.
Where can you get brunch with good coffee? Both Hot Numbers coffee shops and The Roastery serve brunch, and so do The Locker and all four Stir cafés.
Which coffee shops in Cambridge have outdoor seating? The Hot Numbers city-centre shop and The Roastery both have gardens, Pages has a courtyard, and The Locker has tables outside.
Are the cafés dog-friendly? Hot Numbers welcomes well-behaved dogs at all three locations, Pages has been dog-friendly since it opened, and The Locker welcomes dogs too.
Where can you work on a laptop? Pages sets aside its morning hours as laptop-friendly, and the Hot Numbers coffee shop by the station has corners for reading and study.
Photo credits
Photographs belong to the businesses and are reproduced from their official websites with attribution.
