Many Edinburgh coffee shops belong to the city’s roasters, and they sit in the neighbourhoods where people live. Stockbridge, Bruntsfield, Marchmont, Newington and Leith each have a roastery café of their own, and in the Old Town The Milkman pours coffee from Obadiah and guest roasters.
Cairngorm Coffee, West End and Bruntsfield
Robi started Cairngorm around a kitchen table in Newtonmore in 2014 to champion Scottish coffee and the people behind it. The West End café opened in 2016 on the curved granite corner of a Georgian building, with four espressos on rotation daily beside a changing batch brew and toasties. A second café on Bruntsfield Links is the newest, with upstairs seating and brewing kit for sale. Roasting is data-driven and happens near Portobello; visits are by appointment only.
Artisan Roast, four cafés
Artisan Roast has roasted in Edinburgh since 2007. The original café, on the edge of the New Town, has the Janszoon blend and a seasonal single origin on espresso and batch brew or V60 at the brew bar. A second café, on the way down to Leith, occupies a former funeral director’s office and hosts comedy nights, yoga classes and art workshops; its vegetarian kitchen serves breakfasts and lunches, with scones and cinnamon buns baked daily. Bruntsfield began as a pop-up during the 2011 Fringe and stayed, and Stockbridge has its own kitchen for brunch and homemade cakes. Dogs are welcome at Leith and Stockbridge. The roastery at Peffermill sources from more than twenty countries and scores every coffee in its QC lab.
Fortitude Coffee, Stockbridge and Abbeyhill
Fortitude was established in 2014 to make “sweet, balanced and delicious coffee, roasted in Scotland”, and roasts seasonal single origins and the Fortitude Blend, sold in the shops and by subscription. The two cafés are in Stockbridge and Abbeyhill.
Cult Coffee Roasters, Newington
Cult Coffee Roasters began in 2014 as a wee café in Newington, near the university and the Meadows, and the café is still there. Its line is “Not an Actual Cult”. The roasting moved to Newbridge, outside the city, where the drum runs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 2026 brought the new name, Cult Coffee Roasters, and new packaging.
Machina Coffee, Marchmont
Machina was founded in Edinburgh in 2013 as a roastery and equipment supplier, and its only coffee shop is a big bright room in Marchmont, open to everyone. Two single-origin espressos, one for milk and one for black, run beside batch brew served by the mug, and the drinks menu adds teas, hot chocolates and soft drinks. Cakes, pastries and pies come from local suppliers such as Company Bakery and Fieldwork, and there are around fifty seats inside and two dozen outside in summer. Laptops have designated areas, and none are allowed at weekends. The roastery sits behind Arthur’s Seat on Probatone drum roasters, with a target of 85% direct-from-origin sourcing.
Williams & Johnson, the Shore, Leith
Williams & Johnson’s flagship café shares its room with the roastery: a 12 kg Probat in a co-working and design hub by the water in Leith, where every coffee is roasted and packed. Filter and espresso ranges, subscriptions and wholesale all start here. The café serves coffee in store and sells bags of the current roasts, and visitors can learn about the roasting process on the spot.
Obadiah, Abbeyhill
Obadiah has roasted in Edinburgh since 2017, and its coffee turns up across the city: it roasts the house espresso for Söderberg and supplies The Milkman. There is no café, but the roastery in Abbeyhill welcomes visitors on weekdays, card payments only.
The Milkman, Old Town
Mark opened The Milkman in November 2015 in an old sweet shop on a climbing lane in the Old Town, and a second unit followed on the same lane. It does not roast: espresso comes from Obadiah and the filter and retail shelf rotate through guests such as Girls Who Grind, Five Elephant, Bonanza and La Cabra. Cakes come from KiwiBakes, Fieldwork and the gluten-free bakery Glutteny.
Söderberg, across the city
Söderberg is a Scandinavian bakery first, built on sourdough and the Swedish cardamom bun, with seven Edinburgh cafés, among them the Meadows, Stockbridge, Broughton, Morningside and the West End. The house espresso is roasted for it by Obadiah; the flour comes from Shipton Mill. The Pavilion, at Quartermile, serves sourdough pizza.
What you need to know about Edinburgh specialty coffee
Which Edinburgh cafés roast their own beans? Cairngorm, Artisan Roast, Fortitude, Cult, Machina and Williams & Johnson all roast, and Obadiah roasts for others. The Milkman buys from roasters instead.
Where is good coffee in Leith and Stockbridge? Williams & Johnson on the Shore covers Leith, with Artisan Roast’s second café on the way down. Stockbridge has Fortitude, Artisan Roast and a Söderberg within a few streets.
Where is there room to sit? Machina’s Marchmont café has around fifty seats inside and two dozen outside in summer, and Cairngorm’s Bruntsfield café has seating upstairs.
Where is the brunch? Artisan Roast’s kitchens in Leith and Stockbridge serve breakfast, brunch and lunch.
Are dogs welcome? Artisan Roast welcomes them at its Leith and Stockbridge cafés.
Photo credits
Photographs belong to the businesses and are reproduced from their official websites with attribution.
