Papercup Coffee was established in Glasgow in 2013 and is, by its own account, one of the pioneers of specialty coffee in Scotland. It started as a shop in the West End where coffee was roasted in store and brewed by its baristas, a place for people to meet, chat and have a bit of brunch. It has made mistakes and learned a lot since, tries not to be too serious about what it does, and has added a dedicated roastery and training space and two more cafés.

The West End café is the original, with a food menu alongside the coffee, French toast included. The smaller cafés in Clarkston and Motherwell serve food too. Roasting happens on Mondays and Wednesdays at the roastery, in a railway arch in Finnieston that is open to visitors on weekdays and hosts the barista essentials training course, which covers espresso and milk steaming for home brewing. Papercup looks for shade grown and naturally dried coffee and aims to source the most ethically and environmentally sound beans it can. It ships in recycled cardboard with recyclable or biodegradable coffee bags. Local wholesale deliveries go out by electric van and bike courier.

Papercup Coffee names its single origins after a leading flavour, with the origin after the comma, and roasts an everyday blend called Ritual Espresso, a decaf called Naecaf in washed and natural versions, and a University of Glasgow blend chosen by the university. The Coffee Club subscription delivers freshly roasted coffee on the customer’s schedule, with free delivery and early access to special releases, and there is a coffee of the month.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Papercup Coffee