North Star was founded in Leeds in 2013 by Krag, who was 22 at the time and roasted every bean the business sold, and Hols, who had started in coffee in 2011 studying the impact of Fairtrade on coffee communities in Kenya and later worked as a green buyer. The husband-and-wife team built it on the belief that “coffee can and should create lasting value for everyone connected to it”. North Star is a certified B Corp and a Buy Women Built business, and it runs impact projects with producers in El Salvador, Rwanda and Timor-Leste, including a youth project with young farmers in Nyamasheke whose group chose the name Ijabo, “dignity” in Kinyarwanda.

All the coffee is roasted by the team in Leeds, at a roastery that is not a café but hosts occasional tours, training and events. The coffee shop at Leeds Dock serves brunch, hand-brewed coffee and seasonal drinks, with bakes and bread made in-house; it welcomes children, dogs and walk-ins and also takes bookings. In the city centre there is a kiosk a short walk from Leeds station, another beneath the Victoria Quarter arcades, and a larger site that holds the main bakery and kitchen and the largest range of retail coffee and brewing equipment. Each serves two coffees on espresso and a rotating batch brew.

The North Star Academy runs home brewing courses, cuppings and professional barista training at its Coffee Hub at Leeds Dock. The range is split into a Base Range of everyday coffees, including The Docks house blend roasted since 2013, and an Explore Range of “vibrant coffees with unique flavour profiles” such as the pineapple-infused Rwanda Cyato Tropical Punch.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: North Star Coffee Roasters