Catalyst is a roastery and café near Chancery Lane in central London, and has been roasting and serving coffee for more than ten years. Catalyst roasts blends only: “Single origins get the hype. WE CHOSE EVOLUTION.” Each blend combines origins, processes and varieties into one flavour profile.
Every blend is made from two coffees, so every bag supports two different farmers. The pairings mix approaches. Third Rail puts Bekele Kachara’s natural from Sidama, Ethiopia, with Gregorio Espinosa’s criomacerated Red Catuai from Peru. Maverick, the house espresso blend, joins shade-grown Typica and Bourbon from Mazatec families in Oaxaca, Mexico, with coffee from women farmers on the slopes of Huila, Colombia. Each blend is labelled for espresso, or for both filter and espresso, and Lucid Trance is a decaf of two sugarcane-processed coffees from Colombia and Guatemala.
The blends are sold online in 250g and 1kg bags, whole or ground, and by subscription, and Catalyst supplies cafés through its own wholesale shop.
Coffee on the shelf
- Ube ice cream
- Forest honey
- Cherry
- Milk chocolate
- Strawberry milkshake
- White peach
- Dark chocolate
- Cherry
- Caramel fudge
- Praline
- Milk chocolate
- Maple syrup
Photograph: Catalyst