Ancoats Coffee Co was founded in 2013 by Jamie Boland in the Ancoats neighbourhood of Manchester, and has roasted inside the Royal Mills ever since. It is an independent roastery and specialty coffee shop, and the roastery is the epicentre of what it does: the green coffee store, the 6kg Giesen roaster and the dispatch of trade orders and subscriptions are all in view through glass panels. The team roasts in house most days, and a sample from every batch is tasted as part of the daily quality checks. It looks for the bright, juicy side of coffee and roasts to preserve it.

The café was conceived to showcase the coffee and has become the focal point of the roastery, with public cuppings, supper clubs, home brewing and latte art workshops, barista challenges and SCA competitions on its programme, and a presence at the Manchester Coffee Festival. Filter is brewed on V60, AeroPress, Chemex or Clever Dripper, there is cold brew and a decaf, and beans bought in the café are ground to suit the customer’s brewer. The counter has sandwiches and bagels for toasting, with croissants, Dubai chocolate cake, banana bread and other bakes from local bakeries, and vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. The café runs mostly on walk-ins and takes group bookings, can be hired for private events, and has a glass-roofed atrium, free wifi and wheelchair access, and welcomes dogs.

Ancoats tries to source through direct trade and works with farms in Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico and Uganda. Its head roaster picks single estate coffees: the flagship is Warehouse City, a Brazilian single origin named after the industrial roots of the Royal Mills, alongside the Graphene range, which changes with the seasons. By its own account, it was the first roastery in Greater Manchester to deliver wholesale coffee in reusable plastic tubs, composts its chaff and donates roasts it is not happy with to local charities such as Mustard Tree. Wholesale customers get equipment supply, installation and barista training alongside the coffee.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Ancoats Coffee Co