Astro Explore Blend

We set out to create a blend that felt more like us: bold in flavour, grounded in community, and easy to enjoy. A coffee that sparks the curiosity to explore the specialty coffee cosmos. A coffee you’d reach for daily, but still feel excited about.

That’s why we worked with Mero. She’s been obsessing over flavour for years. Together with James, our Coffee Programme Manager, and John, our Head Trainer, she helped shape this blend into something joyful and delicious, a proper team effort that reflects everything we love about the craft.

Astro is the result. An espresso blend with expressive flavour profiles from producers we’re proud to work with. Astro’s purpose is to take everything we love about specialty coffee, the flavours, the texture, the complexity,  and make it work beautifully in everyday brews.

It’s also made to be reliable. Easy to dial in, consistent to serve and forgiving enough to brew at home, without losing what makes it exciting.

With milk, you’ll taste red berries, malted milk biscuits and vanilla. As it cools, notes of red apple and citrus show up, with a grapefruit finish that keeps everything in balance. The mouthfeel is sticky, plush and heavy, like raspberry jam on buttered toast.

But it’s no one-trick pony. Brewed black, it opens up. It’s punchier, brighter and more expressive. You still get that chocolatey depth, but with more clarity. Like a dark chocolate tart — sharp and bold in all the right ways.

Whether it’s your everyday go-to or your gateway into something new, Astro is here to bring a little energy to your espresso.

Components:

COLOMBIA LA COLMENA WASHED

This may be one of our newest partnerships but it is by no means any less impactful than some of the stalwarts on our offer list. We were the first roastery in the UK to bring the La Colmena producer group’s coffee to market and are super proud to support the fantastic work of import partner Semilla and Monkaaba, the smallholder coffee grower empowerment initiative that supports the 30 new producers that contribute to the blend. They both provide advice and feedback to La Colmena that helps the group to elevate coffee quality, access the global specialty market and ultimately receive a better price for their beautiful coffee. 

BRAZIL MONTANARI NATURAL

As the largest producer of coffee in the world, Brazil is often famed for quantity over quality. However, Marcelo Montanari has proven that you can produce volume whilst still being highly dedicated to quality, sustainability, and innovation in coffee production. Marcelo actively encourages biodiversity, ensures worker well-being, and upholds eco-friendly farming practices. We have been working with Marcelo since 2014, his carbon neutral approach resonates with our own values and his beautiful coffee has been consistently fantastic for the 11 years we have worked together.

RWANDA CYATO NATURAL

We have been lucky to establish some incredible relationships with export partners over the last few years who help us to access some of the most amazing coffees. One such example is Tropic Coffee, headed up by Chris Rugira and his wife Divine. Together they own the Cyato Washing Station which processes the cherries collected by farmers of the Abadatezuka cooperative situated around the infamous Nyungwe forest – well known for outstanding coffee production not only because of its rich fertile soil, but also due to the large population of bees in the area which leave unique microorganisms during pollination creating a distinct flavour profile. The appreciation of the importance of bees in this area means there is no use of synthetic fertilisers or pesticides and farmers are actively educated on how to preserve the presence of pollinators utilising organic techniques.

If you order 1-2 x 250g bags of coffee, they will be sent in a letterbox friendly package so that you do not need to be in to take receipt of your coffee.

Our 250g bags are 100% home compostable including the valve, seal and sticker! They will degrade in 6 months in a well managed home compost.

Our 1kg bags are currently in LDPE plastic - some councils will recycle this for you, if you are unsure simply take it to your local supermarket with your other plastic packaging.