They embarked on their coffee adventure serving espresso out of a beautiful 1980s trailer. The plan was to establish themselves in the coffee scene with a view to at some point delve into the world of coffee roasting. 

As Covid hit, they had to adapt. With the mobile coffee bar now taking a back seat, Rach and Adam decided to fast forward their roasting plans and transform Boost coffee.

Their ethos of using coffee as a vehicle to take people on an adventure is something that we can relate to here at Batch. Their drive and agility during the pandemic is a testament to the couple’s character.

Boost has a unique concept of showcasing 3 coffees at one time in Batches. Rach spends her time cupping various coffees and curating 3 that will complement each other in a way that will take her customers on a coffee journey.

Cycling and coffee go hand in hand. Middle-aged men packed into brightly coloured lycra shorts sipping an espresso is a fairly common sight outside a coffee shop. Boost coffee are utilizing this relationship by naming their coffees after various cycling phrases.

Take us back to the beginning, what sparked your interest in coffee and then coffee roasting?

I’ve always been a coffee lover but my real spark for speciality coffee actually started in New Zealand, I was drawn in by the great hospitality industry they have over there, and got a real kick out of working in cafe’s and seeing people enjoy drinking a coffee that had been made for them!

New Zealand do food and drink really well, they are also driven by being welcoming and making cafe visits a real experience for customers. After a year on the other side of the world, I came back and recreated this feel in a vintage horse trailer, serving coffee at events. 

During my coffee journey, I’ve found coffee brewing to be a real source of relaxation, brewing became a sort of meditation, intrigued by the intricacies of taste and the journey that you embark on even just within one bag of coffee. Roasting led on from there, spurred on by Covid and a lack of events, I realised that I wanted to be a larger part of the process of the resulting cup, rather than just shaping the form of the coffee in the cup, I wanted to craft it from the green bean all the way to the cup! 

I roast coffee so people can join me on this journey, I love being outdoors and link the exploration and adventures that coffee can take us on to the great outdoors through seasonal speciality coffee. Coffee, outside with friends - what experience could be better?!

3 words to sum up Boost.

Adventure. Experience. Journey. 

How have you found your journey so far?

Amazing! Taxing! Life-changing! Emotional! There are so many words to describe my coffee journey so far! I’ve found amazing support through other roasters and coffee traders, I’ve found difficult times as any business does and ultimately I’ve found a path that I love being on. I strongly believe that you need to love what you do in life and if you don’t love it you need to change it.

It’s taken me 35years, a career as a police office, a bike journalist, barista and much more to set myself on this path and I love it. Work now consists of cupping roasts or choosing which new green bean to buy or packaging up coffee for others to enjoy, it’s ACE!

How does the coffee scene in the UK compare to NZ?

I think it's gradually getting more and more similar. With more and more independent coffee shops here in the UK with a focus on great customer care, consistency and attention to detail, we appear to be, whether we know it or not, following in the footsteps of New Zealand.

I think part this is driven also by our high streets becoming experience-driven too, with roasting an amazing experience to watch and be part of it could be an exciting time for cafe owners to incorporate this into their business and help educate customers on the origins and processes involved in the coffee getting into their cups. I digress (!) but that’s my goal, to grow Boost and incorporate a vibrant cafe with roasting education.

Favourite Brew Method?

I’m a V60 kind of girl but I love brewing espresso and steaming milk so I usually treat myself to a mid-morning flat white just so I can steam and pour!

Do you have any favourite coffee roasters in the UK?

I absolutely love the ethos and branding behind Girls who Grind, plus the coffee is super tasty too. Square Mile Coffee also can’t be beaten, I had an amazing Peruvian Guayacan a year ago which I still remember now, plus who doesn’t like bingeing on James Hoffman’s YouTube videos? 

What does the future have in store for Boost?

It’s busy at Boost HQ at the moment, we are about to start work with two local cafes, one is at a cycle trail centre and the other is in the heart of a popular walking area so we are stoked to be working to roast coffee that will be drunk by lots of outdoor lovers! 

We are developing We are developing ‘Batch No.3’ right now too” to 'we are currently roasting Batch No. 5, all coffee from female producers. Rather than having to decide on just one bag our customers can buy the 3x150g bags and go on a coffee taste journey with us! Of course, we also sell each coffee in single 250g bags but we find that our coffee drinkers select the batch and then come back to buy a bag of their favourite! It’s proved really popular and the best part is hearing the feedback as people experience all the different notes and textures in the coffees!

23•02•22

The Bom Jesus from Boost coffee roasters originates from the Alta Mogiana Region of Brazil.

Fazenda Bom Jesus coffee farm is the work of the couple Gabriel and Flavia Lancha Oliveira. With a long heritage in coffee culture both are grandchildren of coffee producers.

They themselves passed their love and care on to their sons, Lucas and Gabriel junior who are also dedicated full-time to the farm. In 1984 they formed The Labareda Group, diversifying into various rural activities although coffee is still the most foremost in family hearts and indeed remains their main crop.

Fazenda Bom Jesus is located in Cristais Paulistas in the Alta Mogiana Region. Gabriel and Flavia are more than just a farming couple.

Their objective is to sustainably develop their region from a social and economic point of view.

Fazenda Bom Jesus was a founder of the Alta Mogiana Specialty Coffee Association – AMSC. It promotes a greater conscience with
regard to speciality coffee in the region as well as developing better farm practices. Performance bonus payments are also made alongside employees fixed wages.

Flavia verifies that all employees on the farm must be literate and receive specialised training to do their job. As for the workforce, all their children must be enrolled at the local school.

Here’s what to expect from this cracking Brazilian natural from Boost coffee roasters.

Team Batch brew method of choice - Cafetiere.

If you loved this coffee and want it to have it in your life again order directly from Fair Beans Coffee Roasters now.

23•03•21

The Dawn Raid from Boost Coffee originates from the Sidama region of Ethiopia. 

The exportation of coffee around the world is forever evolving. For many years middlemen and large corporations have driven down the price of coffee which resulted in the farmers getting paid the bare minimum for their green coffee.

In recent years, Ethiopia has introduced an initiative where small farmers can market their coffee directly and cut out the array of middlemen taking a cut. This process is still extremely challenging and does require coffee farmers to have access to capital.

In this case, the speciality coffee importer Falcon Coffee finance the coffee order so the farmers are not forced to sell the coffee to local markets. 

Buriso Amaje is the leader of the group of Sidama farmers and is a leader in the community. He coordinated the milling and exportation of the coffee alongside the Falcon team in Addis.

Buriso has 12 hectares of coffee in the Dambi village in the Bensa district of Sidama. Here, natural coffee is tradition, with a limited supply of water needed to pulp and process the coffee the cherries are picked and dried skin intact.

Natural coffee can sometimes be inconsistent and hard to produce. The rotting cherry invites unwanted bacteria and pests which damage the coffee. Farmers like Buriso, however, have years of experience farming with skills that were passed down through generations which enable him to produce high-quality consistent naturals.

I’m always pretty excited to try any Ethiopian coffee that I come across. You never quite know how they’re going to taste and they can have some truly unique flavour profiles. 

The Dawn Raid doesn’t explode out of the bag like some of its compatriots but does hint that there may be some fruity notes to come. 

The coffee starts with a light mouthfeel that has a hint of something juicy at the end of the sip. It has a fairly mild acidity and is balanced throughout. 

The coffee builds and starts to quench the back of your palate with notes of pineapple and papaya. The sweetness is consistent throughout and ends on a milk chocolate aftertaste. 

A great weekend coffee and one that will evolve as you let it rest. I really enjoyed this one brewed as a V60, the big fruity flavours were able to fully express themselves.