The Coffee Factory artisan coffee roasters Devon
My love affair with coffee started 20 years ago when I lived and worked in Australia. I was lucky enough to bag myself an Australian boyfriend who happened to be half Italian and his morning routine required a cup of good strong Lavazza coffee. Now I’m not sure if initially I genuinely liked strong black coffee, but not wanting to appear unsophisticated I joined him. Soon I became converted (or maybe addicted!) to the pleasure of drinking proper coffee – up until then my coffee experience was limited to a milky instant Nescafe!
When I came back to Blightly I introduced my parents to “proper coffee” and my mum was equally converted. Now it’s part of their mid morning routine and my guilty pleasure is seeking out a decent cup wherever I can. So I am delighted to have discovered The Coffee Factory, artisan coffee roasters in East Devon on my doorstep.
Flat White
It’s common here now, but I remember buying a flat white 20 years ago in sleepy parts of Queensland. As the owners of the Coffee Factory in Shute (Danny and Justine) will concur, Australia, until recently was way ahead of the UK in terms of coffee offerings. So when they returned from Aus 10 years ago, they spotted a gap in the market for a decent coffee shop.
They opened the successful Sublyme Café (which they have since sold). Realising that the actual coffee was part of the problem here, they also started importing, roasting and supplying their own coffee for wholesale and mail order, now under the brand of The Coffee Factory.
Danny is a professional Barisita and coffee guru
Artisan Coffee Roasters
It really is a factory café. If you are after quiet corners, free papers and soft sofas this is not the place for you. The coffee business is the core to this place. You can see Dorothy the coffee roaster in action (Danny is clearly extremely proud of this restored 1950’s roaster ) and you will hear in the background the noise of packaging, grinding and such like.
“Seating is benches, the floor is concrete – but the coffee is great!”
If you like good coffee at home, you can just go along and buy beans or have them freshly ground for you. Danny also explained how they work with local companies training and supplying coffee.
I’ve been lucky enough to travel and see the care and attention coffee growers and workers give to the beans they produce. They look a bit like cherries and the coffee bean we know is essentially the stone. Starting with responsible sourcing, Danny and Justine believe that the coffee should receive this level of care all the way to your cup – this is clearly something they are passionate about.
“It’s great to see a business that is growing and successful in our local area”.
If you are a walker then you can park up and take a nice walk round the lanes or footpaths of Whitford or Shute, or do as the lovely ladies I photographed were doing and making it a stop on their bike ride (OWLS – older women in lycra!).
Opening Times: 9.30am – 3.30pm Monday – Friday
The Coffee Factory is in Shute at what is known locally as Seaton Junction – just past where the old train station and pub used to be.
From the A35 turn off at Taunton Cross towards Shute (opposite the garage and Little Chef, 3 miles from Axminster, 6 miles from Honiton) and follow the road for about 1.5 miles, take the turning for Whitford and then it’s on your right. If coming from the Seaton direction either head via Colyton or Whitford. Postcode EX13 7PW. For parking turn in the entrance for Lyme Bay Winery.
If you like this place for coffee and cakes why not check out my other favourite cake stops on my blog.
Wow didn’t know they were there will defo checjk this out, I love my coffee, thanks Clare for this one!!
My other half would love this place. He’s a big coffee drinker. I’ll let him know about it thanks 🙂
I love coffee but work full time, so it’s a shame it’s not open on weekends! Maybe once they’ve expanded they can squeeze in some weekend hours! Fingers crossed!