St Austell Brewery has long been a celebrated name across Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset. Known for its award-winning beers, fresh and locally sourced pub food, and warm hospitality, the brewery has been a pillar of the South West community for over 150 years. While they’ve always served coffee in their pubs, inns, and hotels, they recently saw an opportunity to expand into a different part of the market – customers seeking out a true café experience rather than a traditional pub environment.

To take this step, St Austell partnered with Cornish Coffee to create Brewer & Bean, a bespoke Fairtrade coffee blend designed to offer a premium, ethically sourced alternative to high-street coffee chains.

“We felt that developing and marketing our own brand of coffee would be the way to do this,”
says Nick Hemming, Catering Development Manager at St Austell Brewery.

“If we had our own coffee, we could lead with that and offer an alluring alternative to high-street coffee shops: top-quality coffee served by trained baristas inside comfortable surroundings where you can also order bar meals and alcoholic drinks if you choose.”

Nick goes on to explain the business opportunity:

“Since St Austell Brewery pubs are open all day, a new and exclusive coffee brand could attract additional customers mid-morning and mid-afternoon, which are traditionally quieter trading periods.”

Why Cornish Coffee? 

To bring this vision to life, St Austell Brewery turned to us at Cornish Coffee – not only for our experience in roasting and supplying exceptional wholesale coffee but also for our hands-on support and training services. From the heart of our Cornish roastery, we provide detailed barista training and ongoing guidance to help our partners deliver the best possible customer experience.

What also appealed to St Austell was our environmental ethos. Through our commitment to Fairtrade, funds from Brewer & Bean coffee sales contribute directly to protecting vast areas of rainforest in South America – the very regions where the coffee is grown. This initiative aligned strongly with the brewery’s values and their desire to create a coffee brand that not only tasted great but also stood for something meaningful.

“With Brewer & Bean, we want to inspire our own customers in the way Cornish Coffee inspires theirs,”

“We are sharing with our customers what they are doing to help save the rainforests with each coffee purchase they make.”

Whether you’re looking to create your own bespoke blend, explore commercial coffee machines, or partner with a supplier who shares your values, Cornish Coffee is here to help.