Coffee Roaster Introduction: Colonna Coffee
Best Coffee's roastery guide is a compilation of the very best, tried & tested coffee roasters from around the world. We’ve hand-selected a small collection of amazing coffees for you to sample. Not all coffees are created equal, and not all coffees make it into our shop. So we’re starting a series of articles shining a light on our chosen roasteries to explain why we picked them for your drinking delight.
Colonna Coffee
Where: Bristol
Who: Colonna was founded by Lesley and Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood.
Since when: 2009
Why: We love Colonna Coffee because of their unwavering curiosity about coffee. Founder Maxwell sets out to solve mysteries and improve people’s experience of coffee via science, investigation and continual innovation.
What’s the story: After visiting Melbourne in 2008 and discovering third wave coffee. Captivated by the provenance-driven approach they set about learning everything to know about this magical drink. The pair opened their café Colonna and Smalls the following year before launching a roastery in 2015. Along the way the café, and Maxwell himself have collected several awards and championship wins.
Sustainability credentials:
Colonna enjoy long-standing buying relationships with estates and specialty exporters & make sure to pay farmers above the Fairtrade price. They are vocal about the difficulties and challenges associated with transparency across coffee-growing countries.
They collaborate with the Gorongosa Project in Mozambique which aims to reduce threats to wildlife & endangered species, promote conservation an increased biodiversity.
Colonna currently are working towards all packaging being either recyclable or compostable by 2022 as well as a comprehensive sustainability programme, which should also be rolled out in 2022.
Our favourite coffees:
Africa compostable coffee pods - An intense espresso beverage — bright and complex with a full-bodied intensity. Colonna has been working hard to achieve perfect and consistent extraction with their compostable capsules. Tasting notes of blackcurrant, dark chocolate and marzipan.
Americas compostable coffee pods - From the Cajamarca region of Peru, this Regional Select washed lot of Caturra, Bourbon and Typica varieties showcases a juicy, sticky sweetness in the cup. A wonderful example of the now-blooming specialty coffee community within Peru, with tasting notes of red apple, toffee and malt.