Most bank holiday guides encourage people to head to a beach, theme park or site of historical interest, and while all these are all fine suggestions, they're not necessarily how a coffee aficionado really wants to spend their long weekend.
Fortunately, the UK is home to a large number of roasteries that allow visitors to go behind the scenes of their operations with tours, cupping sessions, workshops and more. Naturally the top-notch on-site cafes are well worth a visit too!
If this sounds like your cup of tea coffee, read on for some of our top roasteries to visit this August 2022 bank holiday weekend.
92 Degrees
If you take a trip to Merseyside this bank holiday, a visit to 92 Degrees should be high on your to-do list.
The incredible smell of straight-from-the-drum coffee coming from 92 Degrees' roastery/coffee shop draws in coffee lovers, intrigued tourists and members of the local community every day. Make a bee line for the on-site brew bar to sink the popular house blend or sample the latest single origin releases at one of the regular cupping sessions.
Although 92 now has five branches across the UK, its story began in Liverpool so that's the venue we think you should prioritise visiting.
92 Degrees, 11 Summers Rd, Liverpool. L3 4BL.
Roost Coffee and Roastery
This North Yorkshire-based, family run business sits within a Grade II-listed carriage house alongside several other artisanal food and drink producers in Malton, aka the food capital of the north, overlooking some truly breathtaking hills and valleys. And trust us, it's every bit as good as it sounds.
Offering a huge selection of single-origin beans and freshly roasted coffees, which can be sampled as espresso or pourover on one of its super comfortable leather sofas while the roaster gets to work in the background, Roost is the definition of 'a feast for the senses'.
Roost Coffee and Roastery, Unit 6, Talbot Yard, Yorkersgate, Malton, North Yorkshire. YO17 7FT.
UE Coffee Roasters
For an out-of-the-ordinary roastery experience, make tracks to UE on the Cotswolds/Oxfordshire border where you can watch the team bronze beans on a traditional wood-fired roaster, learn more about the process by booking a class at the in-house training school or take part in one of their regular events.
You can also just stop by for a browse and brew at the UE coffee lab, of course. Coinciding your trip for when one of their pizza nights or latte-art throwdowns is on is also highly recommended!
UE Coffee Roasters, 11a - 11b Windrush Industrial Park, Linkwood Road, Witney, Oxfordshire. OX29 7HA.
Williams & Johnson
Of course, there's excellent coffee to be had over the border too and our Scottish friends will be pleased to hear that Edinburgh's Williams & Johnson is well worth a visit.
An artisanal roastery-cafe hybrid, W&J's offers a warm welcome to customers interested in watching the proprietors roasting and preparing carefully chosen beans to produce delicious, single-origin coffees which can either be enjoyed in the stunning setting of the roastery itself or taken away for a walk by the Water of Leith river.
Williams & Johnson, 1 Customs Wharf, Edinburgh. EH6 6AL.
Enjoy your bank holiday!
Whatever you decide to do this bank holiday weekend, we hope you have a great time. If you can't make it as far as a roastery, you can contact your local Cafe2U mobile barista to have some top-quality coffee delivered to your home right here instead.