A COMPANY which launched out of an industrial unit in Brighton and Hove ten years ago now has eight retail outlets across the city and is about to venture into Worthing. Business reporter PETER LINDSEY turns the spotlight on this amazing local success story.

SMALL Batch Coffee Roasters was run at the start by then barista Alan Tomlins who had a dream to create an ethical coffee company, sourcing and selling the best coffee.

Mr Tomlins, co-founder and head of coffee, said: "We’re called Small Batch because we roast our coffee daily in small batches to ensure the quality and freshness of every cup.

"And this ideal still drives every part of our business, from buying the best green coffee beans directly from preferred small farmers in far out places like Ethiopia and Guatemala, all the way to brewing the final cup for our customers in Brighton and Hove."

He is as busy as ever and working hard to build real relationships with small independent farmers in Africa and Latin America.

Mr Tomlins thinks he has found the perfect co-operative to work with in Ethiopia and Small Batch are really excited to release new coffees this month from Fero Farmers Union.

Fero is a primary co-operative of around 3000 smallholder farmers with its own washing station near to the town of Yirgalem, in the Sidamo region of southern Ethiopia.

The co-op is a member of the broader Sidama Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union - one of six regional unions allowed to export coffees outside of the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange.

This distinction means that the coffees are fully traceable and the farmers receive a share of the co-ops profits as well as being paid daily when they deliver coffee.

Mr Tomlins said: "We believe this co-operative model offers producers the best security and price for their coffee and affords us the most traceability and sustainability when buying in Ethiopia.

"We also think our customers will enjoy the taste and ethics of this Ethiopian coffee.”

Fero Farmers Union coffee is on sale from today.

Food is the next best thing about Small Batch and head chef Ben Goldsmith, who was born and bred in Brighton, has a mission to only use the best local seasonal produce and make as much as possible in-house at the Seven Dials in-house kitchen.

A former Sussex Young Chef of the Year, Ben likes to ensure customers can have freshly squeezed juice from Valencia oranges, compotes the fruits for the daily granola himself and is passionate about fresh vibrant flavours.

He is also creating a diffusion menu for Small Batch Worthing including grab and go artisan salads, frittatas and filter coffee cakes, fresh sourdough doughnuts and gluten free organic chocolate cake.

The Small Batch company culture is also small and its office just behind Brighton Station is a hang out for all staff obsessed with great coffee, food and customer service.

Coffee is filtered and drank all day, films of Alan Tomlins visiting small farms globally are watched and the fridges are raided for Friday night fun.

Nigel Lambe CEO said: "Our ethos is product and people. We have 90 staff now on the payroll and Worthing will take us to 100, so it is important we all know each other’s names and grow a real Sussex coffee community."

Small Batch is also serious about training baristas and businesses and run SCAE - Speciality Coffee Association of Europe - accredited courses at its lab in Seven Dials.

Run by Laura Lumsden, she shows how Small Batch do ‘cupping’ tastings to assess the best quality beans when buying from the farmers, explains all the different roasts, the hundreds of coffee tasting notes on a tasting wheel and of course how to brew the best coffee.

Small Batch Coffee Roasters also supplies 200 business customers nationwide with freshly roasted coffee daily, including 50 Brighton wholesalers plus the premium London restaurant brands Princi, Hawksmoor and Camino.

The team today sources and roasts around 100 tonnes of beans a year from the Goldstone Villas headquarters in Hove and is opening a new roastery in Portslade in 2017 which will also house the Brighton Gin distillery.

Small Batch is opening its new coffee shop at 14-16 Portland Road, Worthing, at the beginning of October.

Mr Lambe is looking to slowly expand the business throughout Sussex with approximately two new shops opening per year..There’s a brand new site opening in Worthing next month and they are also selling from a cart at the Palace Pier from next weekend.

He said: "We’re actively looking for new sites in great Sussex town locations so it’s a very exciting time for the business, but we’re taking our time and will open only two or maybe three new shops a year, ensuring we grow in small stages too.’"

Customers can celebrate Small Batch Coffee Roasters being ten years old and win tickets to their secret celebration party in November by simply emailing “bigbash@smallbatchcoffee.co.uk” with their email address, name and age.

The Fun Time Yes band (fronted by Pete, Small Batch delivery driver also known as ‘the transporter’) will be playing, espresso martinis, Dark Star beers and Brighton Gin will be served, a fab foodie spread will be created by Ben and there will be dancing until dawn.

'GREAT DESTINATION'

SMALL Batch Coffee Roasters was founded by Brad Jacobsen – who sold up and moved back to Australia last year – and Alan Tomlins, the current head of coffee.

The company is chaired by Luke Johnson, owner of Brighton Pier Group.

CEO Nigel Lambe said he is delighted to be launching in Portland Road, Worthing.

He said: “It’s a great new Sussex destination for us and we have wanted to branch outside of Brighton for a while.

“Worthing represents a significant investment for us, which will create more than 10 jobs for local people and also allows us to bring our freshly roasted coffees and freshly made foods to a brand new seaside location.”

The store will have a brand new look and feel with white walls, a syphon filter brew bar, a world map mural showing the core coffee continents and a great vibrant colour scheme contrasted with stark white walls and an industrial interior.

There is still the moody intensity of the Small Batch experience in the design, but here the interior takes on a different flavour, a brighter colour scheme, laboratory-inspired bell jar light fittings dangle over the banquettes and bold illustrations line the white walls.

There will also be a range of bespoke, freshly made food available all day, from warm, filled sourdough breads, home-made cakes, sweet and savoury pastries, locally sourced ices, yoghurts and freshly squeezed juices.

Ben Goldsmith, Small Batch head of food, is introducing some unique dishes to the Worthing menu such as gluten-free basil and walnut pesto, seasonal salad pots, raw slaw, lemon meringue pie, milk shakes and gelatos all served in a relaxed, contemporary environment, as well as classic favourites including freshly baked croissants, ciabattas, cakes and rolls.

Opening at 7am for breakfast and trading through to early evening at 7pm, Small Batch Worthing will offer guests an array of artisan coffees, from its signature blend of freshly roasted blends like goldstone espresso, through to new single origins coffees sourced from Guatemala, El Salvador and Ethiopia.