Brighton has become an epicentre for coffee lovers and the city is awash with places for them to indulge their tastes.

Among the most popular is a little cafe in St James’s Street which is now among the best rated in the city.

Owner Fabricio Torres puts the success of Wheat and Beans down to passion for coffee – both his own and his customers’.

Argentine-born Fabricio started the coffee shop four years ago.

The family-run cafe specialises in baked goods and hot foods inspired by Mediterranean and Latin American flavours.

Fabricio, 37, arrived in the UK as a 22-year-old looking to build his career in a foreign country.

Before he moved here he had worked in a hotel in Spain and then moved to London where he worked as salesman for an energy company.

Not only did he have to work hard, he also had to build up his English and understand British culture.

His dream was to open a coffee shop because he had always had a passion for and interest in coffee and food.

He said: “I work with my mother to run Wheat and Beans.

“We picked Brighton because we wanted to start a business in a vibrant city.

“I always liked coffee and food, and I really want to have my own business.

“Coffee is a very social activity, and Brighton has a very cool vibe, it’s diverse and people are more willing to try something different.”

So Fabricio and his family took the plunge and opened the cafe.

He said starting out was difficult because he was “just a freshman” competing against other outlets.

But his perseverance has paid off as the cafe has now earned a top Trip Advisor rating, with an overall five stars from almost 230 reviewers.

In 2014, people in Brighton and Hove were named the biggest coffee spenders in the UK, splashing out £177 per year each on average – £25 more than Londoners.

With the city’s streets chock full of cafes, Fabricio said the competition was non-stop.

He said: “Coffee is very popular in Brighton. England went from a nation of tea drinkers to coffee drinkers. Today’s customers are so different compared to 15 years ago.

“Nowadays people are more savvy and they know the difference between a cappuccino and a latte.

“This means there’s more pressure on us to make sure we deliver high quality coffee.

“There’s a lot of competition here so we always have to come up with something new to stand out.

“I always have a high demand for my coffees. We are busy every day, we have between 70 to 100 customers a day.

“All our food is home-made, we try to do different things so we can stand out.

“Brighton residents like to try something new and different.

“We have a lot of people coming from Europe and a lot of international students.

“Diversity is one of the key features of this city.”

As coffee consumers have become more savvy a lot of them have bought coffee machines but not all of them know how to use it.

Fabricio has latched on to this trend and has offered barista classes for keen coffee drinkers.

He said: “We have been running this for two months and we have picked up a lot of students. We run one-on-one classes on Sundays. We hold classes individually because everyone has different tastes.

“They also learn coffee lingo. They have very good coffee machines at home but they want to learn how to do it properly.”

Fabricio said competing against other coffee shops has kept him moving to stand out against his rivals. He said: “We are looking to expand our business, especially on the catering side. We always try to come up with something different to keep customers interested.

“I enjoy running my business, but unfortunately I’ve been so busy I haven’t spent much time exploring Brighton yet. When I want to take a break I just ride my motorcycle.”

He now considers Brighton to be his homeHe said: “I love Brighton, it’s a very lovely city.

“When you make the decision to move so for from your birth country you have to understand you can’t visit there all the time.

“My life is here in Brighton now.”

l Which is your favourite coffee shop in Brighton and Hove? Tell us at news@theargus.co.uk.