We love coffee both at home and in the wild and are always eager to support local businesses. Scotland isn’t exactly known for its coffee (though we suspect this is changing, particularly in more populous cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh), so we’ve started seeking out Scotland coffee roasters to enjoy a more locally sourced supply of our brew. Here’s a list of coffee roasters in Scotland with some notes on our experiences with the roasters we’ve tried already. We’ll be trying new coffees monthly and will update this list as we go. If we’ve missed any roasters, please let me know in the comments.
Jump to Scotland Coffee Roasters by Region:
- Glasgow
- Edinburgh / East Lothian
- Kinross
- Perthshire
- Dundee & Angus
- Inverness & Highlands
- Fife
- Argyll & Bute
- Skye
How we try the coffee
Short disclaimer: We’re not coffee tasting experts! We tend to prefer lighter roasts and make our coffee using the pour-over technique, served black. This might bias our tasting preferences! Other factors we might throw into the mix of our opinions*:
- Bean sourcing and ethical practices – which most roasters mention these days!
- Roasting style – as mentioned, we love light roast but not all coffee roasters specify whether a roast is light, medium, or dark – super annoying!
- Flavour profiles / tasting notes – like I said, we’re not tasting experts, but we’re learning through doing this! (Thanks to Donovan at Light Bulb Coffee for introducing us to “cupping”.)
- Customer experience – ease of purchase, personalisation,
- Pricing and value – coffee is expensive! It better damn well be delicious!
- Packaging – aesthetics, sustainability, usability
- Brand story – identity and differentiation from other roasters
Our coffee gear:
- Stagg EKG Pro Electric Kettle
- Fellow Ode Brew Grinder Gen 2
- Stagg Pour-Over Set
- Hario V60 (the best pour over on a budget)
- Moccamaster coffee maker
* opinions are made to be changed! Coffee varies widely, so if we didn’t like one particular style of bean from one roaster, that’s not to say we wouldn’t enjoy another. We are also still learning about nerdy coffee things like flavour notes and “cupping”. Please share your experiences so we may broaden our horizons and make this post an ever richer source of Scotland coffee info!
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald
Scotland coffee roasters organized by region
Glasgow
Dear Green Coffee
My early searches for Scotland coffee roasters consistently brought up mentions of Dear Green Coffee. This roaster gets a lot of press for its ethos and sustainability practices. It was also the Microcategory winner in Roast Magazine’s 2025 Roaster of the Year Awards. So they seemed a natural starting point for my Scotland coffee journey.
I ordered three bags: a Kenyan, Columbian, and their “Ballroom Blend”. They came with a handwritten “Thank you Monica” note which was nice! I happened to have my coffee roaster friend Donovan here for a tasting which helped me come to terms with the fact that I just didn’t like their coffee. We even did a “coffee cupping” of their Columbian (alongside Donovan’s espresso roast and Papercup’s Kenyan) – my first coffee cupping experience which was so useful for tasting flavour notes. The Columbian was insipid by comparison. We are enjoying the Ballroom Blend as prepared by our Moccamaster, but sadly I don’t think I’ll be buying from Dear Green again. If I’m missing something here, please comment! (Update: We tried the Columbian again a week later and it was decidedly better, wherein I learned about why you need to let coffee rest after roasting – it’s all about built up carbon dioxide that needs to be released, hence why coffee bags often have a one-way valve!).
Papercup Coffee Company
Papercup is all about producing great coffee AND great food which I love. They operate a roastery and two cafes in Glasgow (their food looks delicious so I must visit next time I’m in Glasgow). They sell a small selection of roasted coffee on their website. I liked that they offered coffee in biodegradable bags for a small 50p discount. I also liked that they’re coffee descriptions very clearly stated the roast level and best method of brewing (so many roasters don’t do this – including Dear Green above – why??). We went for their light to medium roast “Pump up the Jams” Kenyan roast. It was knockout.
Thomson’s Coffee Roasters
Review TBD
Good Coffee Cartel
Review TBD
Gordon St. Coffee
Review TBD
1841
Review TBD
Faodail Roastery
Review TBD
BAM Coffee & Vintage
Review TBD
Edinburgh / East Lothian
Artisan Roast
Review TBD
Luckie Beans
Review TBD
Machina Coffee
Review TBD
Fortitude Coffee
Well, on first look, the branding is appealing – but what about the business and their coffee? Fortitude’s website doesn’t have much information about the business itself, but I won’t hold it against them. They have ample tasting and sourcing notes within their small but well curated selection of beans. I also like that they have three coffee subscription options: classic, curated, and decaf. We’re currently trialling their three month curated subscription, which “showcases delicate, sweet and interesting coffees. Our range will evolve with the coffee growing seasons around the world.” They started with this Kenyan, which isn’t available in their online shop, so I assume is only shipped to subscription holders. A nice touch of exclusivity. The coffee itself has been delicious, made as a pour-over with our Stagg Pour-Over Set. A light and delicate brew just as we like it. I’m looking forward to the next shipment!
Obadiah Coffee
Review TBD
Cairngorm Coffee
Review TBD
Cult Espresso
Review TBD
Steampunk Coffee Roasters
Review TBD
William & Johnson
Review TBD
Kinross
Unorthodox Roasters
Review TBD
Perthshire
Glen Lyon Coffee
Review TBD
Dundee & Angus
Braithwaites Coffee
Review TBD
Sacred Grounds Coffee Company – Arbroath
Review TBD
Inverness & Highlands
Inverness Coffee Roasting
I see this coffee everywhere in the Highlands – it seems to be the main thing going. Their coffees are excellent value (£7/250g when most roasters are selling for £10+). Of course, you get what you pay for. I haven’t yet bought a bag of beans as the ones in the shops are always be dark roast! That said, in the interest of having an open mind, I’ll source a bag soon in their online shop and give it my review ASAP.
Speyside Coffee Roasting Co.
Review TBD
Fife
Modern Standard Coffee
Review TBD
Argyll & Bute
Argyll Coffee Roasters
Review TBD
Hinba Coffee Roasters
Review TBD
Campbell Coffee
This was our local coffee shop when we lived in Inveraray for a short while. I’m writing this review many months after visiting and trying their coffee, so bear with. It seemed a treasure to have a coffee roaster in the otherwise devoid landscape of Inveraray (though their coffee shop rarely opened!). Good branding, great packaging, and a well-stocked shop of artisan coffee-making gadgets. The staff at the cafe were sometimes nice, and other times rude and uninformed. We remember their coffee tasting over-roasted, though that may have been down to the beans we chose. I did enjoy their Camomile tea (I bought a bag which I’m still working through). All in all, not the most memorable part of our Inveraray experience.
Isle of Skye
Birch Coffee Roasters – Based in Portree
Review TBD
Have we missed out on any Scotland roasters? Have you had a different experiences of the roasters we’ve reviewed? Please leave a comment below!
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