Cafe Society

The growth is set to continue with the rise of the third-wave artisan coffee shop...

The Trend

It is traditional to think of the British as a nation of tea-drinkers, with the current rise on our high streets of the coffee shop being a more recent American import.

The reality is that the seemingly unstoppable growth of coffee shops throughout the land is a phenomenon that has been seen before in Britain.

Oxford is credited as being the site of the first coffee shops to be opened in England and Queen’s Lane coffee shop in Oxford, which is believed to have opened in 1654, in still in existence to this day. Thereafter the trend for coffee shops quickly spread to London and the rest of the country and estimates suggest that by 1675 over 3,000 coffee houses had been established. As the popularity of tea grew rapidly during the 18th century the number of coffee shops went into sharp decline and they had virtually disappeared by the end of the century.

But in the late 1990’s the coffee shop started to make a dramatic comeback driven in no small part by the establishment of the 3 major chains who have come to dominate the market in recent years. Whitbread acquired the 41-strong Costa chain in 1995, Caffè Nero was launched in 1997 and Starbucks entered the UK market in 1998 when it acquired and rebranded the 56-outlet Seattle Coffee Company.

As in the 17th century, the demand for coffee shops in the UK is vast and has proven sufficient to sustain huge growth in not just the major national chains, but also literally thousands of independently owned coffee shops.

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The most recent phase of this growth has been the rise of the third-wave of Artisan coffee shops with their holistic focus on everything involved in delivering the perfect cup of coffee, from the quality of the beans themselves, through the roasting process to the way the coffee is made and served by the barista.

So if you want to take advantage of history’s latest love affair with the coffee shop and create the Artisan look for your café, bar or restaurant, how best to do it? We’ve put together a range of ideas to inspire you over on your free online copy of Trend Set Magazine.

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