I first met  Liverpool’s Neighbourhood Coffee at Cup North in 2015, not long after Ed and Chris had set up the business, roasting on a 15 kg Giesen in a railway arch just north of the city centre. Although new to roasting at that point, they already had plenty of coffee experience, having previously worked for green-bean importers and African coffee specialists, Schluter (now part of Olam).

Since then, I’ve enjoyed Neighbourhood’s coffee, with its striking pop-song themed names (Grind Control to Major Tom and It’s a Grind of Magic spring to mind), both in coffee shops around the UK and at home. Over the years, the business has expanded, resulting in a move in early 2020 to a new location a little further north along the Mersey shoreline. Clearly, when I made a long-overdue return to Liverpool in June, a visit to Neighbourhood’s “new” home was top of my list!

You can see what I found after the gallery.

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A lot has changed since I visited Neighbourhood Coffee in its old home under the railway arch in December 2015, with the business growing year-on-year, roasting more coffee than ever along the way. This growth prompted the move to Sandhills, Neighbourhood having outgrown the railway arch, leading it to relocate to a much larger unit on the Sandon Industrial Estate.

This has given the team, which was just five (including Ed and Chris) when I first visited in 2015, plenty of room to grow, although chatting to Chris, he thinks that Neighbourhood is on course to outgrow even the current premises in the next few years. Until then, the staff (currently standing at 14) have their own dedicated office, a neat building-within-a-building, while the rest of the space is given over to the multifaceted operation of a modern roastery, including green bean storage, roasting, packaging, storage, dispatch and training! Watching all the different parts operating together brings home just how complex things are for a roasting business such as Neighbourhood.

Despite this growth, the basics remain the same, Ed and Chris still at the helm, producing some great coffee with a side helping of humour (the Neighbourhood Instagram feed is a thing of beauty). Even the old Giesen roaster was still there, although by the time you read this, it will have been joined by a much larger 60 kg Giesen, which was being installed the week after my visit, further testament to Neighbourhood’s growth.

There have been plenty of other changes, including a revamped website for online orders, although you can still buy in-person from various coffee shops around the UK. Alternatively, if you want to say hi to the team, you can pop along to the roastery during opening hours, where you’ll find a retail counter just inside the doors. There’s a selection of brewing equipment along with the full range of coffee, which has grown from typically five to around 15 single-origins, plus three blends and a decaf.

Finally, Neighbourhood has a new product out. Back in 2016, Neighbourhood launched a range of speciality coffee in capsules, one of a number of roasters to venture into the market that year. At the time, I was very impressed with the coffee, but like many other roasters, Neighbourhood struggled with consistency/reliability of the capsules themselves, deciding to withdraw the product. Until now, that is! Neighbourhood is back, with its Espresso Yourself blend available in 100% recyclable aluminium Nespresso compatible pods. Not having a pod machine at home, I’ve yet to try them, but if they’re anything like the original offering, you’re in for a treat!

There’s a full write-up of Neighbourhood Coffee, including a complete gallery, in its main entry. You can also see what I made of it in my original write-up, from my visit in December 2015.

Liked this Coffee Spot? Then check out the rest of Liverpool’s speciality coffee scene with the Coffee Spot Guide to Liverpool.

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