Tropical Rey - Colombia

Zach Chipp registered the company in 2016 as a roasting consultancy, then turned it into a full roasting business after moving back to his hometown of Leeds in 2019. His path to roasting was unusually varied: starting as a bartender at Jamie's Italian at 18, managing accounts for Musetti across venues like the Savoy, Claridges, and the Ritz, then training as a commercial roaster at York Coffee Emporium and consulting internationally through Coffee Nexus in Edinburgh, working in Bahrain, Dubai, Jamaica, and Italy. He started roasting late in 2018 in a corner of his father's warehouse on Dewsbury Road with a tiny roaster and half a bag of coffee. The operation now runs from a small industrial space in Holbeck with a range of 10 to 15 blends and fully compostable pods, supplying Leeds venues including Kapow Coffee, Coffee Synthesis, and Out Of The Woods.