Edinburgh café group to bring “immersive coffee experience” to Scottish capital

An Edinburgh-based café group is to bring an “immersive coffee experience” to the Scottish capital as it reopens city centre favourite.

Cairngorm Coffee has hatched the plan to future proof its Frederick Street branch, which opened in 2014. With lockdowns, low footfall, and a staffing crisis caused by the “pingdemic”, the venue has struggled, but the group thrived with online orders and expansion of its wholesale business.

Robi Lambie, founder, Cairngorm Coffee, said: “It’s not enough just to open a run of the mill coffee shop in the current climate.”

“We will stop at nothing till we’ve created the most well-rounded, immersive coffee experience possible. Visiting our shop will be an event, during which people slow down and truly appreciate the very best coffee, rather than just guzzle it on their way to work.

“We’ve been inspired by some of the world’s top coffee venues that we’ve visited on our travels, like Coffee Collective in Copenhagen, Sub-Zero in St. Kilda’s, Aunty Peg’s in Melbourne, and George Howell Coffee in Boston. We want to bring the essence of what we love about them to Edinburgh, but put our own spin on it.”

As part of this strategy, the company has recruited Adrian Manusco, one of the coffee world’s most respected experts as Head of Coffee. The Australian who has more than 15-year’s experience in the industry is a Q grader (arabica), AST trainer and World Brewers Cup Judge.

Adrian Manusco, commented: “I get that this all sounds incredibly pretentious, but we ask people to come with an open mind. We promise you the most welcoming, least scary experience possible - and you’ll leave appreciating coffee more than you ever thought was possible.”

The venue’s repositioning as an experiential brand home is the next step of a five-year plan devised by co-owners Robi Lambie and Harris Grant for Cairngorm Coffee to become one of the world’s leading coffee roasteries.

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