Lufkin Coffee Roasters established themselves in King’s Road Yard, Pontcanna in 2015 and have since become the top place to stop and enjoy a speciality coffee in the area. The Cardiff-based company now plan to open two new sites in Canton and Grangetown this spring. Husband and wife team, Dan and Frances Lukins, are hoping that their new ventures will allow the people of Cardiff further opportunity to stop, relax and enjoy the meditative experience of their special approach to coffee.
Opening in the Old Rangers Hut in Thompson’s Park, they will be renovating the building and installing a cosy but stylish interior with full length windows to overlook the park. The new coffee bar will be diner-esque, paying homage to Dan’s American roots, and in keeping with their focus on coffee and pie.
The Clare Road site will host their 10kg coffee roaster, which churns out freshly roasted coffee each week before it is packaged into 250g bags. Roaster Dan Lukins enjoys the process of roasting coffee – “My job is to ensure all of the coffee bean’s intrinsic flavour is brought out. Coffee is more than what we think – its tropical agriculture, boasting more flavour notes than wine”. The high-grade coffee is served in ceramic mugs which are made by a local ceramicist, living and working in Gower. The proposed new premise will also be home to a coffee bar, ceramics store and hot-desking workspace on the site of the old NatWest Bank.
The pair plan to cut coffee cup waste by launching a limited-edition Lufkin Coffee Roasters reusable camp cup. For this, Lufkin Coffee Roasters are partnering with Seattle based brand MiiR – bringing the cup to Wales for the first time. Every time a cup is bought, a trackable clean water project will be supported in a coffee growing community around the world. Each cup can be scanned to show which project has been supported.
Frances Lukins says, “The ritual of enjoying a good cup of coffee is for us at the centre of our business. Taking a moment to slow down, step out of the city, and connect with others is what we’re hoping to offer people in Canton and Grangetown. It’s a really exciting time to be involved in the food and drink scene in Cardiff – it’s going to be brilliant to bring Lufkin Coffee Roasters to the amazing setting of Thompson’s Park and expand what we can offer to the fast-developing area around Clare Road.”
She continued “Our priority is top quality coffee and with the added roasting space in Grangetown we’ll be able to brew and deliver our coffee to businesses in Cardiff Bay by bike, and run a coffee bean home delivery service to people across Cardiff.”
Through the Kickstarter campaign, running March 1 – 31st, you will be able to purchase the limited-edition Lufkin Coffee Roasters camp cup for £35. This will also get you 35p off a batch brew coffee at any of the Lufkin Coffee Roasters’ sites for life. Other rewards you can purchase to help fund this project will be coffee homebrewing courses, barista training, gift vouchers and tickets to the special cocktail launch party.
