A Nottingham coffee shop is selling a rare variety of coffee for £8.50 per cup.
The Speciality Coffee Shop, on Friar Lane, will be offering customers Panama Gesha coffee, a select lot from northern Panama, from today (January, 17).
The offer comes days after EasyJet’s announcement it is opening ‘several’ budget coffee shops in Nottingham.
The EasyCoffee chain will sell coffee for just £1, with larger cups available for £1.60, which is less than most of the lowest-priced coffees in outlets around the city.
The Speciality Coffee has been roasted by Italian coffee connoisseur Rubens Gardeli and received first place in the 2016 Best of Panama Exotic Coffee Awards.
It was first discovered in Abyssinia in southwest Ethiopia in 1931 and was later brought to Panama from Costa Rica in 1963.
Shop owner Michelangelo Franco said: “In the shop we get a lot of coffee enthusiasts who come in often looking for special coffees.
“When I saw this coffee I immediately thought of those people and thought this would be something they would really like to try.
“It is an amazing coffee and has quite a reputation – I really trust Rubens Gardeli and I know it will be an outstanding coffee.”
Michelangelo and partner Lucy Giacone, originally from Sicily in Italy, opened their shop in May after moving to the UK five years ago.
They previously spent time volunteering at a coffee farm in Costa Rica before opening their own coffee consultation company, which provides advice to new businesses and training for baristas.
Despite competition faced by the upcoming EasyCoffee chains, and much debate about the price of hot drinks, Michelangelo thinks there is no better time to launch an exclusive coffee.
He said: “I think it is a very different market and we cannot even be compared [to EasyCoffee].
“All of our coffee is well-researched, well-sustained, high quality coffee – it’s for people who want to drink coffee for the taste and not just for the caffeine hit.
“This coffee has a unique, exotic taste and we are the only shop in Nottingham who has it – I do not think now is the wrong time to launch it.”
Michelangelo is planning to introduce another speciality coffee which also originates from Ethiopia.
It will be available at the cheaper price of £3.50 per cup for those wanting to sample an exotic taste without the price tag.
