If you’ve ever travelled with us to Brazil, there’s a good chance you’ve shared the journey with someone from Red Bank Coffee Roasters. Founded by Tom Prestwich in the Lake District, Red Bank has become a well-respected name in the UK speciality coffee scene.
Tom has built his business on the belief that great coffee comes from forging genuine, long-term connections with producers, exporters, customers, and the local community. He’s a firm believer in showing up year after year, at origin and in the local community, to deepen understanding, share value, and grow together. That mindset has made Red Bank not just a roastery, but a thoughtful partner in the supply chain.
Hey Tom!
What were you doing before coffee, and what led you to start Red Bank Coffee Roasters?
I used to work as a lawyer in London, and would stop at Starbucks for a short black americano every day on the way into the office. One day a colleague took me to Monmouth in Covent Garden instead, and the experience completely altered my perception of coffee. I had my first ever pourover, and couldn’t believe how sweet and juicy it was. It sparked an interest that became an obsession, which eventually led to me quitting my job and moving to the Lake District to setup Red Bank.
What does a typical day look like for you now?
I don’t really have a typical day, but there is one constant. I start each morning with a pourover at home. I wake up early enough to ensure that nothing interferes with this, and that it’s a calm and mindful experience. I’m usually drinking one of our own coffees, and it’s the time that I give it the most rigorous assessment.
I also make time to train at the gym and do yoga at least a couple of times each week before the working day starts, plus a couple of runs later in the day. It keeps me calm and focussed during what is usually quite a busy and demanding week.
I’m at my most productive in the morning, so it’s when I reply to emails and focus on tasks that require most concentration, such as new product research and write ups, socials, blog posts and newsletters. Around lunchtime I often like to visit one of our local customers for a bite, a brew and a catch up. On Tuesdays I cup our coffees with the team to check that all is tasting as it should be, compare tasting notes, and discuss with Mike, our Head Roaster and Operations Manager (and All Round Legend), any potential roast tweaks that might improve the flavour profile of the coffee.
That aside my days are mostly taken up with planning our coffee offering for the months ahead, progressing new projects like our recent ‘fruitscape’ rewilding project, and liaising with our importing and exporting partners, and our wonderful freelance creative team.
What are some of the biggest challenges you faced in building your business, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was right at the start – convincing coffee shops to buy coffee from a new roastery with no prior experience or reputation. I think I managed it due to a genuine enthusiasm and love for the product which I must have been able to convey. Shout out to Lucia’s in Grasmere for being the first to take a chance on us! They’re still customers of ours, and Lucia and Ewan are close friends. Delicious coffee aside, Ewan makes the most amazing focaccia, and the best bacon sarnie I’ve ever had! Once we had a handful of customers, word of mouth started to play a big part, and building our customer base started to get easier.
The next big challenge was just the workload in the early years. Hundreds and hundreds of roasts on our 6kg Giesen dutifully logged by hand on graph paper (this was pre-Cropster days!), packing and delivering it all, then all the other myriad jobs that came along with running a startup business. I’ve always believed that short term pain is required for long term gain, so it was just a case of digging the heels in and sticking it out until the business reached a point where I could afford to enlist help.
Nowadays, the big challenges are accurately forecasting our coffee requirements for the year ahead, the current volatility of the coffee market, effectively communicating all of the work that we do, and generally managing a growing business and team.
Mike, Head Roaster and Operations Manager
Sustainability is a big topic in coffee. How do you incorporate it into both your business and personal life?
I was very much influenced by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, when I setup Red Bank. His book “Let My People Go Surfing” was a great inspiration, and as a result, sustainability has always been one of our core principles. From a sourcing perspective, we look to work with responsible custodians of the land, and with exporters and importers who pride themselves on paying fair prices, and working closely with the farmers that they represent to improve agricultural practices and living and working standards.
Closer to home, we roast on Loring roasters which are considered best in class in terms of energy efficiency. I believe we were also the first roastery in the UK to use packaging made predominantly from fully recyclable post-consumer recycled plastic.
We donate 2% of our revenues each year to charitable and community projects. At the moment this includes donations to Growing Well, a local mental health charity that champions recovery through activity in their Cumbrian market gardens, to our importing partner Raw Material, a CIC that donates 100% of profits to the producers that they work with, and to a new ‘fruitscape’ rewilding project that has seen us plant hundreds of fruit trees along public footpaths and byways for the local community to enjoy.
Through Red Bank, I have learnt the importance of provenance, and this now percolates into my personal life. As far as possible, I try to buy products, whether it be food, clothing, or anything else, that have a responsible supply chain behind them.
How does Red Bank engage with the local community, and what role do you see your business playing in supporting local initiatives?
Our local customer base and coffee loving community is our core, and many of them are now close friends. Bee, our Head of Training and Customer Relations, and recently qualified AST, is passionate about nurturing local talent and helping them to find roles in the speciality coffee industry. In particular she coordinates our public cupping events and talks at the roastery, and the annual Latte Art Throwdowns which have blown us away in terms of both attendance and the local skillset. Turns out there was always a huge amount of talent here in Cumbria, but not necessarily the platform for them to showcase their skills to their peers and wider audience.
Otherwise, as mentioned above, we support local initiatives like Growing Well and the Fruitscape rewidling project though our commitment to donating 2% of our revenue through coffee sales.
If someone had one day around the Lakes, how would you recommend they spend it?
It’s the Lake District, so I suppose it’s got to be coffee and a hike. Keeping it close to home, you could start your day with a brew at Fold in Kendal, then a short hike along Cunswick Scar and Gamblesmire Lane, a lesser known and utterly beautiful track along which we have planted a selection of fruit trees that are just coming into blossom now. Either that or brekkie at Levens Kitchen followed by a walk through their historic topiary gardens or neighbouring deer park. Both could be followed by a beer and bar snacks at Heft in High Newton, or their Michelin starred tasting menu if you want to ramp things up.
If you’re feeling more adventurous, head to Grasmere, the spiritual home of Red Bank for the best bacon sarnie ever at Lucia’s, and a hike up to Easedale Tarn or Helm Crag, followed by lunch and beer in the beer garden at Tweedies. If you’re North Lakes inclined, it would be hard to beat a brew at Elm in Keswick, and a hike up any of the incredible Borrowdale peaks. If you’re really lucky, you might have timed your visit with one of Lakes Brew Co’s taproom events in Kendal!
Do you have a mantra you live by?
I’m not sure it’s a mantra per se, but I’m a big believer in making personal connections with all of the people that we work with. I make a point of travelling far and wide to visit all of our customers, as well as our producing and exporting partners at origin. Only by meeting the people face to face, and seeing the farms and processing facilities can you be sure that you are working with good people and supporting good supply chains. When you boil it down, that’s really what Red Bank is all about, showcasing good coffee from good people.
Tom with Helisson in Baixadão
Are you reading or listening to anything interesting at the moment?
I’m currently reading a book called Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. It’s an compelling, and quite alarming account of the importance of sleep for body and mind. Needless to say, I’m endeavouring to make some pretty big adjustments to my daily routine to make sure I get those 8 hours.
I’m also slightly addicted to the Rest Is Politics and Rest Is Politics US podcasts, and had my mind blown by The Telepathy Tapes. Otherwise I’ve basically just had Khruangbin on repeat for the last couple of years.
How do you take your coffee? And what’s your favourite origin and processing method?
Pourover or batch, always black. At home, I’m using an Origami brewer with Sibarist filters. Hard to beat a washed Ethiopian, although a really great washed Kenyan or washed Colombian pink bourbon will give it a run for its money.
