Simplicity is not just a word

Allpress are coffee roasters and espresso specialists

Allpress are coffee roasters and espresso specialists. Founded in New Zealand by Michael Allpress in 1986, the Auckland-based business has always taken an innovative approach to sourcing and roasting great-tasting coffee.

After a successful expansion into Sydney, Allpress’ lifelong friend, Tony Papas, opened the Allpress Roastery and Café in Shoreditch, London, in 2010.

Their overriding philosophy of “Designed simply to be trusted completely” has led Allpress to open its flagship roastery and café in Dalston, London. It took a couple of years to find, but a converted joiners’ factory gave Papas the space to build a roastery with efficiency at the core of the design. “We have a very simple offering,” Papas says.

“We roast delicious coffee and give our customers exceptional technical support and training. Everything in this building is designed to help us provide that.”

From the automated silos that store the green coffee beans to the custom-built hot-air roaster designed by Michael Allpress and engineer Mike Scobie, the Dalston roastery is a functional building that first and foremost helps the company concentrate on roasting great-tasting coffee.

The working areas of the building are intended to be seen. The roastery is partitioned by a glass wall that runs the length of the building, allowing customers in the café to see the Allpress team at work. Similarly, the second-floor café is nestled among the training room, cupping lab and open-plan office. Papas says the visibility aims to build trust and pride in what they do. Making a home for everything is essential to making the space presentable.

“It is important that our spaces are functional and aesthetically beautiful in equal measure, so that they mind their manners.”

USM features on the second floor, providing functional storage for customer files and coffee-sourcing documents essential to the wholesale arm of the business. The units have been deliberately installed away from the desks to stimulate movement in the office.

The green Haller units bridge the office space into the oak-framed cupping labs housing Allpress’ coffee library and green bean samples from coffee-growing regions across the globe.