The WatchHouse view on London’s specialty coffee shop market

Roland Horne, CEO & Founder of WatchHouse, a celebrated nine-strong specialty coffee shop and roastery based in London, speaks to World Coffee Portal about the UK capital’s rapidly evolving coffee scene and what the future may hold for the industry

How have customer preferences evolved since you founded WatchHouse in 2014?

There has been a gradual evolution to increased sophistication among our customers. People understand the product more, and they have more nuance. It’s no longer a question of ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ coffee; customers are now choosing between a Colombian or an Ethiopian. That being said, there are still many people who have little knowledge or any real interest in specialty coffee. And that’s fine, we are happy to bring them along.