Ancoats Coffee Co.

Jamie Boland founded Ancoats Coffee Co. in 2013 as a small batch independent roaster after falling for Melbourne's cafe culture while working there as a barista, then secured a unit inside Royal Mill from the local authority once he moved back to the UK. The roastery cafe has run from that single spot since 2015, inside a mill built in 1912 on the site of the old McConnel and Kennedy works, pioneers of mechanised cotton spinning dating back to the 1790s.

A Speciality Coffee Association member, the team sources through accredited importers who share their sustainability and ethics standards, and Boland has worked directly with partner farms since day one. The building itself carries its own history, originally known as New Old Mill before a 1942 visit from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth earned it the Royal Mill name it still carries.