Specialty coffee bar in Gateshead
Ok fellow coffee nerds, you better listen in. If you haven’t fallen on this new space yet, you’ll be kicking yourself for not beating the crowds, but we’re here to keep you all informed; everyone meet Josie Coffee Bar.
The local coffee roasters that we all know and love, Josie Coffee, have been sitting quietly in the industrial area of Gateshead bringing us their distinct roasts. But the team have finally launched their own coffee bar – and wow, it packs a punch.
Chris and Kate Edden, the owners behind the brand bring their individual skills to the table to bring Josie Coffee to life. Chris working on the roaster, and Kate with the creative skills creating the branding; the passionate couple are as big about the coffee as they are about community spirit.
Whilst the brand, Josie Coffee is well established both locally and nationally, the coffee bar was only just launched in February this year – right at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Enjoying a coffee from the café, customers will be able to know that the beans are actually roasted just next door. If you’re lucky, you might be able to see the team work their magic.
“It’s really good to have it all here in the one space. That space originally was just dead space, so it made sense to put a café in here. It had always been on my mind, but it was the perfect timing,” Chris said.
The café space is something to make your jaw hit the floor, with a machine unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. The machine is called a La Marzocco Modbar; which is ultimately undercounter brewing equipment with sleek design.
“The premise behind a Modbar is actually setup like a bar and is made to be more service focussed. It’s not a machine where staff are tucked down behind it; it’s made for customer service. The boiler and all the other stuff is tucked behind the counter so that customers don’t see it.
“Our juggler milk system is also down here. So, rather than having bottles we have a fridge filled with bladders. The bladders suck the milk up and dispense the right amount, so we have very minimal wastage.”
Not just about the coffee, the coffee bar also stocks a decent retail range of quality at-home coffee making equipment, stunning ceramic keep cups as well as some of their snazzy branded socks!
Long term plans will see Josie Coffee turning their original roasting space upstairs into a new training hub. A whole lot of growth is also coming for the local team, with new silos for the green beans and plans to add an innovative automation system to assist with reducing the physical strain on staff in the roastery.