Where did it all begin?
There are four partners. Each one of us comes from a different country and background, but Doppio is a family. All of us had been dealing in coffee in different ways: Mariusz is the head engineer and repairs machines; Carlo manages sales and has a background in wine; Yoav can tell you where to find artisan coffee anywhere in the world, including Kenya. And I have more than 30 years’ experience in trading coffee all over the world.
How do you select the beans?
We’re a wholesale company and one of our brands is the Duke of London, a London artisan roaster. He has created a special blend using beans from Brazil, Guatemala and El Salvador. We believe in maintaining the same taste and quality of coffee every day. Our espresso bar serves Diemme coffee, a 100-year old Italian roaster, the blend a combination of arabica and robusta beans.
Tell us about the roastery.
We started with the Duke of London two years ago as his sole distributors all over England, and then incorporated him into our Kentish Town branch.
How many places in Kentish Town and Camden use your beans?
We have more than 150 coffee shops that use our coffee around northwest London, and 35 in the NW5 area. Most use the Duke blend or other Italian brands.
What else is on the menu?
Sandwiches, pastries and biscuits. But we are really an espresso bar. You can get more than 15 blends of coffee in different price ranges. We can grind the coffee for your home machine. We also provide all the accessories you need and a little advice to help our customers make the best choice. Our shop is a mirror of our wholesale business and you can find yourself drinking a brilliant cup of coffee in a bustling warehouse environment.
What surprises you?
To be honest with you, the knowledge that our customers display; we’ve seen, in recent years, an increasing number of coffee freaks.
Who are your regulars?
Real Kentishtowners, people who have lived in this area for many years. But also those who come from all over London.
Any other branches in the pipeline?
We opened a second branch last year in Shoreditch, the same concept as the Kentish Town one: showroom, workshop and espresso bar. In the next few years, we are hopefully going to open more and more Doppio coffee warehouses.
