What North Star Coffee Roasters does

North Star Coffee Roasters Limited is a Leeds-based specialty coffee company founded in 2013 by Hols Kragiopoulos and Alex Kragiopoulos. The company operates across the specialty coffee value chain — green coffee sourcing, in-house roasting, e-commerce (Shopify), wholesale supply to UK hospitality, and three (soon four) retail coffee shops in Leeds — and runs an SCA-accredited training Academy at its Leeds Coffee Hub. Product revenue is anchored in two retail coffee ranges: a Base Range of approachable, balanced coffees (e.g., The Docks House Blend at £12/250g) and an Explore Range of brighter, seasonal single-origins (e.g., Rwanda Cyato Tropical Punch, El Salvador Eric Landaverde Gesha), supplemented by themed bundles, a decaf line, and curated brewing equipment (AeroPress, Fellow, La Marzocco, Sage).

The business model is diversified across five revenue streams: (1) direct-to-consumer retail coffee via e-commerce and coffee-shop sales, (2) recurring home and office coffee subscriptions with pause/skip/swap flexibility and ~10% subscriber discounts, (3) B2B wholesale supply with field-sales account management to cafés, restaurants, hotels, bakeries and offices, (4) Academy training income from home barista, SCA-accredited Barista and Sensory Skills, and brewing courses, and (5) brewing equipment and branded merchandise. Pricing is publicly disclosed at the unit level (£3.99–£3,132) with custom quotes for wholesale.

Long-term producer relationships form a core differentiator and supply moat: a 9-year El Salvador partnership with Los Chelazos (since 2017, via Caravela), a Rwanda Ijabo Youth Project (since 2021, with Tropic Coffee and Baltzersens), and Phase Two of the Timor-Leste 11 Million Trees Project (with Raw Material), plus partnerships in Colombia (Semilla, Monkaaba) and Uganda (The Coffee Gardens / Norman Mukuru). The company is B Corp certified and recognised as a Buy Women Built business. Operations are organised around a roastery and HQ at Unit 10, 280 Tong Road, Leeds LS12 3BG, three operating retail sites (Leeds Dock, Sovereign Street, Victoria Quarter), a fourth flagship opening July 2026 on Great George Street, and a dedicated Coffee Hub / Training Academy at Leeds Dock. Management includes a CEO holding a Q Grader licence and SCA AST credentials, a Co-Founder / Head of Sales, and a functional team spanning coffee programme, training, marketing, brand, finance, and operations.

Name

North Star Coffee Roasters

Legal name

North Star Coffee Roasters Limited

Website

https://northstarroast.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

North Star Coffee Roasters is a Leeds-based specialty coffee company founded in 2013 that roasts, retails and wholesales single-origin and blended coffees to UK home consumers, hospitality businesses, and corporate offices, and runs an SCA-accredited Coffee Academy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Roasting

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coffee Roasting & Grinding (AFAFADAB), Coffee (Roasted, Ground, Whole Bean) (CRADAHAG), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Wholesale coffee supply
• Coffee subscription service
• Barista training courses
• Direct trade coffee

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Coffee Sales: Direct-to-consumer coffee sales through e-commerce platform and retail coffee shops. Products include single-origin coffees, house blends, and seasonal releases in 250g and 1kg formats. Prices range from £11-£20 for 250g single-origin coffees.
2. Coffee Subscriptions (Home & Office): Recurring subscription revenue from home coffee subscriptions (Base Range £11, Explore Range £12, Docks Blend, Astro Blend, Decaf) and office subscriptions (Docks £66-78, Astro £66-78). Subscribers receive ~10% discount, reward points, and first access to new releases.
3. Wholesale Coffee Supply: B2B wholesale supply of coffee to hospitality businesses including cafes, restaurants, bakeries, hotels, and offices. Includes house blends, single origins, decaf options, and filter coffees. Equipment supply also offered including La Marzocco, Mahlkönig, and Marco equipment.
4. Coffee Academy Training: Revenue from professional coffee training courses including home barista courses (£75-£100), SCA accredited courses (£350), brewing masterclasses, and sensory skills courses. Wholesale customers receive free or discounted access to industry training.
5. Brewing Equipment & Merchandise: Sales of brewing equipment (Aeropress, V60, espresso machines, grinders, scales, kettles) and branded merchandise (hoodies, t-shirts, tote bags, mugs, travel bags). Equipment prices range from £20-£3,132.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

North Star Coffee Roasters is a Leeds-based specialty coffee roastery that sources, roasts, and sells single-origin and blended coffees through its Base Range and Explore Range lines. It distributes these products via a Shopify e-commerce site, home and office coffee subscriptions, three retail coffee shops in Leeds, and a B2B wholesale programme supplying UK cafés, restaurants, hotels, and offices, alongside brewing equipment and merchandise. The company also operates the North Star Coffee Academy, an SCA-accredited training platform offering barista, sensory, and home brewing courses.

Product overview

North Star Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee company founded in Leeds in 2013, operating across the full supply chain from sourcing and roasting to retail, wholesale, and professional coffee education. The core product portfolio spans two retail coffee ranges — the Base Range (balanced, approachable coffees for everyday brewing with milk) and the Explore Range (vibrant, seasonal single-origin coffees with expressive fruit flavours) — alongside signature blends (The Docks House Blend and Astro Explore Blend), decaf offerings (Love Decaf Brazil Montanari CO2), and themed bundles. Subscriptions are offered for both home consumers (Base, Explore, Docks Blend, Astro Blend, and Love Decaf) and office teams, with flexible delivery schedules and account management. The company operates a retail academy (North Star Academy) offering hands-on barista, brewing, and SCA-accredited courses at its Leeds Coffee Hub, plus a separate wholesale training programme for hospitality trade customers. Brewing equipment, mugs, cups, and branded merchandise are sold as complementary add-ons. Wholesale services extend to equipment supply, training, and ongoing support for cafés, restaurants, and offices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Docks House Blend The cornerstone retail coffee blend of North Star since founding in 2013, featuring milk chocolate sweetness, toasted nuts, tangerine and a creamy finish. Smooth and versatile for espresso or filter, sold in 250g bags priced at £12.
• Astro Explore Blend A seasonal espresso blend originally designed for flat whites, featuring red berries, dark chocolate and malted milk biscuit notes with a smooth, syrupy finish that also works brewed black. Sold in 250g bags at £13.
• Love Decaf Brazil Montanari CO2 A CO2-processed decaffeinated coffee from one of North Star's longest-standing Brazilian producing partners. Smooth, creamy and balanced with notes of hazelnut, butter, milk chocolate and orange. Sold in 250g bags priced at £11.
• Rwanda Cyato Tropical Punch A pineapple anaerobic natural single-origin coffee from Cyato Washing Station in Nyamasheke District, Western Rwanda, with notes of pineapple jelly, lime and rum. Part of the Rwanda Ijabo Youth Project, it has a distinctive pineapple-like fizz on the palate. Sold in 250g bags from £17.
• Peru Finca Churupampa Churupacha Washed A regional washed blend from northern Peru produced by the Tocto-Bermeo family and Red Beetle Coffee Lab, offering notes of rooibos tea, red plum and brown sugar. Supports 28 neighbouring farming families. Sold in 250g bags from £14.
• Uganda Muki Fruity Anaerobic Natural A juicy, fruit-forward anaerobic natural single-origin coffee from Sironko District, Mount Elgon, Eastern Uganda. Produced by Norman Mukuru and The Coffee Gardens with notes of cherry liqueur, tamarind and cacao nibs. Sold in 250g bags from £15.
• Colombia Julián and Yisela Burbano Washed Caturra A microlot from siblings Julián and Yisela Burbano in San Agustín, Huila, Colombia. Grown at 2050 masl with notes of blackcurrant jam, red apple and brown sugar, supported by the Monkaaba smallholder empowerment initiative. Sold in 250g bags from £18.
• Base Range Variety Pack A curated bundle of Base Range coffees for home brewing, offering smooth, sweet and balanced varieties suited to everyday routines. Sold as a single multi-bag pack.
• Explore Range Variety Pack A curated bundle of Explore Range coffees showcasing the most expressive and vibrant lots, suited to filter brewing and adventurous coffee drinkers.
• El Salvador Microlot Bundle A themed bundle of single-origin microlot coffees from El Salvador, curated around the El Salvador Project with the Finca Margarita producer community. Tied to North Star's 9-year (since 2017) producer partnership.
• Colombia Microlot Bundle A themed bundle of Colombian microlot coffees sourced from producers supported by the Monkaaba smallholder empowerment initiative in San Agustín, Huila.
• Astro & The Docks Bundle A bundle pairing the Astro Explore Blend and The Docks House Blend, two crowd-favourite North Star staples, sold at a discounted bundle price.
• Home Coffee Subscription A flexible rotating coffee subscription for home consumers with five selections: Base Range (£11), Explore Range (£12), The Docks Blend, Astro Blend, and Love Decaf. Customers can pause, skip, swap, reschedule, cancel or change coffee selection, grind size and delivery frequency online. Subscribers save ~10%, collect reward points, and get first access to new releases.
• Office Coffee Subscription A flexible office coffee subscription in 1kg bags for offices, studios, and shared workspaces, available as Docks Blend Office (£66–£72) or Astro Seasonal Blend Office (£78). Includes enhanced subscriber savings, flexible delivery cadence, and coffees suited to espresso machines, batch brewers and cafetières.
• North Star Intro to Coffee A beginner-friendly introduction to specialty coffee held at the North Star Coffee Hub, covering the fundamentals of flavour, sourcing and brewing basics. Priced at £75.
• Home Barista Course A hands-on course teaching the foundations of espresso making at home, including extraction, dialling in, and milk steaming techniques. Hosted by John Smethurst and other trainers at the Coffee Hub. Priced at £100.
• SCA Sensory Skills Foundation Course An SCA-accredited course teaching the fundamentals of coffee sensory analysis, including practical and written assessments aligned with SCA certification standards. Priced at £350.
• North Star Coffee Academy — Wholesale Training Industry training courses for wholesale customers, covering espresso fundamentals, milk steaming, latte art, brewing and extraction, sensory skills, machine maintenance, and SCA Barista Skills. Free for wholesale customers.
• Wholesale Coffee Programme A wholesale coffee supply programme for UK hospitality businesses (specialty coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, hotels and offices) covering house blends, single origins, decaf, retail bags, equipment supply (La Marzocco, Mahlkönig, Marco), and barista training via the North Star Academy. Managed by dedicated account managers across a conversation → tasting → setup & training → ongoing support process.
• North Star Coffee Shop Locations Three operating retail coffee shop locations in Leeds (Leeds Dock, Sovereign Street, Victoria Quarter) plus a fourth opening July 2026 on Great George Street. Each serves specialty coffee from the roastery alongside in-house bakes, brunch, breakfast, seasonal drinks, grab-and-go food, and retail coffee.
• Brewing Equipment A curated retail selection of hand brewing equipment, grinders, scales, kettles, batch brewers, and espresso machines for home and commercial use. Brands include AeroPress, Hario, Bodum, Fellow (Opus, Ode Gen 2, Stagg EKG), Moccamaster, La Marzocco (Linea Micra), and Sage. Prices range from £20 to £3,132.
• Mugs & Cups (notNeutral LINO) A range of professional café-quality ceramic cups and saucers from notNeutral in 3oz espresso to 12oz large latte sizes, plus Fellow Carter Move Mugs and Cold Tumblers.
• North Star Branded Merchandise North Star branded apparel and accessories including 'One Brew At A Time' hoodies and t-shirts, 'Flat White Life' shopper bags and enamel pin badges, North Star tote bags, travel bags, and branded babygrows.

Quantifiable outcome

• 9 years of El Salvador partnership with measurable impact including above sustainability benchmark payments to producers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tropic Coffee (Export Partner - Rwanda)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Export partner for Rwanda Ijabo Youth Project launched in 2021 at Muremure Farm in Nyamasheke, Western Rwanda. Partnership with Tropic Coffee and wholesale partner Baltzersens supporting 20 young producers and 20,000 coffee trees.
• Caravela (Exporter - El Salvador)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Long-term partnership with Caravela as export partner for El Salvador project. Since 2017, working alongside the Chelazos producer group in La Palma, El Salvador to support Finca Margarita. Co-funded infrastructure and climate resilience initiative including on-site processing equipment, raised drying beds, solar dryer.
• Raw Material (Export Partner - Timor-Leste)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExport partner for Phase Two of 11 Million Trees Project in Timor-Leste. 25-year initiative helping create stronger foundations for coffee-growing communities across Timor-Leste.
• La MarzoccocoreTechnology or IntegrationEquipment partner for commercial espresso machines in wholesale offerings. La Marzocco Linea Micra sold through North Star for hospitality businesses.
• MahlkönigcoreTechnology or IntegrationEquipment partner for commercial coffee grinders in wholesale offerings.
• Semilla (Import Partner - Colombia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImport partner for Colombian coffees including La Colmena field blend. North Star was first UK roastery to bring La Colmena to market.
• Monkaaba (Colombia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmallholder coffee grower empowerment initiative supporting producers in San Agustín, Huila, Colombia. Founded by young producers Esnaider Ortega-Gomez and Didier Ortega to help local growers access global specialty market and receive better prices.
• The Coffee Gardens / Norman Mukuru (Uganda)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Norman Mukuru and The Coffee Gardens in Eastern Uganda. Producer creating vibrant, quality-focused coffees while helping build stable long-term opportunities for coffee-growing communities surrounding Mount Elgon.
• Cyato Washing Station (Rwanda)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term sourcing relationship with Cyato Washing Station in Nyamasheke District, Western Rwanda. Coffee processed with pineapple anaerobic natural method creating distinctive Tropical Punch profile. Heart of Rwanda Ijabo Youth Project.
• Baltzersens (Wholesale Partner)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWholesale partner involved in Rwanda Ijabo Youth Project alongside North Star and Tropic Coffee.
• Islands (Hot Chocolate)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHot chocolate brand offered through North Star wholesale to hospitality businesses alongside coffee, tea, and equipment.
• Specialty Coffee Association (SCA)coreOthersSCA-accredited training provider. North Star Academy offers SCA-certified courses through Authorised Specialty Coffee Association Trainer. Courses include Barista Skills and Sensory Skills programmes.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Workshop Coffee: Specialty roaster and cafe operator in London with a training programme and wholesale channel; comparable retail/café/training + roastery footprint to North Star.
• Dark Arts Coffee: UK specialty coffee roaster with retail cafes, wholesale supply, and a sub-brand fanbase — comparable mid-sized UK specialty player in the same third-wave category.
• Square Mile Coffee Roasters: London-based specialty coffee roaster operating a similar hybrid roastery + wholesale + training model with strong origin relationships and an Academy program; competes for UK specialty wholesale accounts and DTC subscribers in the same third-wave category.
• Caravan Coffee Roasters: UK specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator with both wholesale supply and a chain of London restaurants/cafes; closely analogous to North Star's combined roastery + retail + wholesale model.
• Monmouth Coffee: Long-established UK specialty roaster with retail coffee shops and wholesale supply, focused on direct trade and origin quality — directly comparable third-wave positioning and product mix.
• Extract Coffee Roasters: Bristol-based specialty roaster operating wholesale, cafe, training (SCA-accredited), and DTC — covers the same five revenue-stream stack as North Star including subscription options.
• Pact Coffee: Subscription-led UK specialty coffee DTC and office coffee business; directly overlaps North Star's home and office subscription products and competes for the same direct-to-consumer coffee drinker.
• Assembly Coffee: London specialty roaster with notable Barista Headquarters / training academy and wholesale focus — direct overlap in roastery + academy + wholesale combination.
• Hasbean Coffee: Long-standing UK specialty roaster with strong direct trade reputation and DTC + wholesale channels; overlaps North Star on single-origin focus and e-commerce.

Broad incumbents

• Costa Coffee: Mass-market UK coffee chain (now operated by Coca-Cola) running nationwide cafes and packaged coffee retail; provides the broad incumbent reference point against which UK specialty players like North Star compete for the same coffee occasions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCPe6Ao3ZdOFsLpakuWddFww
• Facebookfacebook.com/northstarcoffeeroasters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-star-coffee-roasters-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/northstarroast/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@northstarroast?lang=en-GB
• Xx.com/northstarroast

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North Star Coffee Roasters